From this angle the screen almost looks like sunglasses, with cold, dead eyes watching you underneath...
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)They say that once you've had two displays, you'll never walk away. (Well, I don't know if they actually say that, but i think you get the idea.) From my time spent with the EVGA InterView Dual Monitor System I'd tend to agree. Having two screens at my disposal really does seem to increase my productivity. Being able to write on one screen while referencing another--as I'm doing now--really makes for an efficient working environment.
The most unique feature of the display is its ability to rotate each screen back 180 degrees. While the casual user may not have much practical use for this, the business user, especially those who conduct plenty of office meetings, could probably come up with a number of justifications for owning this.
For its purposes, the only real stumbling block is price. At $650 you're going to need lots of justification to convince your IS department that your livelihood depends on owning this. Check out my full review of the EVGA InterView Dual Monitor System to see if that price is worth it. Also, check here for the latest CNET LCD computer monitor reviews.
Now to go buy my IS manager that long overdue lunch.
Yep, that's a doorknob hole in the desk.
(Credit: Eric Franklin/CNET)And by closer look, I mean that literally. I put the camera almost uncomfortably close to the monitor and pressed the picture-taking button. I got so close at times that I think I may actually owe the monitor dinner now.
Check out these shots of EVGA's Interview dual-screen monitor that was announced last week.
The screen is crazy reflective, so I can't really be held responsible for the secrets you find in the shots.
I'm hoping to have a review up soon, if there's demand for one, that is. Is there?
The InterView with the left screen flipped.
(Credit: EVGA)I look at a lot of monitors. So many, in fact, that these days I immediately notice the smallest differences between them. Almost instinctively, I notice the bezel width, whether or not the panel slopes, and how easy the connections options are to access. I don't say this to brag; it's just that most monitors look so similar that I'm forced to find the smallest differences just to keep my job exciting.
So please forgive my utter elation and downright giddiness at EVGA's just-announced InterView Dual Monitor System.
The InterView is a dual-screen monitor with two rotatable 17-inch screens, each with a resolution of 1440x900. The monitors are mounted on a desktop stand that includes four USB ports, a mic input, a built-in Webcam, and a DMS video connection. The latter allows the video signal to be pumped to both monitors, thanks to the included DMS-to-dual-DVI cord.
Each monitor can rotate back 180 degrees to face the opposite direction, and according to EVGA, the onscreen image automatically inverts to appear right side up.
Other specs include a 500:1 contrast ratio, 8ms pixel response time, and a 200 candelas per square meter brightness.
We just got the InterView in this week, so look for a slideshow soon and a full review of the $649 display(s) soon after that. I now return to my extremely giddy testing.
After much fretting over prices, we can now wrap up our 3D card coverage, at least for now, as we post reviews of the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 and the EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked. We call this a three-way because we've also included updated scores for the GeForce GTX 280 from back in June 2008, which now competes in this price range.
Sapphire's Radeon HD 4850 X2
(Credit: CNET)Prices became a concern for us in this roundup, as our target was initially $300 and less. The GTX 260 fits the bill, but the 2GB Radeon HD 4850 X2 we received from AMD didn't at first, hovering around $340. We thought about aiming lower, but the distance between $250 and the $150ish cards we reviewed last week didn't feel wide enough.
We asked for the 1GB version of the 4850 X2, but by the time we received it it seemed to have disappeared from retail availability. Fortuitously, as the 1GB version disappeared, the price on the 2GB model also came down to $299 at Amazon, and for a day at NewEgg, where it's currently about $319.
EVGA's GeForce GTX 206 Core 216 Superclocked
(Credit: CNET)For Nvidia's part, the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 started at $299 when we first acquired the product, and then dropped to about $260 by the time we finished, about a month and a half later (holidays, CES, etc.). We also saw that the GeForce GTX 280 started to hover around $320 or so. Thus, our spread here of $260 to $320, between three different cards.
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Unlike our recent look into high-end 3D cards, we know exactly what we have on-hand in the way of budget cards (thank you, Techpowerup's GPU-Z). For AMD's part, we have the Diamond Radeon HD 4850, with updated benchmarks from the numbers we ran in our July review. In Nvidia's camp, we get the EVGA GeForce GTX 9800+ Superclocked edition, an overclocked (for real this time), version of Nvidia's stock GeForce GTX 9800+ card.
The single-slot Diamond Viper Radeon HD 4850 is now available for $180.
(Credit: CNET)While both of these cards debuted this past summer, their prices have dropped slightly since then, creating an affordable little sweet spot for mainstream PC-gaming performance. If you shop at retailers like NewEgg.com and TheNerds.com that tend to have more aggressive pricing, the formerly $200 Radeon HD 4850 card is now available for about $180, and the GeForce GTX 9800+ is down from $225 to around $165. On the one hand, the $15 difference between them now may tip the scale towards the overclocked Nvidia card. On the other, the Diamond card only takes up a single card-expansion slot. The Nvidia card's double-wide design puts some limits on the kinds of systems that will accept it.
EVGA's double-wide GeForce GTX 9800+ Superclocked edition.
(Credit: CNET)Regardless of their physical attributes, the performance of these cards is almost identical. We even found that as long as you stick to a resolution of 1,680x1,050 you get the most headroom for higher image-quality settings, (except on original flavor Crysis, naturally). With very little performance differentiation, we're calling this round an effective draw, as the price and design differences create some situational advantages for each card.
The high-end and the budget-price ranges out of the way, that leaves us with only the midrange, $300 price point left to go. We still have to get our hands on one more card to complete that match-up. Once we do, we'll have those reviews posted as soon as we can.
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