Gaming monitor

[Zebracak3s]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post and I thank you all for reading. I have come into some money, and would like to splurge on a gaming monitor. My spending limit is $500, but would rather spend in the 350-450 range. My desk is quite large, so I would like to get the biggest monitor that I can get while keeping the best quaility...... was hoping to get like a 24" widescreen. I am a dunce when it comes to monitors, so I was hoping you guys could help me out... do you have any suggestions?

Thanks so much!

-Edit- Oh btw I am running a GTX 260 for a video card, if that makes a difference.

-Edit 2- Had my eyes on http://www.lg.com/us/computer-products/monitors/LG-led-monitor-W2486L.jsp# is this any good?

 

[MauveCloud]

The LG you linked to is out of production. It's deactivated at NewEgg, and I don't find it on Amazon or Yahoo Shopping. You could get it on eBay for at least $366, but I see some newer monitors at NewEgg with similar specs for around $250-260:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009206
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001421

If your desk is big enough for a 27 inch monitor, there are a few that size that have LED backlights (based on your link to the LG W2486L, I'm guessing you'd prefer an LED backlight) and cost between $350 and $420. However, two of those only have 1-year warranties, so the only one I'd recommend of them is this one for $350:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009276

If you don't need the LED backlight (or don't want to have to buy a DVI to HDMI cable, which all of the other monitors I recommended would need, since the GTX 260 cards I saw had dual DVI but no HDMI), here are a couple of other 27 inch monitors that also claim 1200:1 static contrast:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824016155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116441

 

[Zebracak3s]

The LG you linked to is out of production. It's deactivated at NewEgg, and I don't find it on Amazon or Yahoo Shopping. You could get it on eBay for at least $366, but I see some newer monitors at NewEgg with similar specs for around $250-260:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009206
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001421

If your desk is big enough for a 27 inch monitor, there are a few that size that have LED backlights (based on your link to the LG W2486L, I'm guessing you'd prefer an LED backlight) and cost between $350 and $420. However, two of those only have 1-year warranties, so the only one I'd recommend of them is this one for $350:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009276

If you don't need the LED backlight (or don't want to have to buy a DVI to HDMI cable, which all of the other monitors I recommended would need, since the GTX 260 cards I saw had dual DVI but no HDMI), here are a couple of other 27 inch monitors that also claim 1200:1 static contrast:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824016155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116441

Thank you for replying... I do have a few questions though however:

The last three you linked were 27" monitors running 1920X1080. Don't i lose some by not going 1920X1200? WOn't the screen door effect come into play? Is Viewsonic a reputable company? I have heard a few negative things about them and ANTEC, so I shy'd away from those... but I could have heard wrong.

 

[MauveCloud]

Thank you for replying... I do have a few questions though however:

The last three you linked were 27" monitors running 1920X1080. Don't i lose some by not going 1920X1200? WOn't the screen door effect come into play? Is Viewsonic a reputable company? I have heard a few negative things about them and ANTEC, so I shy'd away from those... but I could have heard wrong.

The LG monitor you linked to first was also 1920x1080, so I don't see what you'd be losing. If you want 1920x1200, that seems to only be currently availabe at 24 inches. I bought my father a 27 inch 1920x1080, and haven't noticed a screen door effect. Looking on Wikipedia, I see it is mainly an issue for projection systems, so a 27 inch lcd would not be susceptbile to it.

Viewsonic is a reputable company in my book, and so is Antec. They may have had some bad feedback, but I'd be surprised if a company that had been around even a year was completely devoid of bad feedback. I figure if some of their products get articles on Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, Bit-Tech, etc., they're probably a reputable company. I had a Procomp motherboard once with weird problems, and when looking for an example of a monitor from an unfamiliar company, I came across this monitor from EQD Auria:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824611005
It's 26 inch, and 1920x1200 (though it strangely didn't show up when I searched for 1920x1200), but the obscure manufacturer and 1-year warranty lead me to advise against it.

 

[Zebracak3s]

The LG monitor you linked to first was also 1920x1080, so I don't see what you'd be losing. If you want 1920x1200, that seems to only be currently availabe at 24 inches. I bought my father a 27 inch 1920x1080, and haven't noticed a screen door effect. Looking on Wikipedia, I see it is mainly an issue for projection systems, so a 27 inch lcd would not be susceptbile to it.

Viewsonic is a reputable company in my book, and so is Antec. They may have had some bad feedback, but I'd be surprised if a company that had been around even a year was completely devoid of bad feedback. I figure if some of their products get articles on Tom's Hardware, Anandtech, Bit-Tech, etc., they're probably a reputable company. I had a Procomp motherboard once with weird problems, and when looking for an example of a monitor from an unfamiliar company, I came across this monitor from EQD Auria:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824611005
It's 26 inch, and 1920x1200 (though it strangely didn't show up when I searched for 1920x1200), but the obscure manufacturer and 1-year warranty lead me to advise against it.

Litterally 20 seconds after you said something I double checked and noticed that the one i put down wasn't 1920X1200. My apologizes.



http://www.universalmania.com/_e/Monitors/sproduct/1016558881/HP_Performance_ZR24W_24_LCD_Monitor.htm

This has got my eye.

 

[MauveCloud]

Litterally 20 seconds after you said something I double checked and noticed that the one i put down wasn't 1920X1200. My apologizes.



http://www.universalmania.com/_e/Monitors/sproduct/1016558881/HP_Performance_ZR24W_24_LCD_Monitor.htm

This has got my eye.

I'm not familiar with the vendor, but the specifications look good, and I found a couple of encouraging professional reviews of that monitor:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1272354232
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_zr24w.htm