LCD monitor for designer & gamer

[weemanpow3]

Hi, I'm looking for a monitor that will be an overall great monitor. Main use for graphics/web design/photography/production work & games.

I tried out two monitors from BestBuy (had lots of giftcards to spend) but returned them due to irritating issues. Both where 1920x1080 and 21.5". The first one was an LG. The issue: it seamed blurry and had a purple tint. The second one was a Samsung. The colors were great, but this one you can notice grid lines on the screen only during movement like moving around windows/playing movies/games.

My old 17" MAG LCD 1280x1024 still has better quality then both these new ones.

What do you guys recommend for a computer monitor?


Additional Information:
I would like a monitor that is at least 1920x1080. My Graphics card (GTX 670) has HDMI, Display Port, DVI, VGA. I also have Apple laptop MacBook Pro and love the quality of those screens. So something similar would be awesome.

 

[ssddx]

the blue tint might be caused by a cheap led backlight. instead of true white leds they coat leds so that they appear white but often there is a blue tint. you should be able to adjust this out.

although there is a resolution increase the increase of size from 17" to 21.5" might be why images appear more blurry. unless of course the second monitor you bought was not blurry. in that case it might be the particular model.

i'm not sure what you mean by gridlines but it might be caused by a slow response time. like the monitor cannot display the information fast enough. in this day and age one would think this issue would be nonexistant though.

by colors being great... screens with a glossy finish will definitely look more vibrant but any glare will literally kill your eyes. this is why the subdued tones of matte finish monitors (note: not antiglare) are suggested.

what sort of a budget are you on?

for any sort of professional level photography, web design or graphic design you should have an 8bit ips panel (p-ips, h-ips or s-ips). these panels typically run $500 and up. this is because of the color accuracy of said panel type.

this is not to say that you cannot use other panel types only that this is what is suggested for all serious inquiries into the field. on more of a budget i would have to say a 6bit e-ips panel would also be a good choice. while on par with cheaper panel color accuracy it has a much wider viewing angle making it ideal over a tn panel.

personally i would stay with brands such as viewsonic, acer, dell, asus and the like before i would ever look at lg or samsung.

 

[weemanpow3]

@ssddx Thanks for the information. Spot on.

Budget: $280 Max

Would the Dell U2312HM be a good choice? I was looking around the net and it seamed like this is a popular choice. Also would using Display Port over DVI make a difference for it?

 

[bullwinkel]

The dell seems like it would be a nice monitor. Being an e-IPS panel it should offer the best picture quality of all the monitors you've picked up so far.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260047&Tpk=u2412m

That is pretty much the same monitor but its a 1920x1200 display. If you can't justify the $30 over your budget then get the U2312HM. Display port offers no real advantage over DVI at the time being. More information can be found here: http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/hdmi-vs-displayport-which-is-best-922876#articleContent

 

[ssddx]

the u2312hm model number does sound familiar. i've seen many dell models recommended here on the forums. i've never owned a dell personally so i can just repeat what i've heard. read the pros and cons in reviews and you should get a good feel for quality.

e-ips has the same color accuracy of cheaper panels but does offer a much better viewing angle.

i would personally use dvi over displayport but thats only because i know there will be zero issues with dvi. i've never used displayport much myself.

overall i would say that this is probably a better choice than the first two you tried out. just keep in mind what i said in my first post.

remember when you read reviews look specifically for issues such as the ones you mentioned being reported. if i remember correctly certain issues could also be caused by vertical sync being turned on or off. you might want to research this too.