New monitor advice

[Mrsh4dy]

Approximate Purchase Date: Somewhere in 2011 (probably in 2 to 3months).

Budget Range: 300 euros max (about 450 dollars).

Monitor Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, movies, internet.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm just looking for a price estimate and choice of products (will get them cheapest available in my own country).

Country of Origin: Holland

Brand Preferences: None really, though good return and repair policies would be better.

Physical Size (Diagonal): Max of about 24inches any bigger and It'll be too close.

Resolution(s) You'll Consider: 1920x1080, 1920x1200, Seem the most reasonable in my price range.

Inputs Needed: Should have at least a DVI port, A DisplayPort would be a nice extra.

Panel Type(s) Desired: Depends on the price and quality of the product. Since it'll be used for gaming and watching a few shows (when I'm too lazy in switching to my plasma tv).

LED Backlight: Indifferent.

Speakers: Indifferent. Don't need them at all, but won't reject a suggestion just because of speakers.

Wall-Mount: Indifferent.

Stand Functions: No real requirements just some flexibility would be enough.

Additional Comments: I wouldn't mind any suggestions, however since I game a lot no ghosting, low input lag and the bunch is sort of required.
Just wished oled or qled would arrive sooner.

 

[ssddx]

if you plan on playing quite a few widescreen or blueray dvds then 1920x1080 would be a good choice as you will not have horizontal/vertical bars for 1080p content. always a good thing.

if you don't mind bars but would like a display that is a tiny bit more square then 1920x1200 is what you'd be looking for. keep in mind that the prices on said units are more and your selection will be more limited if you go this route.

if you want the best visuals you would want an IPS type panel. or VA. TN panels give the fastest response times but tend to look like crap at any sort of an angle (even a few degrees sometimes). if you go IPS remember that e-ips is not ips, there is a difference in quality. overall anything with a maximum (key word, maximum) response time of 16ms running at 60hz shouldnt ghost in the least. of course if you get lower numbers that is great but 2-3ms as stated on some gaming monitors isnt required at all.

i'm not as well versed in the different options available as some, however, i can recommend viewsonic (their pro, or better options not their really cheap models) as i've used several and can say they are top notch.

i agree with what you said for oled/qled... that technology does have me intrigued. i have an ameoled on my phone and it is stunning.

 

[Mrsh4dy]

if you plan on playing quite a few widescreen or blueray dvds then 1920x1080 would be a good choice as you will not have horizontal/vertical bars for 1080p content. always a good thing.

if you don't mind bars but would like a display that is a tiny bit more square then 1920x1200 is what you'd be looking for. keep in mind that the prices on said units are more and your selection will be more limited if you go this route.

if you want the best visuals you would want an IPS type panel. or VA. TN panels give the fastest response times but tend to look like crap at any sort of an angle (even a few degrees sometimes). if you go IPS remember that e-ips is not ips, there is a difference in quality. overall anything with a maximum (key word, maximum) response time of 16ms running at 60hz shouldnt ghost in the least. of course if you get lower numbers that is great but 2-3ms as stated on some gaming monitors isnt required at all.

i'm not as well versed in the different options available as some, however, i can recommend viewsonic (their pro, or better options not their really cheap models) as i've used several and can say they are top notch.

i agree with what you said for oled/qled... that technology does have me intrigued. i have an ameoled on my phone and it is stunning.

Yeah I'm still debating that. My main reason for going the 1920x1200 tour is because of the higher res in games which should result in sharper images. Might be better to just ask if there is any real graphical benefit from going 1920x1200?

I'm a bit worried about the input lag and other ghosting effects of the ips and va monitors and the models that do not are probably even higher in cost. Yet I do dislike the greyish and lack of detail on the tn panels especially when switching in between my plasma and current tn panel.
So i'm sort of split between these choices. That's why any recommendation would go a long way.

Yeah i'm not that stuck on a specific brand as long as it has a good reputation.
Will check out some of their products, thanks.

It's a shame though that because of the economic crisis and the money they make of the current lcd technology that they have not put as much effort into making oled a real competitor in the consumer market.

 

[jaguarskx]

if you plan on playing quite a few widescreen or blueray dvds then 1920x1080 would be a good choice as you will not have horizontal/vertical bars for 1080p content. always a good thing.

Movies come in more aspect ratio formats than just 16:9. A very popular aspect ratio used in movie is 2.35:1 so there will still be black bars. Example of 2.35:1 movies are:

Batman: The Dark Knight
Gran Torino
Watchmen
300
Star Trek 2009

if you want the best visuals you would want an IPS type panel. or VA. TN panels give the fastest response times but tend to look like crap at any sort of an angle (even a few degrees sometimes). if you go IPS remember that e-ips is not ips, there is a difference in quality.

Just to clarify; e-IPS technology is basically a derivative of IPS technology. The main difference is that an e-IPS panel can only create 256k actual colors as opposed to 16.7m colors that an IPS panel can truly create. An e-IPS panel must use temporal dithering to create 16m colors out of only 256k. This is the same technology used the less expensive TN panel. Additionally, e-IPS uses slightly wider aperture for light compared to more expensive IPS tech which may why the viewing angles are not as good as IPS panels. But it is still superior to TN panel viewing angles.[/quotemsg]

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah I'm still debating that. My main reason for going the 1920x1200 tour is because of the higher res in games which should result in sharper images. Might be better to just ask if there is any real graphical benefit from going 1920x1200?

That is incorrect. 1920 x 1200 will not give sharper images. It just gives you a slightly different field of view. How 1920 x 1200 compares to 1920 x 1080 in a game depends on how it is implemented in a game. In many games 80 pixel on the top and 80 pixels on the bottom is simply not be rendered on a 1920 x 1080 monitor. StarCraft 2 takes a different approach; 1920 x 1080 will be slightly zoomed out compared to 1920 x 1200 so you will actually see more of the game map.

I'm a bit worried about the input lag and other ghosting effects of the ips and va monitors and the models that do not are probably even higher in cost. Yet I do dislike the greyish and lack of detail on the tn panels especially when switching in between my plasma and current tn panel.

All monitors suffer a bit of input lag and ghosting effects. IPS and VA monitors can have response times as low as 5ms, but they are basically beyond your budget. The HP ZR24W has 5ms response time and can be purchased for around $450, but in Europe the price can be higher than just a simple currency conversion. Regarding input lag, TN panels generally have less, but IPS panels can pretty low input lag as well. The HP ZR24W's input lag has been measured to be 10ms which is very competitive against TN panels. Every 16.67ms of input lag equals 1 frame of input lag. Generally speaking, 1 frame of lag or less is considered excellent.

See following review:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_zr24w.htm

It is probably the best monitor I can recommend if you can find it within your budget.

 

[jaguarskx]

The review I linked states the HP ZR24w uses an e-IPS panel. However, subsequent research on the monitor indicates it uses a S-IPS panel which makes sense since it appears e-IPS panels are limited to 8ms response times; at least for the current generation of these panels.

And it is 1920 x 1200 resolution monitor.

 

[Mrsh4dy]

Oke thanks for the reply and the advice.
I can get it around 360bucks so it's not too expensive just a bit over my max budget (not too much though, as long as it is a good monitor).
But this is the only monitor you would advice me to buy, any TN panel would be a waste of money?
And though it might be more expensive in the us it could be I can get it for less in my country (doubt it but never hurts to search). I say this because I would like a few more options or otherwise a good reason to only stick to this monitor.

Still thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and the advice on the monitor.

Greets.

 

[varis]

The Dell U2311H could serve you well and fits all the specs. Has been available at a cheap price point (still a bit over 250eur in Finland) compared to the very good quality of the screen. You will have to research the input lag / ghosting issue, personally I don't notice any when playing on this screen and I think the issue receives quite a lot of attention in discussions compared to how big of a difference it is in practice (rather minimal). Your mileage may vary, of course.