Urgent- Opinions on Dell SP2309W (or other $250 monitors)

[omgwtflolbbqbye]

Hi Everybody,

I'm building my first computer this week and spent the last month shopping for parts, but only just remembered that also I need a new monitor to meet my 1080p HD Gaming and HD movie watching needs!

So far, Dell's SP2309W has caught my eye, especially cause they're taking $70 off the MSRP this weekend to bring it down to $229.00, and I can add a coupon code to subtract an addition $20, lowering it to $209.00 before taxes:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&sku=320-7641

Specs:
Panel Size:23 inches
Max Resolution: 2048 x 1152 at 60 Hz
Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 80,000:1 (max)
Brightness: 300 cd/m2 (typical)
Response Time: 2 ms (typical)
Viewing Angle: 160° / 170° (typical)
Color Support: 16.7 million colors
Pixel Pitch: 0.249mm

Is this really the great deal that I think it is, or could I spend the $209-250 on something better?

This is a bit urgent since the deal expires in under 24-hours, so I want to be sure if it's a pass or take before then.

Please help me Tom's Hardware, you're my only hope!

Other notes:
23 inch is pretty much the minimum size I'm going for.

I live in the U.S. (California)

You guys are awesome!

 

[delazaren]

Personally, I wouldn't buy any monitor that doesn't have a viewing angle of 178/178. Smaller viewing angles make the monitor have darker areas compared to the part you are viewing straight on. Unfortunately monitors with high viewing angles are more expensive.

 

[jaguarskx]

I don't like that large of a resolution on a 23" monitor. I'd rather stick with the traditional 1920 x 1080 for a 16:9 monitor. It would stretch DVDs and Blu-Rays to a higher resolution and would decrease the picture quality a little bit. The hit to DVDs will be greater than Blu-Rays because it will be stretch more to fill the screen.

You will also get lower performance when playing games simply because the resolution is higher.

If I were to buy an inexpensive monitor right now, it would probably be the ASUS VH242HL-P for $220. I like it because of the height adjustment and my experience with my Asus VK246H monitor. I bought the VK246H mainly to keep an eye on some processes on my HTPC, but it turns out to be pretty good for games. For the average person it also makes a good monitor for watching movies. See link to my review at the very bottom of this post.

ASUS VH242HL-P:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236066


This is my Asus VK246H ($230):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236048

This is the Asus VW246H ($220) which is the same as the VK model, but no webcam:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049


Looking at the specs of the ASUS VH242HL-P, it appears to be using the same TN panel as in the other Asus monitors I listed.


Review of my Asus VK246H monitor:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/54250-3-asus-vk246h-review-final-update

 

[omgwtflolbbqbye]

Best answer selected by omgwtflolbbqbye.