Which monitor should I buy?

[jsrtafe]

I am stuck for which monitor to get. It is between an Acer G246HLB 24 and the LG 24EA53VQ IPS 24. I would also like to know if I should be going for this size at 24" or should I go lower for a 22" or 23". I will mostly use it for gaming, movies and browsing. (I can also get the LG for the same price as the Acer)

http://www.ebuyer.com/393375-acer-g246hlb-24-led-lcd-hdmi-monitor-um-fg6ee-b01

http://www.ebuyer.com/466112-24ea53vq-24-ips-led-1920-1080-vga-dvi-hdmi-black-24ea53vq

 

[Orionator]

24 inch is very good for gaming and just working. i would go with the acer bezause it has faster response time and a better contrast ratio.
if you can afford this monitor it is used by mlg pros and it is a beast http://www.amazon.co.uk/BENQ-9H-LA9LB-QBE-RL2455HM-inch-Monitor/dp/B00CFFFGUM

 

[jsrtafe]

24 inch is very good for gaming and just working. i would go with the acer bezause it has faster response time and a better contrast ratio.
if you can afford this monitor it is used by mlg pros and it is a beast http://www.amazon.co.uk/BENQ-9H-LA9LB-QBE-RL2455HM-inch-Monitor/dp/B00CFFFGUM

I was leaning towards the LG due to the IPS display. The contrast ratio and response time are all company tested so they vary dependant on company. Do you think I would even see much of a difference any ways between these similar monitors?
The BenQ monitor would be fantastic but I told myself I would get a monitor under £150

 

[Orionator]

sorry lol i didnt see it was an ips.
if u really want better color and brightness go with that one

 

[sam_p_lay]

The LG is indeed a good choice, though this IPS is a better bet if you want fast pixel response too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/291443-iiyama-prolite-x2377hds-23-ips-panel-led-hdmi-monitor-x2377hds

 

[sam_p_lay]

+1 for the LG 24EA53VQ http://amzn.to/14i0rKe

OP is using British sites, so probably British And £140 is a bit cheaper than your $430 too.

 

[jsrtafe]

The LG is indeed a good choice, though this IPS is a better bet if you want fast pixel response too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/291443-iiyama-prolite-x2377hds-23-ips-panel-led-hdmi-monitor-x2377hds

Well I would like decent colours along with minimal ghosting while playing FPS games, are the iiyama and Lg similar so i would see little to no difference?

 

[jsrtafe]

+1 for the LG 24EA53VQ http://amzn.to/14i0rKe

OP is using British sites, so probably British And £140 is a bit cheaper than your $430 too.

I am indeed British. just thought around £150 would be a good price for a decent monitor? if not i could increase this?

 

[sam_p_lay]

I think it's sufficient. I used to be reluctant to spend more, though I think I'd put my limit around £250. I understand not wanting to spend more than is necessary (I'm the same) and monitors aren't the easiest thing to know how much is necessary - not like it can all be boiled down into a benchmark result like a GPU or CPU.

I think we have the same priorities anyway - quality first (so IPS or PLS), and then as fast response as possible without compromising quality. Almost all manufacturers implement something called RTC overdrive, which accelerates high contrast pixel switching by applying increased voltage to those pixels.

Problem is, apply too much voltage and you get something called "overshoot" where the trails are simply inverted so instead of a dark object leaving dark trails, it leaves light trails (and vice versa). Most manufacturers either apply a little too much or not quite enough (I think it's impossible for them to get a perfect voltage since the panels themselves vary - they don't all come off the production line exactly the same).

So best solution is an overdrive impulse you can adjust manually. Some manufacturers give a choice of off/medium/high (or words to that effect - they call it 'Premium', 'Advanced' etc) and others are just on/off. Some aren't even on/off, just always on. If you buy from ASUS or Iiyama, you get six or five settings respectively, so you can a nice balanced overdrive voltage around the middle. If you buy an ASUS (VS239H-P is cheap) then set Trace Free at 40. If you buy an Iiyama (ProLite XB2380HS is another option) set Overdrive at 0 (goes from -2 to +2).

 

[jsrtafe]

I think it's sufficient. I used to be reluctant to spend more, though I think I'd put my limit around £250. I understand not wanting to spend more than is necessary (I'm the same) and monitors aren't the easiest thing to know how much is necessary - not like it can all be boiled down into a benchmark result like a GPU or CPU.

I think we have the same priorities anyway - quality first (so IPS or PLS), and then as fast response as possible without compromising quality. Almost all manufacturers implement something called RTC overdrive, which accelerates high contrast pixel switching by applying increased voltage to those pixels.

Problem is, apply too much voltage and you get something called "overshoot" where the trails are simply inverted so instead of a dark object leaving dark trails, it leaves light trails (and vice versa). Most manufacturers either apply a little too much or not quite enough (I think it's impossible for them to get a perfect voltage since the panels themselves vary - they don't all come off the production line exactly the same).

So best solution is an overdrive impulse you can adjust manually. Some manufacturers give a choice of off/medium/high (or words to that effect - they call it 'Premium', 'Advanced' etc) and others are just on/off. Some aren't even on/off, just always on. If you buy from ASUS or Iiyama, you get six or five settings respectively, so you can a nice balanced overdrive voltage around the middle. If you buy an ASUS (VS239H-P is cheap) then set Trace Free at 40. If you buy an Iiyama (ProLite XB2380HS is another option) set Overdrive at 0 (goes from -2 to +2).

So the LG monitor would also contain this feature? It's just they all seem so similar would it be difficult to differentiate. It's just certain things in each such as the IPS display from LG that make it stand out.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Yeah all the monitors I've talked about are IPS. Dell, ASUS etc all get their IPS panels from LG. It's only LG that manufactures them And the LG will feature RTC overdrive, but not with the fine level of control I explained. So it's a good choice, but maybe not as good as ASUS VS239H-P or Iiyama ProLite X2377HDS.

 

[Orionator]

+1 that is true

 

[sam_p_lay]

-1 that is not entirely true. ASUS actually make a whole load of IPS panels (ML229H, ML239H, MX239H, MX279H, PB279Q, PA238Q, PB238A, VG23AH, VS239H-P etc...). The other thing that is wrong is VA monitors being fast. I bought a BenQ GW2450HM after reading positive reviews and it was a complete letdown in both colour quality and response. Regardless of the overdrive setting used, there were noticeable trails (at least as noticeable as my old PVA panel Samsung).

The most important thing that's wrong however is the response time stuff. Manufacturer-quoted response times are a load of crap. They're about as useful as the 200000000:1 dynamic contrast ratios quoted or the throughput ratings on SSDs with Sandforce controllers. It's like judging a CPU purchase on clockspeed alone or a GPU purchase purely on GBs of memory. You get the idea.

To illustrate, here's a 6ms panel:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/pixperan/philips_273e3qhsb.jpg

Now here's an 8ms panel that you're expecting to have more trails:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/pixperan/nec_p232w.jpg

Look up the models if you don't believe me about those response times.

Obviously I've chosen the slowest 6ms I know and an exceptionally fast 8ms panel but it proves what I'm telling you. Manf response times are worthless. You need professional reviews (www.tftcentral.co.uk) that use high-speed closeup photography so actually show you the true amount of trails. Left side column is best-case-scenario, image on the right is worse-case-scenario.