Ideal Sizes for Monitor Resolutions

[Revolution 11]

I am interested in buying a new monitor for an upcoming Haswell PC. I looked at some recent deals on Dell 1080p IPS monitors (check my thread on Hot Deals) but I need some guidance on monitor sizes.

How do you determine the best monitor size for a given resolution? At 1080p, would a 27'' monitor be too large. I don't want to compromise on sharpness of images and pixel density. This is my first 1080p or greater monitor so share your experiences. The monitor will be mostly for gaming and will be IPS. I don't care about 120Htz.

Also, which aspect ratio is better? 16:10 or 16:9?

 

[lehtv]

I've used 1080p @ 23" and at 27", both work. I prefer 23" though, looks a bit sharper.

I'm used to 16:9 and I like it when there are no black bars in any 16:9 only content, but I can perfectly well understand if people like to have those extra 120 pixels. The problem is that few montiors are 16:10, and they usually cost quite a bit extra just for those 120 additional pixels. In the end though your own preference on the subject is what matters

 

[mjd]

I find that 1080 isn't tall enough for me to enjoy my browser window. But certainly it's a matter of taste. I drive 2 U2410, one vertical, one horizontal.
The Dell monitors are excellent. I don't think you'll have crispness complaints. I just worry that you won't like the number of pixels you have vertically. Is there a 19x12 on sale?

 

[Throckmorton]

IMO for the typical desk 24" 1920x1200 16:10 is the best. If you have extra room to place the screen further from your eyes, 27" is fine.

 

[brshoemak]

IMO for the typical desk 24" 1920x1200 16:10 is the best. If you have extra room to place the screen further from your eyes, 27" is fine.

I agree, I have a Dell U2312H which does 1920x1200 (albeit it's 23" not 24"). Right now IMO 23" is the sweet spot for monitors in terms of price per pixel. There is a pretty sizeable jump between 23" and 24" then obviously a much larger jump once you go 27"+.

 

[lehtv]

Dell U2312H which does 1920x1200 (albeit it's 23" not 24").

What U2412H? Never heard.

The only 1920x1200 Dells I know of are U2412M and U2410. Both are 24" (not 23.6", but actually 24").

The U2312HM is 23" but it's 1080p, not 1200p.

 

[biostud]

nm

 

[mfenn]

What U2412H? Never heard.

The only 1920x1200 Dells I know of are U2412M and U2410. Both are 24" (not 23.6", but actually 24").

The U2312HM is 23" but it's 1080p, not 1200p.

There's also the U2413, which is basically an updated version of the U2410.

Anyway, OP given a set resolution, there is absolutely a compromise between pixel density and screen size. That's just how geometry works.

Personally, I find the ~0.28mm dot pitch of a 24" 1920x1200 monitor to be just about perfect, assuming of course that you're running your UI at the standard 96 DPI setting.

 

[Revolution 11]

Thanks for the information guys. Seems like a 24'' 1920x1200 would be good for me.

I am considering the Dell U2412M for about $277. Is that a good monitor and is the price right?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=320-2676

Or is the Dell U2312HM at $225 a better deal? I would prefer 16:10 ratios as that is the one I have experience with.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&sku=320-2807

 

[Revolution 11]

Well, I bought the Dell U2412M for $250, $266 with tax. It is a lot of savings even if the monitor is not the best. Coupon code is HNQ2$W?T6M93MW.

 

[lehtv]

It's a superb monitor, you'll love it. Also nice price. :thumbsup:

 

[Revolution 11]

My brother will be buying a monitor as well around Black Friday so I was wondering what are common price levels for monitors. I looked at several different monitors and the prices are all over the place for similarly spec monitors.

How do 1080p TN panels compare with 1080p IPS (eIPS) panels? And what premium do you pay for a 16:10 ratio or other more esoteric aspect ratios?

 

[lehtv]

I'd say: $120 22" 1080p, $150 23-24" 1080p, ips panels for each a bit more expensive, $250 1080p 120hz/144hz, $400+ 1440p

 

[Aithos]

A couple things:

1) A 27" at 1080p is too big, running the same number of pixels it will start to lose some sharpness at normal viewing distance. I don't recommend it.

2) For gaming 120hz is far more important than anything else. A 60hz monitor will always have at least 16ms of input lag because that is the amount of time between frame refreshes, a 120hz monitor halves that to a mostly unnoticable 8ms. That also means much better smoothness and responsiveness, it is VERY noticable.

3) IPS panels are notorious for input lag, unless you buy a Korean panel monitor with one of the bypass boards you will have horrible performance when it comes to gaming. Keep in mind input lag is different than response time, a 6ms response time is worthless if your monitor has 24+ ms of input lag.

4) If you really want better picture quality then get a dual monitor setup, one 27" IPS for daily use and editing work and one 24" 120hz with lightboost for gaming. The Asus 24" VH248qe with lightboost is currently the best performing gaming monitor available for under $300.

Lastly, if you really feel courageous the compromise is to buy a Korean panel IPS or PLS that has the ability to overclock to 96-120hz. For example, QNIX QX2710 or XSTAR DP2710 can be had for $300-350. They are 27" 1440p (2650x1440) and can overclock up to 120hz. The risk is two-fold:

1) The refresh rate you can overclock to isn't a sure thing, some of them overclock very well and some don't. The graphics card, cable and individual PCB all play a factor. Most people have no trouble getting to 96hz though.

2) These are A or A- panels stuck in cheap bezels, that's why you get a panel that would be found in a $1000 dollar IPS/PLS for a fraction of the cost. That means you are likely to have some light bleed and there is a decent chance of a couple dead pixels. The panel is not often set perfectly in the bezel which is part of the cause for light bleed. Often if you are willing to open the monitor up you can fix the light bleed (guides all over the internet), but you need to be careful.

My opinion? Go with the Asus VG248qe and call it a day, run at 1080p with a high framerate and enjoy the 120hz. Turn on lightboost (google how) and you'll virtually eliminate motion blur, it's the best gaming experience you can get. The colors aren't amazing since it's a TN, but you can always buy or borrow a calibration tool to take care of that. Most panels when calibrated are decent at least.

Edit: Don't bother with e-IPS, that is a 6bit panel and completely defeats the point of buying an IPS monitor. You get all the negatives of IPS without any of the benefits.

Edit2: Noticed you bought a monitor already but I stand by my recommendation of the Asus Vg248qe, at $279 it will destroy that Dell for gaming. That Dell has pretty severe lag which will make it horrendous for gaming, if that is your primary use I would strongly recommend returning it and getting something else.

 

[Revolution 11]

Well, I suppose I should ask how much input lag and display lag a 20-inch Dell monitor from 2005 would have. How much lag would a 2007 Dell laptop display have? I am not even sure what the display models are or what type of display (TN, IPS, etc) they are. I am guessing TN displays. Because that is what I have been using up until now.

If the IPS is better than those monitors, I am satisfied. Let's put it this way. When my experience in Halo 1 on the PC approaches 30 FPS, I feel like the game is zooming fast. I played Deus Ex Human Revolution at probably 10-20 FPS. That's how bad my GPUs have been so far. 60 FPS is something I have probably never experienced on a extended basis. So any monitor at 60 FPS will look silky smooth to me.

I might return my monitor but my brother is still looking at some. Anyone else have thoughts on TN vs eIPS for gaming. Keep in mind that both of us have been used to horrible FPS and sub-1080p for years.

 

[sm625]

I use a 40" 1080p lcd and it rarely gives me the feelign that the pixels are "too big". You do have to sit further away though, so really its a function of your setup.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

A couple things:

2) These are A or A- panels stuck in cheap bezels, that's why you get a panel that would be found in a $1000 dollar IPS/PLS for a fraction of the cost. That means you are likely to have some light bleed and there is a decent chance of a couple dead pixels. The panel is not often set perfectly in the bezel which is part of the cause for light bleed. Often if you are willing to open the monitor up you can fix the light bleed (guides all over the internet), but you need to be careful.

As far as the panel lottery goes, I don't think it's quite as simple as this suggests. I recently bought and returned nine (9) brand-name IPS/PLS 27" 1440p monitors. I wanted a quality monitor because I wasn't going to settle for a "lower grade" panel with an ugly, cheap case.

Every single one of the monitors I received (5 Dell U2713HM, 2 Asus PB278Q, 2 Viewsonic VP2770) had at least one dead pixel, varying degrees of backlight bleed, and other defects like cross-hatching and dust specks or scratches embedded on the LCD panel itself.

I finally gave up on that after a few months of schlepping monitors back and forth to the courier depot. I ordered an X-star DP2710 from Dreamseller with their Pixel Perfect option, and I finally received a perfect monitor. Virtually no BLB, zero pixel defects. It's perfect, and I am so relieved to be done with this. I haven't bothered to OC it, and I don't care if it OCs 1 Hz, as it's actually a higher quality product than any brand name monitor I received despite costing me $230 less than the cheapest one (and a whopping $500 less than the Viewsonic).

So I don't think the Korean monitors use a different grade of panel from Dell, Asus, or Viewsonic after all. The price difference is a matter of minor extra features, marketing, and after-sale support--nothing more.

Buying an expensive, brand name 27" monitor will not get you an "A+" panel. If you can live with the crappy casing (buy a VESA mount!), QNIX/X-star is the way to go.

 

[mfenn]

Edit: Don't bother with e-IPS, that is a 6bit panel and completely defeats the point of buying an IPS monitor. You get all the negatives of IPS without any of the benefits.

That Dell [U2412M] has pretty severe lag which will make it horrendous for gaming, if that is your primary use I would strongly recommend returning it and getting something else.

These two statements are objectively wrong. 6-bit is not as good as 8-bit, but the interpolation hardware on the 2412M is pretty good, getting very close to an accurate representation of sRGB and very good delta-E after calibration.

As for input lag, 9.4ms is perhaps not as fast as the VG248QE, but it's pretty good, and certainly not "severe".

 

[Essence_of_War]

Well, I bought the Dell U2412M for $250, $266 with tax. It is a lot of savings even if the monitor is not the best. Coupon code is HNQ2$W?T6M93MW.

Good deal on that monitor! Watch for the brightness on the "standard" setting. For non-gaming, I found it to be REALLY bright out of the box.

My brother will be buying a monitor as well around Black Friday so I was wondering what are common price levels for monitors. I looked at several different monitors and the prices are all over the place for similarly spec monitors.

How do 1080p TN panels compare with 1080p IPS (eIPS) panels? And what premium do you pay for a 16:10 ratio or other more esoteric aspect ratios?

lehtv basically already answered this:

I'd say: $120 22" 1080p, $150 23-24" 1080p, ips panels for each a bit more expensive, $250 1080p 120hz/144hz, $400+ 1440p

But to add a little more, my usual point of reference for a nice 1080 IPS monitor is the dell u2312hm. You can normally find this on amazon for around 200 USD, and occasionally for a little less through Dell with particular codes. If you don't mind the loss of the extra vertical pixels as compared with the 2412m, this is a fantastic monitor. Sure, it's limited to 60 Hz, but it has virtually 0 input lag, and gives excellent picture quality.

Similarly, for a nice 1920x1200, I look to the 2412m, which is normally found in the $260-280 range, or the Asus PA248Q which is typically priced similarly.

In the 23-24'', w/ 1920 horiz pixels, expect to pay ~60-80 extra for 16:10 vs. 16:9. I really like 16:10, but I think it may more or less disappear in the near future

 

[dstevod]

I am interested in buying a new monitor for an upcoming Haswell PC. I looked at some recent deals on Dell 1080p IPS monitors (check my thread on Hot Deals) but I need some guidance on monitor sizes.

How do you determine the best monitor size for a given resolution? At 1080p, would a 27'' monitor be too large. I don't want to compromise on sharpness of images and pixel density. This is my first 1080p or greater monitor so share your experiences. The monitor will be mostly for gaming and will be IPS. I don't care about 120Htz.

Also, which aspect ratio is better? 16:10 or 16:9?

I wouldn't go beyond 23/24" for 1080. I've used 23" at 1080 and 24" at 1200 and both work well.

I think 27" would be too much for this resolution - too much panning probably required.

I use a 27" at 2560x1440 and that works really well.

S