LCD Buyer's Guide

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: ViRGE
Okay, I just noticed something odd on the 2070NX. I just tried that PixPerAn program that someone linked to a page or two ago, and noticed on the loading screen that the car(or whatever it is) isn't scrolling smoothly. It's hiccuping(for the lack of a better word) about once a second, as if it was skipping a frame(but the frame counter clearly shows its properly rendering all the frames). Does anyone know what this is about?

Windows and its poor refresh rate control? I get lots of stuttering in Windows too. I noticed it was because my vertical Hz varied by .1 in the OSD. Not the LCD's fault though.

 

[ViRGE]

Humm, the OSD does say 60.3hz... I would like to fix it though.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: ViRGE
Humm, the OSD does say 60.3hz... I would like to fix it though.

Do you have an NVIDIA card? Try tweaking around with the advanced refresh rate settings (lower, raise a couple things by a very small amount). Or try to type in 60.0000 Hz in vertical frequency. You will notice skipping around when you continuously move your mouse as well.

 

[ViRGE]

Yes, it's a 6800U. I'll give it a shot.

Edit: If I try to drop it, it'll go to 59.4, which does seem to eliminate the choppiness at the cost of what seems to be a steady 59fps rendering rate

 

[pencilcase]

Hello,

I would appreciate some help with the following problem. I have a new LG L1940B which seems to be very good with text and video but when I ran Eizo-test it revealed severe geometric distortion -- please see below. The linked image is after Auto-setup (the monitor only has an analog connection). The only geometry adjustments available through the OSD menu are Vertical and Horizontal but they do not fix the problem.

Is the monitor faulty in your opinion? In what ways is the problem likely to affect everyday use of the monitor?

LG L1940B geometry test pattern

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: pencilcase
Hello,

I would appreciate some help with the following problem. I have a new LG L1940B which seems to be very good with text and video but when I ran Eizo-test it revealed severe geometric distortion -- please see below. The linked image is after Auto-setup (the monitor only has an analog connection). The only geometry adjustments available through the OSD menu are Vertical and Horizontal but they do not fix the problem.

Is the monitor faulty in your opinion? In what ways is the problem likely to affect everyday use of the monitor?

LG L1940B geometry test pattern

Hmm. I'm not seeing much wrong with it at all. Can you be more specific? If text and video look good I wouldn't worry about it. It's good to hear you've finally found a monitor you like though.

Can you link me to that program? It's kinda hard to tell without a reference monitor (DVI).

 

[pencilcase]

Thanks xtknight. Here's a link to the Eizo-test.

In the horizontal striped rectangles the first stripe is narrower than the others.

The right half of the pattern looks different to the left half: the striped rectangles on the right jut out; also, the two circles do not fit properly into their respective squares.

The same test pattern displays very differently on my 15" laptop screen (it is perfectly symmetrical).

Edit Hmm... I lowered the resolution and the pattern now displays fine. Same as on my laptop.

 

[lUnChBoX]

I can't find any reviews for a Samsung 931BF. I have a raincheck for 1 at Best Buy for $270 but not sure if I should get it after reading through this awesome guide, thanks xtknight. I was also looking at the viewsonic vx922 which is on sale at fry's for $200. I just want a good monitor for my money, but am unsure now after seeing all the information and reviews here. I feel myself leaning towards the viewsonic vp930b now. Does anyone own, or have any opinions on the 931BF, or can maybe recommend something in the $200-$300 range that will serve as a great overall monitor for gaming and also watching movies and such. Thanks in advance for any input.

Cheers!

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: pencilcase
Thanks xtknight. Here's a link to the Eizo-test.

In the horizontal striped rectangles the first stripe is narrower than the others.

The right half of the pattern looks different to the left half: the striped rectangles on the right jut out; also, the two circles do not fit properly into their respective squares.

The same test pattern displays very differently on my 15" laptop screen (it is perfectly symmetrical).

Edit Hmm... I lowered the resolution and the pattern now displays fine. Same as on my laptop.

Lower resolutions use less bandwidth so that would be understandable. The right side juts out on mine too. That really didn't look like an analog problem to me. The test image looks like a disaster on my screen and obviously it's not my monitor because I use DVI. I don't know what they were smoking when they made the first test. Or maybe I just don't understand what's supposed to go on. The rest of the tests look perfect to me.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: lUnChBoX
I can't find any reviews for a Samsung 931BF. I have a raincheck for 1 at Best Buy for $270 but not sure if I should get it after reading through this awesome guide, thanks xtknight. I was also looking at the viewsonic vx922 which is on sale at fry's for $200. I just want a good monitor for my money, but am unsure now after seeing all the information and reviews here. I feel myself leaning towards the viewsonic vp930b now. Does anyone own, or have any opinions on the 931BF, or can maybe recommend something in the $200-$300 range that will serve as a great overall monitor for gaming and also watching movies and such. Thanks in advance for any input.

Cheers!

Look no further than a few posts up on this thread for some thoughts on the 931BF.

Originally posted by: Hexerott
Well since there is no concrete 1st hand information out there on the Samsung 931BF, I decided I would go buy one and give it a test so I could give some feedback on it.

Initial thoughts:

1) Wow it is bright. Coming from a CRT (at home), the brightness is a shocker but cranking down the setting seems to be working just fine for me. It even seems brighter than the Dell LCD I have at work.

2) Just a FYI for potential buyers, there is no DVI-D cable in the box. You will need to get one if you want to connect in that fashion. Pretty common.

3) The color is amazing. Very crisp and clear. Pictures look great. Zero dead pixels. The blacks are darker than I expected. If the monitor is desk level, I do notice some darker black at top than at bottom but if the monitor is centered with my eye level it is completely uniform.

4) Video: There is a bit of ghosting on DVDs but not too bad. If you are looking for a DVD monitor, I would look elsewhere. I AM CURRENTLY running an analog hookup. I will be getting a DVI-D cable in the next couple of days.

5) Gaming: So far I have only tried America's Army on it. Started with a pretty generic test here as far as I am concerned. I will move up in games as I go forward in the next week or two. So far in the different arenas, I have seen no ghosting at all.

6) Viewing angle: Not too bad. When I surf the net, I usually sit off to the right side of the monitor and have no issue in reading/seeing everything. The angle seems very normal to me. Even compared to over 6 or so LCDs I use at work.

So far, overall, I am impressed with the monitor. For $269.00us I am feeling I got a fair deal.

I hope this helps someone out and will update as I get more used to the screen. If it continues to perform well, I will keep this monitor, if not, it will go back.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will answer what I can. If anyone has any programs they want me to run on it, let me know and I can give feedback.

The 931BF sounds good to me for gaming. The dynamic contrast might be pretty good for movies too.

 

[pencilcase]

Lower resolutions use less bandwidth so that would be understandable. The right side juts out on mine too. That really didn't look like an analog problem to me. The test image looks like a disaster on my screen and obviously it's not my monitor because I use DVI. I don't know what they were smoking when they made the first test. Or maybe I just don't understand what's supposed to go on. The rest of the tests look perfect to me.

Thanks xtknight, that's quite a relief. Perhaps the test was originally designed to run at lower resolutions.

 

[lUnChBoX]

Thanks xtknight and Hexerott. I can't beleive I missed it after going through so much of this post. I guess I'll give it a shot and see how it works out. Thanks again.

 

[doodler85]

Ok, this is driving me insane. I've been researching obsessively for the past few days, and keep getting stuck. I'm a graphic/web designer/photographer and I need a 20" monitor that will supply very good color for under $500. I'd also like to be able to play games with it, so the lag/tearing issue I keep reading about for NEC displays kind of bothers me.

Since I do a lot of programming as well, a standard 4:3 is preferrable. Here're what I've come to almost buying...

Samsung 204T
Samsung 215T

ViewSonic VX2025WM

And I'm curious but clueless about this display:
LG L203WTX

I was almost sold on the 204T until I read like 50 pages of this thread. Now my eyes are bleeding. I'm also worried that the Newegg out of stock pricing is wrong ($399), since the rest of the web is selling the display for at least $500. Thoughts?

Other displays that I haven't mentioned will be considered... I like NEC but most of what I've seen has been pretty pricey.

Solid recommendations would help a ton. Thanks guys!

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: doodler85
Since I do a lot of programming as well, a standard 4:3 is preferrable. Here're what I've come to almost buying...

How is 4:3 any better for programming? If you have lots of side windows it can better accomodate those, or in the case of the 215TW pivot it to portrait mode for a long code listing.

Samsung 204T
Samsung 215T

ViewSonic VX2025WM

And I'm curious but clueless about this display:
LG L203WTX

I was almost sold on the 204T until I read like 50 pages of this thread. Now my eyes are bleeding. I'm also worried that the Newegg out of stock pricing is wrong ($399), since the rest of the web is selling the display for at least $500. Thoughts?

Other displays that I haven't mentioned will be considered... I like NEC but most of what I've seen has been pretty pricey.

Solid recommendations would help a ton. Thanks guys!

I would get the Samsung 215TW. It's easily the best of any of those listed. If there's an objections to that let me know but I see no use to get the others when you can get the 215TW.

 

[doodler85]

Thanks XTKnight.

The first reason that's holding me back from immediately ordering (it's currently in my shopping cart ) is the price per pixel... which is kind of high. However, you get all kinds of input, PIP... so it makes up for it.

The reason why I like 4:3 is because I have dreamweaver in split mode (vertically) for code view/design view. Flash also needs a lot of room for its timeline. It seems like Photoshop and photo previewing get the greatest benefit overall from this deal. Finally, my Wacom tablet isn't made for wide aspect, so I'm going to have to modify how I use that as well.

That's why I liked the 204T. Reviews seem very positive about overall color reproduction, contrast, etc., and the price is very reasonable on Newegg. It also has swivel/height adjustment, and a reasonable response rate.

Hmmm. Grumble. Those are really my two conflicting options. If you can convince me that switching to wide aspect is worth it amidst all this, I'll order today

Thanks!

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: doodler85
Thanks XTKnight.

The only reason that's holding me back from immediately ordering (it's currently in my shopping cart ) is the price per pixel... which is kind of high. However, you get all kinds of input, PIP... yeah, I can see what you mean

The reason why I like 4:3 is because I have dreamweaver in split mode (vertically) for code view/design view. Flash also needs a lot of room for its timeline. It seems like Photoshop and photo previewing get the greatest benefit overall from this deal. Finally, my Wacom tablet isn't made for wide aspect, so I'm going to have to modify how I use that as well.

Hmmm. Grumble. If you can convince me that switching to wide aspect is worth it amidst all this, I'll order today

Thanks!

It's not really widescreen itself but the 215TW happens to be widescreen and it's quite a bit better than the rest with image quality. I'd rather have a widescreen anyway though: http://lcdresource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=36

With the 204T you'd be paying the same or more for less image quality. The $300 at Newegg is definitely low if you look around Froogle. The 215TW is ready for HDCP too.

 

[doodler85]

A wise man once told me... "F*ck it."

Congratulations , your order has been submitted!

Does this monitor I just purchased have significantly better image quality than the 24" dell? I just noticed after spending $530 that dell dropped their prices to $700...

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: doodler85
A wise man once told me... "F*ck it."

Congratulations , your order has been submitted!

Does this monitor I just purchased have significantly better image quality than the 24" dell? I just noticed after spending $530 that dell dropped their prices to $700...

Not significantly better but a tad better. 24" is just too big IMO for any general usage.

 

[doodler85]

Hmm. Well, cheers

I'll try to settle that buyer's remorse by thinking what else I could do the the $250 difference (inc. tax).

Perhaps I can watch Snakes on a Plane 20 more times...

 

[imported_mingus]

May be an unfair comparison, but how would the Dell 2007WFP compare to the 215TW? I ready to buy 2 Dell 2007WFPs at this point, was thinking about the 21" Samsungs. couple hundred more dollars - oh well.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: mingus
May be an unfair comparison, but how would the Dell 2007WFP compare to the 215TW? I ready to buy 2 Dell 2007WFPs at this point, was thinking about the 21" Samsungs. couple hundred more dollars - oh well.

The Samsungs have a much higher contrast and better uniformity/black level. Also you get component input.

 

[imported_mingus]

So the 215TW is *the* monitor to buy then? Quite a few issues with it reading the newegg reviews. Going to consider 2 of them.

 

[doodler85]

Yeah, they mentioned some QC issues, but also how good Samsung was about replacement... so I'm going to tempt the fates and see what happens

I'll give you guys a review of the monitor as well, once I have it set up.

Oh -- i'm not sure if this is a good place to ask, but could someone answer this briefly: How much does one's video card matter for color output? I figured it'd be little to not at all, but I read something this summer that made me think otherwise... Just wondering!

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: mingus
So the 215TW is *the* monitor to buy then? Quite a few issues with it reading the newegg reviews. Going to consider 2 of them.

Yeah, the quality/performance ratio is very good. Hopefully they've fixed the problem by now. Worst case scenario you'll just have to RMA it. It could happen with any LCD though.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: doodler85
Oh -- i'm not sure if this is a good place to ask, but could someone answer this briefly: How much does one's video card matter for color output? I figured it'd be little to not at all, but I read something this summer that made me think otherwise... Just wondering!

With DVI every card should output perfect color and geometry. With VGA, it could potentially (and does) vary. That said, any modern card (GeForce 6+, Radeon X800+) nowadays has really good VGA.