The large price difference between 1920x1080 and 1920x1200?

[Tindytim]

I was recently looking a prices on monitors for a 4 monitor setup, preferably one with some high pixel density (between 20" and 24" inches).

But I noticed that 1920x1200 monitors cost hundreds of dollars more than their 1080p equivalents. Can anyone explain why an ~11% increase in pixels causes a doubling of the price? Or am I just looking in the wrong places?

Anyone know of some cheaper 1920x1200 monitors? I'm not a serious gamer, so response time doesn't have to be too high, just something good for media work.

 

[cjl]

There are cheaper 1920x1200 monitors, but there is a good reason why the expensive ones cost so much. Most cheap monitors (including all 1920x1080 monitors) use a panel technology called Twisted Nematic (TN). While cheap and low power, this does not allow for very good viewing angles or black levels, and can have inaccurate color. The expensive panels use either Vertical Alignment (VA) panels, or In Plane Switching (IPS) panels, which have significantly better color, viewing angle, and black level. I have a Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP for example, which uses an S-PVA panel.

 

[jpenafiel]

Here is the best resource I have found for LCD monitors. It may not be complete but it has lots of links to places that are and it has tons of useful info.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206

 

[jaguarskx]

Exactly what monitor models are you comparing?

As cjl has pointed out, the panel technology itself is the largest cost of a monitor. I have both cheap and expensive monitors at home and I definitely prefer expensive monitors due to color quality, image quality and a whole host of other things which may not matter for the average person.

 

[Tindytim]

I was actually looking at Newegg and TigerDirect. The average price range seemed odd to me.

 

[jaguarskx]

Average price of all monitors?

You need to specify / look at the exact model. Prices can vary for the same mode from store to store. Brink & mortar stores (walk-in) prices are generally higher.

Example: The Planar PX2611w costs from $770 - $900 online.

 

[meodowla]

Price difference may be due to reponse time. Have you noticed it?