LCD Buyer's Guide

[wadewood]

I have purchased 2 of the X2gen 22" widescreen monitors, model MW22U. One was from Costco 2 months ago. The more recent was from Ecost.

The Costco monitor was made in Tawain and the Ecost was made in China. Using a program called Moninfo, the Costco/Taiwan reports this:

Windows description......... Plug and Play Monitor
Manufacturer description.... LM201XD
Manufacturer................ CVT
Plug and Play ID............ CVT0001
Serial number............... Roward_0720

The Ecost/Chinese made monitor:

Windows description......... CVT Monitor
Manufacturer description.... M220Z1_L01
Manufacturer................ CVT
Plug and Play ID............ CVT0001
Serial number............... MW22_070110

One of these is for my use and the other is for the wife. So which one should be the better monitor? Can you tell which LCD panel mfg. made these from this info?

 

[imported_Imp]

Not sure how helpful someone elses color profile would be. It would probably be ok, but since all monitors aren't exact clones, they may vary a bit. At my current 80/85/82 (R/G/B), the green tint of the Normal setting is gone. Everything looks pretty good. Now, moving on...

Son of a mother effing b****. I found 1, maybe 2 stuck pixels off to the bottom left and middle right. They aren't too noticable, but I went paranoid and went over the screen with a white background after noticing dust, which looked like dead pixels. Lo and behold, got 1 sucker stuck red. The other one is hard to find. Never noticed it before, may have popped up over the past 2 days. Pisses me off, I can probably return/exchange it, but really am not in the mood to repack this 30lb beast and gamble again....grrr... got 18 more days to think about this.

 

[shiro]

does anybody have any thoughts on either the Gateway FPD2275W or the Benq FP222WH and where they might stand in the ranking list in the OP? Both 22" monitors, so I guess both running TN panels.

I'd mostly be using for ps3/blu-ray movie watching and general pc use, and I'd be using it alongside a Dell 2001fp in a dual monitor setup.

Does anybody have any comments on how well either monitor handles a 1080p signal? The Gateway is spec'd to go up to 1080i through component or DVI (but its product tour says it'll go up to 1080p), and the Benq is spec'd for 720p through HDMI, but there are screenshots of a ps3 running at 1080p on a chinese forum (which I can't read, but babelfish may reveal that there are some slight problems while running it).

Most importantly though these monitors have the means for me to connect both my PC via DVI, and my console via either component or HDMI. I can't figure out what to do though seeing as how real world experience with either monitor is pretty sparse...

 

[jzodda]

Originally posted by: Imp
Not sure how helpful someone elses color profile would be. It would probably be ok, but since all monitors aren't exact clones, they may vary a bit. At my current 80/85/82 (R/G/B), the green tint of the Normal setting is gone. Everything looks pretty good. Now, moving on...

Son of a mother effing b****. I found 1, maybe 2 stuck pixels off to the bottom left and middle right. They aren't too noticable, but I went paranoid and went over the screen with a white background after noticing dust, which looked like dead pixels. Lo and behold, got 1 sucker stuck red. The other one is hard to find. Never noticed it before, may have popped up over the past 2 days. Pisses me off, I can probably return/exchange it, but really am not in the mood to repack this 30lb beast and gamble again....grrr... got 18 more days to think about this.

Well that just sucks I believe that the people in the big thread for this monitor at Hard OCP were saying that as of 3/07 they were only shipping A04. I can't say for sure though, but it seems that everybody of late has been receiving the latest version. Would hate to see you get an older model though if go lottery. Now its rant time. I think it sucks balls that Dell would ship out even one more revision A03 and older when they know that the newer model fixes even one problem. I think its not ethical and messed up but thats just me.

 

[imported_Imp]

I got an A04 now, and bet I'd get another one if I exchanged. However, by gamble, I mean gamble on a good backlight(bleedless) and possibility of more screwed pixels. That and seems excessive to return it for 1 stuck pixel (just one, other to mid-right was dust/crud stuck on) out of 2.3 million. Definately stinks though, breaking my heart everytime I see another 2407 owner saying 'no dead pixels'. Tried the massage, on/off pressure, tapping and software with no luck. I'll probably just live with it since it's only noticable on desktop on a white/light grey background. Going to go pray for it to spontaneously unscrew itself now...

 

[Tasiin]

Hey xtknight,

First off, thanks for the incredible amount of useful information you've provided about LCDs in this thread. I've been following this for about a year now, and it's helped quite a bit.

I finally went ahead and pulled the trigger on purchasing a NEC 20WMGX2 about a week ago, and after playing around with it for a little while, I still have a few reservations about it, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. I've just switched from a fairly high quality CRT that I've been using for the last six years, so I'm still somewhat critical of LCDs.

I seem to have gotten a pretty decent panel -- backlight bleeding isn't too bad (though there is some orange bleeding around the bottom left and right corners that's noticeable in very dark games, I've heard this gets better over time, is this true?) and I've noticed no dead pixels. For desktop work such as coding or viewing web pages, this thing is an absolute joy to use compared to my CRT. The difference in clarity is absolutely incredible, though I do find the overly reflective screen a bit frustrating when looking at pages with dark backgrounds.

Games however, are a different matter. I'm having a very hard time adjusting to suddenly having to play with a 60Hz refresh rate in particular, the difference in smoothness and tearing compared to 100Hz on my CRT is quite noticeable and distracting, and is most of the reason for my unhappiness with this monitor at the moment. The response time seems to be pretty good, though I'm still not used to things not being in perfect focus when moving in games. I've also found that the sharpness of the display really aggravates small imperfections such as texture shimmering, though this isn't as much of an issue for me as the refresh rate is currently.

I'm somewhat unsure of what to do at the moment. I did have the foresight to buy it from a local store, so I still have 30 days to return it if I'm not happy with it. I'm considering taking it back at the moment and going with a dual monitor set up, with my CRT as the primary display for games and a cheaper LCD that's excellent for desktop work as the secondary display. Do you think this would be a good idea, given my situation? Will there be any LCDs coming out within the next year or so that might be a bit better for gaming? I remember reading a few articles recently about 120Hz LCDs coming out eventually, but I'm not sure whether those will be available any time soon.

 

[Tasiin]

Edit: Sorry, double post. Replying to and viewing this thread seems to have gotten a bit slow.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm considering a Dell 2407WFP right now. They've got a hot deal going on right now; $629 shipped!

Apparently though, they're still shipping out some older defective models (A03 panel or something like that?) BTW; how can you tell what type/model panel the monitor has?

Thoughts on buying one right now? Usage will be 50% gaming, 50% video editing and surfing.

*edit*

Stupid question: Does this Dell come with a DVI cable? Some monitors do, some don't.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
I'm considering a Dell 2407WFP right now. They've got a hot deal going on right now; $629 shipped!

Apparently though, they're still shipping out some older defective models (A03 panel or something like that?) BTW; how can you tell what type/model panel the monitor has?

Thoughts on buying one right now? Usage will be 50% gaming, 50% video editing and surfing.

*edit*

Stupid question: Does this Dell come with a DVI cable? Some monitors do, some don't.

I just got mine on Monday.

A03 panels aren't 'really' defective, they just can't do 1:1 pixel mapping, guess you could call it...ah, who we kidding. Regardless, IIRC, Dell should ONLY be shipping A04s now, so you can rest easy on that point. If you do get an A03, as long as you prove that it doesn't do 1:1, you can exchange it. That or return it cause you aren't satisfied within 21 days (?). You can tell the revision right on the box. After the model number, it should say A04 and Made in Mexico or wherever. Panel should be PVA (S- or M- I forget); you can tell by looking at the screen from an off angle and see what color it turns (TN = black if you look from down up, IPS = purple, PVA = greyish). The exact panel model can be found through some hidden menu I don't know how to get to, but everyone else and their mother does.

If you can, I don't see the problem in getting one. Gaming is excellent, I never notice ghosting, the shear size of a 24" WS alone is amazing. Also, surprisingly, even stretched images don't look THAT bad (saw some when starting some up for the first time at default settings). Surfing/general Office work, you can run two windows side by side. I'm running two browsers side by side right now. Had a chance to use excel last morning (3am...) too; didn't even have to drag the left/right slider, and when looking up a function, I could run the guide and excel side by side. The only problem MAY be video editing for color accurracy. IPS panels should be better, but your best bet would be a $500 NEC 20". Nonetheless, you'll probably need a colorimeter. The default colors on the dell are very Green.

Yes, it comes with a DVI cable, analog, USB and power cord. Theres also a card reader and a few USB ports built in the monitor itself that may come in handy.

Some other problems you may want to look up are 'ghosting' of red/green and brightness. The former I 'fixed' by turning color intensities down. Your other options are Gateway, Benq, Samsung and LG, but those are probably more expensive and lack some features. However, they should be essentially the same in terms of performance and quality from what I've seen in reviews.

Enjoy.

 

[MichaelD]

Very informative reply, IMP! Thanks very much.

I appreciate the level of detail you provided, and your honesty.

My curiosity is raised about the "color and ghosting issue." I'm NOT a real video guru; I'm just a guy that messes around with home movies. I know what looks good...that's about it AFA "is this monitor calibrated?" goes.

I currently have a Viewsonic VX922. I bought it for gaming, and it's awesome, but I need more space. Having to resize windows and ALT/TAB to and from things is getting to be a PITA. I thought about getting another VX922, but the bezel is about 1" wide. Two right next to each other would equal a 2" black bar in the middle of the screen. Not exactly a good thing.

Thanks again.

Can anyone else add their thoughts about doing non-professional video editing on the Dell 2407WFP?

 

[fzeroxx]

I was thinking of buying one of the following monitors:

Viewsonic VG2230vm Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD
Samsung 225BW Black 22" 5ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD (Although I hear bad things about bleeding on this one)

or BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms DVI Widescreen LCD

I'm wondering which of these would be best for gaming? Specifically WoW.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: QuietSt0rm

Originally posted by: mikuto

I'll leave the monitor recommendations to The Expert, but in terms of what screen sizes your configuration could handle, here's my two cents:
-1600x1200: forget it, no way, unless it's a game where speed really is no issue - say, static screen-by-screen adventure games, but then again, those generally don't run at such high screen sizes anyway.
-1280x1024: depends on the game. Older ones, even FPSs, may run; think Unreal Tournament 2003, Battlefield Vietnam, something in that league. The 6600GT is known to be able to run Doom 3 reasonably well, but at 1024x768 and with 256 MB of RAM; 128 is a bit small. Newer games, especially fancy FPSs released in the last couple of years... only if you set (almost) everything to 'low'.

All is not lost, however - you can always run at 1024x768 in centered mode, 1:1 with no scaling, it's just that you'll have black bars around the screen. It's not that bad in my opinion (I'll take that over stretching any day), but it depends on your personal preference.

In terms of upgrades, I'd say the first thing would be the graphics card - go as high as you can afford . Keep in mind though that at some point the processor and chipset will become a bottleneck; there's only so much you can do on an existing system before you just have to bite the bullet and buy a new one.

Thank You very much for the answer mr mikuto
And I thought that the first thing to do would be to replace my old processor and motherboard, heh.... but as You said it will become a bottleneck sooner or later.
So graphics card first then, ok, I shall start looking for a new one.
Oh, how I would just like to replace all at once....

Originally posted by: xtknight
If you don't want widescreen then that eliminates the Acer AL2051W which is otherwise an 8-bit 20" widescreen.

For quality 20" 4:3 screens you have about one choice for anywhere close to $400: the HP LP2065. You will be stuck with a TN unless you are willing to go widescreen or spend $400.

There are actually a couple more choices: the ViewSonic VP930b and the Samsung 971P. I would recommend the VP930b: it is faster for gaming and cheaper. It is arguably better overall.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116365

VP930b (~8-bit P-MVA) - $313 at Newegg currently. That is what I suggest given your current situation. Also it will minimize stress on that 6600GT. Your next upgrade should include at least a Conroe E6300 and 8800GTS and you will be good to go. Those components have extremely good value/worth today.

Also, thank You very much for the answer mr xtknight
I was just looking at the Lp2065 myself when comparing different monitors and it sure looks top class!
Now, that You mentioned the 8-bit acer widescreen which is suprisingly cheap and I really haven't thought of a widescreen before because of negative thoughts about them for some reason, it sounds tempting. Would You choose the acer instead of the 930b rigth away and why or why not?
I'm a bit cautious about the 930b too because I've read quite a lot of problematic concerns about it.

Also, what would be minimum requirements for a processor and a video card to run resolutions: a) 1280x1024 and b)1600x1200 pretty decently in fps and strategy games?

I would get the Acer over the VP930b because of the glossy screen. You're right, the 930b has had a lot of issues although many were fixed with the latest rev (like OSD problems and overdrive issues). I suggest looking at benchmarks to get an accurate idea of game performance as it varies widely.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: jzodda

The problems I experienced before have been taken care of. No dead pixels, very little bleed. Its the brightest LCD I have ever seen and I had to lower the brightness for the first time right off the bat. The aspect Ratio of 1:1 has been fixed across the board and not works correctly for all resolutions and for DVI.

Cool. It is definately insanely bright, and even at very low (zero) brightness, it's blinding in a shaded room. I can probably get used to it though.

As for ghosting, do you mean the green/red smearing/trailing that you get when dragging windows fast? I'm getting that and have read up on the issue. Looks like a LOT of people get it, and may be more of a panel/firmware issue than defect. Strangely, I can lessen the effect by turning brightness to 37 or so, otherwise it gets more green/red. I've also read that it's due to the red, blue, green settings being too high.Going to mess with those settings after the sun gets away from my window (screwing up colour perception). Regardless, I'm not exchanging it; too small a problem (only noticable surfing 50% of my regular sites) to risk a new panel with no dead pixels, barely any backlight bleed (just 2 corners, but you have to look close on a black screen).

Update: Yep, solved the trails by turning down colors. Now it's not as bright too, just wish I had a colorimeter now for something to tell me what's right as opposed to "that's blue, that's green...too blue..." dang.

The trailing is due to overdrive problems. It has to do with the DSP integrated in the monitor.

Originally posted by: jzodda

Cool. It is definately insanely bright, and even at very low (zero) brightness, it's blinding in a shaded room. I can probably get used to it though.

As for ghosting, do you mean the green/red smearing/trailing that you get when dragging windows fast? I'm getting that and have read up on the issue. Looks like a LOT of people get it, and may be more of a panel/firmware issue than defect. Strangely, I can lessen the effect by turning brightness to 37 or so, otherwise it gets more green/red. I've also read that it's due to the red, blue, green settings being too high.Going to mess with those settings after the sun gets away from my window (screwing up colour perception). Regardless, I'm not exchanging it; too small a problem (only noticable surfing 50% of my regular sites) to risk a new panel with no dead pixels, barely any backlight bleed (just 2 corners, but you have to look close on a black screen).

Update: Yep, solved the trails by turning down colors. Now it's not as bright too, just wish I had a colorimeter now for something to tell me what's right as opposed to "that's blue, that's green...too blue..." dang.

I'm going to have to mess with the colors too. Right now I left the brightness at 50 and lowered it by -25 it the catylist control center for my ATI x800 vid card. I may put that back to 0 and try and do it using only the monitor controls.

I rememeber reading that xtknight has a profile for this monitor that was calibrated by his friend. hopefully he will post it soon so we can give it a try!

Don't think I'll be able to get that actually. He didn't really like the results.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: wadewood
I have purchased 2 of the X2gen 22" widescreen monitors, model MW22U. One was from Costco 2 months ago. The more recent was from Ecost.

The Costco monitor was made in Tawain and the Ecost was made in China. Using a program called Moninfo, the Costco/Taiwan reports this:

Windows description......... Plug and Play Monitor
Manufacturer description.... LM201XD
Manufacturer................ CVT
Plug and Play ID............ CVT0001
Serial number............... Roward_0720

The Ecost/Chinese made monitor:

Windows description......... CVT Monitor
Manufacturer description.... M220Z1_L01
Manufacturer................ CVT
Plug and Play ID............ CVT0001
Serial number............... MW22_070110

One of these is for my use and the other is for the wife. So which one should be the better monitor? Can you tell which LCD panel mfg. made these from this info?

I suspect the only difference is the manufacturing plant. They both very likely use Chi Mei 22" TN panels and have the same DSP. In fact, this right here: "M220Z1_L01" is the model number of the Chi Mei, as indicated on the Ecost. It's possible the Ecost is closer to a "reference" Chi Mei model, or it could just be that its EDID (the above) info is like that instead.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Tasiin
Hey xtknight,

First off, thanks for the incredible amount of useful information you've provided about LCDs in this thread. I've been following this for about a year now, and it's helped quite a bit.

I finally went ahead and pulled the trigger on purchasing a NEC 20WMGX2 about a week ago, and after playing around with it for a little while, I still have a few reservations about it, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. I've just switched from a fairly high quality CRT that I've been using for the last six years, so I'm still somewhat critical of LCDs.

I seem to have gotten a pretty decent panel -- backlight bleeding isn't too bad (though there is some orange bleeding around the bottom left and right corners that's noticeable in very dark games, I've heard this gets better over time, is this true?)

Thanks for the good words.

Panel pressure can be reduced over time, although I'd say it's at its minimum after a week or so of use.

and I've noticed no dead pixels. For desktop work such as coding or viewing web pages, this thing is an absolute joy to use compared to my CRT. The difference in clarity is absolutely incredible, though I do find the overly reflective screen a bit frustrating when looking at pages with dark backgrounds.

Games however, are a different matter. I'm having a very hard time adjusting to suddenly having to play with a 60Hz refresh rate in particular, the difference in smoothness and tearing compared to 100Hz on my CRT is quite noticeable and distracting, and is most of the reason for my unhappiness with this monitor at the moment. The response time seems to be pretty good, though I'm still not used to things not being in perfect focus when moving in games. I've also found that the sharpness of the display really aggravates small imperfections such as texture shimmering, though this isn't as much of an issue for me as the refresh rate is currently.

LCDs, even the NEC, will likely never be as good as CRTs for gaming just because of how they work. It's a seesaw between color transition accuracy and speed, and unless you want your LCD to look schizophrenic there's no way you're getting under 4 ms. or so. There is a sharpness control in the OSD that may help although I recommend instead turning down texture mipmap quality slightly, or lowering LOD a little if it bothers you.

I'm somewhat unsure of what to do at the moment. I did have the foresight to buy it from a local store, so I still have 30 days to return it if I'm not happy with it. I'm considering taking it back at the moment and going with a dual monitor set up, with my CRT as the primary display for games and a cheaper LCD that's excellent for desktop work as the secondary display. Do you think this would be a good idea, given my situation? Will there be any LCDs coming out within the next year or so that might be a bit better for gaming? I remember reading a few articles recently about 120Hz LCDs coming out eventually, but I'm not sure whether those will be available any time soon.

Sad that you have to return it but you could just use something like the Acer AL2051W as an auxiliary, cheaper LCD. It is glossy too, though. About the 120 Hz LCDs, I don't know...maybe 8 months from now they will be semi-affordable (other than the 24" BenQ FP241WZ which is supposed to be coming or out now).

 

[mikuto]

Originally posted by: Tasiin
Games however, are a different matter. I'm having a very hard time adjusting to suddenly having to play with a 60Hz refresh rate in particular, the difference in smoothness and tearing compared to 100Hz on my CRT is quite noticeable and distracting, and is most of the reason for my unhappiness with this monitor at the moment.

Have you tried enabling vsync? I couldn't stand the tearing at 60 Hz either, but that fixed it. I enabled it globally from the nvidia control panel. The smoothness is another story unfortunately.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: shiro
does anybody have any thoughts on either the Gateway FPD2275W or the Benq FP222WH and where they might stand in the ranking list in the OP? Both 22" monitors, so I guess both running TN panels.

Probably below the 226BW but equal to the Acer AL2216. They use Chi Mei 22" TNs like the Acer, to my knowledge.

I'd mostly be using for ps3/blu-ray movie watching and general pc use, and I'd be using it alongside a Dell 2001fp in a dual monitor setup.

Does anybody have any comments on how well either monitor handles a 1080p signal? The Gateway is spec'd to go up to 1080i through component or DVI (but its product tour says it'll go up to 1080p), and the Benq is spec'd for 720p through HDMI, but there are screenshots of a ps3 running at 1080p on a chinese forum (which I can't read, but babelfish may reveal that there are some slight problems while running it).

Most importantly though these monitors have the means for me to connect both my PC via DVI, and my console via either component or HDMI. I can't figure out what to do though seeing as how real world experience with either monitor is pretty sparse...

No idea on the video connectivity to be honest. It will indeed vary per LCD.

 

[Tasiin]

I hadn't considered increasing the mipmap LOD bias. That might help a little -- I've found that simply playing with the sharpness control on the OSD hasn't produced amazing results. Sharpness levels that look better in games tend to be too blurry for desktop work, there doesn't seem to be any decent middle ground like there was with my CRT.

Sad that you have to return it but you could just use something like the Acer AL2051W as an auxiliary, cheaper LCD. It is glossy too, though. About the 120 Hz LCDs, I don't know...maybe 8 months from now they will be semi-affordable (other than the 24" BenQ FP241WZ which is supposed to be coming or out now).

I know, I'm really not happy about potentially returning this. I was hoping I'd finally found something to replace my CRT with, which is in pretty bad shape after all this time. However, if you think there might be some better gaming LCDs coming out within a year or so, dropping $600 on an LCD now that I'm not perfectly content with seems like a bad idea to me.

Is that BenQ one of the BFI LCDs I've been reading about? Do you think that technology will go anywhere? The articles I've read on it have been a bit confusing, but it sounds as if it might not really increase the perceived smoothness in games, and it would still in reality be limited to 60Hz.

I'll take a look at that Acer, seems like it'd be pretty good for a secondary display. I think I might actually prefer a slightly cheaper and smaller monitor for this, but this definitely seems like it'd be the best out of what you've recommended on the first page.

Would text quality on this be as good/better than the 20WMGX2? I've found that it's pretty great on this monitor, minus webpages with dark backgrounds as I said before. Dark backgrounds and white text are extremely difficult to look at for some reason. I have the brightness set to 17.9 and the contrast at 71 with Advanced DVM off. I've tried playing around with the settings, but nothing seems to help that much.

Oh, also, would viewing angles be an issue since this is a PVA LCD? If I do decide to get this, I'll probably have the CRT on my desk directly in front of me with the LCD turned at an angle and on my left, so I may be looking at it from a slight angle most of the time. I haven't seen any decent PVA LCDs in person, so I don't know how bad the viewing angle problems really are.

Have you tried enabling vsync? I couldn't stand the tearing at 60 Hz either, but that fixed it. I enabled it globally from the nvidia control panel. The smoothness is another story unfortunately.

Yes, but the input lag that comes along with enabling that bothers me more than the tearing in fast paced games. There's a couple games where I find it to be mostly acceptable, but there are some where it's just absolutely terrible in as well, even without triple buffering. :/

 

[Mogget]

Hello,

Apologies if this is lited somewhere and I missed it, but could someone tell me the 'best' 17" LCDs for gaming?

As with the recommendations in the guide, but 17".

Thanks!

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Mogget
Hello,

Apologies if this is lited somewhere and I missed it, but could someone tell me the 'best' 17" LCDs for gaming?

As with the recommendations in the guide, but 17".

Thanks!

Any particular reason why you want a 17"? The price diff b/t 17 and 19" monitors is not that great these days and you get a lot more screen real estate out of a 19" model.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Tasiin
I hadn't considered increasing the mipmap LOD bias. That might help a little -- I've found that simply playing with the sharpness control on the OSD hasn't produced amazing results. Sharpness levels that look better in games tend to be too blurry for desktop work, there doesn't seem to be any decent middle ground like there was with my CRT.

I figured as much. I just leave it at 16.6 now too. Other settings are just obvious digital approximates of a Gaussian blur filter and it just doesn't look right at anything but 1:1.

Sad that you have to return it but you could just use something like the Acer AL2051W as an auxiliary, cheaper LCD. It is glossy too, though. About the 120 Hz LCDs, I don't know...maybe 8 months from now they will be semi-affordable (other than the 24" BenQ FP241WZ which is supposed to be coming or out now).

I know, I'm really not happy about potentially returning this. I was hoping I'd finally found something to replace my CRT with, which is in pretty bad shape after all this time. However, if you think there might be some better gaming LCDs coming out within a year or so, dropping $600 on an LCD now that I'm not perfectly content with seems like a bad idea to me.

I doubt it to tell you the truth. Unless some miracle happens, I doubt any LCD will match the color quality of the 20WMGX2 for at least another year. I'm probably holding on to mine until the brink of OLEDs.

Is that BenQ one of the BFI LCDs I've been reading about? Do you think that technology will go anywhere? The articles I've read on it have been a bit confusing, but it sounds as if it might not really increase the perceived smoothness in games, and it would still in reality be limited to 60Hz.

Yes, yes, and yes. It's a BFI LCD, and I do believe gamers will use the tech to their advantage one of these days. It would still be limited to a input rate of 60 Hz.

I'll take a look at that Acer, seems like it'd be pretty good for a secondary display. I think I might actually prefer a slightly cheaper and smaller monitor for this, but this definitely seems like it'd be the best out of what you've recommended on the first page.

Would text quality on this be as good/better than the 20WMGX2? I've found that it's pretty great on this monitor, minus webpages with dark backgrounds as I said before. Dark backgrounds and white text are extremely difficult to look at for some reason. I have the brightness set to 17.9 and the contrast at 71 with Advanced DVM off. I've tried playing around with the settings, but nothing seems to help that much.

Yeah it's not the *best* for text honestly. The high contrast (or dynamic range?) can be hard on the eyes. The Acer may actually be better for text.

Oh, also, would viewing angles be an issue since this is a PVA LCD? If I do decide to get this, I'll probably have the CRT on my desk directly in front of me with the LCD turned at an angle and on my left, so I may be looking at it from a slight angle most of the time. I haven't seen any decent PVA LCDs in person, so I don't know how bad the viewing angle problems really are.

Doubt it. PVA LCDs have pretty decent viewing angle really.

Have you tried enabling vsync? I couldn't stand the tearing at 60 Hz either, but that fixed it. I enabled it globally from the nvidia control panel. The smoothness is another story unfortunately.

I don't know if VSync applies to the desktop, but if you experience tearing I believe it's the overdrive/response time accelerator algorithm as it is very small-scale tearing (if I know what you're speaking about).

Yes, but the input lag that comes along with enabling that bothers me more than the tearing in fast paced games. There's a couple games where I find it to be mostly acceptable, but there are some where it's just absolutely terrible in as well, even without triple buffering. :/

Hmm don't know what triple buffering would have to do with input lag.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Mogget
Hello,

Apologies if this is lited somewhere and I missed it, but could someone tell me the 'best' 17" LCDs for gaming?

As with the recommendations in the guide, but 17".

Thanks!

Any particular reason why you want a 17"? The price diff b/t 17 and 19" monitors is not that great these days and you get a lot more screen real estate out of a 19" model.

Well no more desktop real estate. But the extra font size might be helpful for some.

Best 17" LCD? Hmm, most TNs should be just fine for gaming.

You could give the Samsung 740BX a shot: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001079

Actually the NEC 70GX2 would be better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002121

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Oh, also, would viewing angles be an issue since this is a PVA LCD? If I do decide to get this, I'll probably have the CRT on my desk directly in front of me with the LCD turned at an angle and on my left, so I may be looking at it from a slight angle most of the time. I haven't seen any decent PVA LCDs in person, so I don't know how bad the viewing angle problems really are.

Doubt it. PVA LCDs have pretty decent viewing angle really.

For the most part, it definately is. However, the fact that viewing angles exist at all for LCDs may be a problem for large widescreens. One of the first thing's I've noticed on my 24" WS is that dark colours/blacks change a pretty large amount by moving left and right. An image can go from pitch black (center viewing) to a lighter (off center by 2+ inches), crystal clear grey that may reveal 'hidden' details. Still, this only seems like a problem for close viewing of very wide screens. Anything under 22" I'm guessing, and you wouldn't noticed it. Come to think of it, all my windows are off center and to the left and right, so that may be another factor.

 

[Mogget]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: Mogget
Hello,

Apologies if this is lited somewhere and I missed it, but could someone tell me the 'best' 17" LCDs for gaming?

As with the recommendations in the guide, but 17".

Thanks!

Any particular reason why you want a 17"? The price diff b/t 17 and 19" monitors is not that great these days and you get a lot more screen real estate out of a 19" model.

Well no more desktop real estate. But the extra font size might be helpful for some.

Best 17" LCD? Hmm, most TNs should be just fine for gaming.

You could give the Samsung 740BX a shot: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001079

Actually the NEC 70GX2 would be better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002121

The choice seems to be quite limited here in New Zealand, although I could probably arrange something if need be.

Does anyone know if the Samsung Syncmaster 740B is a decent monitor? That's more readily available, and I do like Samsung as a brand.

EDIT: Oh, and the prices for 19", while not hugely different, are definitely significant. Especially on my limited budget ? plus I don't like the idea of everything being bigger without any practical gain in space.

 

[YELLIER35]

moved..