LCD Buyer's Guide

[Josh7289]

Using the "Reaction Time" test in this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=1997470

I got .214 on my LCD monitor at home and .162 at a CRT monitor in school. I've tried it multiple times on both monitors, and the results are pretty consistent, so what I'm wondering is if this is what is called "input lag", or if it is something else. If it is, then I guess I have an input lag of about 50 ms or so?

 

[rxblitzrx]

QUESTION: The Dell 700m laptop comes with a 12.1" LCD that's absolutely beautiful. No Screen Door Effect. Glossy finish. Razor sharp text.

** Is there a 20" or larger LCD that can compare to this?

** What makes that panel so darn nice???


~thanks

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
QUESTION: The Dell 700m laptop comes with a 12.1" LCD that's absolutely beautiful. No Screen Door Effect. Glossy finish. Razor sharp text.

** Is there a 20" or larger LCD that can compare to this?

** What makes that panel so darn nice???


~thanks

You don't sound so impressed with your LP2065. What's up? If you don't like it let me know and I can find something else you may be happy with.

From what I can tell you like vibrance. That's what the glossy panel provides. Although most laptop panels only display 262,144 colors (as opposed to the 16.7M of modern LCDs).

I would suggest the ViewSonic VP2030b (P-MVA) for you. It'll probably be brighter and more vibrant. It's economically sound too.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Josh7289
Using the "Reaction Time" test in this thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=1997470

I got .214 on my LCD monitor at home and .162 at a CRT monitor in school. I've tried it multiple times on both monitors, and the results are pretty consistent, so what I'm wondering is if this is what is called "input lag", or if it is something else. If it is, then I guess I have an input lag of about 50 ms or so?

Yup, probably is input lag (and perhaps a little bit of response time).

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: xtknight
You don't sound so impressed with your LP2065. What's up? If you don't like it let me know and I can find something else you may be happy with.

Hey Xtknight

Sorry, I don't mean to sound unsatisfied with your recommendation or my purchase. I know I didn't get the best panel money can buy (which is where I hope to be in the next few years) but I definitely think I got the best in my price range. Experience comes at a price and I'm more than happy to pay. I'm still very new to this but I'm learning as each week goes by and it's really interesting. I have the technical vocabulary of a 10 year old when it comes to LCD's but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Today I was able to adjust my Riva Tuner settings to get rid of some banding around the middle gray areas. The best results I've achieved (so far) have come from keeping the slope of the gamma curve 1/1 through the middle (using nodes at the intersecting lines of each square), increasing in the bottom left square, and decreasing in the top right square. I think my brightness settings were too low as well. However, it's now looking better than it ever has.

I'd have to agree, I think vibrance is my thing, but the screen door effect is probably my biggest concern. I tried to do some math on the 12.1" display and my logic tells me (and correct me if I'm wrong) that there's no SDE because 1280 horizontal pixels on a 12.1" screen leaves a lot less room for spacing between pixels than on a 19" screen. True?

If not, is there a panel out there that doesn't have SDE with vibrance?


Thanks!


EDIT: I just added Digital Vibrance through the nVidia control panel (hopefully it won't interfere with my Riva Tuner settings), and it looks... "digital". I actually like it a lot for web pages, the desktop, icons, windows, etc... but it sucks for real life photos. I guess such is the trade off. Inaccurate colors but dazzling for digital reproduction.

 

[TICK00]

Hi, first congratulation for the forum is excellent one of the best i ever read... i almost read the entire forum...
now if you can help me... i read a lot about most popular LCD so i think i narrow my search to a nec 90gx2 it cost 229 $ here http://www.buy.com/prod/NEC_90GX2_BK_19..._m2_DVI_Black/q/loc/101/202367565.html
(excellent price)
and me other options are the vp930b for about 300 on newegg, and the 931c samsung for same price of 90gx2.
I normaly play games would say 60% of time but i'm not gamer fanatic, and read a lot forum and tech articles y surf the web, some tims the weekends a movie... i'm worry about the text reproduction on the 90gx2...., but the price is lower compared to vp930b

I think the best choice for me is the nec 90gx2 . is that right?
sorry for my english, is not my native languaje
and thanks for the help

 

[samduhman]

xtknight, is you gaming LCD recommendations still valid or is it time to reevaluate it?

- Benq as number one gaming lcd? Anything to back this up?
- 940bf is getting very hard to find. Pricegrabber gives 3 places. Two Ive never heard of and Best Buy business.

Im looking at getting the best gaming lcd I can find and just want to confirm that you still agree with your current list.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: samduhman
xtknight, is you gaming LCD recommendations still valid or is it time to reevaluate it?

- Benq as number one gaming lcd? Anything to back this up?
- 940bf is getting very hard to find. Pricegrabber gives 3 places. Two Ive never heard of and Best Buy business.

Im looking at getting the best gaming lcd I can find and just want to confirm that you still agree with your current list.

I absolutely and positively stand by it.

BenQ FP93GX <7 ms, 15.2% avg RTC error: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/19inch-4_9.html

Find me something better and I'll add it. (Hint: you won't find anything better. )

Thanks for alerting me about the 940BF. I'll remove it due to discontinuation. It does not seem to be in stock anywhere.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
Hey Xtknight

Sorry, I don't mean to sound unsatisfied with your recommendation or my purchase. I know I didn't get the best panel money can buy (which is where I hope to be in the next few years) but I definitely think I got the best in my price range. Experience comes at a price and I'm more than happy to pay. I'm still very new to this but I'm learning as each week goes by and it's really interesting. I have the technical vocabulary of a 10 year old when it comes to LCD's but I'm slowly getting the hang of it. Today I was able to adjust my Riva Tuner settings to get rid of some banding around the middle gray areas. The best results I've achieved (so far) have come from keeping the slope of the gamma curve 1/1 through the middle (using nodes at the intersecting lines of each square), increasing in the bottom left square, and decreasing in the top right square. I think my brightness settings were too low as well. However, it's now looking better than it ever has.

I'd have to agree, I think vibrance is my thing, but the screen door effect is probably my biggest concern. I tried to do some math on the 12.1" display and my logic tells me (and correct me if I'm wrong) that there's no SDE because 1280 horizontal pixels on a 12.1" screen leaves a lot less room for spacing between pixels than on a 19" screen. True?

If not, is there a panel out there that doesn't have SDE with vibrance?

The ViewSonic VP2030b possibly (P-MVA). The VP930b has virtually no SDE to my eyes. S-IPS panels tend to have more SDE than anything else.

And yes, if you have a lower dot pitch that's probably better (for less SDE) but I can't prove that. I have more SDE on my 0.264mm 20WMGX2 S-IPS than on my 0.294mm VP930b P-MVA. S-IPS panels use a darker lining AFAIK.

Thanks!


EDIT: I just added Digital Vibrance through the nVidia control panel (hopefully it won't interfere with my Riva Tuner settings), and it looks... "digital". I actually like it a lot for web pages, the desktop, icons, windows, etc... but it sucks for real life photos. I guess such is the trade off. Inaccurate colors but dazzling for digital reproduction.

Yeah, DV is rather yucky IMO. Stick to gamma adjustments.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: TICK00
Hi, first congratulation for the forum is excellent one of the best i ever read... i almost read the entire forum...
now if you can help me... i read a lot about most popular LCD so i think i narrow my search to a nec 90gx2 it cost 229 $ here http://www.buy.com/prod/NEC_90GX2_BK_19..._m2_DVI_Black/q/loc/101/202367565.html
(excellent price)
and me other options are the vp930b for about 300 on newegg, and the 931c samsung for same price of 90gx2.
I normaly play games would say 60% of time but i'm not gamer fanatic, and read a lot forum and tech articles y surf the web, some tims the weekends a movie... i'm worry about the text reproduction on the 90gx2...., but the price is lower compared to vp930b

I think the best choice for me is the nec 90gx2 . is that right?
sorry for my english, is not my native languaje
and thanks for the help

Yes, the best choice is the 90GX2. It has a glossy coating which may provide nicer-looking colors and it is also faster than the VP930b for gaming. The 90GX2 doesn't have too many backlight bleeding problems as I recall. So, the 90GX2 is a good choice. All decent LCDs reproduce text at the same quality, so that's not something to worry about.

 

[samduhman]

Some new Samsungs hitting the market. Im most interested in these two
206bw
226bw

engadget article

You can get the 226bw at circuit city circuit city

Any thoughts on these yet especially as hardcore gaming lcds?

 

[KJP]

Just wanted to pop in and give up a thanks for this thread. I bought a 90GX2 based on the information here and after playing HL2 on this monitor for a while I can't tell if CRT's are better for gaming than these fast LCD's or not. I always thought they were, but I had never seen an LCD do this before. VERY happy with this purchase.

Thanks xtknight. :thumbsup:

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: samduhman
Some new Samsungs hitting the market. Im most interested in these two
206bw
226bw

engadget article

You can get the 226bw at circuit city circuit city

Any thoughts on these yet especially as hardcore gaming lcds?

I doubt that they'll be bad for gaming, but they are probably nowhere close to the BenQ when it comes to speed. I'm guessing 10 ms input lag + 15 ms response time at the minimum = 25 total. BenQ is more like 10 ms input lag + 7 at max = 17 ms total.

I'm still waiting for reliable reviews on the 226BW.

Originally posted by: KJP
Just wanted to pop in and give up a thanks for this thread. I bought a 90GX2 based on the information here and after playing HL2 on this monitor for a while I can't tell if CRT's are better for gaming than these fast LCD's or not. I always thought they were, but I had never seen an LCD do this before. VERY happy with this purchase.

Thanks xtknight. :thumbsup:

Glad you're happy. Enjoy. If you play black and white games (black and white, not grayscale), the LCD will actually have less trailing than the CRT.

 

[TICK00]

Thanks Xtknight.

 

[amd7674]

[/quote]
You don't sound so impressed with your LP2065. What's up? If you don't like it let me know and I can find something else you may be happy with.
[/quote]

Xtknight,

Did you or anybody hear of any rumors of HP swapping panels to S-PVA in LP2065 monitor in North America?

TIA

 

[Matt2]

Hey Knight, gotta couple questions on 24" LCDs for ya.

I currently have the S-IPS 2007wfp and I love every aspect of it except the size. I'm not doing much PC gaming anymore, but I now play XBOX360 a lot on my 2007wfp via VGA cable. AFter playing XBOX on my 50" DLP TV, the 20.1" screen just feels so small.

I really like the idea of a 24" WS PC monitor as opposed to just getting a bigger LCD TV like a 32" or a 37". The XBOBX VGA cable will let me output a true 1920x1200 resolution instead of stretching 1366x768 to 1680x1050 like it does with my 2007wfp.

This monitor would be the gaming monitor for my XBOX and my main monitor for my computer. I usually only use my computer now for surfing the web, homework, e-mail etc, but that might chnage once Quake Wars and Crysis hit the shelves. Would you recommend the Dell 2407wfp, Benq fp241w, or the Gateway 24"??

I can find the Dell and the Gateway for $655 and $675 shipped, but the BenQ seems to be at least $100 more anywhere I look. Is the BenQ worth the extra $100?

 

[40sTheme]

I have a question.
Which exact type of panel would this monitor be? It just says TFT LCD, so I'm kind of confused.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: 40sTheme
I have a question.
Which exact type of panel would this monitor be? It just says TFT LCD, so I'm kind of confused.

Looks to be a TN panel, but I'll let knight confirm that.

 

[40sTheme]

That's what I was thinking because of the low response time. Should I look at something else? It's colors/contrast/etc look sub par.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: amd7674

You don't sound so impressed with your LP2065. What's up? If you don't like it let me know and I can find something else you may be happy with.

Xtknight,

Did you or anybody hear of any rumors of HP swapping panels to S-PVA in LP2065 monitor in North America?

TIA

Hmm...not I. Let me know if you get any more info, though.

Originally posted by: Matt2
Hey Knight, gotta couple questions on 24" LCDs for ya.

I currently have the S-IPS 2007wfp and I love every aspect of it except the size. I'm not doing much PC gaming anymore, but I now play XBOX360 a lot on my 2007wfp via VGA cable. AFter playing XBOX on my 50" DLP TV, the 20.1" screen just feels so small.

I really like the idea of a 24" WS PC monitor as opposed to just getting a bigger LCD TV like a 32" or a 37". The XBOBX VGA cable will let me output a true 1920x1200 resolution instead of stretching 1366x768 to 1680x1050 like it does with my 2007wfp.

This monitor would be the gaming monitor for my XBOX and my main monitor for my computer. I usually only use my computer now for surfing the web, homework, e-mail etc, but that might chnage once Quake Wars and Crysis hit the shelves. Would you recommend the Dell 2407wfp, Benq fp241w, or the Gateway 24"??

I can find the Dell and the Gateway for $655 and $675 shipped, but the BenQ seems to be at least $100 more anywhere I look. Is the BenQ worth the extra $100?

If you care about picture quality, the BenQ is worth the extra $100. If not, get the Dell. The Gateway's default gamma color settings aren't so hot.

Originally posted by: 40sTheme
I have a question.
Which exact type of panel would this monitor be? It just says TFT LCD, so I'm kind of confused.

Definitely a TN there.

Originally posted by: 40sTheme
That's what I was thinking because of the low response time. Should I look at something else? It's colors/contrast/etc look sub par.

Depends...what are you using your LCD for/how much are you looking to spend/what desired diagonal size/etc?

 

[DangerDave]

xtknight, what do you think of the Acer AL2223W? And how does it compare to the Acer AL2216WBD? It seems like the AL2223W is maybe a newer model or something.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: DangerDave
xtknight, what do you think of the Acer AL2223W? And how does it compare to the Acer AL2216WBD? It seems like the AL2223W is maybe a newer model or something.

I don't know. Actually my dad was about to pull the trigger on the AL2223 for his PC but the Samsung 226BW looks way better. One user review said the Samsung wiped the floor with the Acer. I'm just going to wait and see how things pan out. If we get a 22" LCD it will be the 226BW or new LG 26". If we do decide to get it I'll of course get to spend a couple days with it.

 

[amd7674]

Xtknight,

Did you or anybody hear of any rumors of HP swapping panels to S-PVA in LP2065 monitor in North America?

TIA[/quote]

Hmm...not I. Let me know if you get any more info, though.

Finally the wait is over ;-)
I live in Ottawa, Canada and I bought it from a local
computer store shopRBC.com (totally recommended) for
$530CDN (before $40US mail-in rebate)

- on the back of the monitor it says:
December 2006 - Rev GSM002

- the OSD reports:
Firmware Rev.114
Panel LM201U05-SLA1

I did some quick tests and so far I like it a lot:
- no dead pixels
- no backlight leaks
- haven't notice any banding issues

So far so good

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: amd7674
Xtknight,

Did you or anybody hear of any rumors of HP swapping panels to S-PVA in LP2065 monitor in North America?

TIA

Hmm...not I. Let me know if you get any more info, though.

Finally the wait is over ;-)
I live in Ottawa, Canada and I bought it from a local
computer store shopRBC.com (totally recommended) for
$530CDN (before $40US mail-in rebate)

- on the back of the monitor it says:
December 2006 - Rev GSM002

- the OSD reports:
Firmware Rev.114
Panel LM201U05-SLA1

I did some quick tests and so far I like it a lot:
- no dead pixels
- no backlight leaks
- haven't notice any banding issues

So far so good

Dude, I hope not. I think mine is definitely SIPS from the purple and pink hues that are visible from extreme angles with the lights off and a black pixel display.

Any confirmation on that though?

 

[Painman]

I've received my NEC LCD2690WUXi and I've posted a small review of it over at WSGF. Nothing too technical or scientific, just my out-of-the-box experience and my own observations regarding its pixel response time.

Short version: I'm a happy camper.