Budget monitor for primarily editing and some gaming

longbowman

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Apr 8, 2015
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Hi there,

Looking for a "best value" point for a monitor, going to be for mainly for audio work and some video/photo editing (non professional). Looking for a decent monitor under $200ish (Canadian).
-If there's a "sweet spot" pricerange that's better value for the money, please let me know.

(Please note I won't necessarily be buying these from Newegg, PCPartPicker has better prices elsewhere but these are all similar).

I should mention: Unsure between VA and IPS monitor. Reasonable response time is preferred since I'll be doing a bit of gaming but I don't need anything specific like 1ms. Blacks are important/preferred but so is colour accuracy so I'm hoping I can find a compromise.

Currently looking at:
-LG22MP55HQ http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...
$155 - Cheap, IPS monitor

-BenQ GW2265HM http://www.cnet.com/products/benq-gw2265hm-led-monitor-21-5/
$166 - VA with excellent contrast

-Dell S2240M http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=320-9803&redirect=1
$177 IPS - 83% NTSC colour gamut compared to BenQ's 72%, but I'm not sure if they're measuring CIE1931 with BenQ in which case the BenQ would be the same as the Dell.

-Acer G227HQL http://www.amazon.com/Acer-G227HQL-Abi-21-5-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B00JB6HCHI
$178 IPS

-AOC i2267Fw http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824160167
$179 IPS

-Asus VS229H-P http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2405094,00.asp
$200

Prices are all after tax I believe.

Open to any options, picking from this list is helpful: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/parts/monitor/#W=2130,3400&sort=a8&page=1

Any recommendations to others around this line, or opinions? I'd compromise a 24" to a 22" if it means a higher quality display. Colour accuracy is important (as much as I can get for the money here) more so than latency, but 5ms at least is nice.
 

RCFProd

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Solution

longbowman

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Apr 8, 2015
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Mind expanding somewhat?
Does the extra inch make a significant difference? Ah, didn't realize Newegg calculates taxes beforehand, I'll turn the "auto tax" mode off on PCPartPicker.

Regarding the IPS monitor, I've read the contrast is fairly awful in some situations. Is this true for most lower-end models?

And lastly, when it comes to glossy vs matte - is glossy usually the better option for clarity and contrast?
 

RCFProd

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Matte in most day light situations should be more clear than glossy. I would never buy a glossy monitor in this day and age.

Most IPS monitors out right now offer great color and image quality really. Quite ahead of TN and TFT panels.

23 is just the right size in my mind but 24 would be perfect.
 

longbowman

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Only thing I'm left to worry about is contrast - has contrast with IPS monitors gotten better? I can't stand grey where black should be, I have my computer temporarily hooked up to my plasma TV at home so I'm spoiled in this regard.
 
RCFProd, 23 and 24" monitors is the same, they just type it differently, the actual number is 23.X"

Black levels are great on IPS panels, but cannot be compared to a Plasma/CRT/OLED which you're used to. If we just compare PC monitors PLS & IPS are the best out there available for consumers. I agree with RCFProd, you should get a IPS panel. If you're worried about black levels then calibrate it yourself- no display looks the best it can produce out of the box- including Plasma.

If contrast is terrible in a low end IPS monitor it's probably manufactured by third party but a known manufacturer sells them. Infact there is a Samsung TV that is literally luck of the straw, you will get a bad or good panel, there is no guarantee- from Samsung in this case. A good way to differentiate the good panels from the bad is vieweing angles, if they are excellent then it's a good panel. And obviously you should stick to the most common brands, and always look up reviews online before buying. :)

Edit: This is the TV I'm talking about: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN50H6350-50-Inch-1080p-120Hz/dp/B00I94IRIQ

Ridiculous, I know. Which is why reading reviews should be your #1 priority.

Edit 2: Use this web site to compare the different size monitors: http://www.displaywars.com/
 

longbowman

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Thanks for the help guys. IPS it is. I have a few narrowed down, would love input here:

1. Acer H236HL Bid - https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/acer-monitor-umvh6aa003
2. Asus VN248HP - https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vn248hp
3. LG 23 or 24MP55HQ-P (no idea what the -P designation is...) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-23mp55hqp
4. LG 23MP47HQ (not AH-IPS like the above LG from what I can tell from specs, but then again companies are utterly incompetent at listing relevant specs for this range of monitor) https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-23mp47hq

Just a note - PC Part picker lists a few for way cheaper, but I checked the CanadaComputers deal and it was in-store only, similarly Vuugo has one of the models for cheap but they're backordered, so prices are almost all the same. Good reviews on all really, but the most on the Acer I'd say. Concerns are decent contrast and colours (duh) - it's ok if they're not Plasma black :). Not sure if flicker is a big deal.

Something I also thought of throwing into the mix is the BenQ GW2760HS, since it's a 27" monitor for relatively cheap. Not sure if VA is a good idea though, but the extra 3" is nice for space. Only considering it because video editing will be done mainly for viewing on computer screens, but I'm wondering if 1080p on a 27" is a bad idea for a monitor when one is sitting so close.


Thanks for that site by the way, I'll shoot through there and see if I can answer this on my own (again, would appreciate ideas here though). Not sure I care if the monitor is glossy or not, but clear picture is important.
 

longbowman

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Apr 8, 2015
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Bump.

Really having trouble with this - some reviews are good, but all monitors in this range seem to have poor reviews.

Is it a poor idea to try and get a monitor like this for the $200CAD range? LG I listed seems to have light bleeding issues, the Asus has a number of dead pixel reviews as well as poor blacks/greyscale, the Acer seems to have flickering problems and is eIPS instead of AH-IPS, etc etc, and all of the above are apparently not as clear as glossy-screened counterparts.

I did find the Acer H226HQL that's smaller but has generally better reviews. Used to glossy monitors personally, as my plasma TV and laptop monitors are both glossy. Clarity is more important than whether or not it reflects.

Should I bump up my budget, or consider a VA type panel for this budget range? It seems to be difficult to find a quality IPS monitor in this range that doesn't have quality control issues and that also comes with mild anti-glare, an 8-bit colour scheme monitor, etc, or at most 5ms latency. Or is this another luck-of-the-straw thing, as you mentioned?

I'd happily spend a bit more if I can avoid this headache, or avoid potential RMA situations. Doesn't help that manufacturers have an absurd amount of unexplained product lines, and seem to be utterly incompetent or simply deceptive when listing specifications.
 

RCFProd

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The Asus will do really well and I have no other recommendation. Looks really solid with good color reproduction.

I use the LG 22EA53VQ-P by the way and the black levels of that one are really good. Ridiculous when comparing it to the TN panel I have mounted next to it. I need to replace it with another IPS one asap.
 

longbowman

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Thanks, glad to hear it.

I'd love to check it out - frustrating thing with doing this online is that manufacturers conveniently leave out important details and there's little rhyme or reason laid out to differentiate monitors, at least from a reader's perspective. I wish I could see these side by side but I'll have to go with what I have here.