Getting a new 24" for my b-day, need you input, FAST

The GF has decided to buy me my dream present for my b-day. I've wanted one of these babies for so long, but could never afford it. She decided to get something real special for me - I know, I am a very lucky man.

So the budget is $500 (nothing more, non negotiable). That limits our choice to a handful of screens. I've looked at this Acer 24" LCD (AL2416WBSD), and URL: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] L2416WBSD.

Objectives: heavy gaming, watch a DVD or two every now and again. Maybe get a HD drive at some stage (it is HDCP compliant by the way)

1) Is this the best 24" LCD for under $500
2) From someone that OWNS one - what DONT you like about it
3) Will my x1900xt handle it?
4) If we agree that this is my best option, anyone suggest where I can get the lowest price?

Thanks guys.

PS. Another sad mileage point in THG history. The new forumz suck rotten, for lack of a better expression. Check out the Ubuntu forums. Now thats how it should be done.

My 7900GTO coped with a 24" perfectly fine, so I imagine that a 1900xt would cope.

But try and see one before you buy one, and touch the screen my gateway 24" was very hot at the screen, hotter than skin temperature i'd say about 40C. It was almost unpleasant sitting in front of it.

I've just gotten an HP 22" and its much nicer on the eyes, and the screen is at ambient. It may be however just a gateway issue, and so the acer may not be a problem.

I'd also say that it may not be 1080p, the reviews said it was, but manual said no, I downloaded the two alexander demos 720p and 1080p, and saw no difference in quality at all (even on screen shots). There should be no hdcp issues with that kind of demo, so I'm not sure what caused that.

My thoughts anyway.

Guys, thanks for your input. All very valid points. We are looking to place the order this weekend, so I better get cracking and do some reseach.

lasstlos - awesome to hear from someone who owns one. Do you have that exact same model as in the NewEgg link? They seem new, not many reviews online (if any - I couldnt find any). If so, can you comment on the heat problem that 13thmonkey mentioned?

13thmonkey - I dont know much about 1080i/1080p on PC screens. I know with a TV its actually very important, but I never see anything mentioned with PC monitors. What format do our v-cards output? I dont see the choice of p/i. I think that they just output p, and the screens output progressive too - not sure? Can you comment on this? PS. Download that 300 trailer from Apple. I fricken love that scene - THIS IS SPPPARRTTAAAAAA.

f61 - thanks for the list. Unfortunately her budget is $500 and thats that. Its a lot of money to spend on a screen that will be $300 in 6 months. Prices are crashing, and a $250 difference for 2" is bound to correct. I think you'll see 24" LCDs at $300 by Q1 '08. I'll be sitting directly in front of the screen (I have this IKEA cabinet - the screen does fit inside). Probably sit about 3 feet away. I dont think viewing angles will be a big issue, but then again, I havent had a 24" before. I currently have the VX922, 19". Never had an issue with angles, but then again, the specs: 170° horizontal, 170° vertical. Does the 10 degree variance make a huge diffs?

Thanks guys. Any other comments before I pull the trigger?

PS. I cant find this screen in any retail stores, only online. I thiink they are new. Not sure when they were released.

13thmonkey - its possible your v-card is not HDCP compliant. I think unless you have the 8800/2900 series, it wont be. Everything in the chain needs to be HDCP compliant, including the cable. The manufacturers really screwed us over with all the beuracratic B/S. I wonder how many people are watching 720p and think its 1080p. 720p is fine, looks good. I went to BB 2 days ago to find this Acer, and stopped by the TV section. Some of those 1080p's looks amazing. They had this show on National Geo, and you could see the Gorillas sweat on his face, from a distance. It is so well defined.
PS - is there any software out there that tells you what format your running (ie. 1080p/720p etc)?

f61 - check this out man! I found this 24", with a much larger viewing angle. I think its a revision of the existing model. With that in mind, do you give the Acer a green light?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod [...] n_LCD.html

13thmonkey - while you do some work into that, one thing worth mentioning. I recall I research this about a year ago, and I think (not sure) what a came up with, is that it doesnt really matter what your input signal is, on a PC that is. The built in software will automatically calibrate the video feed to best fit your screen. For eg, if you watch a 720p DVD on a 17 inch screen, it will look about the same as a DVD on a 19 inch. The SW adjusts the image to fit the smaller screen etc.

I think the issue comes into play when you get smaller resolutions. For example, watching a regular 720p DVD on a 24" monitor (which is effectively 1080), will not look as good as on the 19" (AT A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE). The thing is, with bigger screens, we sit further back, and therefore those difference as minimized.

Its much of a muchness I think. Our vcards can output resolutions on the 2000X etc, so I dont think it matters. With HD DVD, it will look the same on a 17 inch and a 24". With a reg DVD, it will look better on the 17", unless you sit further back with the 24".

Anyway, not sure if this is fact, but I just remember something like this.

DiamondWraith - 42", my word. Thats a big boy. What res do you run that at?

Awesome! Lets hope it works out. I'm planning to buy a "to fishboi from fishboi" present too. My digital camera broke a few months ago and I've really been meaning to get one (a cheapie). I'll take some pics of the setup and post them up here. Thanks for all the input.

Yep the 24" is the way to go, I'm loving mine for sure with a 8800 GTs 640! World in Conflict Beta Woo Hoo !

Soldier, very nice setup, was the same monitor I had, I couldn't cope with it being that close though, must be getting old

Fish boi, I've found that URL i was after, lots of configuration tools.

They seem to be safe: http://www.w6rz.net/