Yamakasi Catleap monitor club.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 02-07-2012 6:31pm

yeah it's incredible

even something simple like the sc2 stream im watching.. if I move it between my two screens it's night and day.

the stand is fine too, body of the monitor is nice.. it's just about a perfect purchase.

Tea_Bag · 02-07-2012 8:04pm

My second screen is a Dell Professional series, and its white looks grey next to the Catleap.

ToadVine · 02-07-2012 8:21pm

So, any consensus on the best place to buy one of these puppies?

Work have told me I have a hardware budget, and I'll definitely get one of these to go with my new MacBook Air if it's not too complicated an ordering process.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 02-07-2012 8:51pm

it depends what you want

are you ok with just one dvi input? or do you want dual dvi, hdmi, usb etc etc
as the multi input ones tend to cost a bit more

are you ok with a couple of dead pixels? chances are you might get a small amount. some sellers advertise "perfect pixel" versions.. but im not sure if they actually mean 0 dead pixels, it might even vary from seller to seller you'd have to look for the small print on the ad. i *think* the one I ordered (potalion from bigclothcraft) was advertised as 0 dead pixels and that is what I got but in general anything under 5 dead or stuck pixels is considered standard and they wont accept a return.

some sellers will replace a bad screen (faulty or more than 5 dead/stuck pixels) if you pay shipping back to korea, some will pay shipping within the first 30 days and i think accesorieswhole has a much longer faulty monitor free shipping deal but I dont really remember anymore you';d have to check his ebay store for details

the main differences between the various brands are the stands. the crossover has the best stand out of the lot apparently, it's metal rather than plastic so a bit sturdier. then you have different models that may or may not tilt or may or may not pivot.

*shrug*

what you after

I got the *perfect pixel* potalion 2710qw
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/140763389829?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

from bigclothcraft . it had 0 dead pixels, very minimal backlight bleeding and is overall ****ing amazing. your mileage may vary though but from what I can remember bigclothcraft has a 30 day returns policy for over 5 dead pixels or a faulty screen where they will cover the cost of the shipping back to korea. dont take my word on any of this though, read through the listings carefully to make sure.

bigclothcraft,accessorieswhole and green-sum seem to be the most well regarded but i dont know if any of the sellers are regarded poorly tbh.. out of them all I think accessorieswhole has the best returns policy if you're worried about that and don't mind paying a little extra for it.

trackerman · 02-07-2012 10:12pm

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

I got the *perfect pixel* potalion 2710qw
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/140763389829?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

from bigclothcraft .

Ditto, I'm using one of these and it's flawless...

I even got my 8800 GTX to run Modern Warfare at 2560x1400 without any lag.
Seriously, it runs smooth as glass, and it looks simply amazing!
The detail has to be seen in real life...

ToadVine · 02-07-2012 10:31pm

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

it depends what you want ...

I want a few inputs (DVI, HDMI, etc) and definitely no dead pixels. The stand doesn't matter. So what is the best place to buy?

Are these available from any bricks and mortar shops on Ireland? Or the UK? It will be hard to convince work to buy from eBay ...

Are these all different versions of the Yamakasi catleap screens? Are these the guys who make screens for the Apple cinema display? Is this why there is a big deal about these monitors?

Thanks in advance for the answers

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 02-07-2012 11:19pm

the screens are the same as the ones in the apple cinema display yeah

the catleap is just the korean model that came to prominence first, the rest are all the same idea just differing build quality afaik

afaik no they can't be bought in store outside of korea

the problem with going multiple input AND perfect pixel is that will ratchet the price up

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-MULTI-27-LED-2560X1440-LG-S-IPS-Monitor-Perfect-Pixel-/110906313847?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item19d2880c77

400 odd euro for that one

No Dead pixel, No Stuck pixel guaranteed!

so apparently for their perfect pixel monitors they do guarantee 0 dead/stuck pixels

you'd be best off emailing them to ask about what needs to happen in case of returns

i cant find any other perfect pixel multis but you're best off just having a look through ebay and seeing what you see, make sure you have a look/email about their pixel policy and returns as well.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 02-07-2012 11:33pm

now that it's dark i decided to check my screen for backlight bleed

little bit on the bottom and the top

not huge amounts but kinda small semi circles near the middles of the top/bottom.

i cant think really when I'd have perfectly black backgrounds on my screen so I'm not all that bothered by it.. maybe I might take a screwdriver and loosen some of the screws at the back like someone else suggested but I doubt it

--edit
i turned the backlight down on the monitor and fiddled with contrast/brightness in my gfx card controls.. seems to have done the trick.
still some light bleeding at the bottom middle but the top has largely cleared up and the bottom is quite a bit improved.

I'll probably keep fiddling at it for a while yet, trying to figure out the best settings

Tar.Aldarion · 03-07-2012 5:12pm

Where would one order if they wanted one of those 120hz OCed ones? linklink! Probably cant get one for ageeees though. I really want an IPS and I cant go back under 120hz, does it cost much more?

damn you for getting me back in here digby! :P

frozenfrozen · 03-07-2012 5:19pm

ToadVine wrote: »

So, any consensus on the best place to buy one of these puppies?

Work have told me I have a hardware budget, and I'll definitely get one of these to go with my new MacBook Air if it's not too complicated an ordering process.

I don't think you can run one of these from a macbook air though

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 03-07-2012 6:14pm

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Where would one order if they wanted one of those 120hz OCed ones? linklink! Probably cant get one for ageeees though. I really want an IPS and I cant go back under 120hz, does it cost much more?

damn you for getting me back in here digby! :P

120hz.net would be the place to look I think

they got some oc'able versions made but i'd imagine they're very expensive and they're so in demand that I think whenever they become available in batches they sell out in no time at all. won't be easy

ToadVine · 03-07-2012 6:26pm

frozenfrozen wrote: »

I don't think you can run one of these from a macbook air though

Really? Why not?

Brian · 04-07-2012 1:00am

I don't think laptops have dual-link DVI ports..

frozenfrozen · 04-07-2012 1:07am

All of the eBay pages say that laptops aren't supported, and I don't think a MacBook air would be able to run at 1440p very smoothly! That's driving like 4 million more pixels than the regular screen!

witnessmenow · 04-07-2012 7:25am

http://store.apple.com/ie/product/MB571Z/A

There might be hope for Mac books, €100 though :eek:

Didihno · 04-07-2012 10:32am

Hi all.

I've just spent about €1400 on a new rig, with decent specs.
GPU is Asus GTX550ti, not the highest end by any stretch but I'll upgrade in a year or two anyway.

So I've been searching the interweb for a decent monitor to get the best out of this new rig and got to tell you I'm doing my nut. TN or IPS, fast vs slower response times, highly rated (Asus p238q) but ugly as sin vs pretty but not as good (Samsung s24b750). Dell? Phillips? Aaaargh.
So I happen across this thread and these screens and my interest is perked up.
27" is enormous, way bigger than my current 6yo Dell 20" and not something I had considered, due to size and ridiculous price. But....you lot seem to be very keen on them. They looks good, have a glorious screen, and I'm assuming most of you are gamers?
I play everything, fps and rpg mostly. I've been saving Skyrim for my new build and screen.

So what are these things like for gaming?
Does up to 5 dead pixels matter?
How much customs gets added typically, and I'm assuming some of you have got the vendor to put *ahem* on the shipping.
Are there reliability issues for anyone so far?
Thanks lads! (in the non gender specific application)

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 04-07-2012 10:55am

I got a "perfect pixel" potalion from bigclothcraft and it came with 0 dead pixels

I dont know if that's guaranteed though, maybe I was just lucky.

with the amount of pixels on these monitors I doubt you'd notice 5 tbh, unless they were clustered together real close or you were focused on finding them

you can get a bit of backlight bleed, but that's a common issue with lcd screens not just IPS. Mine has a bit on the bottom that I (1) only notice at nighttime (2) only notice if i'm looking for it, or not actually doing anything. if im playing a game, im focused on the game and not the screen. i dont know what it'd be like for a dark movie, maybe it'd get kind of annoying.. but considering you can get that with large tv's as well.. I dont know if i'd consider it a fault of the monitor.. more the technology

the response times.. i dont know. you see people saying it matters, you see people saying that it doesnt matter.
the monitors with the multiple inputs have more lag than the ones with just the dvi.. but honestly unless you're a pro gamer I doubt you'd notice it or even if you noticed it a bit i doubt it'd have a huge effect on your game. for rpg's, rts, racing, etc etc.. it'd be fantastic. I was worried about the size of the screen for starcraft 2.. not a problem at all. i'm waiting for my new gfx card to be delivered before I try skyrim but I imagine I'll have to head to the hospital to be treated for priapism once I do.

mine came to 288 and I got charged 22 euro or thereabouts for customs, it went from korea-ireland wednesday-friday. but because customs delayed it I didnt get it until monday.

sellers have different policies for returns. some will cover the cost of shipping for the first 30 days, one of them (accesorieswhole) i think will cover shipping for a fault for a long time but that might only be for one or two specific models they are selling. dont take any of this as gospel, study the seller pages and email them to ask specifics before you order if you're worried about it.

they are amazing screens. the main problem would be the backlight bleeding if you get unlucky with it as unless it's absolutely terrible I dont think you'll have any luck at all getting a refund/return for that.. might be wrong there but I think it's just accepted as a danger of these types of screens.

--edit

oh you'll need a big enough desk too. I have to keep mine on a second stand that's flush with my desk as if I put it on my desk it's just too close .. one of my games even made me panicky/anxious which i can only put down to how close my face was to the screen while I was playing.

Didihno · 04-07-2012 11:43am

Thanks!
I have seen the potalion, and TBH I don't care for the thick bezel on it.
I think the Yamakasi one looks sleeker, thinner I suppose, like the newer Samsung TVs. My Sammy D7000 has ruined me for other screens, and I now can't abide big thick bezels! Stupid I know.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 04-07-2012 11:47am

well there's no difference in the screens afaik, the only differences are the actual build of the monitor and the stands so really that's all you can make your decision on

well that and the price, the potalions were the cheapest I saw.. probably because they wern't being bought at the same rate as the catleaps/crossovers/shimians

--edit

just googled the d7000.. damn that's pretty

Nollog · 04-07-2012 3:32pm

Green-sum hasn't replied or acknowledged my email yet.
It's strange because he's pretty quick to answer on ebay itself.

Didihno · 04-07-2012 3:44pm

/\/ollog wrote: »

Green-sum hasn't replied or acknowledged my email yet.
It's strange because he's pretty quick to answer on ebay itself.

Hey, just in general I find ebay sellers take an age, if ever, to repond to emails outside of ebay, especially big sellers.

witnessmenow · 05-07-2012 6:43am

/\/ollog wrote: »

Green-sum hasn't replied or acknowledged my email yet.
It's strange because he's pretty quick to answer on ebay itself.

Open a PayPal dispute, I personally think it is the route to go down even if he was replying. "item not as described "

You don't need to escalate it yet, first step is basically letting PayPal know there is a problem and to give green sum an opportunity to fix it.

If I was in your position I would accept nothing less than a fully paid for replacement and for you to not have to pay for shipping to return the other one

witnessmenow · 05-07-2012 10:49am

Mine is with customs at the moment

With any luck I'll have it by the weekend!

One thing that worries me is im not sure does DHL have my number, I dont know was it part of my address! I dont see it on the ebay delivery details. Should i ring DHL and tell them?

The DHL driver in Athlone knows who I am but he keeps delivering stuff to my Granny's house, which is normally grand but not if there is money owed on it!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 05-07-2012 10:57am

no harm to ring them tbh, I rang them to ask about my delivery and they were easy to deal with

mine was with customs for a day, got in 8am friday and was released 9pm friday and was delivered the following monday so if yours is in customs today you'll likely have it by tomorrow all going well

ToadVine · 05-07-2012 11:13am

Guys, are these the same monitors you are talking about?

These are from Komplett http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/catalog/zkb_04rand/16_monitor/default.aspx. Which one would you recommend of these 3?

Also, can I connect a new MacBook Air, and what ThunderBolt cable will I need?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 05-07-2012 11:16am

no they're different monitors, their max res is 1920x1080 the koreans go to 2560x1440

outside of that I dont know anything about those monitors..

witnessmenow · 05-07-2012 11:20am

Yeah i rang them and somehow or somewhere did have a number for it

As you said , they are very easy to deal with. No queues to wait to talk to a rep. Its getting bad that im surprised when i get talking to a person with such ease!

Did you have to provide anything to customs?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 05-07-2012 11:23am

nope, didnt have to send them anything just had to give the driver 22 euro and change when he dropped it out

i got a text from dhl the monday morning saying I could pay by visa/debit if I wanted to either.

witnessmenow · 06-07-2012 9:33am

I dont know how to came to that conclusion but my Duty is €55, bringing me to almost €300 on the button. She said it would be delivered by lunch time

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 06-07-2012 9:34am

id love to know how they're getting such wildly different figures for the duty

witnessmenow · 06-07-2012 9:50am

No idea. I'll see what green sum put on my invoice when i get home later. I guess there should be a vat invoice too

Its funny, when i was buying the thing I said I'd risk non pixel perfect, but i probably would pay the extra money now before opening the box :P

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 06-07-2012 9:53am

i doubt a few pixels dead or stuck will be much of an issue anyway, be sure and let us know when it gets dark what your backlight bleed is like.

oh and when you get it, turn the brightness down.. they set it up near max by default and it hurts to look at

trackerman · 06-07-2012 10:09am

witnessmenow wrote: »

I dont know how to came to that conclusion but my Duty is €55, bringing me to almost €300 on the button. She said it would be delivered by lunch time

Surely it's VAT @ 23% plus Import Duty.
Duty can vary a lot depending on what the item is...

http://www.dutycalculator.com/help_center/Import-duty-taxes-when-importing-into-ireland/

Didihno · 06-07-2012 2:30pm

These should be duty exempt according to revenues website, which I found weird?

witnessmenow · 06-07-2012 2:43pm

Didihno wrote: »

These should be duty exempt according to revenues website, which I found weird?

Where did you see that?

Fluffy88 · 06-07-2012 3:35pm

witnessmenow wrote: »

Where did you see that?

From Trackermans link under "Duty Rates". Seems most electrical items are exempt from Import Duty.

I got myself a screen for my laptop back at christmas from Korea and after reading that link I thought I might be due for a refund of import duty but it seems the charge I paid was actually the 23% VAT on the product and no import duties, which is probably the same for this monitor.

Tar.Aldarion · 06-07-2012 9:09pm

yeah that seems right, people seem to be paying very little on something so dear, I paid as much on a few tshirts.

Didihno · 06-07-2012 11:20pm

Fluffy88 wrote: »

From Trackermans link under "Duty Rates". Seems most electrical items are exempt from Import Duty.

I got myself a screen for my laptop back at christmas from Korea and after reading that link I thought I might be due for a refund of import duty but it seems the charge I paid was actually the 23% VAT on the product and no import duties, which is probably the same for this monitor.

Yup, on the official revenue site too, theres a 'calculator'

Didihno · 06-07-2012 11:21pm

Did I mention I pressed the big button and ordered one?
Its been a busy little parcel, Korea to China to Germany to France to ......

aN.Droid · 07-07-2012 2:57am

So I am probably going to order one of these in the next two weeks. I would want pixel perfect. Where is the best place to order one of these?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-07-2012 8:11am

I got a *pixel perfect* potalion from bigclothcraft and it came as such, i think accessorieswhole does a similar offer

best to email them to make sure it does mean 0 dead pixels though, I paid the premium to get as few as possible dead ones.. was hoping for 0 and I got 0 but wasn't really expecting it

trackerman · 07-07-2012 10:34am

I got a PP one also from BCC, and can confirm it's 100% perfect, not a single one

God Father · 07-07-2012 10:43am

My White Catleap fron BCC has cleared customs and set to be delivered by DHL on Mon. Thought I could collect from depot today but apparently not.

aN.Droid · 07-07-2012 1:24pm

Can anyone tell me why this monitor is almost 120 dollars more than this one?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-07-2012 2:14pm

the crossovers have metal bodies/stands as opposed to the catleaps plastic and the crossover stands are a bit better.
the crossover has pivot function so you can put it in portrait mode if you want, the catleap has tempered glass which a lot of people dont like as you can get dust traped in between the glass and the screen which you cant shift without taking the whole thing apart

aN.Droid · 07-07-2012 2:42pm

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

the crossovers have metal bodies/stands as opposed to the catleaps plastic and the crossover stands are a bit better.
the crossover has pivot function so you can put it in portrait mode if you want, the catleap has tempered glass which a lot of people dont like as you can get dust traped in between the glass and the screen which you cant shift without taking the whole thing apart

Ahh I see, so does anyone think the crossover is worth the extra 120 dollars and tax to go with it?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-07-2012 2:49pm

maybe not that crossover unless you desperately need one that can pivot into portrait mode

aN.Droid · 07-07-2012 3:28pm

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

maybe not that crossover unless you desperately need one that can pivot into portrait mode

Nope don't need that feature at all.

Maybe I should post my needs and you guys can help me out with picking one?

I don't mind having just DVI on it.
Screen glass doesn't matter to me.
I would like it to be mountable but if the ones that aren't mountable are a good bit cheaper then I will get one of those.
Don't mind if it switches into landscape or not.
Would prefer perfect pixel, willing to go +50 euro for this.

Also right now I am on a non ips 24 inch screen. Anyone switch to a 27'' from one of these and never look back?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-07-2012 7:11pm

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Pixel-27-inch-New-Potalion-2710QW-2560x1440-WQHD-Quad-HD-Monitor-/140763389179?pt=AU_comp_monitor&hash=item20c626dcfb

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Perfect-Pixel-27-inch-New-Potalion-2710QW-2560x1440-WQHD-Quad-HD-Monitor-/140757463601?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item20c5cc7231

i got one of these from this seller last week. 0 dead pixels. small bit of backlight bleed in the bottom but that seems to be an issue with lcd in general rather than these monitors so not much to be done about it. stand is fine imo, bezel is nice black and shiny. bezel is kinda thick but i dont mind that

i have absolutely no idea why one is dearer than the other when they both seem to be the exact same model and both are pixel perfect. when I ordered I went for the more expensive option.. just on the off chance it actually meant something for the quality.

im pretty sure these are mountable.. not sure though. (just read this line after I hit submit. I think they are mountable, but i'm not sure. it has 4 holes in the back which I assume are mount points)

you will want a pretty deep desk to use one of these for gaming. for general computing it's fine up close but I found I hasd to put the monitor on a stand behind my desk to get the proper distance for gaming but my desk is ridiculously narrow so YMMV

witnessmenow · 07-07-2012 11:35pm

So I got to see mine for the first time today, man its good!

Size wise its pretty huge ok, but the colours, they are just so good! Delighted with the purchase!

I do have a stuck pixel though, it looks ok on a red screen, a blue screen and a black screen, but yellow, green or white you can see it. Im running UDpix on it at the mo, hopefully it can shift it but its not that noticable other than a really light screen.

Seller marked it as $100 value, but I guess DHL know the real price of a Catleap!

Yamakasi Catleap monitor club.

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