20" Widescreens and general advice

[Sean618]

Hi, this'll be my first PC so if anyone has any advice.

Btw I am British so unfortunately I don't have newegg, however there is scan.co.uk which I shall probably use for most of my components.

This is the PC I intend to build (mainly for gaming and music as I'll be going to uni ;P);

Intel core 2 duo E6400/E6600
Corsair 2GB TWIN2X2048-5400/6400
250 Gb Samsung SP2514N SpinPoint P120
Pioneer DVR-111
Plextor Black PX130A/T3BPB 16x DVD-ROM + 52x CD-ROM (oem)
Thermaltake Tsunami va3000swa
Thermaltake W0116RB 750W Toughpower Psu
Razer copperhead mouse
X-fi etreme music
20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen
Sapphire ATI RADEON X1900XT
Asus P5W DH Deluxe

I stated a 20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen yet I starting to find other 20.1" screens with better reviews. The viewsonic seem popular and consistently rated high but I would like some more opinions.

This site http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1907502,00.asp rated the samsung 204T monitor as their favourite yet I have seen other review saying the image quality was just good.

The Philips 200W6CS had a good review from computer shopper, saying it was a cheaper option to the Viewsonic.

Finally the LG L203WT has conflicting reviews, micromart said it had better image quality than the Viewsonic. Also the LG has a higher response time. As a gamer would I notice the difference between 8ms and 16ms?

The main quality I am looking for is image quality in a screen, so which do you reckon has the best image quality?

Thanks

 

[towely]

For the best quality LCD display there is only one choice: Apple. While undoubtedly expensive, their quality control is second to none. They screen all their monitors rigorously and I can almost assure you that yours will be totally pristine - no dead pixels, no scan lines and the most beautiful colour (and design) youve ever laid eyes on.

If you can't afford Apple, just go into your local Bestbuy or whatever and take a look at some Samsungs, LGs or Viewsonics. They are all very good brands. Trust your eyes. However, be aware that most consumer-oriented LCDs have pretty loose policies when it comes to defects. Most WILL NOT exchange your monitor unless it has a set number of stuck/dead pixels. That can be quite annoying when you take it home and see there are thee green spots on the centre of your screen. However, the advantage of buying from a big name store is that they usually have a money back guarantee. You probably won't have that option if you buy direct.

Edit: Don't trust manufacturer specs on response times. There are dozens of ways of measuring this and it is never an apples to apples comparison. As a general rule of thumb, you won't see any ghosting below 16ms. However, I STRONGLY discourage you from buying a monitor sight unseen. Only YOUR eyes can be the true judge.

 

[Sean618]

Thanks, good advice. Problem is we don't have great selection of nearby shops but I'll try to see them. I would love the Apple but can't afford it

 

[dean7]

Yeah, as a gamer you will notice the diff. between 8ms and 16ms. However, be careful about response times on the monitor you buy because the way manufacturers judge latency differs, and a Samsung 8ms monitor might perform about the same as a Sony 16ms monitor.

You probably want to check out the THG article on WS LCDs: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/27/xxl_displays/. The ViewSonic you're thinking about is one of the monitors they are testing.

I would highly recommend checking the monitor out in a store if at all possible. I bought a Samsung monitor based on specs, and had to take it back due to input lag issues (which is different than latency). Input lag seems to be an underreported issue, and I believe that is because most people can't detect it. I put together some information on IL for you below:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1026393&page=1 <--- This is a great source of information on Input Lag.

What is it?
Input Lag is the time that it takes information from your PC to display on your monitor. This has nothing to do with the published response times (e.g. Grey-to-grey response time). People are testing input lag times by hooking up an LCD and CRT monitor to the same PC, running a clock program with MS displayed, then taking a picture and comparing how far behind the LCD is compared to the CRT (it can be around 50ms, which is huge for gaming).

How do you prevent buying a monitor with IL?
Search forums for monitors that have known lag issues. Also be sure to test them in stores (I can detect lag easily by moving the mouse around... it feels like some sort of weird mouse smoothing because your mouse is just slightly behind your hand movements). I searched for information on the Samsung 214T and came up with nothing, but I bought it and it was horrible so I had to take it back. So, be careful, and make sure you can send your monitor back before you buy it.

 

[Sean618]

Thanks, very useful as I hadn't thought of that, any idea of what causes it?

Also What is best for your eyes lower or higher contrst/brightness?

 

[turkishdrummer]

Id go with gateway's 21 inch widescreen. Im about to purchase it probably.

 

[dean7]

I'm not sure what causes input lag. I think it might have to do with Overdrive technology, different color-correction technologies, etc. that are increasing the amount of processing your LCD panel has to do before the image is displayed. None of those processes can be instant, and if hit has to evaluate something before each frame it seems logical that it would introduce some sort of lag time.

Higher contrast is considered to be better for your eyes. The idea is that the text will "stick out" more from the background, thus putting less stress on your eyes since they will not have to pick the text out.

 

[Mugsy]

Pioneer DVR-111
Plextor Black PX130A/T3BPB 16x DVD-ROM + 52x CD-ROM (oem)
Thermaltake W0116RB 750W Toughpower Psu
Razer copperhead mouse
20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen

I stated a 20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen yet I starting to find other 20.1" screens with better reviews. The viewsonic seem popular and consistently rated high but I would like some more opinions.

Well, I think many LCD panels are actually built by just a handfull of suppliers nowadays (I may be wrong), so a cheaper brand may use the same panel as the ViewSonic if you search around.

I've had a Dell 20.1" WideScreen LCD for just about a year now and just adore it. I don't play any 200fps games, so I couldn't tell you if this monitor is up to it, but I get no fade/flicker playing "Need for Speed 5" with all the settings maxed out. The best of all is watching movies in Wide format, and my HDTV card with TV programs.

I bought the Dell when I discovered it uses the SAME LCD panel as the Apple WS display for 1/3 the price (I paid $380 a year ago). It (reportedly) is 12ms display. I have no reason to doubt that.

Regarding your DVD drive(s), if you are starting from scratch, I see no reason to buy a DVD/CDrw combo drive that can't burn DVD's. If you are looking to copy, any DVD burner can burn CD's, so just make DVD #2 a bargain read-only drive and save some bucks.

I have the ThermalTake 550w. I got it after my MoBo blew out two cheap 500w psu's in 24 hours. The ThermalTake is good and tough. The detachable cables of the 750w would have been nice, but I couldn't justify the added cost.

Forget the mouse. I've used a trackball for years. Great when you're short on space, and get tired of lifting and dragging that dumb thing every two seconds.

 

[Sean618]

Finally someone who agrees that thermaltake PS isn't bad.

I can't find any other manufacturer that uses the same panel but I keep looking. Thanks.

Yeah I have just changed the DVD rom to a liteon litescribe.

Don't think I give up mice anytime soon ;p

 

[dean7]

Pioneer DVR-111
Plextor Black PX130A/T3BPB 16x DVD-ROM + 52x CD-ROM (oem)
Thermaltake W0116RB 750W Toughpower Psu
Razer copperhead mouse
20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen

I stated a 20.1" Viewsonic VX2025wm widescreen yet I starting to find other 20.1" screens with better reviews. The viewsonic seem popular and consistently rated high but I would like some more opinions.

Well, I think many LCD panels are actually built by just a handfull of suppliers nowadays (I may be wrong), so a cheaper brand may use the same panel as the ViewSonic if you search around.

I've had a Dell 20.1" WideScreen LCD for just about a year now and just adore it. I don't play any 200fps games, so I couldn't tell you if this monitor is up to it, but I get no fade/flicker playing "Need for Speed 5" with all the settings maxed out. The best of all is watching movies in Wide format, and my HDTV card with TV programs.

I bought the Dell when I discovered it uses the SAME LCD panel as the Apple WS display for 1/3 the price (I paid $380 a year ago). It (reportedly) is 12ms display. I have no reason to doubt that.

Regarding your DVD drive(s), if you are starting from scratch, I see no reason to buy a DVD/CDrw combo drive that can't burn DVD's. If you are looking to copy, any DVD burner can burn CD's, so just make DVD #2 a bargain read-only drive and save some bucks.

I have the ThermalTake 550w. I got it after my MoBo blew out two cheap 500w psu's in 24 hours. The ThermalTake is good and tough. The detachable cables of the 750w would have been nice, but I couldn't justify the added cost.

Forget the mouse. I've used a trackball for years. Great when you're short on space, and get tired of lifting and dragging that dumb thing every two seconds.
Yeah, it's true that there are only a few LCD panel manufacturers, but what brand you buy governs other aspects of the LCD. Example: I have a Sony Premierpro 23" widescreen LCD that uses the same panel as Apple's 23" Cinema Display, but it looks slightly different due to different finish on the screen (e.g. you can get glossy looking LCDs or a matte finish). So, it's mostly a personal preference. I prefer matte finish, some people like glossy (looks more like a CRT, but it's horrible if you have sunlight in your office). Once again, I suggest going to a store and looking at the LCDs you are thinking about purchasing, because it's hard to get a feel for what they will look like online.

On a side note, the Dell 20.1" WS is known to be a great display (I have used them and they are indeed great). Good job .