LCD Buyer's Guide

[imported_XyliX]

Thanks xtknight!

I think I'll go with the LG, it looks great!

Another question that has bugged me. My previous monitor was a SDM-HX73 17" with an a-Si (whatever that is) panel. It was specified with 16ms in response time and I never experienced any ghosting in any game, including fast ones like Quake. Is ghosting a larger problem with larger panels? The question is if I should expect better or worse performance when bying a new 20" compared to my two year old 17" Sony? (Maybe the answer is that there were ghosting but I never noticed it?)

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: XyliX
Thanks xtknight!

I think I'll go with the LG, it looks great!

Another question that has bugged me. My previous monitor was a SDM-HX73 17" with an a-Si (whatever that is) panel.

a-Si is just a way of manufacturing TFTs (I believe most monitors are still a-Si, some projectors are p-Si, a type of silicon). From what I can tell it was a TN.

It was specified with 16ms in response time and I never experienced any ghosting in any game, including fast ones like Quake. Is ghosting a larger problem with larger panels?

The question is if I should expect better or worse performance when bying a new 20" compared to my two year old 17" Sony? (Maybe the answer is that there were ghosting but I never noticed it?)

Sonys are among the slowest panels (sole exception being the SDM-P234). If you didn't notice it with that LCD I really doubt you will with the L2000C. It should even be faster in some cases. I don't know, but that's my guess at least. It did exist though, at about 20 ms with the best 17" TN, and perhaps 25 with the worst. The L2000C may hover around 17-25 ms.

It's not really the speed of the game that matters. It's how many small elements the LCD has to precisely track. When they're small, the blur can obscure them from your view. In Quake, there's large walls and the health boxes and what not are fairly hefty, so I can't see ghosting being an issue.

 

[Mem]

New IIYAMA E2200WS LCD 22" widescreen coming,

Panel TN
Response time 5 msec
Contrast ratio 1000 : 1 typical
Display colour 16.7 Million
Input connector D-Sub, DVI-D
horizontal/vertical: 170°/160°

Link.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: XyliX
Thanks xtknight!

I think I'll go with the LG, it looks great!

Another question that has bugged me. My previous monitor was a SDM-HX73 17" with an a-Si (whatever that is) panel. It was specified with 16ms in response time and I never experienced any ghosting in any game, including fast ones like Quake. Is ghosting a larger problem with larger panels? The question is if I should expect better or worse performance when bying a new 20" compared to my two year old 17" Sony? (Maybe the answer is that there were ghosting but I never noticed it?)

I don't know. I'm still having second thoughts about putting the LG on the recommendations list. People think it dithers now. I don't know how that could be when it includes an S-IPS, none of which use 6-bit. It may have something to do with the bad default color settings. There just isn't enough reliable info out there. According to the rating, LesNumeriques loved it.

 

[quadpol]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: XyliX
I am looking for a 20" non-widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1600x1200. The Dell 2007FP no longer seems to ship with a S-IPS panel, atleast not to Sweden. I need a monitor that provides decent performance in games and it must also be good for general usage.

The suggested NEC LCD2070NX does not get very high recomendation on the decent gaming list. Does anyone have any experience of the Sony SDM-S205F. It's seems to have an S-IPS panel, but I don't know if it's 8-bit.

The LG L2000C seems like your best choice at the moment. LesNumeriques says it's comparable to the ViewSonic VX2025WM, which is a very fast LCD. The L2000C is a true 8-bit S-IPS panel with no glossy coating. I'm going to replace the 2070NX with the L2000C after having coming across that review.[/L]

I am basically in the same situation - looking for a 20" non-widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1600x1200. I currently have the Dell 2007FP on my list and wouldn't mind too much about getting a PVA-panel.
However, I am still looking for alternatives.

The LG L2000C looked very interesting until I found out that it doesn't provide any OSD-option to set the interpolation method. Smaller resolutions are always stretched to fullscreen, which I find not acceptable.

Other TFTs that compare well to the Dell are the HP LP2065 and the new Iiyama H511S-W2U. Both provide settings for a 1:1 display or an interpolation that preserves the aspect ratio. However the Composite and S-Video inputs of the Dell are definately a bonus.

 

[oseven]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: oseven
Hey, anyone tried the Mirai DML-522W100? Can only find this review: http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?page=8077&head=0

(I apologize if this has been discussed elsewhere, I couldn't find anything)

To Mirai's homepage: http://www.nl-mirai.com/Uk/ProductDetails&product_id=43&cat_id=50

Wow, they list the complete response time: 5 ms (Tr:2 = Tf:3)

That gets them some extra points from me right away. I have not heard about this particular one. It sounds like it'll be on par with or above the other 22" Chi Mei-based LCDs. Image quality doesn't sound too thrilling in the review.

Hey thanks for your comment xtknight; Yeah the specs are fine, but then again they always are..
The monitor is also unbelievably cheap, about 395 USD (other 22" monitors are 500+ USD)

Anyone else heard of/tried the Mirai DML-522W100 (see links in my qouted post)

 

[niall]

Originally posted by: xtknight
I don't know. I'm still having second thoughts about putting the LG on the recommendations list. People think it dithers now. I don't know how that could be when it includes an S-IPS, none of which use 6-bit. It may have something to do with the bad default color settings. There just isn't enough reliable info out there. According to the rating, LesNumeriques loved it.

Well, speaking as a francophone, I'd say LesNumériques were happily surprised more than wholly enthusiastic. They were expecting TN but received IPS (and saw LG change the spec sheet to reflect this); they found it much faster than standard IPS while retaining the quality of slower IPSes, and had far less blurring and trailing than expected. Their big reserves were on the factory colour settings which weren't really helped by the other pre-sets, saying anyone wanting accurate colours needed professional calibration probes, and that movie playback was as bad as any other IPS panel. They still consider the 20WGX2 their absolute reference in 20", so the L2000C may be good to lower on the list, with the calibration caveat. (The after-calibration pic is quite impressive, but normal users are unable to achieve it.)

 

[talgtapp]

Hi, have you got any opinions on Philips 200W6CS/00.

Its the cheapest 20" S-IPS pannel I've been able to find.

I'll be using mit for graphics work, but have a tiny budget.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: quadpol

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: XyliX
I am looking for a 20" non-widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1600x1200. The Dell 2007FP no longer seems to ship with a S-IPS panel, atleast not to Sweden. I need a monitor that provides decent performance in games and it must also be good for general usage.

The suggested NEC LCD2070NX does not get very high recomendation on the decent gaming list. Does anyone have any experience of the Sony SDM-S205F. It's seems to have an S-IPS panel, but I don't know if it's 8-bit.

The LG L2000C seems like your best choice at the moment. LesNumeriques says it's comparable to the ViewSonic VX2025WM, which is a very fast LCD. The L2000C is a true 8-bit S-IPS panel with no glossy coating. I'm going to replace the 2070NX with the L2000C after having coming across that review.[/L]

I am basically in the same situation - looking for a 20" non-widescreen monitor with a native resolution of 1600x1200. I currently have the Dell 2007FP on my list and wouldn't mind too much about getting a PVA-panel.
However, I am still looking for alternatives.

The LG L2000C looked very interesting until I found out that it doesn't provide any OSD-option to set the interpolation method. Smaller resolutions are always stretched to fullscreen, which I find not acceptable.

Other TFTs that compare well to the Dell are the HP LP2065 and the new Iiyama H511S-W2U. Both provide settings for a 1:1 display or an interpolation that preserves the aspect ratio. However the Composite and S-Video inputs of the Dell are definately a bonus.

The HP sounds the best. It's reasonably priced, and it uses the new S-IPS U05 panel. The Dell is decent too for general usage. I'm still trying to decide what to recommend for 20" 4:3/multimedia at the moment, but the HP L2065 is sounding the best. Then, there's the NEC LCD2070NX, and from the measured response time (16-25ms) I already know it's OK for movies, but gaming will be a tad rough for some. Since I trust NEC more than HP, that's what I have recommended now.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: talgtapp
Hi, have you got any opinions on Philips 200W6CS/00.

Its the cheapest 20" S-IPS pannel I've been able to find.

I'll be using mit for graphics work, but have a tiny budget.

It'd be between that and the NEC LCD2070NX. If you can afford the NEC get that, if not, get the Philips.

 

[khas]

Thanks for you input on the NU, xtknight. I guess that's out. Hm, how about the:

LG L1752TX -- Seems like it's one of those new "High Contrast Models". Good price, too.

Or the Dell 1707FPV -- That V is very important I think. Any ideas as to what sort of panel that might be?

I'm looking to do a combination of web-design/gaming on it. I'm not terribly sensitive to ghosting, but I do like nice color. How do you think they'd compare to the NEC 17" you have listed?

If you think these'd both pretty much not be so hot because of color limitations, I guess I'll have to go for the 2007WFP. Though I'd probably get a refurbished one >_>. somehow i think that's a sure-fire way of getting one with banding problems Oh well.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: khas
Thanks for you input on the NU, xtknight. I guess that's out. Hm, how about the:

LG L1752TX -- Seems like it's one of those new "High Contrast Models". Good price, too.

True...I'm not sure that ALL of them are that great, but the L1970HR and L204WT seem really good. What's your price range?

Or the Dell 1707FPV -- That V is very important I think. Any ideas as to what sort of panel that might be?

The Dell 1707FPV contains a Samsung PVA as far as I know. It's 6-bit though. The FPVs look like the Dell equivalent of the Samsung 770P and 970P displays. I would give them a try, whichever you can afford (17 or 19).

I'm looking to do a combination of web-design/gaming on it. I'm not terribly sensitive to ghosting, but I do like nice color. How do you think they'd compare to the NEC 17" you have listed?

All I know is that the NEC *GX2s are some pretty good LCDs. But the Dells will undoubtedly have higher contrast so I'd give them a shot.

If you think these'd both pretty much not be so hot because of color limitations, I guess I'll have to go for the 2007WFP. Though I'd probably get a refurbished one >_>. somehow i think that's a sure-fire way of getting one with banding problems Oh well.

Why refurb? The price? Is the LG L204WT available where you are? ViewSonic VX2025WM?

 

[Aharami]

Ive been using CRT all my life, and currently own a 21" DELL CRT. Its heavy, but its nice and I like the 1920x1440 resolution that I am running this monitor.

Recently I've been considering going to a dual LCD setup. I am considering this LCD - SAMSUNG 204B-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001226

Is this a good LCD? Newegg customer reviews are good but some say they got horizontal line after couple days and had to exchange. Its a TN panel (i think). I dont do much gaming - every now and then Id pay some CMR3 or Sims2. Will be mainly for coding and photoshop editing (nothing pro...just touching up some of my photos to post in my gallery).

Should I bite the bullet and buy 2? Or buy one for now, see how I like it first?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Aharami
Ive been using CRT all my life, and currently own a 21" DELL CRT. Its heavy, but its nice and I like the 1920x1440 resolution that I am running this monitor.

Recently I've been considering going to a dual LCD setup. I am considering this LCD - SAMSUNG 204B-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001226

Is this a good LCD?

It's not that great. The viewing angles are very poor. The TN panel means poor color reproduction, and at that size the response time is also not even that great, which would have been the only compelling reason to get a TN.

Newegg customer reviews are good but some say they got horizontal line after couple days and had to exchange. Its a TN panel (i think). I dont do much gaming - every now and then Id pay some CMR3 or Sims2. Will be mainly for coding and photoshop editing (nothing pro...just touching up some of my photos to post in my gallery).

Should I bite the bullet and buy 2? Or buy one for now, see how I like it first?

Why don't you give the HP LP2065 a try? You can get a great deal on it here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824176053

It's not the fastest but I think it's the best for someone coming from a CRT. The 204B will leave you very disappointed. The LP2065's response time is probably as fast as if not faster than the 204B's.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Originally posted by: Aharami
Ive been using CRT all my life, and currently own a 21" DELL CRT. Its heavy, but its nice and I like the 1920x1440 resolution that I am running this monitor.

Recently I've been considering going to a dual LCD setup. I am considering this LCD - SAMSUNG 204B-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001226

Is this a good LCD?

It's not that great. The viewing angles are very poor. The TN panel means poor color reproduction, and at that size the response time is also not even that great, which would have been the only compelling reason to get a TN.

Newegg customer reviews are good but some say they got horizontal line after couple days and had to exchange. Its a TN panel (i think). I dont do much gaming - every now and then Id pay some CMR3 or Sims2. Will be mainly for coding and photoshop editing (nothing pro...just touching up some of my photos to post in my gallery).

Should I bite the bullet and buy 2? Or buy one for now, see how I like it first?

Why don't you give the HP LP2065 a try? You can get a great deal on it here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824176053

It's not the fastest but I think it's the best for someone coming from a CRT. The 204B will leave you very disappointed. The LP2065's response time is probably as fast as if not faster than the 204B's.

Thanks for your input. I guess I will hold off for a little while then since I dont really want to spend more than $300 per monitor. A little confused as to why you say the HP has a faster response time than the Samsung. Newegg says 204B has 5ms and the HP has 8ms

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Aharami
Thanks for your input. I guess I will hold off for a little while then since I dont really want to spend more than $300 per monitor. A little confused as to why you say the HP has a faster response time than the Samsung. Newegg says 204B has 5ms and the HP has 8ms

Did you read the guide? Samsung has rated 40 ms LCDs at 8 ms. HP's ratings are usually much more reasonable. Also I know from seeing the ghosting comparisons of 20" TNs vs 20" IPSes.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Did you read the guide?

Only part of it

Samsung has rated 40 ms LCDs at 8 ms. HP's ratings are usually much more reasonable. Also I know from seeing the ghosting comparisons of 20" TNs vs 20" IPSes.

:shocked: The price of this monitor makes it very attractive though. Local best buy seems to have it. I guess I can go take a look at this monitor first hand...see how bad the viewing angles are. If I'm unhappy as you said I would be, I guess i'll stick with my CRT until the LCD prices drop more

 

[khas]

Man you're good at replying

I just noticed that Dell rates the 1707fpv at around 20ms... that seems like it might be rather slow for gaming (especially if they're over-estimating its abilities).

My budget is simply "as cheap as possible" while still enjoying what i'm looking at. I'd really prefer to spend under $280, which just happens to be the price I can get a refurbished 2007WFP from a friend at dell (shipped).

I prefer smaller LCDs with higher resolutions -- I'm coming from a 15.4 inch widescreen laptop lcd at 1680x1050, which i liked better than my work laptop's 1900x1200 (that's just a bit too tiny for comfort). I can see everything on the screen without having to actually move my eyes back and forth / up and down... and it's still a lot of space.

I guess that's why i'm considering a 17inch.... but if for the same (or close to) price of a good 17inch lcd, i can get a 20.1 inch widescreen lcd that's of higher quality, i can't justify not getting the bigger one.

Both the LG and the ViewSonic you mentioned are available near me, but the 2007wfp is significantly cheaper than both. Thanks for the help -- man this is annoying I'm almost about to give up and buy the cheapest used 17in LCD i can find and call it a day.

 

[niall]

For eeric and other Canadian customers:

Today's the day! Dell has the 2007WFP on sale at a whopping C$389 - a saving of $110! (Total price: 443.46) As this is a much better panel than the VX2025 (for only $10 more) or any other 19", yet half the price than any better 20" that I can get, and since so far all North American customers have had the IPS panel and that Dell may be simply moving all stock to clear warehouse space and divest themselves from the monitor business, I'm going to jump on it.

...and wow, their servers keep timing out when trying to buy it. Guess I'm not the only one wanting it! I ended up calling in, it was faster.

 

[eeric]

Originally posted by: niall
For eeric and other Canadian customers:

Today's the day! Dell has the 2007WFP on sale at a whopping C$389 - a saving of $110! (Total price: 443.46) As this is a much better panel than the VX2025 (for only $10 more) or any other 19", yet half the price than any better 20" that I can get, and since so far all North American customers have had the IPS panel and that Dell may be simply moving all stock to clear warehouse space and divest themselves from the monitor business, I'm going to jump on it.

...and wow, their servers keep timing out when trying to buy it. Guess I'm not the only one wanting it! I ended up calling in, it was faster.

i just came on to let you know too. yep, i ordered mine by phone.

 

[eeric]

just wondering for comparisons sake, my brother has a dell ultrasharp 1905fp, what panel is in that one? (he didn't get the 8ms response one, which I assume was a TN panel). thx.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: khas
Man you're good at replying

I just noticed that Dell rates the 1707fpv at around 20ms... that seems like it might be rather slow for gaming (especially if they're over-estimating its abilities).

Perhaps. It uses the same panel as the Samsung 770P, whose ghosting profile is shown here on the left: From what I'm seeing, it's not bad at all: http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?...=66&p1=717&ma2=47&mo2=118&p2=1274&ph=1

My budget is simply "as cheap as possible" while still enjoying what i'm looking at. I'd really prefer to spend under $280, which just happens to be the price I can get a refurbished 2007WFP from a friend at dell (shipped).

The refurb Dell will probably be much better than the 17" and 19" Dells anyway. To my knowledge, people who exchange their LCDs within the 21 day period always get refurbs and most have only exchanged one and have been happier with the refurb they got back. I'm not sure if it's true that you get refurbs, but that's what I've heard (unless you get a refund first).

I prefer smaller LCDs with higher resolutions -- I'm coming from a 15.4 inch widescreen laptop lcd at 1680x1050, which i liked better than my work laptop's 1900x1200 (that's just a bit too tiny for comfort). I can see everything on the screen without having to actually move my eyes back and forth / up and down... and it's still a lot of space.

I guess that's why i'm considering a 17inch.... but if for the same (or close to) price of a good 17inch lcd, i can get a 20.1 inch widescreen lcd that's of higher quality, i can't justify not getting the bigger one.

Both the LG and the ViewSonic you mentioned are available near me, but the 2007wfp is significantly cheaper than both. Thanks for the help -- man this is annoying I'm almost about to give up and buy the cheapest used 17in LCD i can find and call it a day.

The 2007WFP has a better dot pitch than even the 17" so I would go for that, even refurbished.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: eeric
just wondering for comparisons sake, my brother has a dell ultrasharp 1905fp, what panel is in that one? (he didn't get the 8ms response one, which I assume was a TN panel). thx.

The 1905FP has either an AU Optronics P-MVA or a Samsung PVA, both 4-domain MVA panels. The AUO uses FRC to reach 16.7M, and the Samsung uses 2x2 dithering to reach 16.2M.

 

[bennymankin]

Hi all, I need to ask this before I pull the plunge. Between 2007FP & FPW, is FP worse than FPW for movies and games? I am so confused, thanks in advance for the help

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: bennymankin
Hi all, I need to ask this before I pull the plunge.

Sorry...I couldn't help but say I thought that said "pull the plunger" at first. I think the expression you're looking for is "pull the plug" or "take the plunge".

Between 2007FP & FPW, is FP worse than FPW for movies and games? I am so confused, thanks in advance for the help

The 2007FP is the 20.1" 1600x1200 version, and the 2007WFP is a 20.1" widescreen. The 2007WFP indeed has a higher quality panel than its 4:3 brother, with higher contrast and brightness, and a better response time. I highly suggest the 2007WFP for movies/games since they are suited well to widescreen. The 2007WFP is even cheaper than the 2007FP.