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

[fishboi]

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009113&Tpk=AL2416WBSD.

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.

 

[lasstlos]

As far as I know, the Acer is pretty much it in the 500 category. I looked at both the acer and the gateway 24" before buying and they both looked identical in terms of screen quality and image quality (the gateway had more features, but who cares about 2 hdmi). I actually got the Acer and am very happy with it. My only beef is some online games (BF 2142) do not support widescreen cause they say it gives players an unfair advantage. But besides that, I am extremely happy with mine. I play most games (save oblivion) at full 1920x1200 resolution without any trouble but I also have an 8800gtx to help me out with that. Regardless of what video card you're sporting, you should definetly get it (got mine off of newegg.com--they usually have very good prices and their customer service is excellent). Playing games at lower widescreen resolutions still look great to me. Congratulations on the sweet gf, you are a lucky man.

 

[13thmonkey]

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.

 

[f61]

Whatever you buy I STRONGLY Advise FedX 2-day or o/n for delivery.

I would also add, that you might not be pleased with either the ACER or the Sammy at $500. If you move your head around, or are not centered, the colors will change. Note the 160 degree view angle. IMHO you would be much happier and more future-proof with either the BenQ or Sammy at $650-700. Much better picture quality at the same resolution. Top of the line is the NEC 2470. Here's a list.

f61

 

[fishboi]

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.

 

[fishboi]

lasstlos - to your commens on resolutions. What rez do you have to scale back to if the game doesnt support WS? I mostly play WoW these days, but will migrate to the next gen games towards the end of the year. WoW on WS will be awesome! I'll have so much space to put my buttons etc. I cant wait. Please let me know what rez you need to scale back to, and what it looks like. Are there alot of games that dont support WS?

 

[fishboi]

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)?

 

[13thmonkey]

tried looking for software to determine what I am displaying, couldn't find anything. Will post URL to some HD setup software when I get back to big machine.

my gfx is a 7900GTO, from a PC point of view quite capable of 1900x1200 at 60hz. I recognise your point about hdcp, but currently there is no/little content that is actually protected from what I understand, and I doubt a sample would be. There is just the ability to downgrade content.

The connection that I was using was a hdcp dvi connnector on the monitor side, and dvi on the gfx side.

The only difference between 1080p/i is whether it displays alternate lines in alternating frames (i), or whether it shows all of the lines at once in one frame (p), this would be a bandwidth limitation on the interface. Spent about 2 weeks trying to find a means of testing it. gave up and took it back for refund.

I think reason for there being no software is that it would have to be run at the monitor end, and not at the PC end perhaps?

Will dig out url later, and post as an edit to this post, beware they are a low bandwidth site from what I can tell.

Good luck and happy shopping, 24" actually hurt for me (don't take that the wrong way )

 

[fishboi]

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/product/470063-REG/Acer_ET_L6102_018_AL2416Wb_24_Widescreen_LCD.html

 

[fishboi]

13thmonkey - I'd really be curious to know what you dig up. Keep us posted. I dont think anyone here can actually comment on what the diffs between a 1080p and 720p LCD, PC monitor looks like. I've never read anything about this.

Perhaps when you get a TV tuner card, it becomes an issue because of the signal you receive. Not sure. LET US KNOW! Very curious now.

 

[fishboi]

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]

Hey fishboi.

I've had a Dell 24 Incher for a year and 1/2 now. Bought it for $1050. I thought it was a pretty good deal until the major price drops but I still love the monitor. I use it as a secondary monitor now and its great for programming or turning your pc in to a command center, etc. The only reason I don't use it as my primary now is that it just wasn't quite big enough. You see after I bought it I caught the bug and had to move up to something bigger about 6 months later. I got a 42 inch Westy, which is nice but a lil out of your price range.

Anyhow, you will really love the 24. And I gotta give props to my Dell, its immaculate. Not a single stuck pixel and picture is great. 1920x1200 is a lotta real estate for games... So make sure you have something nice pushing it. The fact that you can pick it up for less than half of what I did makes it a definite BUY!

-DW

 

[fishboi]

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

 

[f61]

fishboi:

I dunno Yogi... two things missing from the pages.
1) 50/60Hz operation
2) NTSC/PAL compatibility

Why, do you ask? Its because this model is sold in Europe. The only place in the US I see it is at B&H, so it might be 'grey-market at best'. Lemme look at it at ACER dot com...

After further review at both B&H and ACER, the B&H product matches up with the wide 178 degree specs. I'd say go for it and spend the money on FedX 2-day or o/n shipping.

Good Luck

f61

 

[fishboi]

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.

 

[lasstlos]

As far as the heat of the screen, it can get a bit warm to the touch (certainly not hot though) but I haven't had any issue with it. I'd imagine you'd have to sit with your nose nearly touching the screen for it to be noticeable. Besides, one of the advantages of a larger screen is so you can sit back a bit and give your eyes a rest. I sit about 12 inches from my 19" crt at work but about 24-36 inches away from my acer at home. My eyes are much happier at home.

 

[fishboi]

Soldier37 - that rig is awesome! Very cool dude (except for the AMD chip of course, LOL!). I've got the exact same headset. Best I've ever used. Try it with FEAR. Love the grenade sound.

Tell me guys - what about the fonts on the 24". Do they look stretched? I remember looking at a 22" WS, and a 19", and deciding to go with the 19" a year ago cause I just didnt like the quality of the desktop/fonts on the WS. They looked stretched, a little blurry. Any comments?

I order the thing last night. I couldnt wait any longer. Woohoooo!

 

[13thmonkey]

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/