Gamer buying First LCD monitor

I'm no doctor

Hey, guys. Not sure if I'm in the right section to post this, but here goes anyway. I've been using the same CRT monitor since 2000 and I figure it's time to upgrade, reclaim some desk space, and maybe save a little energy at the same time. I have my eye on a few and I'm having trouble making a decision (mostly because these models are almost impossible to find in stores), sooo I'm poking around different forums to see what the general census is.

My budget is anything between $180 to $250 and no less than a 22 inch, though preferably a 24 or better for future video card upgrades. I've narrowed it down to three I found on newegg that have pretty solid reviews for the prices, which are generally more important to me than how a monitor looks on display.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=20|24-236-052^24-236-052-S01%2C24-236-049^24-236-049-S01%2C24-236-047^24-236-047-S01

It's mostly between the 24 and 25.5 inch. Anyone have experience with any of those models, or are technical-savvy enough to give advice? Or hell, just personal preference would be appreciated.

What about 16:10 vs 16:9 ratio? I generally do gaming and occasionally watch movies. Not a whole lot of desktop work, but having the extra space with the 25.5 inch would be a nice perk if that ever changes.

Also, I have a 8800 GTS and I'm worried about how much my frame rate will suffer without going down from the native resolution and sacrificing picture quality. Though, I plan to get another card sometime within the next two or three months so I could probably just suck it up until then.

Thanks and sorry if the post was a bit long, but I don't have a lot of money and want to make an informed purchase.

Oh, and if anyone wants to suggest another monitor in that price range, feel free. Those are just the ones I felt were the safest bet to order online.

Dashui

I'm buying a new monitor soon, too, and I've also been eying the ASUS VW266H. I think I'm going to be going for the 27" version of the following, though:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176126&Tpk=hp%202509

lowlylowlycook

Just so you know, as far as I can tell, everyone that buys a monitor from newegg loves it, reviews seem good across the board.

The good news is that for gaming a cheap TFT monitor like those is pretty good choice for gaming.

If you want to save some money I'd keep an eye out on slickdeals or a similar site, especially Dell seems to have good deals on monitors from time to time.

Shens

tigerdirect will let you return a monitor no questions asked. So lets say you have a slew of dead pixels that most certainly won't fall under Neweggs return policy, you wont be screwed. I used Newegg for everything but monitors. Yes I have purchased a horrible monitor from Newegg and was unable to return it. I don't fault them because I knew what I was getting into. I just wont do it again.

Dashui

Shens wrote: »

tigerdirect will let you return a monitor no questions asked. So lets say you have a slew of dead pixels that most certainly won't fall under Neweggs return policy, you wont be screwed. I used Newegg for everything but monitors. Yes I have purchased a horrible monitor from Newegg and was unable to return it. I don't fault them because I knew what I was getting into. I just wont do it again.

No shit? I was thinking about using Tigerdirect for my monitor, but this confirms my choice. They actually have a warehouse near my location, apparently, so even the free ground shipping comes the next day for any order.

Shens

Last time I bought mine from Tigerdirect, which I think was about a year ago, they had a full return if you are unhappy within 30 days. I had mine shipped, thus I would have had to pay shipping to send it back, but it was much better than being out the total 260 bucks if it had 6 annoying dead pixels.

Newegg's policy: There must be a minimum of 8 dead pixels to declare an LCD display defective and eligible for return.

Tigerdirect's policy: Every product that displays the "30 DAY IRON CLAD GUARANTEE" icon online is backed by our promise that you'll be satisfied with the product or we'll take it back within 30 days.

Which is just about everything.

Dashui

Edit: Nevermind, I found the Tigerdirect 30 day icon for the item I wanted. D'aww, stupid eyes. The icon was so tiny.

In any case, here's the monitor I'm considering:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367086&CatId=3774

Opinions?

Shens

I am seeing it.

http://imgur.com/mxfyy.png

It is on the grey bar with the product details.

edit- I guess you are faster than me.

I'm no doctor

Shens wrote: »

Last time I bought mine from Tigerdirect, which I think was about a year ago, they had a full return if you are unhappy within 30 days. I had mine shipped, thus I would have had to pay shipping to send it back, but it was much better than being out the total 260 bucks if it had 6 annoying dead pixels.

Newegg's policy: There must be a minimum of 8 dead pixels to declare an LCD display defective and eligible for return.

Tigerdirect's policy: Every product that displays the "30 DAY IRON CLAD GUARANTEE" icon online is backed by our promise that you'll be satisfied with the product or we'll take it back within 30 days.

Which is just about everything.

That's good to know. The only problem is, I think the 266H is $30 more from tigerdirect.

Stormwatcher

The whole "native resolution" issue is also a hell lot better these days.
I was a staunch CRT supporter, but after I got my 19" LCD, CRT's started making my eyes bleed.

And I still play a LOT of older games. I just scale them up while keeping the aspect ratio.

Artereis

I bought one of these on impulse when it was on sale about a month ago to add a second monitor. It's a great screen. People complain about the ring stand, but I really enjoy it. It's far more stable than the LG monitor with a normal base I have sitting next to it.