16:10 IPS monitor

[theholychicken]

Hello,

I just built a rig a few months ago, and am finishing up with upgrading my old 19" monitor from around '06. I really like the 16:10 (not a fan of the 16:9 at all...) and since I will be playing some1080p media, I was thinking 1920x1200 as well as IPS.

Until a few days ago I was looking at the Asus vh242h and was waiting for it to go down maybe $20 from Newegg, but I read up on panel technologies and was really intrigued at the IPS. I've always hated the color shifts and thought they inherently came with LCD monitors, but now I can be free of them!

A quick browsing session gave me some general ideas:
-16:9, TN, 23" I can get for <200
-16:9, IPS, 23" I can get for <300
-16:10, IPS, 24" jumps way up to 500

I won't be doing any video or photo editing (mostly multi-purpose use, some gaming) so the IPS is just for my personal preference, I just don't know if I can justify the huge jump in price... Basically I guess I want people to tell me whether the two things (16:10, IPS) are worth it or not. I can also bump down to ~21" if it's still the same ratio/resolution and the price drop is worth the size shrink.

Looking at Dell U2410, read about the U2412 that's coming out but while it looks like it will be cheaper than the U2410, it also will be lacking several features including inputs and maybe a little crappier panel.

Possibly relevant information:
-Phenom II x6 1090T @ 4GHz
-Radeon HD 6850

Thanks in advance!

 

[jaguarskx]

I prefer H-IPS panel monitors (like the Dell U2410). Whether it is worth the price increase, well... that's up to you. I do have one TN panel monitor which gets used 4 - 6 hours per month. Even so, I plan on replacing it with a H-IPS panel. I simply find TN panels annoying.

The Dell U2410's replacement is rumored to be a 16:9 monitor 1920x1080. I haven't bothered looking into it any further.

You can get an e-IPS monitor like the Dell U2311h. It kinda combines TN and IPS panels. E-IPS panels have better viewing angles and are competitively priced with TN panels, but they have 8ms response times (slower than S-IPS and H-IPS) and they are also 6-bit panels like TN panels which can mean some color banding issues. However, if you haven't noticed it before in a TN panel, then you are less likely to notice it on an e-IPS panel.

 

[xfire21]

If color production is critical to you, stay away from monitors like the U2311h or the new line coming out (u2312 and u2412). Yes the u2412 will be a 6-bit panel, which is almost no better than a TN. So either buy the u2410 before it gets replaced or seek other brands.



Heres info on the U2412: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/news_archive/24.htm#dell_u2412m_info

I'm currently in the middle of hunting for an IPS too, but there aren't many out there within a cheaper price range than the u2410.

 

[theholychicken]

To me it seems like there is quite a big range in performance of different types of IPS panels. I looked it up on Wikipedia as well as other sites and I'm still a little confused. From the development/evolving IPS technology from Wikipedia, E-IPS comes after H-IPS, but am I correct in saying it's more catered to the casual user and it's actually not better but just cheaper to manufacture?

Also, I may have dreamed this or read it late last night, but instead of WLED the U2410 uses CCFL? I know RGB LED is better and costs way more, but what about WLED vs CCFL? From what I've read, WLED does the whole thing with light from the edge and dissipating it, so it's prone to bleeding, etc. I didn't want to assume CCFL was devoid of the cons of WLED. I think WLED saves energy, but I'm living in a dorm where they keep lights on 24/7 so electric bills aren't my problem


So far I think I'm going to keep my eyes on the U2410 and hunt around. Do you think they'll completely replace the U2410 with the U2412? Especially when the newer one is actually worse (estimated cheaper, so maybe better for some)?

Thanks for the inputs, keep them coming! xfire21, let me know if you decide on a monitor.

EDIT: I just read about the whole wide-gamut and non-color managed applications. The threads were from a few years ago, talking about FireFox3 and stuff, but are most apps these days color managed? I don't particularly want a saturated image.

 

[AnUnusedUsername]

I'm not positive about the wide-gamut effects. I know the U2410 is wide-gamut, and most monitors aren't. I'm not sure how that affects the picture. I know it takes one of those "professional" level video cards (FireGL, Quadro, etc.) to support better color once you pass a certain point. (I'm thinking normal monitors/video cards can handle 8 bit colors but for 10 and higher it takes different equipment to get any benefit. I'm not positive.)

They don't make 1920x1200 smaller than 24'' unless its a 17'' laptop screen, so smaller at the same resolution isn't an option.

I'd say 16:10 is worth it, pretty much regardless of what you use it for. I'm always a lot closer to a monitor than to a TV, so it's a lot more obvious that you don't get much vertical area with a monitor than it is with a TV. As for IPS, I can't speak from direct experience. I've got a VA panel monitor, which is a definite improvement over my older TN panel, and IPS is supposed to be better than VA. I miss the glossy screen coating, but the picture is still noticibly better.

TFT central suggests that dell's replacement for the U2410 (the U2412) will be 16:10, so that is something to consider, along with the U2410 as-is.

Just a few other 16:10 IPS panels to consider, there really aren't all that many out there, although obviously there are more than three.

HP's zr24w http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewProductDetail-Start?ProductUUID=gV8Q7EN5rFYAAAEtWmVVIOG3&CatalogCategoryID=yP4Q7EN5.w0AAAEu6fw.zwd2

ASUS' PA246Q http://www.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/PA246Q/#overview