I'm building a new system (which is posted in the forum for building systems) and I want to get a 24" wide screen LCD monitor for it.

I need something that is high quality because I do stuff in Photoshop and 3DS Max but this is my home computer so I will also be gaming with it so I need fast response times as well. On top of all that, I have an Xbox 360 but no HDTV so I'd love to be able to hook my 360 up to the Monitor for some HD action. I already can do it with my 22" CRT with the add on monitor cord I got but I've had real problems getting sound through my computer speakers and the picture isn't as good as it should be. If I could get a monitor that I could buy add on speakers that are meant to attach to the monitor and has the proper connections in the back so that I can hook up my 360 that'd be fantastic. Then I'd have the picture, and the sound taken care of.

Yes this is a tall order and I wouldn't be suprised if I can't get all of what I want... Xbox360 comes last on this wishlist so I'll just have to wait and see what you guys think.

The monitors I've heard that are good are the 24" Samsung, Dell, and BenQ. I've pretty much heard equal stories from different people each say that the Samsung is the better of these 3, or the Dell, or the BenQ. I can't seem to get a definitive answer. I was hoping that if I outlined my needs/wants I could get some advice on what would be best for me.

Thanks!!

IIRC some of the new Dells come with the 'high color gamut' which supposedly gives you more accurate color, for your Photoshop stuff. This used to be a very pricey option but is now only a little higher than the reular model, again, IIRC.

Those Dells should also do all the other stuff you want. Not sure about the speakers though.

I don't much about monitor but this one is great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824014124
If you are doing video and photo editing you want a good monitor with good tech specs but when gaming always size over pixels unless you got 52" tv with resolution of 640x480 then get a better tv.

Fast versus good. I can think of a couple adult comments to make, but alas I won't.

Your problem in life can be simply stated as Fast versus Good.

6bit monitors can be fast. Very fast. Fuel injected, turbo charged, 0-60 in 3.2 seconds fast. Whip by with little or no potential for a ghost image to exist.

8bit monitors can be good. Very Good, as in Lexus good. Fast is a relative term. The Lexus, like the 8bit is quick on its feet, but it is not going to keep up with the latest wundercar. And ghosting can be and issue with the slower 8bit screens. Of course what is ghosting to you is a slightly blurry image for 0.02 second to me. And most people don't complain of ghosting during movies as the content is less concentration (ie during a game there may only be movement in a very limited area and your eyes are sharply focused on that particular movement whereas in a movie you are watching the entire screen with less viewing concentration of any one specific area).

According to http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/ and several other sources Sammy makes the panels for the 24" Dell, Gateway, HP et al. In most instances the panels are identical, thus the only difference between monitors is cosmetics, user features and support.

So when you heard that 24" Samsung, Dell, and BenQ are good, you are quite correct, as the Sammy and Dell monitors are most likely twin sisters or at least kissing cousins. TrustedReviews has done nice reviews on all 3 monitors. TR likes the BenQ (which is not made by Sammy), but I don't due to the feature set of the monitor (not knocking the picture Quality, just the physical attributes of the monitor).


But while Sammy makes great monitors, Sammy is also watching the market demands. Sammy is producing 24" monitors using 6 bit panels to generate monitors in the less than $500 price range to compete with other companies that are producing 6 bit monitors. Would not be surprised to see a cheaper (6bit) Dell hit the market before Xmas.

You are going to have to determine if you can live with the slower 8bit monitors. My suggestion is hang out at BB and check out the Gateway. Remember Gateway is a Sammy 8bit panel. And the real world response time of the Gateway is going to be indentical to other identical Sammy panels.

There is a newer Dell (since July) 24" panel. Just a newer Sammy panel with a wider color gamut. Suppose to be a big improvement over last years 8bit panels. Haven't seen the new Dell or the same panel on a Sammy or any other brand to see if the response time is better. Obviously if Dell is going to use that panel, so will Sammy, Gateway, HP etc eventually share the same foundations.

And by the way, if you are serious about Photoshop etc, just ignore the 6bit monitors. The improvement with color values and black depth from 6bit to 8bit is dramatic.

PS: Built in monitor speakers sux green slimy swamp water filled with dead bugs and rotting fish. Got the picture? Good. Don't buy a monitor because it has built in speakers or can be fitted with a speaker bar. Speaker bars are two steps up from the built in monitor speakers and still sux green slimy swamp water, but at least the fish are still alive and feeding on the dead bugs.

For speakers buy anything that makes noise and can be physically separated. Logitech, Klipsch, Altec Lansing etc all make little stand alone speakers that work and will sound light years better than the built in speakers or speakerbars.

Thats almost the exact one I am getting. I have heard several ppl confirm that it is amazing and its great to have your reply to confirm it as well. The one I'm getting is the exact same model number but has a Z at the end (I think its a Z) and its basicly just a newer model and comes with the updated firmware that non Z model is now suppose to be shipping with. Only problem is that there are still a lot of non- Z models without the new firmware lurking around.

Thanks for your reply StevieD!

I can live with a very minor ammount of ghosting. I just want the best/fastest of those slower monitors.

I only meantioned the onboard speakers so that I could run my Xbox 360's sound through them when I use my Monitor with that. I actually have Logitech Z5300 speakers but I've not been able to get my xbox360 to send the sound to the computer or drectly to the speaker system so that the sounds come out of those speakers.

As for the BenQ, I appriciate your comments but could you please tell me more about the problems with the BenQ features? What is there/not there that you don't like in comparison to the others?

Thanks!

There are three panel types...

TN - Very low color accuracy and contrast, Bad overall color when compared to the other panels...mostly used for gaming since they can have very fast response times. Don't get me wrong...TN panels have come a long way but in terms of color they are inferior to the two below.

PVA/MVA - A mix between the above panel and below. Highest contrast ratio which means the darkest blacks. The blacks do crush though. That is a term for losing details in dark areas as the blacks merge. There are also slow the slowest of the panels which means ghosting.

IPS - The most accurate color you can get. Also the most expensive panel. It has the best color accuracy of all the panels. It's fast...just not as fast as TN. But it is indeed quicker the PVA/MVA. The contrast ratio is not as high as PVA/MVA so the blacks aren't as dark. But you don't lose as much details.

It depends on which you want really. IPS panels tend to be quite expensive. Every flat panel has it's strong points and weakpoints. Considering you want a monitor to play your xbox 360 also that elminates a few choices in mind..Such as the Planar PX2611W which uses a 26" S-IPS panel. It has banding issues at 1080 over console play so that rules it out for you...unfortunately that was one of your most affordable solutions priced at 900-999.

IPS panels are getting rarer and rarer thanks to the american consumers lack of understanding in TFT technology. They see a 24 inch flat panel for 250 dollars and just gasp and purchase it. Thanks to this type of purchasing TN panels are flooding the market and IPS is becoming more and more rare. Dell now has a lottery and are beginning to phase out all their IPS panel monitors (except the 30 incher)

Also Wide gamut displays does not mean more accurate color. It means more vibrant colors which look over saturated. Photoshop and some other programs can notice these higher gamut displays and adjust their profiles to display content how they should be. high gamut monitors isn't necessarily a good thing if you're in the entertainment industry...such as video, photo, and even 3d modeling when it comes to texturing. Why do you think the entertainment industry still uses CRT's? Flatpanels have MANY faults that are just too high for some users such as myself. Most the entertainment industry uses CRT's such as the FW900 from sony. A 24" widescreen CRT that retailed for around 2300 back in 2003 before they were discontinued thanks to flat panels. They will make their return though but in flatpanel form in 2009/20010 in "FED". High gamut displays are desirable for certain scenarios but not entertainment creation...But some programs can notice and correct this within the program environment. If you want a really good monitor when it comes to color accuracy you really have no choice but to get a IPS panel...TN's are fast but their colors aren't that great. Most people always claim "LIES...they are great!" and offer links to cheaply priced 6 bit TN panels...but the truth is they are inferior to PVA/MVA and IPS. If you use a TN panel and switch over to these more expensive and better technologies you will have trouble going back. Unfortunately consideirng your uses..PVA/MVA can cause ghosting..it's more affordable but it's up to you. If color accuracy is extremely important and ghosting is also an annoying ordeal then IPS is what you're looking for...but get ready to dish out some cash.

If you want accurate information as well as reviews on TFT technology head over here..

http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78

They have a vastly more active display forum compared to THG. Also check out the TFT Technology Breakdown thread as well as the site Stevie mentioned.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

It should give you a thorough break down. Picking out the right LCD monitor takes research unfortunately....But what is your budget?...it'd be much easier to make a recommendation based off that.

edit----

Ahhh..you posted while I was typing. If you can live with ghosting then a PVA/MVA panel should do you fine. You can use that hardforum link I posted to read up on all sorts of different panels. This way you can make an educated choice on what panel would suit you the best.

Fixed Panel, no height adjustment possible. Major flaw that I can not overlook on any monitor. Also the frame to the BenQ causes the unit to be physically wider. If I could handle the width of the BenQ I would be able to use a 27" ... which means I could buy a Dell 27" IPS.

The Dell 2707WFP uses a PVA panel. Only the Dell 2007WFP (unless they started a panel lottery) and the 3007WFP use IPS panels.

Indeed. They have a Dell 2008WFP coming out soon which will also be a TN panel. It's really sad to see the TN panels literally taking over. But thankfully FED will be rolling out in around 2-3 years. Cheaper to produce then LCD's and literally eliminate dead pixels. Even if 20% of the field emitters fail the monitor will work fine. I just hope that it comes in and sweeps over LCD's....Personally I can't stand the LCD faults..they are just too high. Considering I do video editing and many other color accurate and lag depending tasks it just rules it out for me.

If you want IPS your choices are a bit limited and expensive. But since you said PVA/MVA is fine then you have many more options. Don't forget to check the hardforum...You will regret not reading on these mass reviews if you just pick a monitor without checking them out in person. They all have faults and strengths...but the key component is picking an LCD monitor that has the strengths and suits your needs.

No height adjust? Thats absurd..... I'm of below average height so the chances that the monitor won't need to be lowered by an inch or so is probably not good.

Thanks for the info StevieD, Kamrooz, and Jagurskx! Thats a lot of good stuff that I really didn't know and the links are gold since I can learn more. I did know of some of the ups and downs of the 3 main panel types since I had asked if the BenQ 24" was a good quality monitor and ppl were raving about it I figured it was a good quality. Maybe it still is good quality, I dunno, its not exactly a CHEAP 24"

Anyways, I'll look at the links. I posted a post on the system build forum here...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] d#t1745665

That has a lot of info on what I'm looking for overall though a few things have changed due to the discussions.

My budget for EVERYTHING is $3-4k CND. I already purchased an ATI X1950Pro for $150 CND (was $100 off) to tide me over just until the new cards come out late '07 and early '08. Once I see who wins the next top end war I'll dump the 1950 for the next big thing so I need to keep some cash aside for that. The list on the link I provided will give you an idea of how much I''ll probably have to set aside already.

As for CRT's, I do know that they are still better for many things which is why with my last computer I picked up a Mitsubishi 2070 Black 22" monitor. Its a great monitor but its not wide screen and its a beast. I'll still be keeping the CRT so while I do want a LCD thats got great color/contrast and is as fast as possible, I know that I can always play a few fast action games on my CRT if the ghosting bothers me.

Thanks

Well if you want you can nab a FW900 ^_^..a 24" widescreen CRT. It retailed for 2,300 but now they run on ebay used for 200-450. I'm getting a new rig in the following months and planning to nab one. Although I'm not gonna nab one from ebay. I'm gonna get a refurbished model here..

http://www.accurateit.com/details.asp?iid=203

They come with a 1 year warranty which isn't bad for a refurbished model. From what I've heard this company is quite enthusiastic about these monitors which is a good thing in my eyes. The company that put out the movie "300" exclusively picked up these monitors since they are the only monitor that could give the color accuracy they were looking for. Several companies use this monitor...Such as Pixar, ILM, Lucas Arts...damn good monitor. If you do decide to get one make sure you nab a Refurbished grade A model....This one is A-..which basically means works as factory spec but there is a slight blemish/blemishes on the plastic bezel. B grade is a screen imperfection which is a big no no..heh

when I get my new rig I'm going to nab one of these suckers and a non widescreen CRT for a dual rig. probably a 22 incher or maybe 21...it'll end up costing me 800-1000 for the two monitors. Free shipping also if it's too a ground floor building. Hopefully they can last me until 2009/2010's FED technology...

How about the new HP w2408 24" 5ms gray to gray, is it any good? Its so new there are no reviews as of yet.

Based on the few detail of this monitor it uses the inferior TN panel.

Jaguar is correct...It is a TN Panel.If you've used TN panels in the past and have never experienced a PVA/MVA or IPS panel...Then a TN will do fine. But if you need a certain amount of quality from your monitor then TN is just out of the question. If you're on a TN now and want to grab a larger one then go for it...it's a nice upgrade...

But in all cases I've seen people using PVA/MVA or IPS and switching to a TN...it only ends up with them returning it within the week...that's how much the difference is ^_^.

Want an HP?

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/ [...] 44961.html

Sammy 8bit panel. The same panel that was used in the previous Dell model as well as the current Gateway and several Sammy.


New model is too new to know the panel make for sure, but I suspect it is the 6bit panel with a broader selection of consumer features. Wait to see what one of the reviews states or check with http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/ to see what panel is being used.


Updated: Kamrooz is saying that the new HP monitor is an TN (6 bit). If you want it, wait a week or two... it will be on sale for less than $500 to compete with the other TN 24" panels.

Thanks I'll check it out. BUT if I do end up getting a TN 6bit I'll probably check out the BenQ which I can find locally to see if the lack of adjustment options is a problem.

As for the wide screen CRT. I may look at picking up a used one but I honestly don't think my desktop space could handle a beast like that.

Ok 3 questions

1 For LCD's what are my options for IPS these days? It doesn't sound like there are many to choose from anymore.

2. Are there any good quality images on a web page showing the differences between the monitor types?

3. IF I have to go with a TN panel which 24" monitor is currently the best?

Thanks