Best Monitor for Gaming ~$250

[marlindo]

Im looking for a new monitor ( 27"> monitor >22") at 1080p. I want to play games, Fallout3:NV, DiabloIII, to watch a movie every now and then, but no photo work. Nothing professional.


What are some good recommendations. I say roughly $250, but if there is a monitor you absolutely love at 300-400 let me know and I can watch for it during the upcoming sales. I'm also kind of under the impression that LCD is the way to go for cheaper monitors as opposed to LED. The main complaint I hear is that LED's colors often look washed out. I do not care about how thin or light my monitor is, if it looks nice, that just a bonus.

I was looking at the HP 2509. Anybody have any experience with it?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176126&Tpk=hp%202509

What monitor should I get???!

 

[red slayer]

Samsung B2430H 24" LCD Monitor is good but no 3d or touch screen

 

[jaguarskx]

"LED" simply refers to the backlight. Most LCD monitors still use the traditional florescent backlight. Neither affects how colors look "washed out", that is in fact due to the panel technology in this case TN panel tech which is the type of monitor you are currently looking at. Additionally, monitors with a glossy finish looks more saturated than matte finish. It gives that "pop" that many people seem to like. Glossy screens are very reflective as well.

I don't have any experience with the HP 2509. The only TN panel monitor that I ever owned is the 24" Asus VK246H. It's very good for gaming, but is smaller than what you are looking. You can find my review in the following thread and there are a few other review as well to give you some options:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/58336-3-official-flat-panel-monitor-reviews-thread

 

[ebbies7]

Not to try and steal your thread but I am actually looking for the same thing, I tend to use cNet a lot for product reviews, here is a list of the top 5 monitors, from 21 to 23 inches http://reviews.cnet.com/best-21-22-inch-lcd-monitors/?tag=centerColumnArea1.0;buyAdvice

Currently I am looking at the HP LP2275w it has got really good reviews for movies and gaming, along with top notch ergonomics, has anyone else heard anything or have any more suggestions?

 

[marlindo]

Thanks for the responses!

Red Slayer - I actually dislike 3d

Jaguar- thanks for the link to your review. I"m checking it out now. I wanted a monitor between 22 and 27in so yours might fit the bill perfectly. I am definitely looking for that extra saturated color palate.

ebbies7- the more the merrier. Did you notice that the LP2275w's max res is 1680x1050. I kind of dislike Cnet's reviews because they never seem to give anything more than 4/5. It makes it seem like i"m choosing the least defective product.

 

[marlindo]

I've been looking at the Samsung 2450h found here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001378&Tpk=Samsung%20P2450H

 

[jaguarskx]

Here's a review of the Samsung P2450H from Prad.de...

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2010/review-samsung-p2450h.html


Here's their review of my monitor...

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-asus-vk246h.html

 

[jaguarskx]

Currently I am looking at the HP LP2275w it has got really good reviews for movies and gaming, along with top notch ergonomics, has anyone else heard anything or have any more suggestions?

Here's a review for your HP LP2275w from Prad.de...


http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2008/review-hp-lp2275w.html

 

[ebbies7]

I have noticed that about cNet and it does bother me sometimes.

That is a really in depth site for monitor reviews, thanks for sharing, I'm just going to look on there when I think I find something I like! Speaking of which I sorted lcd monitors by manufacturer on newegg and asus seems to have some pretty decent models for very reasonable prices. You might want to check them out too marlino.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

White LEDs have a 68% NTSC color gamut.
While Eco CCFLs have typically 72% NTSC.

Thats why LED monitors look washed out in color. Some manufacturers rig their testing methods and report their LED monitors as 72% but its really not true.

 

[ebbies7]

Isn't there also something about GTG refresh rates are technically a rigged stat as well because thats not the true refresh rate but some companies use it?

 

[jaguarskx]

White LEDs have a 68% NTSC color gamut.
While Eco CCFLs have typically 72% NTSC.

Thats why LED monitors look washed out in color. Some manufacturers rig their testing methods and report their LED monitors as 72% but its really not true.

Interesting, I didn't know some white LED lights are below standard color gamut.

 

[jaguarskx]

Isn't there also something about GTG refresh rates are technically a rigged stat as well because thats not the true refresh rate but some companies use it?

It is an advertised stat under the the best circumstances. Actual response times can be much higher. Some monitor peak at over 250ms when changing color tones, but that is peak and does not represent the norm.

I read thru a review of one Asus monitor with an advertised 2ms response time, the peak was actually only 4ms during the test. Response time tests are not normally part of any monitor reviews because you need the right equipment the measure the rise and fall of color changes on a monitor screen. That requires sensitive equipment.

 

[ebbies7]

It is an advertised stat under the the best circumstances. Actual response times can be much higher. Some monitor peak at over 250ms when changing color tones, but that is peak and does not represent the norm.

I read thru a review of one Asus monitor with an advertised 2ms response time, the peak was actually only 4ms during the test. Response time tests are not normally part of any monitor reviews because you need the right equipment the measure the rise and fall of color changes on a monitor screen. That requires sensitive equipment.

Thank you for this, good to know!

 

[marlindo]

Jaguar, as I"ve been searching monitors I feel as if I've seen your name come up enough on this forum that you'd know something(or a lot) about the dell U2311H.

I understand it has a gtg 8ms, and an input lag of about 10ms. I do not play competitive FPS, aka my mouse sensitivity is fairly low, and I'm not looking to blame my lack of reaction time on high gtg ms. However I do want to play a select few fps games; the new Fallout, the next Deus Ex and next Bioshock, which are single player. Do you think I'd be turned off by the ghosting? (Assuming I'd even notice it). I used to have a 2006-7 model 22" acer with 5ms connected to my 360, and never noticed any ghosting with it. So 3ms more doesn't particularly scare me.

So do you think it would work for non-competitive fps interests?

Also I read it goes on sale occasionally at the $240 price point.


edit: did some more searching, generally I find results consistent with this thread
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1547542

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

ok I can give a clear answer about LED color gamut. Theres only one type of white LED floating around. Samsung calls it LED Blu and most other companies call it white LED. Its actually more of what samsung calls it, they are Blu LEDs with yellow phosphor to change the light to become more white. This is why LED monitors are bluish.

The LEDs color space is different than Eco CCFLs; smaller. It can range from 68% up to 72%. If calibrated properly the monitor would be around 68%, some of the coverage is outside of SRGB color space. On the other hand, manufacturers can leave their monitors at 72% but their colors would be inaccurate.

The biggest factor to LEDs having washed out color isn't their color space but their bluish tint. The human eye is least sensitive to blue light. So everything looks washed out and monotone. All that on TN panels doesn't help either.

Grey to Grey response time is a rigged stat since manufacturers can choose which grey tone to test giving themselves best results depite actual average response time.