20'' LCD recomendations

[shed]

Mornin' all.

My uncle is in the market for a new LCD TFT screen to replace his old CRT. I don't really know much about what's good and what's not so I was hoping for some guidance from you knowledgable fellows. Basically, he wants a 20'' monitor and the budget is ideally under £150 although he would pay more if it meant getting a much better monitor. This monitor would only be used for office type work and browsing the internet though so it doesn't really need to be top of the range.

He has been eyeing up this one:
Acer AL2016WB

His friend at work recommended this:
Acer AL 2051Ws

I've heard lots of good things about this one:
Samsung SM204BW
but finding in stock anywhere is proving to be a bit tricky.

So are any of those worth getting or is there a better screen out there? Any advice much appreciated!

 

[nate39]

I just bought the Acer 2015 http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824009105 after a lot of research. It is a lot better than the first Acer you listed but in the US about 50 or 60 dollars more. I would recommend it although for what he is going to use it for, he could get along with a cheaper one.

the 2051 is also a better screen than the Samsung for the same reasons. Check the viewing angle, and pixel pitch and display colors and you see why you get what you pay for. Hope this helps

 

[shed]

Thanks for the reply.

After reading this article:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/which_screen_1.htm

and taking your comments on board I'm thinking perhaps the Samsung SM206BW mentioned in the TN-Film section might be the best bet. Spec wise it seems to match up to the Acer 2051W but it's a fair bit cheaper, i'm guessing because it lacks the speakers.

Samsung SM206BW

I assume it's not worth him going for anything more expensive than a TN Film based panel for just internet browsing and the like?

 

[postmortemIA]

20" won't be best for your uncle because pixel pitch of 0.255mm makes text difficult to read. Has he taken that into consideration?

 

[shed]

I doubt it, like me, he doesn't know much about LCDs. I think he just wants the best monitor he can get for his money (i.e. under £200) suitable for general internet and office type use. So are you saying he should get a 22 or 24 incher or would it be better to get a lower resolution 19 incher?

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: shed
I doubt it, like me, he doesn't know much about LCDs. I think he just wants the best monitor he can get for his money (i.e. under £200) suitable for general internet and office type use. So are you saying he should get a 22 or 24 incher or would it be better to get a lower resolution 19 incher?

Yes, 20" are more for pro users.

22" and 19" have significantly larger dot pitch, easier to read on native resolution, and size difference between 20" is minimal.

He'll end up running his 20" on 1024x768.

 

[nate39]

I'll be the first to admit, he doesn't need to spend a lot for what he wants, but the lower the pixel pitch will mean the sharper the text. Right? You can always enlarge the text. But I haven't had the 19 and 22 inch to compare. Also, be sure to enable the clear text option in the display menu.

 

[shed]

Just to be on the safe side we took your advice postmortemIA and plumped for the LG L226WTQ 22"

Thanks all.

 

[postmortemIA]

Good choice, long term as well.

 

[SolMiester]

I have the HP 20" wide screen and love it, better than the 22" Dell i had borrowed to compare. However it is more expensive than most 20" panels. Big footprint, but good high adjustment and viewing angles.
I dont think the text is that hard to read, but its all your own impressions I guess....

 

[Laminator]

The sweet spot seems to be 22" right now, as after rebate deals you can get them for $200 to $230. Hopefully 24" LCD's will come down in price soon.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: shed
Mornin' all.

My uncle is in the market for a new LCD TFT screen to replace his old CRT. I don't really know much about what's good and what's not so I was hoping for some guidance from you knowledgable fellows. Basically, he wants a 20'' monitor and the budget is ideally under £150 although he would pay more if it meant getting a much better monitor. This monitor would only be used for office type work and browsing the internet though so it doesn't really need to be top of the range.

He has been eyeing up this one:
Acer AL2016WB

His friend at work recommended this:
Acer AL 2051Ws

I've heard lots of good things about this one:
Samsung SM204BW
but finding in stock anywhere is proving to be a bit tricky.

So are any of those worth getting or is there a better screen out there? Any advice much appreciated!

all 3 of those are TN panels, and are pretty "budget" . i'd recommend anything but the 2016wb if it came down to it, as that one doesnt seem to even have DVI

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Laminator
The sweet spot seems to be 22" right now, as after rebate deals you can get them for $200 to $230. Hopefully 24" LCD's will come down in price soon.

yeah but he's in the UK it would seem (all his links are UK) and monitors cost a lot more there.

I think they even have a tax on dvi ports and tv tuners (i know they have a 20wgx2 there which is like hte 20wmgx2 without a tv tuner to cut the cost down)

 

[xtknight]

The Acer AL2051Ws uses an 8-bit P-MVA panel, so it may the best choice. You also get wider viewing angles with that panel and a good response time (fairly sure it uses overdrive). The Samsung 206BW is a "panel lottery" (you don't know which panel you're going to get).

 

[lumbergeek]

I have the Sammy 205BW and I love it. The 206s seem to be as xtknight said, a "lottery" on panels

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: xtknight
The Acer AL2051Ws uses an 8-bit P-MVA panel, so it may the best choice. You also get wider viewing angles with that panel and a good response time (fairly sure it uses overdrive). The Samsung 206BW is a "panel lottery" (you don't know which panel you're going to get).

ah the link he posted onfor the 2051 says its a TN, though the 176 degree viewing angle made me think it was p-mva.


i'd say thats probably the best one of the lot then.

 

[nate39]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: xtknight
The Acer AL2051Ws uses an 8-bit P-MVA panel, so it may the best choice. You also get wider viewing angles with that panel and a good response time (fairly sure it uses overdrive). The Samsung 206BW is a "panel lottery" (you don't know which panel you're going to get).

ah the link he posted onfor the 2051 says its a TN, though the 176 degree viewing angle made me think it was p-mva.


i'd say thats probably the best one of the lot then.

It is definately a P-MVA, I checked it enough before I bought it, but where on that site did it say it was a TN because I couldn't find it?

 

[shed]

Originally posted by: nate39

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: xtknight
The Acer AL2051Ws uses an 8-bit P-MVA panel, so it may the best choice. You also get wider viewing angles with that panel and a good response time (fairly sure it uses overdrive). The Samsung 206BW is a "panel lottery" (you don't know which panel you're going to get).

ah the link he posted onfor the 2051 says its a TN, though the 176 degree viewing angle made me think it was p-mva.


i'd say thats probably the best one of the lot then.

It is definately a P-MVA, I checked it enough before I bought it, but where on that site did it say it was a TN because I couldn't find it?

It say's it's TN+Film based in the extended specifications (the link just under Main Specifications):

http://www.equanet.com/ec/exte...pecs.jtp?item=ACMON184

That's what put me off it in the first place as it seemed overpriced compared to the other TN-Film monitors and he doesn't need speakers. If that is actually a misprint and it is P-MVA based then that's a bit of an arse as P-MVA based 20'' monitors tend to cost £250 upwards over here (UK).

Still for his useage I don't think there was any need to get better than a TN-Film based monitor anyway. The 22'' LG we went for was roughly the same price as the Acer but the extra size should make it easier for him to read (his eyesight is not 100% anyway).