McWill or BennVenn? Which is better?

[+Pac-Lander]

Hi all,

 

Simple question - which is better? I want to get a new LCD screen for my Atari Lynx 2. Removing cost from the equation, and just focusing on QUALITY - which is the better quality screen for the Atari Lynx 2? 

 

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

[gambler172]

I have MC Will inside....works fine for me.

I do not know Ben.....

[+-^CrossBow^-]

There are plus and minus to both and I feel they equally have their places here. Having installed both quite a few times and having one of each in my personal Lynxes this is how I feel:

 

The McWill is more involved in the initial installation while the BennVenn is a little easier to install due to less stuff needing to be removed to use it. 

The McWill has the option to add a VGA output so you can more "consolize" the lynx as it were and play the games on a bigger screen. BennVenn kit doesn't offer this.

Both kits have a pseudo scan-line option that can be enabled if desired.

BennVenn kit has the ability to change brightness on the LCD and this is very nice. The McWill kit currently does not have this ability so the LCD is at full brightness and some may find it more harsh to play in darker environments as a result.

BennVenn kit LCDs have a slight horizontal almost scanline appearance that is noticed on areas with a lot of the same color like in the backgrounds for instance. So the McWill gets the nod in overall quality of the picture. The BennVenn LCD is a tad softer as well on the image but some, like myself, might prefer that.

 

Both kits provide an excellent result over the stock LCD and really anyone would be quite pleased with the results from either kit. So really it comes down to the money you want to spend and if the VGA output is something you need or want. In most cases the BennVenn kit is likely what most people would want and likely opt for.

 

 

 

[gilsaluki]

No comment.  My mother always said,.......

[Makara]

I've only used the McWills and I'm happy with them - the Ben Venn screens are supposedly better for battery life.

 

The biggest thing at the moment is that the Ben Venn screens have been out of stock for a while.

[Nop90]

1 hour ago, Makara said:

The biggest thing at the moment is that the Ben Venn screens have been out of stock for a while.

Not true. About every month there is a small new stock available.

 

If you want one you have only to check the site daily.

[Makara]

1 hour ago, Nop90 said:

Not true. About every month there is a small new stock available.

 

If you want one you have only to check the site daily.

Ok well let's rephrase that to 'not widely available'.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Also I believe that while the site may show as out of stock. That when they are available, they are done under a pre-order sort of arrangement. The last screens I got didn't take long I think only about 2 weeks, but the time prior to that, it took like 2 months to get my screens.

 

If the VGA out isn't that big a deal to you or you don't need it, then the BennVenn screen is great for most people. If you do want to play on a bigger screen through VGA out, then the McWill is the way to go for sure.

 

[+Pac-Lander]

On 7/12/2020 at 9:35 AM, -^CrossBow^- said:

 

BennVenn kit has the ability to change brightness on the LCD and this is very nice. The McWill kit currently does not have this ability so the LCD is at full brightness and some may find it more harsh to play in darker environments as a result.

 

 

 

This is one of my concerns with the McWill screen. Is the brightness "too" bright? Or is the single light setting set at a pretty optimal level for gameplay? Thanks in advance for any feedback to this amazing Atari community!

Edited July 13, 2020 by aaron1677

[+Pac-Lander]

9 hours ago, Makara said:

I've only used the McWills and I'm happy with them - the Ben Venn screens are supposedly better for battery life.

 

Thanks for this. Does the McWill drain battery life? The used Lynx with the McWill upgrade that I am looking at stated this - "we upgraded the power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode (will make your lynx last forever)" 

 

Is this in reference to the battery life? Will a upgraded power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode help with the McWill's consumption of power in general?

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

20 minutes ago, aaron1677 said:

Thanks for this. Does the McWill drain battery life? The used Lynx with the McWill upgrade that I am looking at stated this - "we upgraded the power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode (will make your lynx last forever)" 

 

Is this in reference to the battery life? Will a upgraded power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode help with the McWill's consumption of power in general?

 

I've not done any direct battery comparisons on the two I have. But I've been told that the batteries will give you more play time using the BennVenn kit vs the McWill and this is partially due to differences in the designs between the two in addition to the ability to lower the brightness levels on the BennVenn kit. 

 

As to the brightness of the McWill, I would say it is essentially at full brightness and so definitely conducive to playing games. But I can also see how it might be a bit too much in a dark environment playing on it for a length of time. 

 

As for the statement about the Mosfet and diode, that just means that the original mosfet and diode (And I would assume the transistors as well) were replaced out as the originals can fail over the years. So that is being done more as a preventive measure to ensure you have newly installed components instead of originals that might be nearing end of life. If the diode goes out, it causes too much voltage to get to the inner chips on the LYNX and can burn them out. It can also burn out the upgraded LCD as well. This is something that can happen with both kits, so regardless of which kit you should go with, I would hope that the power components are being refreshed before hand? I also advise caps to be replaced due to their age as well at this point, but unless the game gears whose caps are known to leak badly and cause internally damage if not changed out properly, the Lynx caps will cause issues with brightness levels on the original LCD and issues with the audio as well.

 

As I and others have said. Both kits are excellent and will bring new life and value to your lynx game playing experience.

 

[+Pac-Lander]

1 hour ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I've not done any direct battery comparisons on the two I have. But I've been told that the batteries will give you more play time using the BennVenn kit vs the McWill and this is partially due to differences in the designs between the two in addition to the ability to lower the brightness levels on the BennVenn kit. 

 

As to the brightness of the McWill, I would say it is essentially at full brightness and so definitely conducive to playing games. But I can also see how it might be a bit too much in a dark environment playing on it for a length of time. 

 

As for the statement about the Mosfet and diode, that just means that the original mosfet and diode (And I would assume the transistors as well) were replaced out as the originals can fail over the years. So that is being done more as a preventive measure to ensure you have newly installed components instead of originals that might be nearing end of life. If the diode goes out, it causes too much voltage to get to the inner chips on the LYNX and can burn them out. It can also burn out the upgraded LCD as well. This is something that can happen with both kits, so regardless of which kit you should go with, I would hope that the power components are being refreshed before hand? I also advise caps to be replaced due to their age as well at this point, but unless the game gears whose caps are known to leak badly and cause internally damage if not changed out properly, the Lynx caps will cause issues with brightness levels on the original LCD and issues with the audio as well.

 

As I and others have said. Both kits are excellent and will bring new life and value to your lynx game playing experience.

 

Wow thank you so much for this information! Truly helpful. I am leaning McWill, but need to get some more information on the battery life thing. 

Very appreciative!

[Makara]

14 hours ago, aaron1677 said:

Thanks for this. Does the McWill drain battery life? The used Lynx with the McWill upgrade that I am looking at stated this - "we upgraded the power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode (will make your lynx last forever)" 

 

Is this in reference to the battery life? Will a upgraded power circuit with a new Mosfet and diode help with the McWill's consumption of power in general?

 

I wouldn't say it drains the battery life, I haven't noticed it being worse than the standard Lynx. However, the Ben Venn is apparently much better. Have a look at this article:

 

https://atarigamer.com/articles/installing-and-testing-out-the-bennvenn-lcd-mod-for-atari-lynx

 

It's not an issue for me since I only use my Lynx at home and use rechargable batteries or a USB cable.

 

Regarding the brightness, yes it is very bright (which is not a bad thing) but sometimes may be a bit too harsh in low light and a control for it would be welcome - but I wouldn't say this is a deal-breaker. The MOSFET and Diode replacment is kind of a preventative measure as these can fail. I am not convinced that simply swapping the components for new ones does any good though, since any component can fail at any time regardless of how new it is. They don't necessarly wear out with age or use like capacitors. That's just my opinion though.

[KevinMos3]

I have both and love both (although my McWill Lynx is currently not working, but has nothing to do with the McWill mod).

 

BenVenn Pros:

- Definitely gets better battery life than McWill.  Using rechargeable NiMH AAs, I've played my Lynx at the airport and on the plane from the east coast to TX, and not run out of battery life.  You can extend the life more by dimming the screen.

- Costs less.

- Has very slight horizontal scanlines toward the top and bottom of the screen (this could also be conisidered a con if you want an absolutely perfectly clear screen).  For me, it provides just enough of the scanline feel that I'm happy not using the scanline mode mentioned below. But, don't get me wrong, it IS a very clean picture -- just not as perfectly clear as the McWill.

BenVenn Cons:

- The scanline mode does not look as nice as the McWill.  I think the scanlines are too dark, so I just leave it off.

- No option for VGA out.

 

McWill Pros:

- Scanline mode is beautiful.  I always played with it on because it looked so nice.

- VGA out option.  I always wanted to be able to play on a TV and the McWill mod let me do this along with a VGA to composite adapter... and it was sublime.

- Perfectly clear screen.

McWill Cons:

- Costs more.

- Battery life was much lower than the BenVenn screen in my experience.

 

Install difficulty: The BenVenn screen is very easy to install, IMHO.  The McWill was a little more work, especially if you want to install the VGA port, but it wasn't difficult either -- just a bit more work.

 

I think it's a matter of cost, battery life, and/or VGA. 

If you mostly play your Lynx plugged into a power outlet, you can afford the extra cost, or you want VGA out, then the McWill screen is for you.

If you like to play with batteries, you don't care to have VGA out, or the cost difference matters for you, then the BenVenn screen is the way to go.

 

For me, if I could only choose one, I would go with the McWill because of the VGA out option.  But, that's also because I mostly play plugged in anyway.  I bought multiple BenVenn screens to mod other Lynxes so I can play ComLynxed with friends and family at some point (not going with McWills for those because of cost and shorter battery life and more limited number of power supplies that I have on hand).

[KevinMos3]

...I completely forgot to mention the refresh rate issue.

 

For games like Alpine Games, slide shows like E-JagFest, and others that use the flickering method for high-color, BenVenn is the only way to go.  These games don't display properly on the McWill due to the refresh rate being different (as I understand it).  So that's another reason to go with BenVenn.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

@KevinMos3 hit all the same points and while he prefers the McWill for the VGA out, I've found myself using the BennVenn screen Lynx I have more for longer play sessions as the I do find the McWill screen to be pretty bright to my eyes. Then again, I use mos of my backlit displays at only about 50% brightness so I tend to prefer darker screens overall. But @KevinMos3 summed it up best.

 

[KevinMos3]

20 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

@KevinMos3 hit all the same points and while he prefers the McWill for the VGA out, I've found myself using the BennVenn screen Lynx I have more for longer play sessions as the I do find the McWill screen to be pretty bright to my eyes. Then again, I use mos of my backlit displays at only about 50% brightness so I tend to prefer darker screens overall. But @KevinMos3 summed it up best.

Thank you.  Interesting that it came across as me preferring the McWill screen.  I actually think I tend to prefer the BenVenn because I like playing Alpine Games and I like the longer battery life when I'm on trips.  However, I do prefer the appearance of the McWill with scanlines... and the VGA out is a must have.  So, I suppose I just can't choose!    Unfortunately, I've not been able to use my McWill in quite some time.  I need to fix it, but I've been too busy to really dig into it.  I'll probably have to get some help from forum members here when the time comes.  I had a mishap with a defective power adapter that killed it.  I replaced the power circuit which makes it now power on, but the screen is just random junk.  I'm hoping it didn't kill Suzy or Mikey or whatever.

[gilsaluki]

21 minutes ago, KevinMos3 said:

Thank you.  Interesting that it came across as me preferring the McWill screen.  I actually think I tend to prefer the BenVenn because I like playing Alpine Games and I like the longer battery life when I'm on trips.  However, I do prefer the appearance of the McWill with scanlines... and the VGA out is a must have.  So, I suppose I just can't choose!    Unfortunately, I've not been able to use my McWill in quite some time.  I need to fix it, but I've been too busy to really dig into it.  I'll probably have to get some help from forum members here when the time comes.  I had a mishap with a defective power adapter that killed it.  I replaced the power circuit which makes it now power on, but the screen is just random junk.  I'm hoping it didn't kill Suzy or Mikey or whatever.

That's what happened to my McWill-installed Lynx.  The mod worked for about a month.  The screen scramble and fried the Lynx.  Never again.   I did buy a BenVenn, but now I am afraid to install it.  I will live with the standard video.  I have for all these years. This is just my opinion. Mine only.  Others seem to have had better luck.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

The only scrambling I've seen from a McWill is when the data lines for the LCD aren't in the right places, bridged, or when you first power it on you will see scrambled graphics for a sec and then they clear. In @KevinMos3 situation, his was due to some issue related to the power and the neither of these LCD kits take well to the polarity or voltage being out of spec and can damage them. On the McWill, you can even purchase replacement power regulators directly from Console5 if this happens. So at least in the case of the McWill, it can be common enough that the replacement part needed for the power is available from one of the distributors of the LCD kits. 

 

The BennVenn kit uses a separate DC-DC converter board to provide its power and is likely one of the reasons for the increased battery life it has for the Lynx. That board is attached to the LCD driver board as a separate part during the assembly. So far I've only seen 2 of those have any issues and that was was on earlier revisions of the kit where some of the components on that small power board didn't have good solder joints and could cause power issues on the LCD that was easily fixed by applying a bit of heat to those components to make sure they are good.

 

[+Pac-Lander]

@KevinMos3 @-^CrossBow^- Oh man, thank you both for such amazing information! This is not going to be easy!

 

Ok, after initially leaning McWill, I feel like a lot of the points being made are leading me back towards the BennVenn screen. I do like that the battery life is better and I like having the option to dim the screen rather than having it play at full blast constantly. 

 

I also like the idea of playing Lynx games on a VGA monitor, but I've never done it, so I don't know what I'm missing! For those of you that have it, do you do it often? Is it a great way to play Lynx games? I guess I'm just not sure how much of a need that is, but if it's a gamechanger and you love it, sound off!

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Again I have both screens installed into two different Lynx IIs. I would only use the VGA out when I want to capture footage from the Lynx or show something to a larger group of people. I installed the VGA out on mine for use at conventions/shows where more people could see what was being played on the screen without having to hover over the players shoulders. 

 

I do not typically connect the VGA output to my AV setup for normal game play so again, the VGA out is nice to have when I need it, but most people are only going to need that option for similar reasons I listed above or to truly consolize their Lynx. 

 

Most people just want to play their lynx games on the go with a screen that makes playing those games a much better experience. 

 

Honestly, either screen is a real game changer when you first power on the Lynx with the new screen and start playing. You will never want to go back to the OG screen again. My opinion of course, but I think most with upgraded Lynx LCDs would say the same.

 

[+sramirez2008]

2 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Honestly, either screen is a real game changer when you first power on the Lynx with the new screen and start playing. You will never want to go back to the OG screen again.

This!

[joeatari1]

7 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Honestly, either screen is a real game changer when you first power on the Lynx with the new screen and start playing. You will never want to go back to the OG screen again. My opinion of course, but I think most with upgraded Lynx LCDs would say the same.

 

4 hours ago, sramirez2008 said:

This!

Seconded!

 

I have a McWill in one of my Lynx and I love it.  It has the VGA out and honestly, other than testing it when I received it back from being modded, I haven't used it.  I may use the VGA out again in the future as I think it is a really cool feature and is a huge reason I got the McWill instead.  Weigh the features of both and decide which are the most important.  Go with that.

[KevinMos3]

9 hours ago, aaron1677 said:

Oh man, thank you both for such amazing information! This is not going to be easy!...

 

I also like the idea of playing Lynx games on a VGA monitor... For those of you that have it... Is it a great way to play Lynx games?

 

It is a tough choice.  I'd hate to decide for myself, so I'm glad I have both.  You really won't be disappointed with either one.

 

It is a great way to play Lynx games, but I didn't do it often.  I was usually too lazy to mess around with the back of the TV to hook up the extra cables.  I used it for video capture several times, played on a CRT with the converter a few times, and played via VGA on a plasma TV a few times.  But, the picture quality of either screen itself is so good, you probably miss having a larger screen option.  I might have done it more if that Lynx was still working (or when I finally fix it), but one of the biggest reasons to have the VGA out is for video capture.  Playing on a large screen is nice, but really, you'll love the picture on the smaller Lynx just fine.  I'm not trying to sway you in either direction, I just hope the information in the thread helps.  In fact, I'd say buy both and get a 2nd Lynx!    Then you have the added benefit of Comlynx'ing... which is amazing.

Edited July 16, 2020 by KevinMos3

[+Pac-Lander]

Thanks to everyone for your advice, opinions, and insight. Shout out to @KevinMos3, @-^CrossBow^-, and @sramirez2008 in particular. I ended up going with the BennVenn. Will post updates when it arrives!