Recommended 24inch Monitors?

Lothars

Hey Everyone

I am interested in getting a couple 24 inch monitors for my computer and to use with my PS3 and 360.

I was wondering anyone has any suggestions?

The one I was wanting to get is BenQ V2400W especially from reviews that I was reading on it especially this review - BenQ V2400W Review

But does anyone have any suggestions for any others? I would mainly use it for gaming on PS3 and 360, watching movies and PC gaming.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Akatsuki

I'm jumping on this thread to ask the same (hope you don't mind lothar) and add some good 22'' as maybe 24'' are too expensive.
I've been recommended the Samsung T220P is it a good choice? Cheers

Misanthropic

I too have been in search of two 22" to 24" monitors for use with gaming and video editting. I really think we should have a separate sticky for monitors instead of lumping them in with HDTVs.

I have heard that modern TN panels are doing a lot better than they were with viewing angles and colors... but I'm still wary getting one.

GrimReaper

I've got a Samsung 22" monitor at home, does the trick great.

Thing you need to remember with 24"+ monitors is because they run at even higher resolutions unless you want your game either looking blurry or like crap then you'll need to get a decent spec'd system to run at an acceptable frame rate.

Make sure the monitor uses DVI, larger/higher res monitors on VGA have tended to pick up signal interference more in my experience. For example, at work I bought a 24" VGA monitor. After connecting it up to a mac mini (DVI->VGA adapter) there was some nasty flicker from signal interference.

I nabbed that monitor for my work machine and dual monitor'd it up. There is still a slight flicker though, only noticable on dark grays thankfully. The mac user in question got a brand new monitor which had dvi out.

OremLK

This is the one I'm probably going to get:

Samsung 245T

Might be too much monitor for gaming-exclusive use, but I don't doubt that it's a quality product. I want it because it uses an S-PVA panel with full 8-bit color rather than a cheap-o TN panel with 6-bit color like most monitors these days.

Akatsuki

That's freaking expensive!

Silvoculous

I have an Acer B243Wbdr coupled with my old 17" monitor. Got it for $285 at TigerDirect and it's been excellent. No HDMI, though I could have gotten a monitor that had it for an extra twenty.

variant

OremLK wrote: »

This is the one I'm probably going to get:

Samsung 245T

Might be too much monitor for gaming-exclusive use, but I don't doubt that it's a quality product. I want it because it uses an S-PVA panel with full 8-bit color rather than a cheap-o TN panel with 6-bit color like most monitors these days.

you could buy a sharp 32" tv for like 40 bucks more

Akatsuki

variant wrote: »

OremLK wrote: »

This is the one I'm probably going to get:

Samsung 245T

Might be too much monitor for gaming-exclusive use, but I don't doubt that it's a quality product. I want it because it uses an S-PVA panel with full 8-bit color rather than a cheap-o TN panel with 6-bit color like most monitors these days.

you could buy a sharp 32" tv for like 40 bucks more

If he wants to use it for the PC it won't do him any good to get a TV lower resolutions and all that.

Lewisham

I got the HP w2408h. It goes great with my glossy screen Macbook Pro, and I notice the loss of color vs my bottom-line 24" Dell at work. The only problem is it can sometimes feel too saturated, the vibrancy is a little OTT, and I can't configure it down. However, I prefer it brighter than duller, so I am happy.

EDIT: having a screen that can go portrait, if you never intend it to, can make you go mad, because I am sure they are always a degree or two off horizontal. It drives my OCD crazy.

JohnDoe

OremLK wrote: »

This is the one I'm probably going to get:

Samsung 245T

Might be too much monitor for gaming-exclusive use, but I don't doubt that it's a quality product. I want it because it uses an S-PVA panel with full 8-bit color rather than a cheap-o TN panel with 6-bit color like most monitors these days.

I've advise finding an actual brick and mortar store and looking at that monitor before buying it. The difference between 6-bit and 8-bit colour is small, unnoticable to a lot of people, and S-PVA brings some of its own drawbacks to the table.

Organichu

I'll recommend the BenQ E2400HD. It's 16:9 which means I get to play my 360 in 1080p without any bars. Menu's intuitive. Looks alright, and despite not being loud the inbuilt speakers sound ok. Only downside I can find is that it doesn't come with a DVI or HDMI cable (only line out and VGA). However you can get both of those cables shipped for under $20, so it's no biggie.

I'm really pleased.

OremLK

JohnDoe wrote: »

OremLK wrote: »

This is the one I'm probably going to get:

Samsung 245T

Might be too much monitor for gaming-exclusive use, but I don't doubt that it's a quality product. I want it because it uses an S-PVA panel with full 8-bit color rather than a cheap-o TN panel with 6-bit color like most monitors these days.

I've advise finding an actual brick and mortar store and looking at that monitor before buying it. The difference between 6-bit and 8-bit colour is small, unnoticable to a lot of people, and S-PVA brings some of its own drawbacks to the table.

I gather it has a tad bit more ghosting, right? And uses more power. Still, the improved viewing angles and color accuracy would be worth it to me, since I spend a fair amount of time working with Photoshop and I hate both problems on my 22" Acer. And yeah, the viewing angles really are a problem with image editing, they're so bad--it affects screen uniformity during dead-on viewing. TN panels suck ass.

JohnDoe

Ghosting and input lag. Input lag being the more annoying issue. Still, if you're doing a lot of graphics work an 8-bit panel would probably be worth it.

Akatsuki

Organichu wrote: »

I'll recommend the BenQ E2400HD. It's 16:9 which means I get to play my 360 in 1080p without any bars. Menu's intuitive. Looks alright, and despite not being loud the inbuilt speakers sound ok. Only downside I can find is that it doesn't come with a DVI or HDMI cable (only line out and VGA). However you can get both of those cables shipped for under $20, so it's no biggie.

I'm really pleased.

That sounds cool. 16:9 of 16:10 is better for consoles I guess, but asides from that it loses quite a few pixels... I'm a noob at this stuff, but it doesn't feel right :P Also, contrast is lower than those Samsung T240/T220P... I'm still leaning towards those, anyone have anything to say about them? :P

lazegamer

I'd keep an eye out for monitors on slickdeals. I just purchased a rebranded & refurbished HP w2408h for 200$ after instant rebate and free shipping.

This depends on your tolerance for risk for the possibility of getting a deal of course...

Also, if you're buying DVI / HDMI cables, I absolutely recommend bluejeanscable.com. Monoprice comes in a close second.

ArcticMonkey

Akatsuki wrote: »

Organichu wrote: »

I'll recommend the BenQ E2400HD. It's 16:9 which means I get to play my 360 in 1080p without any bars. Menu's intuitive. Looks alright, and despite not being loud the inbuilt speakers sound ok. Only downside I can find is that it doesn't come with a DVI or HDMI cable (only line out and VGA). However you can get both of those cables shipped for under $20, so it's no biggie.

I'm really pleased.

That sounds cool. 16:9 of 16:10 is better for consoles I guess, but asides from that it loses quite a few pixels... I'm a noob at this stuff, but it doesn't feel right :P Also, contrast is lower than those Samsung T240/T220P... I'm still leaning towards those, anyone have anything to say about them? :P

The BenQ E2400HD and the Samsung T240 has the same contrast, 1000:1. Dynamic contrast is mostly marketing speak. To get that 20 000:1 contrast the screen turns the backlight up and down according to how bright the image it displays is. Which many people finds annoyng (based on a scientific polling of me and the person who sits behind me).

Edit: I bought the BenQ E2400HD, and even if it's 230 400 pixels less then a 16:10 screen I never miss those pixels. It's large enough when I sit right in front of it, and 95% of the stuff I watch from the couch is 16:9 or wider.
Some things Organichu did not discuss:
The black level is a very even.
The base stand is very basic, with no swivel or height adjustment, only tilt. Less moving parts has the advantage of it feeling very sturdy.
This screens response time of 2ms looks a lot better them my old Samsung 226BWs 2ms.
There is some high pitched whine at some brightnesses, but 30%, 60% and 100% was silent. Also reviews I have read suggested this improved after a few weeks.
All in all a very good monitor at the low end TN side of the scale.

corcorigan

Considering they all use more or less the same panels, in my poorly-educated view you may as well get the cheapest one (with HDCP or HDMI if you want to use consoles), or really go for it and get an expensive non-TN one.

Or get a cheap one now, save the difference, and buy an even better one with the difference in a few years time. Then you get two big monitors.

OremLK

Basically don't pay attention to most of the specs, because the manufacturers feel free to more or less lie when listing specifications. Not so much in regard to features as to anything regarding image quality. (Obviously they're not going to tell you the monitor has HDMI when it doesn't.)

The only image quality specification really worth paying much attention to these days is what kind of panel the monitor is made with. And if the monitor costs less than $500 it's almost definitely a TN panel. So that one's kind of a moot point as well if <$500 is your price range.

Ego

I use 2 LCD's at 1920x1200 and one laptop at 1920x1080, and I'll also vouch that the lost pixels aren't a huge deal.

I'm tempted to grab one of those BenQ's just to do tri-display on my primary rig and otherwise use it as an equal-resolution secondary display for my laptop.

grambo

Take a look in person at 8-bit versus 6-bit panels if you have a chance (all 22 inch are 6 bit TN panel, the ~$400 24 inch are 6-bit TN and the $600+ 24inch are usually S-PVA). The colour accuracy and viewing angle on TN is disgustingly bad, especially when you see it side by side with an 8-bit. There are input lag problems on some S-PVA so read up (hardforums has long posts on popular LCDs). I have a Dell 2407WFP RevA04 which I love (S-PVA) but apparently the 2408 has some issues. I would not get a 16:9 for desktop use, no advantage, unless it's cheap.

Akatsuki

Hmmm thanks for the tips.
As far as 22inch goes I've been hearing great stuff about the HP w2207, but T220P has a higher resolution, so I dunno. Thing is I still don't know if I'll have money for a 24'' xD

king_sleep

uh everything here is pretty cheap compared to when i bought the BenQ FP2401W, $800 plus shipping from canada. ive had to bring it in twice, once for a stuck button and this time because something is wrong with the dvi connection and the hdmi. oh well. 3 year warranty baby.

johniedabomb

Anyone know anything about the Acer G24? I mean, it looks kind of silly, but the specs seem to be incredible. Am i missing something?

OremLK

Once again, don't pay attention to the specs. Manufacturers flub them so much that they mean very little these days.

I will say that I'm not too happy with my Acer 22" from a year or so ago. Horrible viewing angles and no image scaling options on my model (so no way to play games in 4:3 mode without stretching).

Zell

Reviving this thread, I NEED:
1: Decent vertical viewing angles (I'm getting annoyed at my TN monitor going gradually blacker upwards)
2: Height adjustment
3: No large input lag
4: No noticable noise from the display
5: 1920x1200 resolution, preferably 24 inch or somewhere near it

WANT: (prioritized list):
1: Image scaling options (+ good scaler)
2: USB inputs (2.0 not required)
3: HDMI input

Does anyone have any suggestions, preferably without using more money than I did on my TV?

OremLK

The problem that I've seen in my research is that points 1 and 3 on your NEED list are almost mutually exclusive, especially when you add in cost concerns (I don't know how much you spent on your TV though). TN panels just have really shitty vertical viewing angles, there's very little way around it. And the S-PVA/MVA panels I've seen all have input lag problems. That leaves IPS, I guess, but it seems like then you run into $1,000+ prices and a lot of ghosting.

I would love to know the answer to your question as well, though. I was going to pick up a pair of these or these but I just don't know if their viewing angles are good enough. (They're both TN panels and SHOULD satisfy most, or all your other requirements.)

nome

What do you guys think of the BenQ G2400WD for $272? Also is ncixus.com a reputable site? I've never heard of them.

Ego

ncixus.com is the US side of ncix.com, which is a reliable Canadian business. Should be OK.

nome

Canadian eh? j/k I was just wondering why they had that monitor for $100 less then other retailiers. I decided to go ahead and get it. Can't beat that price. Shipping is more then $30 though ouch.

Zell

I was looking at the HP LP2475W and it *seems* nice, it's a S-IPS panel (maybe H-IPS?), any disadvantages to it (and S-IPS panels in general?). Is ghosting really a problem on newer IPS based panels? Any better suggestions? I really need to get rid of this TN monitor...

OremLK

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_lp2475w.htm

Good review of the monitor. Do want.

To summarize their conclusions in the review: The response time is apparently good, with little ghosting, input lag is, not great but not bad, the viewing angles are amazing, and the color is fantastic after calibration.

Zell

I'm reading about it and a lot of them seems to be shipping with some errors (reading this thread... On the other side, the display seems pretty awesome and I *hate* my TN monitor. Maybe I should order one and hope for the best... A bit expensive though.

OremLK

If you get a properly working unit I'm sure just for the fact that it is IPS (with decent input lag) it will destroy any low-end monitor. And actually I'm seeing brand new units on eBay for $550 shipped--that's a damn good price for anything that's not a TN.

Zell

I want one but it costs money

Not as much as my TV, but still money

Fatty McBeardo

Dell 2408wfp? We have those at work and they're pretty snazzy. We use them for general work stuff and it's fine. The marketing people who create brochures and other printed material use Apple ACDs because they've had problems getting a good calibration from the Dells. But if you're not doing color sensitive work that's meaningless. The Dells have a lot of port options, too.

Zell

They also have LOTS of input lag, which is unacceptable for a lot of people. Reading more on the HP LP2475W, it's specifications is pretty nice for the price but for some reason it's a wide gamut monitor, which means it'll have oversaturated colors most of the time... Not sure how much of a problem that is.

algorythym

22in seems to be much more of a price/value sweet spot than 24in. Meaning the price difference between 20in and 22in is much smaller than the price difference between 22in and 24in. You pay a lot to go from 22in to 24in. That is just my experience though.

OremLK

Totally different products though. 22" monitors come in 1680x1050 and are almost always TN panels, not to mention the size difference.

Some people just want or need what a 24" monitor can bring them.

Zell

So it appears there are no real alternatives I can get here, so are wide gamut monitors really problematic to get nice colors with?

OremLK

There are a lot of conflicting opinions out there about wide gamut. Maybe see if you can find a wide gamut monitor in a brick and mortar to look at?