NEC PA301w: The Baddest 30-inch Display Around
by Brian Klug on March 1, 2011 8:00 AM ESTBrightness and Contrast
For brightness, black level, and contrast points, we use the same colorimeter setup described earlier. Specifically, we use an Xrite i1D2 with ColorEyes Display Pro, and take measurements at maximum and minimum brightness of white and black targets. Dynamic contrast is turned off. We also let the panels settle in for a half hour at the respective settings before taking any measurements.
The PA301w uses a CCFL backlight, which makes that warm up time even more critical. The PA301w has an interesting quick warmup feature that reduces the visible brightness increase period dramatically. At power on, I measured brightness go from 160 nits (with the OSD showing 200 nits, blinking) to 210 nits in under one minute, then gradually settle to the desired 200 nits. There's a bit of overshoot, but the visual difference is hard if not impossible to actually pick out. For the sake of these tests, I waited for things to settle, but it's actually impressive how fast the PA301w can warm up to totally useable brightness levels.
Brightness settings in the OSD follow the same rules as color ones - if you select something impossible, the last changed value will show up pink, meaning it's outside of the monitor's capabilities. The same thing applies for brightness. I had no problem reaching 411 nits of brightness after getting that worked out - it's a similar thing I've seen on all other displays, sometimes you need to change contrast or color adjustment settings appropriately. Regardless, the PA301w went above the specified 350 nits of brightness, reaching 411. Contrast isn't quite the 1000:1 advertised typical, instead hovering around 800:1 pretty consistently.
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Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
Imagine gaming with 3 of these. wowee wowee wowee.Now imagine having to work for weeks on end to be able to pay for them. lol
ImSpartacus - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
I'm definitely not educated on the subject, but wouldn't the response time be detrimental to most gaming?But from a purely size and resolution standpoint, it would be pretty neat.
DanNeely - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
If it's the same 2 frames as the 3090 had it's only really going to be an issue in FPSes at higher skill levels and on a low latency connection. For anything else it's fine.softdrinkviking - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
I have the 24" version of this. (it's available where I live) and it's fine for gaming. There is some acceleration hardware inside that seems to work well. It's fine for sports or movies to me.Perhaps you are more sensitive than I, but I think it looks fantastic.
Interesting note though. The contrast ratio on the NEC PA series monitors that I've seen is 800:1, whereas the other series they make, the LCD2409, 2609, ect, are H-IPS, and list a higher contrast ratio of 1000:1.
I noticed this when shopping, printed on all the little spec cards at the store.
I wonder if this is a trade-off for the better color depth of the S-IPS panels?
I understand that the contrast numbers given can vary in actual meaning, but I'm assuming NEC uses the same criteria for contrast across its professional line.
Stas - Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - link
Because size matters...thereaderrabbit - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
The kilowatt is equal to one thousand (10^3) watts. I think this is what you mean by Kill-A-Watt.LukeDK - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
A Kill-A-Watt is a device used for measuring power consumption (or voltage, current, frequency, etc) at the plug.LTG - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
So nice to see someone point out a correction without insult or condescencion.MobiusStrip - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - link
He must be new to the Internet.Stas - Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - link
What a wuss