Fan sound problem on the Cintiq 24HD

I am experiencing a sound problem from the fan of the Cintiq 24 HD. It seems to me that the fan is not working correctly.  I am getting a very disturbing sound from my Cintiq 24HD. I have customized my workspace to make it as quit as possible (using water cooling and specific fans to reduce the sound from the computer, for example) and I can clearly hear a “strange sound” coming from the back of my Cintiq 24HD. 

I reported to this to the Wacom European Forum. Please read post number 15 of the linked discussion. 

I tried to describe my problem on the forum in this way: 

I am a bit scared about the fan because the sounds it produces is not “regular” but, randomly, it produces a metallic and creaky sound. The sound that, in my experience, is produced by a fan that is not working properly. It is usually produced by a fan that is not spinning correctly, but which is moving a little bit around the rotation axis. Not easy to describe with words. I have emailed the support and I hope to get an answer. I can make an audio/video recording to show the problem if needed. 

I tried to make a sound recording but I don't have a good microphone. Anyway you should be able to hear something in this registration, that could help to understand what problem I am reporting: 

Audio Recording (Download) 

It seems that I am not the only Cintiq 24HD user that has this problem: there is another topic on the Wacom European Forum of an user that is reporting a "noise issue".

I sent an email to the Wacom Support (support@wacom-europe.com) and they told me that have to compile the return module. I have been told that Wacom does not have technicians that can come and check the unit in your working place or home, so you will always have to send the unit back to them in Germany if you have a problem or need a repair/replacement. The good thing is that they are going to pay for the shipping. The bad thing is that the Wacom 24HD is sold out at the moment and they don’t know when a replacement unit will be available.

I am happy with the Cintiq 24HD but the fan sound is very distracting. I have some experience with electronic devices. I don’t have any technical details of the fan that is installed (maybe is more than one) in the Cintiq 24 HD. Maybe Wacom should have chosen a better fan like the Noctua that I am using to keep my PC cool?

 UPDATE (13^th October 2011): My unit wasreplaced. Noise is present but this times it is “uniform”.  

Cintiq 24 HD - Monitor Calbration and Profiling

I made a video where you can see a Cintiq 24HD that has been calibrated and profiled with a basICColor Discus Colorimeter and basICColor software, in my opinion the best combo to make monitor profiles.

Just a short review of the monitor-only capabilities of this new product from Wacom, with particular attention to color management related topics.

I heard many complains about the low quality of older Cintiq monitors and I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed when I tested the 2010 Cintiq 21UX. Please notice that I make comparisons with “pro-grade” monitors like the SpectraView 301W and the Nec CG275W.

I found this display to be a good one also if it is not excellent. The default color temperature of 6500K is very close to the real value (6700K), the black is deep (with 105 cd/mq) My unit reached less than 0.2 cd/mq using some customs settings. Consequentially the contrast is very good, with a value of about 600:1. The average DeltaE 2000 of the validation is 0.43.

Trying different setting in the basICColor Discus I found that the best results I reached come from CIECAM02 - dark as tonal response curve and I found it a very nice solution (now I can see difference between L*1 and L*0 value in Photoshop). In this way I can clearly perceive shadows and highlights details.

I tested my Cintiq in what could be a realistic usage scenario for a digital artist, with a non-light-controlled light environment.

What I don’t like about the display is the low pixel density (compared to display that we have on mobile phones and cameras nowadays) and the angle of view, which is not very impressive for an IPS panel.

Gamut is wider than I expected. Bigger than AdobeRGB, also if AdobeRGB is not 100% inside the gamut of the Cintiq. Not as big as recent Eizos and Nec, but still good.

I don't know why ColorThinkPRO see the white as "5000K", my setting was D65 (and I can see the D65).

The validation is not extraordinary, but not bad. Please notice that I moved the Discus in another area of the screen before making the calibration (20cm away from initial position) and this could have compromised the results.

The display has a matte/anti-glare finishing that has a texture that for my taste is too much evident (more than the SpectraView series overlay for example). This means that the “perceived sharpness” is a bit low. Not a bad thing for everybody  because it makes it harder to see single pixel. The matte finishing is very useful to work also with non-ideal lighting conditions (it is very hard to see reflection on the screen).

Update (3 October 2011): Inside the Cintiq driver disk that comes bundled with the 24HD I have found an ICC profile. This profile should fit the “6500K” preset inside the OSD screen in the Cintiq.

I made a video 3D comparison between the Cintiq 24HD ICC profile provided with the tablet and the one that I made with the Discus. The software used is ColorThink Pro 3.0.3.

In full colors you can see the gamut 3D graph of the Cintiq 24HD profile that I have made with the Discus colorimeter, using the calibration and profile settings described in the article. In red you can see the profile provided by Wacom. In blue the AdobeRGB gamut is shown.

My conclusions:

The good:

1) Calibration possibilities (you can manually select single values for R, G and B, for example). Good presets (I liked the 6500K one).

2) Wide gamut (you can reproduce a lot of colors and you get good match to many other monitors and devices, if everything is correctly color-managed).

3) With proper settings you can get very good gradients. No more shadow detail lack as seen in some older generation Cintiq.

4) Works nicely also if the lighting conditions are not perfect.

5) Color matching and color critical work can be done, also if there are better screens for this purpose, this display could satisfy the needs of many artists and photographers in terms of color accuracy.

The bad:

1) Angle of view could have been better.

2) Low perceived resolution. Not only because of the low pixel density, but also because of the matte finish that seem to “soften” a little bit too much everything.