Which LCD for me?

[shindawa]

I need a new LCD monitor for a second computer. I do not understand the technical ascpects of monitors (8bit vs 6bit, VA panel vs XYZ panel). I just want a good all-around monitor. Listed below are my needs in order of importance.

1. 19 inch. DVI input. 1280x1024. (higher resolutions make text hard to read).
2. Price (I will not spend more than $400, and I would like to spend less)
3. Easy to read text (I mostly use my computer to surf the internet, check mail, type papers, excel)
4. Color/Brightness (I would like the monitor to have uniform, bright, and vibrant colors. However, I don't do any significant photo editing, and I probably wouldn't notice the difference between good and bad color.)
5. Gaming (I don't game a lot, but it would be great if my new monitor was at least as good as my current monitor. I haven't ever noticed "ghosting" on my current monitor.)

I currently have a ViewSonic VP912b. I have had this monitor for 2 or 3 years. I have been happy with this monitor, but I am sure there are newer and better monitors now. I'm not real picky and most monitors would probably make me happy. I just want a few recommendations to help point me in the right direction.

Thanks

 

[xeenrecoil]

Sup Shindawa;

I just recently purchased a Samsung SyncMaster 225BW, and how do I say this I LOVE this panel love love love...LOL
Its a 22" wide screen LCD, The edges are very thin, and its a 5ms panel, the colors are true, and it is very sharp, so it will do anything you want it to do, but its talent is displaying games, and high resolution video, the OSD is very user friendly. I highly recomend this panel for gaming, high resolution video editing, watching DVD movies, or vewing high resolution videos, however if you watch a low resolution video you will notice that artifacts become a problem, but as long as you stay away from poor quality video this problem wont present itself. Also this panel has a slight problem with text, there is a slight blur every other line at 12 font size I dont know if this is an overshoot problem with the acceleration or what but it doesnt bother me at all as the bluring is ever so slight and would only become a problem if your primary use is text editing. Otherwise the panel is absolutely perfect.

Pros:
22" of wide screen heaven.
Fair Price, $379 USD
Excellent display quality for Gaming, High Resolution Video.
Very Fast
User friendly OSD
Thin edges
Great height adjustment range / tilt.

Cons:
Blurry text on non-native widescreen resolutions
Artifacts on low resolution video

I give it 4.5 Stars out of a possible 5, shaving a half a point off for the non-native widesreen resolution text issue.

***Update***
I wasnt happy with my results at 1280x1024, having a hard time accepting that my monitor had trouble with text of all things, considering I read alot of technology and space articles, so I started trying different resolutions to see what the results would be.
It turns out that the text issue isnt as serious as I origionaly thought, the blurring effect only happens on non-native widescreen resolutions, for instance at 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x900, the blurring effect happens, but at a native widescreen resolution of 1680x1050 it displays perfectly, excellent sharpness with text, video, graphics, etc, no noticable problems.
So after discovering that I have to use native widescreen resolutions only, this is my new resolution of choice, it appears the two display problems may be inter-connected, perhaps this panel just has problems displaying low resolution anything, the higher you crank up the resolution the sharper the display, and the blurring problems dissapear.
On a personal note going from 1024x768 on my old 19" square, this is a huge change, I have tremendous amounts of desktop space now its pretty crazy LOL

 

[shindawa]

Thanks for the response XeenRecoil. It looks like you found a great monitor for your needs.

However, the text issue is problem for me. Text quality is very important for me. I mostly use my computer to read and type. Pictures and gaming come in second for me. That is why is wanted a 1280x1024 resolution.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Hose]

Thanks for the response XeenRecoil. It looks like you found a great monitor for your needs.

However, the text issue is problem for me. Text quality is very important for me. I mostly use my computer to read and type. Pictures and gaming come in second for me. That is why is wanted a 1280x1024 resolution.

Any other suggestions?

Samsung 970P and 971P.

 

[shindawa]

I will checkout the Samsung 970/971. What do you think of these 2?

1. Viewsonic 930b
2. Nec 90GX2

 

[Hose]

I will checkout the Samsung 970/971. What do you think of these 2?

1. Viewsonic 930b
2. Nec 90GX2

The VP930b is good all-around and well-liked. The 90GX2 has the glossy Brite screen. You'll probably think it's GREAT if you can control the lighting to prevent reflections. It gets CRAZY-high marks from buyers on Newegg.

 

[tyr86]

vx922 FTW?

Meets your res requirements and doesn't ghost.

They are kinda meh on the viewing angles and not so hot for watching movies, but great for me overall.