Another Monitor recomendation thread. Halp!

Akatsuki

Howdy, sorry if this thread is a repeat. I think this is finally it, I'm going to buy a monitor for my PC!
While it's for mixed use (PC, movies, games), I guess the gaming aspect is very important since I want my 360 and PS3 hooked up to it (don't have money or space to get an HDTV).

So, I'm looking at something at least 24'', at around 300€. Since I'm guessing most people here are American, let's just pretend 300€ are 300$ and that things cost the same here in Portugal as they do over there.

I looked at HP w2408h, but I'm wary of the gloss, I don't want to have to be in complete darkness all the time, so perhaps matte would be a better option?
Also I guess that I'd take 1920 x 1200 over 1080 as long as it has 1:1 pixel mapping, the extra pixels would be nice for PC use and with 1:1 I'd get the correct resolution with the consoles.

What do you think and recommend? I greatly appreciate your help, it's very hard to decide with all the monitors in the market and I really need a new monitor.

TheUnsane1

On the console side of things what type of games will you be playing mostly?

Akatsuki

TheUnsane1 wrote: »

On the console side of things what type of games will you be playing mostly?

Pretty much everything honestly, I don't play competitively though, but I still don't wanna see ghosting or get dizzy with lag and stuff like that (I get nausea easily).

TheUnsane1

The 23" Asus VH236H is super popular in the fighting game scene for having fantastic performance as far as lag is concerned, but 23" is a bit smaller then you are looking to go.

I know Samsung has some good quality low lag monitor choices but I am currently unable to check the source for information on models as I am work filtered. try the monitor lag thread in this forum: http://www.shoryuken.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177

Akatsuki

Thank you very much man I actually was looking at VW266H right now, it's not that much beyond my budget, I'm just wondering if 26'' isn't overkill for my eyes when working on the computer, which means sitting relatively close to it. There's of course VW246H, it's a shame it's just 1080.
EDIT: Or the VH242T.

General_Win

Windows 7 has tons of features that can make high resolution monitors easier on the eyes.

Bionic Monkey

I have the HP 2405, and while the gloss can be kind of annoying at times, it's not nearly as big of a problem as I thought it would be.

Akatsuki

General_Win wrote: »

Windows 7 has tons of features that can make high resolution monitors easier on the eyes.

So my face wouldn't melt for having a huge screen in front of me? I just... never tried a screen that big :P

kleinfehn

I am going to hijack this thread for a second, but I am going to college next year and need a monitor. I don't want something too big for when I move, so I am thinking around a 19-21 inch. Any recommendations?

Cabezone

Akatsuki wrote: »

General_Win wrote: »

Windows 7 has tons of features that can make high resolution monitors easier on the eyes.

So my face wouldn't melt for having a huge screen in front of me? I just... never tried a screen that big :P

I find that 27" is about as big as I am comfortable with. I've tried larger and did not like them, at my regular viewing distance anyway. I also like that the 27" and under are still 1920x1200.

HarshLanguage

I absolutely love my Samsung SyncMaster T260HD. It's 25.5", native res of 1920x1200, has good pixel mapping options, good sets of connectors with cables included, and includes a TV tuner, speakers, and a remote control. PC games look great, which was my top priority. The 1920x1200 16:10 resolution is better for gaming than x1080, but the monitor will show other resolutions quite nicely. No dead pixels. The size of the screen is great, as it fills enough of your field of view that you feel some immersion in games. It's down to $300 on Newegg. Highly recommended, obviously.

nessin

In this same subject, has 16:10 become taboo for 24" monitors? I've been looking for one to replace my well-aged current screen, but I'm not sure I want to go higher than 24" and I'm a bit leery about 16:9 as far as PC gaming is concerned (never had a native 16:9). I suppose I should probably just run my current screen as 16:9 and play some of my favorite games to see if it makes a difference.

HarshLanguage

I think that 16:9/1080p/FullHD/whatever is so common in monitors now because it's all terminology buyers see everywhere else in consumer electronics and think is really desirable. And I'm sure manufacturers make a bit more money selling 1080p screens than higher-res ones. I guess for most folks, 16:9 is plenty good enough, but I continue to think that 16:10 is desirable for both PC gaming and general PC use.

Kainy

Guys guys guys

Monitor deal over at woot

http://sellout.woot.com/?ts=1273729109&sig=a2e5970fe06a5f1f

25" debranded HP monitor, HDCP compliant, with an HDMI, DVI, and D-sub in for $200 + $5 shipping

It's the debranded version of this monitor

Click the second link for a look at the specs. 3ms response time impressed me enough that I'm upgrading my monitor finally.

18 hours left on the deal, at the time of posting, for those interested.

Edit: Since a lot of folks are saying they don't like 16:9 as much, I should mention that this thing is native 1920x1080, so it's 16:9.

Akatsuki

Cheers for that. I can't make use of it though, since I'm in Portugal though :P

birru

I'm going to shill for the monitor I got, the NEC EA231WMi. I got it for a little over $300 USD. It's a great monitor. It uses an IPS panel, so image quality and viewing angle are very good, and I find it fast enough for enjoyable gaming. There's very mild ghosting in fast motion if you really look for it, but there are no artifacts from being overdriven either. It looks really clean. Input lag is basically nil. For your use, you'll appreciate that it has DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA, and each one is a discrete input. I have my Mac mini connected via DisplayPort. My Xbox 360 is connected via VGA. My PS3 is connected to the DVI port via a spare HDMI to DVI I had handy. I imagine you could also connect the PS3 with a DisplayPort to HDMI cable. The only real negatives are that the NEC is 1080p (not 1920 x 1200) and that the case is very bland. Overall, I think it's an extremely well-rounded monitor for the price.

HarshLanguage

One other important point to consider is glossy versus matte screen. For instance, HP monitors are notorious for their mirror-like glossy finishes, which reflect everything. If you have any potential glare issues, make sure your new monitor doesn't have a glossy screen so as not to make them worse!

Cronus

I bought the Samsung XL2370 late last year. It was new and $300. One of the first LED monitors. It's awesome and has definitely lived up to the reviews. It's only 23 inches though.

Also it has no buttons. It has a capacitive touch sensor instead. Makes me feel like I'm using something from the Enterprise.

Mr_Rose

I've been loving my Samsung SyncMaster 2343BW since I got it, because it's huge, supports dual-channel DVI (be careful with some of he cheaper monitors not having digital inputs. There is no reason for this) and has an insane resolution (2048x1152) as well as all the customisation controls to make that worthwhile. If you can find it or the next model up on sale somewhere you ought to check it out. Set me back just under £200 shipped, which is inside your budget I think.

Sanders

I have no idea about computer shops in Portugal, but google brought up a few recommendations for chiptec.net, which offers this ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor for 234.9€

Newegg link for reviews in English. I'm normally a fan of Samsung LCDs but this one and their VH242H 23.6" are pretty good deals.

-welp I completely missed your post where you already talked about the VW246H.

Ryokaze

How about one of these?

They're not available at newegg anymore, but the reviews there are pretty solid. You can find them in many places, google shopping has them available for ~$320.

For reference, I own three of them, and they're all awesome, especially for the cost. 3 ms response time, good contrast, 1920x1200, the viewing angle is good, but the colors wash out pretty fast as you change angle.

Akatsuki

Thanks for the replies so far everyone
The only thing that ticks me off about that vw246H is that it's 23,6 and 16:9... otherwise I would've already got it.
Maybe the 26 one if I can afford it after paying the tuition, but I have a few eye problems and am afraid that it's too much to sit up close while working. On the other hand, when I moved from 15 too 19 it was the same :P

Again, thank you and if you have any more suggestions keep'em coming lol I wish this was easier :P

Ryokaze that seems pretty impossible to get here in Portugal

Akatsuki

Bump!
Five months later and still didn't buy it, but I think I'm gonna do it this week, since it's my birthday this thursday I'll buy a present for myself!

I'm inclined to buy the Asus VW246h, is it still a good choice? I'm still afraid that 26 might be too big for my eyes and hell, the extra €100 aren't chump change.

Sorry for the bump and thanks for the help, wanna buy this ASAP, so I'd appreciate any fast responses :P

BlindZenDriver

Since you have had months to save up I'm gonna do the naughty thing and recommend something a bit more expensive!

I give you the Dell U2711 (Info at Dell US) 8-)

I'm using one for PC/MAC/360/PS3 and I love it. It has a lot more pixels than a 24", only a few less than a 30" and the pixel density is higher than anything else close to it. Here is Anandtech's review of the thing.

You may be able to find it at price lower than the official Dell listing. I bought mine just as it came out 6-8 months ago and found it to 60% of what Dell would sell it for on their website.



PS. The Dell sits on my desk next to a Benq 241wz which is a 2+ year old 24" 1920x1200 that offers all the connections of the Dell. It has the 1:1 and all that and it used to be my multi-monitor which it did very well. It may be that BenQ still offers something like that. Back when I bought it the thing cost me more than the Dell but time flies and hardware prices keeps crashing :P

Akatsuki

Yeah I can't afford that xD I couldn't exactly save up, so my budget remains about the same :P

Just want to make sure that there isn't a better option out there for about the same price as the Asus or little more, because from what I see it's really awesome for gaming.

Thanks a lot for the reply though

BlindZenDriver

Akatsuki wrote: »

Yeah I can't afford that xD I couldn't exactly save up, so my budget remains about the same :P

That is a scenario I think we are all familiar with :-)

Akatsuki wrote: »

Just want to make sure that there isn't a better option out there for about the same price as the Asus or little more, because from what I see it's really awesome for gaming.

Thanks a lot for the reply though

NP :-)

From what I read the ASUS you picked is not a bad choice however what about the connections on the thing. 1xDVI, 1xHDMI and 1xVGA has me wondering since you mentioned PC+PS3+360. I suppose this means you'll hook up the PC to the VGA and then let the two consoles use the digital inputs?

Anyway I looked a bit around and I think you may want to check out the BenQ EW2420 because it comes with the same inputs as the ASUS plus an extra HDMI and the price is about €30 extra. This will save you from using the VGA port which is not always optimum at high resolutions (depends a lot on the cable and graphics card) and also having a extra input is always nice.



PS. I my setup the 360 is an old one so it has no HDMI and instead I use a Component connection which fortunately works great. If you're 360 is an old one I'd think you need a monitor which takes Component but maybe there is another way.

Akatsuki

Thanks a lot, but I already ordered the Asus Was tired of indecisions and nitpicking.
I did look at that BenQ, but from what I read the Samsung has a better response time. I've had no problems with VGA so far, so I'm OK with using that for PC and my 360 has hdmi.
So:
PC ->VGA
PS3 ->HDMI
Xbox360 -> DVI -> HDMI

Much better than my current setup which only has 1xVGA and 1xDVI.
Once again, thank you, I'll speak my mind about the monitor once it gets here (hopefully tomorrow)!