Dell U2311 IPS panel for FPS games?

[Adroid]

So I have read some pretty good reviews for this panel. 1920x1080 e-IPS panel suppose to have great sRGB color reproduction, surprisingly good contrast, and pretty fast to boot.

After tons of reading I have found that some wide-gamut panels like the dell U2410 etc can potentially make some really funky colors in programs that don't support wide gamut(even windows desktop, picture programs other than photoshop, web browsing, etc). My main function of a new monitor would be for gaming, and I have gone through 3 TN panels - im just not satisfied. I want a better picture. I have wanted a better monitor for over a year now, and I have gotten to the point where I am willing to shell out the 500$ for the U2410 or equivilant, but I am giving this U2311 serious consideration because of the reviews I have read. Much to my dismay I have read that the U2410 consistantly has some panel uniformity issues, backlight bleed, and even some off color hues that don't belong on a 500$+ monitor...

More than anything I want a monitor that will preserve my eyes long term. I spend alot of time on the computer both working and gaming, and would like to continue life without glasses as long as possible.

So the million dollar question here... How bad is the ghosting playing FPS games? I'm kinda under the impression from what I have read that the U2311 or even the U2410 might be about the same as what I am using - a 5 year old viewsonic PVA (I think) with great darks and whites, has a little banding etc during some game sequences but overall its the best monitor I have ever owned - by a longshot.

I am really hoping to hear from owners of this monitor, or at least people who have seen it. I live on an island and unfortunately I can't just drive down to a store and check it out...

I own a 5 year old 23" monitor that is pretty darn good (equal or better than 3 TN panels I bought and returned). But I want something that is fast enough to play FPS games that gives a real WOW factor when you look at the screen. If this U2311/U2410 purchase I am considering doesn't tickle my fancy I think I will wait till IPS OLED screen become more available. I know that LED screens are hitting the market all over the place, and its just a matter of time before someone makes a good LED IPS for 300-500$ range (although that may just be wishfull thinking, because I hear the OLED tech is more expensive than the current LED tech being used).

Maybe a OLED e-IPS panel in the near future, anyone?

EDIT : a peek at the future just for grins ... http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1283940705

 

[sasuki]

Benq will release a VA LED monitor

which i think it is better then that LG IPS LED.

http://benq.eu/products/LCD/index.cfm/product/1199

if you can't wait for these VA or IPS LED monitors

Then a good IPS for FPS games is this the NEC MultiSync EA231WMi

Read these reviews

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/monitors/2010/01/07/nec-multisync-ea231wmi/1

http://www.trustedreviews.com/monitors/review/2010/02/25/NEC-MultiSync-EA231WMi---23in-Monitor/p1

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-nec-ea231wmi-bk.html

this is what prad said about the input lag:

""In games and Windows use, we were pleased by very direct, lag free control without any negative effects from overdrive. This made us all the more curious about the result of the input lag test. In terms of input lag, the NEC EA231WMi would therefore be absolutely suitable for gaming. Nonetheless, hardcore gamers should look to a faster monitor with a TN panel or a tube.""

 

[jaguarskx]

"LED" only refers to the backlight. The panel itself would be either TN, VA or IPS; mostly TN right now.

OLED is off in the future. Sony has stopped all R&D on OLED panels earlier this citing very high manufacturing costs. I heard one brand (Samsung??) stating that they will be releasing a 32" OLED HDTV in the "near future" for roughly $8,000.

 

[Adroid]

Well you have me interested in that Benq - although I'm not super familiar with the brand, and somewhat leary of it. The panel looks exceptional.. 3000:1 contrast ratio huh, we will see how that measures out.

Overall I have high hopes for the LED monitors. I think their contrast ratio capabilities are far superior to the CCFL, and their response time potential is promising also.

Well, regardless, I think within the next 2 years we will see some LED IPS panels with better panel uniformity and luminescence, higher contrast ratios, and 100% sRGB coverage. Now just need one with 5ms response time or better, and I might break the bank to invest in one.

 

[Adroid]

WTH That benq is available in their online store for 256 euro... Now I need to research the difference of VA panel vs IPS......

 

[jaguarskx]

LED contrast ratio is not far superior to CCFL; you need to remember there is a lot of hype in advertising. I have a full array LED backlit HDTV, it's nice, but not spectacular.

LED backlight has nothing to do with response times. That is purely a fucntion of the panel technology.

 

[sasuki]

WTH That benq is available in their online store for 256 euro... Now I need to research the difference of VA panel vs IPS......

Where where?

give me a link?

edit, thats the V model and not the VW in the link i posted. the V model has a TN panel, the VW has a VA panel.

 

[jaguarskx]

As a follow up to my earlier post, it is LG who will be releasing a 31" OLED HDTV for £6,000 or roughly $9,250. The tentative release date is sometime in March 2011 in the UK. As for the rest of the world... who knows?

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/09/03/lg.31.inch.oled.tv.a.real.march.production.model/

 

[Adroid]

Dude that OLED tech is so sick... No way I'm in the market one for the rest of my life though. I would probably have to choose between the screen and the Mrs.

Guess ill be anticipating either a next gen IPS panel, or possibly that VA LED.. Looks pretty impressive.

Is the difference between TN and IPS Night and day? Or if I bought a IPS panel the same size as my good PVA would I be dissapointed?

 

[danhughesUK]

I just bought the Dell in question for my photography, when all is said and done it's a great monitor gaming, granted there are faster monitors out there but the colour reproduction and sharpness is astounding and please remember specs are inflated, even reported panel speeds aren't truly accurate.

There is sadly no true real test for monitors without seeing them, and human eyes are all different. Age is in important factor in this.

To note though, I've also played with a BenQ G2420HDBL 24“ LED - a fantastic monitor for gaming, probably the best TN monitor I've seen.

 

[varis]

Went with the U2311H too and I'm thinking this issue is marginal, it could only be an issue in games with a very fast pace - something like Quake or Unreal Tournament - the other FPSes are quite OK and are not really affected by it.

Currently I'm playing Bad Company 2. It's a bit more of a tactical shooter - your targets don't move that fast so issues with ghosting are reduced. I can only notice any ghosting if I turn around the view rapidly - but even in those cases I'm taking in much new information and the monitor is way faster than my brain How much does a difference of 10ms in ping make? This issue is a bit less important because the difference is less than 10ms to a TN panel. Haven't yet tried too much flying the helo, in theory the difference could be felt there since you're doing quite a bit of turning around and the scene could get fuzzy - however I pretty much doubt there's enough ghosting to be felt even in this case... I used to fly hours and hours in Battlefield 2 with an older monitor that definitely had some ghosting, and I never really felt it to be a major issue... I guess people are a bit different because TN panels still get sold

Colors and the image overall seem to be very nice for playing BC2, natural and rich. It depends a lot on the colour settings and the game - World of Tanks in comparison seems a bit dull, yellowish grey-brown when compared to a cheap TN panel

 

[TomBrooklyn]

It seems to me you'd be wasting your money to buy an IPS panel monitor for gaming. IPS monitors are for photo editors and graphic artists that want to precisely match colors between different monitors, between different professional companies working on the same project, and between their monitor and whatever printer is being used.

Do you really care if the azure blue in your Quake or whatever you call it game looks slightly different than the way it's rendered on the box cover?

Do you care if you get some color shifting if you look at the screen from an extreme angle? Do you really care if the panel has 8bits and can reproduce a true 16.7 million colors, rather than 6bits and uses dithering? You're looking at an animated cartoon.

And are you willing to possibly have to tolerate ghosting on a slow response IPS panel to get these perfect colors, which by the way, may look bland and undersaturated to you if you actually went to the trouble to calibrate the monitor which is what the people who really need IPS panels do, with tools that cost another couple of hundred bucks over the cost of the monitor.

 

[jaguarskx]

Do you care if you get some color shifting if you look at the screen from an extreme angle? Do you really care if the panel has 8bits and can reproduce a true 16.7 million colors, rather than 6bits and uses dithering?

Color shifting doesn't only occur at extreme angles. Even an IPS and VA panel will show color shifting at extreme angles.

When looking at a TN panel monitor, I can personally notice color shifting when I simply look directly at the monitor and roll my eyes around to look at the TN panel monitor while keeping my head still.

And are you willing to possibly have to tolerate ghosting on a slow response IPS panel to get these perfect colors, which by the way, may look bland and undersaturated to you if you actually went to the trouble to calibrate the monitor which is what the people who really need IPS panels do, with tools that cost another couple of hundred bucks over the cost of the monitor.

I never seen an e-IPS panel monitor, but I don't really notice any ghosting with my 6ms and 5ms H-IPS monitors.

Also, response times are not cut and dry. Response times are measured by how much time it takes to change color tones. Only the fastest time is listed as part of the monitor's spec. It disregards the slowest time. I recall reading a TN monitor review from Xbitlabs.com a couple of years ago that had response times as high as 275ms (at least) for a monitor that was rated at 2ms.