Which IPS monitor for gaming?

[apav]

Hey guys,

I finished my gaming rig (see below) a couple months back, but I am so very dissapointed with my monitor, the LG W2363D. It's a 120Hz TN panel, but in all honesty I can't tell the difference in smoothness. I knew that the color accuracy wasn't going to be great because it's a TN panel, but this wasn't what I was expecting at all.

So I've decided, I'm going to try to sell this monitor while searching for a new one. I'm going to go with an IPS this time, because I really don't think I will notice any ghosting (I couldn't tell the difference in a TN after all), and the colors are just THAT much better.

I want to go with a Dell because they have all consistently amazing reviews. My price limit is no more than $300, give or take.
So here are the monitors I found:

U2412M for $289:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Dell-UltraSharp-U2412M-24-inch-LED-LCD-3YR-/110885841867?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item19d14fabcb

or
for $310 with extra year warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260047


U2312HM for $220:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-Dell-U2312hm-Newest-Revision-A04-Full-3-Year-Warr-14-Day-Returns-/160796781309?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item25703c2afd

or
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2312HM-IPS-Monitor/dp/B005LN1JEC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1338065329&sr=1-1

Now that I have narrowed down my choices, I have a couple questions that you guys could please help me with!

1.) The U2312HM on ebay lists that it comes with a 3 year warranty, however it does not on the amazon page. Does the monitor from amazon come with any sort of warranty?

2.) Is there any major difference between 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 when gaming? I heard since the 1200p is a 16:10 ratio, it suffers from black bars or field of view loss when gaming. Is this true? Would there be any noticeable fps difference between the resolutions? Also apparently The Witcher 2 (a game I am currently playing) is incompatible with 1200p resolutions. Is that going to be a problem?

3.) What's with the no HDMI? If DVI is the same as HDMI without the audio, then I'm fine with that, but I could be wrong.

4.) It seems the U24 monitor I listed on the ebay link has a Rev A03 panel, while the U23 on the ebay link is a Rev A04. Is there any difference in the picture quality between the two?

4.) Finally, in your opinion do you think the U24 is worth the extra money?? 1 inch bigger screen, 16:10 1200p vs 16:9 1080p, same amount of ports. Is one screen better than the other?

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[MauveCloud]

For #1, that's hard to tell. I've sometimes seen an option to add an extended warranty when buying from Amazon, but I don't see one for that monitor, so probably safer to figure that one has no warranty and buy from somewhere else instead.
For #2, I haven't personally tried with 1920x1200, but 16:9 gets you a little more viewing at the edges compared to 16:10. Probably not a big enough difference to make a monitor decision based on it, though.
For #3, that's pretty much it - dual-link DVI has some advantages over HDMI, but converters between single-link DVI and HDMI are inexpensive and will work both ways.
For the first #4, I have no idea how much difference the board revisions make.
For the second #4, it's mostly up to you to decide whether the size is worth it. To compare quality, you might look at the TFT Central reviews of the monitors:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2312hm.htm
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.htm

 

[apav]

For #1, that's hard to tell. I've sometimes seen an option to add an extended warranty when buying from Amazon, but I don't see one for that monitor, so probably safer to figure that one has no warranty and buy from somewhere else instead.
For #2, I haven't personally tried with 1920x1200, but 16:9 gets you a little more viewing at the edges compared to 16:10. Probably not a big enough difference to make a monitor decision based on it, though.
For #3, that's pretty much it - dual-link DVI has some advantages over HDMI, but converters between single-link DVI and HDMI are inexpensive and will work both ways.
For the first #4, I have no idea how much difference the board revisions make.
For the second #4, it's mostly up to you to decide whether the size is worth it. To compare quality, you might look at the TFT Central reviews of the monitors:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2312hm.htm
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.htm

Thank you for your response! I'm torn between the two because of the screen resolution... Since my computer will be only used for gaming/watching tv and NOT work stuff (I have my laptop for that), maybe I should go for the 16:9? Since that is the way the industry is going, I don't want to have any incompatibilities with future games. Is the difference between a 16:9 and 16:10 noticeable while gaming?

 

[MauveCloud]

I doubt it would be noticeable unless you had a 16:9 monitor set up next to a 16:10 monitor, but see also this recent thread:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/64385-3-1080-1200p-monitors

 

[chumly]

Go read about this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-SE-27-LED-2560X1440-WQHD-DVI-D-Dual-Computer-Monitor-/140738200221?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item20c4a6829d

I own one and it's amazing

There is a big thread about these on hardforums, it uses the same LG panel that they use in the 27" Dell and 27" Apple. Also they are 1440P. From what I was reading, because they cut out the OSD and all the extra crap on the inside, these actually have a lot less input lag.

 

[MauveCloud]

Less input lag I can believe, because there's no scaler, and the video card has to be able to output 2560x1440 (the ebay pages for it usually include a list of compatible video cards). My concern is that the company seems to have come out of nowhere, and they don't even have their own website, so the Yamakasi Catleap seems like a gamble to me.

 

[apav]

Go read about this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-SE-27-LED-2560X1440-WQHD-DVI-D-Dual-Computer-Monitor-/140738200221?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item20c4a6829d

I own one and it's amazing

There is a big thread about these on hardforums, it uses the same LG panel that they use in the 27" Dell and 27" Apple. Also they are 1440P. From what I was reading, because they cut out the OSD and all the extra crap on the inside, these actually have a lot less input lag.

I like big screens if I'm console gaming or watching a movie, but since I'm sitting about 2 feet away from my monitor, 27" is too big for me at most I'd go with 24". It is a crazy bargain though. I wish I could look at big screens so close