LCD Buyer's Guide

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Low Radiation
Thats what we wanna hear

Please post thoughts like this whenever you can....

And in the end - about the glossy screen....when you sum it up all, it doeesn't bother you as i can see?

It doesn't bother me at all. Not once has glare hindered my use. I can't even see it most of the time. The glossy screen is awesome. Contrast is amazing and it's shiny.

 

[Bob the Koala]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Well I'm quite partial to NEC now. The DV modes and response time control are awesome. That (70GX2) does sound expensive so I'll try to give you some other options.

Can you get any of these at a decent price?

Samsung 940BF? What about the LG high-contrast LCDs? I highly recommend all of those. I have my doubts that the VP930b is superior in color quality to the 940BF/LG LCDs. The gamma on the ViewSonics disappoints me.

What about that Samsung 931C that had the high gamut CCFL light? OK, I may be jumping the gun a bit here, but seriously, if you can get a look at that thing somewhere, I'd say that's an awesome deal for good IQ right there. It sounds almost perfect for you. Definitely a TN with a fast response. I'd take the chance on that any day before the VP930b, but that's just me.

I just find the light too dang bright on the VP930b now that I've seen other LCDs (even my old Samsung 17" at least wasn't overbright and still great for general usage). It took me a while to realize it, but it's just ugh. MVAs at a size of 19" are simply too bright. Too bad because that's really the only thing wrong with it. Not that the response time control was staggering but it was certainly usable. Anyhow, that's why I recommend the other LCDs over the VP930b.

Thanks for the quick reply xtknight,

The samsung 940B (the F seems to have dissapeared down here) is $400aud while the samsung 740B is about $300aud. Is size the only difference between the two? If so the 740B could just be the perfect budget monitor or is the 940B worth the extra $80-$100?

As for the 931C it doesn't appear to be available yet in Australia same for the LG 70 series (I assume they are the High contrast ones you were referring to).

However the Samsung 931BF is $450-$500 while the 970p is $500-550. Is the 970p a 6bit or 8bit panel? All this less than the $600 70gx2

 

[middlepath]

xtknight.... thanks for your clarification.

I would have to agree with you, the NEC is the better option for photo editing as it has the S-IPS panel and NEC technology. I've read positive reviews of the Samsung 214T and 215TW, though. I'm in no rush to buy a monitor, so I'll wait it out a bit longer.

Cheers!

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Bob the Koala

Originally posted by: xtknight
Well I'm quite partial to NEC now. The DV modes and response time control are awesome. That (70GX2) does sound expensive so I'll try to give you some other options.

Can you get any of these at a decent price?

Samsung 940BF? What about the LG high-contrast LCDs? I highly recommend all of those. I have my doubts that the VP930b is superior in color quality to the 940BF/LG LCDs. The gamma on the ViewSonics disappoints me.

What about that Samsung 931C that had the high gamut CCFL light? OK, I may be jumping the gun a bit here, but seriously, if you can get a look at that thing somewhere, I'd say that's an awesome deal for good IQ right there. It sounds almost perfect for you. Definitely a TN with a fast response. I'd take the chance on that any day before the VP930b, but that's just me.

I just find the light too dang bright on the VP930b now that I've seen other LCDs (even my old Samsung 17" at least wasn't overbright and still great for general usage). It took me a while to realize it, but it's just ugh. MVAs at a size of 19" are simply too bright. Too bad because that's really the only thing wrong with it. Not that the response time control was staggering but it was certainly usable. Anyhow, that's why I recommend the other LCDs over the VP930b.

Thanks for the quick reply xtknight,

The samsung 940B (the F seems to have dissapeared down here) is $400aud while the samsung 740B is about $300aud. Is size the only difference between the two? If so the 740B could just be the perfect budget monitor or is the 940B worth the extra $80-$100?

As for the 931C it doesn't appear to be available yet in Australia same for the LG 70 series (I assume they are the High contrast ones you were referring to).

However the Samsung 931BF is $450-$500 while the 970p is $500-550. Is the 970p a 6bit or 8bit panel? All this less than the $600 70gx2

940B? Ouch...I'd avoid that at all costs. The 940BF is great but the 940B has a 40 ms measured response time. I really don't know about the 740B but given the 940B's response time I'd avoid it too.

The 970P is 6-bit. Yes, the LG 70s are the high contrast ones.

I'm afraid the BenQ FP73G is the best you can get for <$300 then. The specs look great but I haven't seen any reviews. BenQ's FP91G+ and FP93GX are also great so I'd assume the FP73G is pretty decent as well.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: middlepath
xtknight.... thanks for your clarification.

I would have to agree with you, the NEC is the better option for photo editing as it has the S-IPS panel and NEC technology. I've read positive reviews of the Samsung 214T and 215TW, though. I'm in no rush to buy a monitor, so I'll wait it out a bit longer.

Cheers!

Additionally, when you view S-PVA monitors at a perpendicular (zero degree) angle, details are lost. S-IPS monitors provide higher saturation at a lower luminance, much like a good quality CRT. That's why they are always preferred for photo editing.

 

[supastar1568]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Low Radiation
Thats what we wanna hear

Please post thoughts like this whenever you can....

And in the end - about the glossy screen....when you sum it up all, it doeesn't bother you as i can see?

It doesn't bother me at all. Not once has glare hindered my use. I can't even see it most of the time. The glossy screen is awesome. Contrast is amazing and it's shiny.

This is 100% correct. There is no problem with the glossy screen and it is not distracting at all. Very nice on the eyes.

 

[Bob the Koala]

Originally posted by: xtknight

940B? Ouch...I'd avoid that at all costs. The 940BF is great but the 940B has a 40 ms measured response time. I really don't know about the 740B but given the 940B's response time I'd avoid it too.

The 970P is 6-bit. Yes, the LG 70s are the high contrast ones.

I'm afraid the BenQ FP73G is the best you can get for <$300 then. The specs look great but I haven't seen any reviews. BenQ's FP91G+ and FP93GX are also great so I'd assume the FP73G is pretty decent as well.

Thanks for all your help xt, I know in some cases the model number here can be slightly different to that of Nth America, Europe etc. I just assumed samsung did that to the 940b, now i know its a completely different model to the 940bf.

I know why the 70gx2 is so expensive, LG, samsung etc havn't released their current top end models yet so nec is in a market all to themselves at the moment. (or so it seems).
I'm still considering the BenQ fp73g, but I think i'll wait till the end of the year. Hopefully by then the other models are out and a price drop occurs. At this stage I think waiting is my best bet.

 

[xtknight]

I've done some further testing on the 20WMGX2.

It appears the DV modes adjust quite a bit. These are the modes offered: standard, text, movie, gaming, photo. In standard and text, there are steps of color but no banding. The other modes introduce a lot of banding. In fact, in the middle of the gradient there is a sharp line of contrast. I don't exactly know what's going on with that, but my guess is that it's their way of increasing contrast between darks and lights. I don't see the banding much in real usage, but I have seen it a bit.

Standard mode is rather bland but very balanced, and adjusting the brightness really helps. It's great for web/text. The text mode is too washed out for most things (I suppose it's fine for staring at black text on white). Movie is my favorite mode. It warms up the picture and isn't too high on the contrast and it ends up looking very good. It also looks the best for general usage. Gaming is movie mode except brighter (you can see dark enemies better I suppose). The photo mode just looks way too high-contrast and unreal.

I love the Advanced DVM. They really couldn't have implemented it any better. When it's off, everything seems too bright, and once turned on, it seems to "map" all the colors correctly and lower the black level to pitch black. I try and turn it off for awhile and I always end up turning it back on. It still can be inconvenient for webpage viewing.

 

[supastar1568]

xtknight, my 20WMGX2 has the same banding in the other modes too, except of course standard and text. This was the case for all of the 20WMGX2's I tested. Not a big deal as I only use standard mode with Advanced DVM on.

 

[GBInterloper]

Costco now has two different 22" Widescreen LCD's for $350. I bought the Acer 22", which I am very happy about, but I noticed today that they have a Viewsonic 22" on their website for the same price.

This is just a ehads up, I have no comparisons, no benchmarks, no further info than to say that the 22"ers are coming out!!

BTW, I play BF2 and the Acer has performed quite admirably by my standards. I am by no means an afficianado, but the colors, the detail, etc are very nice.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Anyone have any experience or comments on the Samsung 205bw 20.1" widescreen? The specs mirror that of the Viewsonic VX2025 yet you can get it for $260 after rebates from CompUSA.

 

[skinnyj]

I just now came across this, and i want to say thanks, this is a great post. I have been going back between 3-4 monitors and now i think i am sold on the 940bf.

This will be my first lcd, and I seem to read about native resolution and setting up the lcd for "best performance" is there anything special that i am going to have to do or can i just plug dvi in and set res to 1280x1024 and i will be all good to go?

thanks

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
Anyone have any experience or comments on the Samsung 205bw 20.1" widescreen? The specs mirror that of the Viewsonic VX2025 yet you can get it for $260 after rebates from CompUSA.

They're actually completely different panels. My opinion of ViewSonics is dwindling. They (all of them) have a high gamma, making the color less desireable than that of other brands like LG, Samsung, and NEC. Backlight bleeding is quite frequent on them too. The VX2025WM is also known for DVI issues.

Its two advantages are higher contrast (rather nullified by the high gamma), and true 8-bit color (no dithering effects). For viewing angles, the 205BW (TN) will darken when viewed off-axis, and the VX2025WM (P-MVA) will wash out off-axis. Typically the P-MVA can still have an OK image at extremely wide angles, whereas the TN's will be pretty dark. I recommend a TN if you are generally just going to be staring at the screen at zero degrees (perpendicular). P-MVAs lose detail at a perpendicular angle. They are better for wide angle viewing. I would get the Samsung 205BW if I were you, since I usually sit straight in front of my monitor. The P-MVA is better for TV where more off-axis viewing is involved. The VX2025WM is, appropriately named, a multimedia monitor. The 205BW does have HDCP support, which the ViewSonic ironically lacks. If you had a professional calibration suite, the ViewSonic may end up being better with a custom gamma curve but the Samsung will look better to most people without such tools or time.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: skinnyj
I just now came across this, and i want to say thanks, this is a great post. I have been going back between 3-4 monitors and now i think i am sold on the 940bf.

This will be my first lcd, and I seem to read about native resolution and setting up the lcd for "best performance" is there anything special that i am going to have to do or can i just plug dvi in and set res to 1280x1024 and i will be all good to go?

thanks

Welcome to the forums. And yep, DVI and 1280x1024 will deliver a perfect image every time on a 19" monitor. The signal is as good as it gets. You can of course calibrate your monitor using calibration diagrams around the web. I have some LCD calibration tools here and will probably be adding more soon: http://lcdresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=39

 

[Rockinacoustic]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
Anyone have any experience or comments on the Samsung 205bw 20.1" widescreen? The specs mirror that of the Viewsonic VX2025 yet you can get it for $260 after rebates from CompUSA.

They're actually completely different panels. My opinion of ViewSonics is dwindling. They (all of them) have a high gamma, making the color less desireable than that of other brands like LG, Samsung, and NEC. Backlight bleeding is quite frequent on them too. The VX2025WM is also known for DVI issues.

Its two advantages are higher contrast (rather nullified by the high gamma), and true 8-bit color (no dithering effects). For viewing angles, the 205BW (TN) will darken when viewed off-axis, and the VX2025WM (P-MVA) will wash out off-axis. Typically the P-MVA can still have an OK image at extremely wide angles, whereas the TN's will be pretty dark. I recommend a TN if you are generally just going to be staring at the screen at zero degrees (perpendicular). P-MVAs lose detail at a perpendicular angle. They are better for wide angle viewing. I would get the Samsung 205BW if I were you, since I usually sit straight in front of my monitor. The P-MVA is better for TV where more off-axis viewing is involved. The VX2025WM is, appropriately named, a multimedia monitor. The 205BW does have HDCP support, which the ViewSonic ironically lacks. If you had a professional calibration suite, the ViewSonic may end up being better with a custom gamma curve but the Samsung will look better to most people without such tools or time.

As to me viewing angles won't be a problem. I'm pretty much set on a widescreen monitor, and the samsung seems to be a great buy for the price. Thanks for the reply!

 

[derailed]

Wow, I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My CRT has just about had it so I'm finally looking at LCDs.

My primary concern would be game capability, as I do quite a bit of FPS gaming. Even more than the response time, I'm concerned with the input lag problems that a lot of LCDs apparently have. Unfortunately, it seems to be difficult to find accurate/consistent reports on this phenomenon.

I've been leaning towards the Samsung 215TW, but I haven't found any solid information one way or the other about input lag. Is this regarded as a good gaming LCD? I'd appreciate any help and/or suggestions.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: derailed
Wow, I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My CRT has just about had it so I'm finally looking at LCDs.

My primary concern would be game capability, as I do quite a bit of FPS gaming. Even more than the response time, I'm concerned with the input lag problems that a lot of LCDs apparently have. Unfortunately, it seems to be difficult to find accurate/consistent reports on this phenomenon.

I've been leaning towards the Samsung 215TW, but I haven't found any solid information one way or the other about input lag. Is this regarded as a good gaming LCD? I'd appreciate any help and/or suggestions.

Welcome to the forums.

This article at BeHardware discusses input lag and includes some measurements for common LCDs: http://www.behardware.com/articles/632-...ages-delayed-compared-to-crts-yes.html

Most people don't seem to be affected by it much (like ghosting) but it does exist.

I would recommend you the NEC 20WMGX2. The VX922 has the least input lag but it's still low-end in terms of color reproduction. The NEC 20WMGX2 is definitely worth the extra. It's faster than the Samsung in response time. If I had to take a guess, the Samsung, with its S-PVA panel, would be higher than the NEC in input lag as well.

 

[samduhman]

Why is the Samsung 215tw in the recommended gaming listing? I bought one and found that it displayed horrible ghosting in fast paced FPSers. I replaced it with a VX2025 and have been happy since playing any game.

 

[samduhman]

Do not buy the 215tw! From my own personal experience (unless the one I tried was defective) you'll be very unhappy with the ghosting of this lcd. It had a beautiful sharp picture but for fast FPS gaming it was the pits.

Originally posted by: derailed
Wow, I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. My CRT has just about had it so I'm finally looking at LCDs.

My primary concern would be game capability, as I do quite a bit of FPS gaming. Even more than the response time, I'm concerned with the input lag problems that a lot of LCDs apparently have. Unfortunately, it seems to be difficult to find accurate/consistent reports on this phenomenon.

I've been leaning towards the Samsung 215TW, but I haven't found any solid information one way or the other about input lag. Is this regarded as a good gaming LCD? I'd appreciate any help and/or suggestions.

 

[xtknight]

It varies a lot per person. Many love the 215TW for gaming and it sure does have great color reproduction which is never bad for gaming. It's up there in speed with your run-of-the-mill fast TN without overdrive which is still very good. Is it the best? No, but that's why it's not in the maximum speed category. The 215TW actually does use overdrive and it's still quite fast by today's standards.

 

[imported_Cicero]

Am I correct in stating that the NEC 20WMGX2 is a USA model only? I have looked around the net using Google extensively and various NEC sites and have found it listed only on NEC USA sites.

I know that that this model is definitely not available in New Zealand neither is the 20WGX2 which is available in Australia though this model isn't as high spec as the 20WMGX2.

Sounds like the 20WMGX2 is a very fine monitor but it isn't really available to all so it must have the caveat that availability is limited to the USA and for that reason in my mind cannot be given a widespread recommendation (unfortunately). If it were possible to import one to New Zealand for example it would be very expensive.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Cicero
Am I correct in stating that the NEC 20WMGX2 is a USA model only? I have looked around the net using Google extensively and various NEC sites and have found it listed only on NEC USA sites.

I know that that this model is definitely not available in New Zealand neither is the 20WGX2 which is available in Australia though this model isn't as high spec as the 20WMGX2.

Sounds like the 20WMGX2 is a very fine monitor but it isn't really available to all so it must have the caveat that availability is limited to the USA and for that reason in my mind cannot be given a widespread recommendation (unfortunately). If it were possible to import one to New Zealand for example it would be very expensive.

That would be correct. It is US only.

Well, what is good is that they're interchangeable image quality wise. The international LCD20WGX2 is just as good for gaming, etc. The US multimedia version has extra stuff like a TV tuner, integrated speakers, lots of inputs, and HDCP.

 

[mnf]

I last wrote in on page 80-something and here I am again because I was indecisive and didn't buy at the time...

I'm an architect and do mostly CAD work and general internet stuff. I had settled on buying the Samsung 940T with its PVA panel which got a very good review in the xbitlabs roundup and was just about to spring when Samsung confused me by coming out with the 940BX for a similar price.

I know, its got a TN panel which is supposed to be less good for CAD work but what's confusing me - and I feel silly saying this - is the Samsung blurb - "Whether you're editing web content, designing a presentation graphic, or creating in a CAD/CAM program, you'll be comfortable." This, against the backdrop of a photo of the 940BX sporting a CAD/CAM wireframe.

Do they know something I don't?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: mnf
I last wrote in on page 80-something and here I am again because I was indecisive and didn't buy at the time...

I'm an architect and do mostly CAD work and general internet stuff. I had settled on buying the Samsung 940T with its PVA panel which got a very good review in the xbitlabs roundup and was just about to spring when Samsung confused me by coming out with the 940BX for a similar price.

I know, its got a TN panel which is supposed to be less good for CAD work but what's confusing me - and I feel silly saying this - is the Samsung blurb - "Whether you're editing web content, designing a presentation graphic, or creating in a CAD/CAM program, you'll be comfortable." This, against the backdrop of a photo of the 940BX sporting a CAD/CAM wireframe.

Do they know something I don't?

They use the same ad for lots of the SyncMaster series (the 940T was one of those CAD/CAM ads). The 940BX will certainly be faster in response time but the 940T will have a higher contrast. If you're just doing black and white CAD stuff you wouldn't be able to tell the difference and so I'd go for the faster speed. If you're moving fine and thin objects around a lot then the motion streaks of the PVA will get annoying.

 

[xtknight]

Weird! Even the regular DV modes (at least Movie) with advanced DVM off are doing some dynamic contrast adjustment. Yes, I'm still messing with it.