Next Step from 22" Samsung 226BW TN LCD

[misfit14]

I currently use my 4 year old Samsung 22" 226BW (1680x1050) TN LCD with "2ms latency" for gaming and basic home productivity. I play BF:BC2, Starcraft 2, Empire: Total War, and will play Crysis 2, BF:BC3 and Diablo 3 in the future. I am running an EVGA GTX 570 SC and get 70-100 FPS in BF:BC2 with all settings on high with 8xCSAA and 16XAF.

After reading all the talk on these forums of 120Hz TN panels for faster refresh rates and therefore improved frame rates (over 60FPS when doable) while gaming AND reading about the H-IPS panels' great image quality and more accurate colors, I am torn between the following, as it seems many others are:

Option 1 - Upgrade to a 22"-24" 120Hz TN panel.
Option 2 - Upgrade to a 24" H-IPS panel for the improved image quality and reduced eye-strain but increase the chance of ghosting in FPS games.
Option 3 - Wait for an ideal 27" H-IPS or some other panel type to come along, but when?

So, my question to the experts on here, if I want the BEST of both worlds (the speed and the quality) AND a substantially larger monitor, what monitor to get? For arguments sake, my budget is $800 and I want a 27" 16:10 ratio monitor. Is this even achievable nowadays, and if not, are there any new LCD models or technologies around the corner that can make this happen? I love my FPS games and don't want any ghosting BUT I also want the benefits of H-IPS panels. What can $1000 get me? Is LED back-lit or OLED what I want?

I know I'm asking for a lot, but I just want to get everyone's wheels turning and see what everyone can come up with. Thanks in advance!

 

[jaguarskx]

OLED is a long time away from now. A relatively small OLED monitor will cost you several thousands of dollars. I generally prefer IPS panel monitors. $1k can get you a Dell U2711 which is 2560x1440 resolution IPS monitor.

 

[misfit14]

OLED is a long time away from now. A relatively small OLED monitor will cost you several thousands of dollars. I generally prefer IPS panel monitors. $1k can get you a Dell U2711 which is 2560x1440 resolution IPS monitor.

Thanks for the reply jaguarskx. I knew you would be one of the first to reply, you are all over these forums. =)

I know you have a preference for IPS panels, but will I be happy with an IPS for gaming? I hear the HP ZR24W comes highly recommended or the Dell U2411. I would really like a high-end 24-27" NEC IPS monitor that has low latency, but I guess that is a while away. Are the new Samsung 3D monitors releasing soon worth a look?

Also, 2560x1440 is a 16:9 ratio, so I would prefer a 2560x1600 monitor. I would live with 1920x1200 too.

Lastly, I read that 120Hz refresh rate monitors are limited to a 1920x1080 resolution due to DVI Dual-Link bandwidth limitations. Therefore I am currently limited to 1920x1080 if I want to go that route.

 

[jaguarskx]

30" monitors are above your budget so if you want a 16:10 monitor, then you need to settle on a 1920 x 1200 monitor. There are no consumer level IPS monitor that uses LED backlight; except Apple monitors. And all 120Hz monitors use TN panels.

High-end NEC IPS monitors are generally for gaming since they have relatively high input lag. For example, my NEC LCD2690WUXi has an input lag of 32ms which is two frames of lag. However, I still like using for gaming. My Planar PX2611w is actually a really good gaming monitor. It uses the same H-IPS panel as my NEC, but since it lacks all the extra electronics in the NEC, the input lag is less than 8ms or less than 0.5 frame of lag; the lowest I've seen for any IPS panel and can rival many TN panels. However the Planar PX2611w is no longer manufactured, while it can still be bought as new, the price is now at least $900; and I've seen a place that is selling it for as much as $1,300. I bought mine for $800.

The HP ZR24W uses an e-IPS panel so it is less expensive (~ $400) than the Dell U2410 ($500 on sale now) which uses a H-IPS monitor.

Here are reviews for those monitors:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_zr24w.htm
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2410.htm

 

[misfit14]

A very late "thank you" to you jaguarskx, and I have decided, given my budget, I would choose the HP ZR24W. Thanks to all for the replies.

 

[jaguarskx]

No prob. Glad to help.