Monitor Reviews

[General Kenobi]

Budget range 24" or larger 120Hz monitors would be interesting to read about.

 

[blanketyblank]

I'm kind of interested in the Samsung 120 Hz panels which I saw on newegg, SAMSUNG S27A750D. I haven't seen a professional review, but the 100% accurate photo stuff sounds pretty cool in the product description though it's probably going to suck in real life if this thing is a TN.

 

[Borealis7]

I have the Samsung S23A950D in my online cart as we speak but i'm waiting till April to hit the purchase button. it's probably been done to death, but i'd like to know if anyone can find a reason why these two should not marry...i mean why i should not get it, speak now (or post a review).

in any case, i'd like to see Color Calibration suggestions in reviews. they do it over at FlatPanelsHD.com, and its very helpful. if you have a professional Calibrator please post your suggestions for Birghtness/Contrast/RGB values.

 

[fralexandr]

how about some of the 22-32" 1080p "TVs" that could be used as computer monitors?

 

[GoodRevrnd]

How about a review of 120hz vs 60hz monitors and what you can take away from if they are worth the actual price/upgrade. Lots of people swear that its a huge difference, i can't tell any difference with games. Maybe screenshots/video compare side by side of that sorts.

YESPLZ. In a non-3d gaming context.

 

[wahdangun]

Just for the kick of it...compare this new and shiney LCD/LED thingy to a quality CRT...so I know when I can upgrade without losing I.Q./getting 60Hz ghosting/screen tearing ect.

The result might take you by surprise...

yeah i kinda agree with you. so we can know how far LCD display technology is progressing.

and can anandtech review some oled screen as well ?

 

[chrisheinonen]

Alright, let me go over all the requests:

- We'd all love to review an OLED desktop display, only they don't exist so far. We might see 55" consumer displays this fall for $8,000, but nothing that's a desktop monitor or anything of that sort. If one comes out, we'd try to see it, but we have no idea when/if something might come out.
- I have no idea about high resolution LCDs, like the iPhone display. A replacement LCD panel for an iPhone 4S runs around $175, so a desktop display is likely very hard to produce (lower yields with a larger display) and pretty expensive. I hope we see one, but I have no idea if and when.
- I reviewed the Samsung S23A750D a couple months ago. The 950D is very similar, with the addition of a tuner (and hopefully better controls), but the panel could easily be the same but I'm not sure. 120Hz was covered some in a non-gaming context as well, but how else would you like to see it covered?
- Calibration settings: I get very conflicted on this. All displays are manufactured with certain tolerances, say 10% for a panel. So if my review unit is +8%, and one that you buy is -6%, those are both inside that range, but the settings for one unit are not going to work at all for another display. They could make it better, and they could make it worse, there is really no way of knowing. Because of this I hesitate to make settings, or calibration files, available since I have no way of knowing if they'll improve or hurt the display. I'll think about it, but I'm not a fan of it.
- I'm not sure there are any budget 120Hz displays yet. 120Hz is still a premium feature, with only a few models available, but as they get cheaper we will look at those more.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

 

[Radeon962]

How about 27" monitors under $400?

 

[Volkswagen]

It will be reviewed, I'm just not sure of the timing.

Awesome- appreciate it and looking forward to it

 

[nandan_ph]

Dell U2410 for sure and the difference between it's younger brother U2412m

 

[sparkuss]

Any chance of adding a monitor BENCH. Maybe cataloging the data you have already in one spot so we could then do our own compares against criteria and then we can make a final decision by reading the detailed reviews.

I realize there's more criteria than FPS or benchmarks for GPU/CPU but the list could also come from your and member consensus as well.

I used to use the LCD thread a lot but now you have to scroll a lot of separate posts to get an idea of where to start looking at new products. And even using other review sites it's hit or miss on whether they have covered all the same monitors at one time.

 

[TheInternal]

I guess if I was able to get only one question answered in an in-depth review / roundup, it would be this:

What's the best bang for the buck / balance in screen real estate (one large monitor? multiple monitors?), image quality (all the stuff that's typically covered: resolution, contrast ration, refresh, etc.), and up front cost (INCLUDING the graphics hardware I'll need to adequately power the set up... this seems to almost always be neglected in reviews)?

That being said, I'd love to see a good "bang for the buck" round-up.

It feels like there's not been a good comprehensive monitor round-up in quite some time, and lots of questions simply aren't answered by any of the reviews I see. Just off the top of my head, I can think of numerous questions that it feels haven't even been attempted to be answered from a journalistic point of view:

Is a single large monitor a good choice for most consumers, or would spending the same amount of money on two or three monitors be a better use of the money? What about the extra cost in graphics / computer horse power needed to power the bigger screens or multiple monitors adequately? What's the "best" way to go for multiple monitor solutions and how's the current state of support for them in OSes and programs?
What is "too low" a resolution at what size? When does the "next step up" in resolution justify a price increase?

For background;

I'm guessing there's a number of users out there like myself. I was an early adopter of a 24" panel. I bought a monitor that my graphics card at the time couldn't handle, and even after getting an SLI setup, could only moderately be handled.
I'm looking to replace my aging computer and monitor (well, I want to keep using my 24" Dell 2405FPW until it dies, even if as an "accessory" or secondary monitor)... should I get two or three cheap 23" or 24" monitors that are only 1080p capable for gaming, office work, and some graphics work? Should I try to save up $700-$1000 for a 27" super high rez solution? What sort of graphics card would I need to be able to adequately power such a set up for gaming and more graphically intensive applications? Where is the "sweet spot" of most screen real estate per dollar, and when does the cost / benefit curve significantly diminish? I've not really seen any reviews try to address questions like this, and it's resulted in me having to do serious research just to get half a clue on what I should purchase. As an IT guy, I find all the options a bit overwhelming and the lack of easily accessible information to be a challenge. I'm guessing for the average consumer, it must be all the more nightmarish to feel confident about their purchasing decision (especially with so many of us on lower than desired incomes / crappy economic conditions). It'd be awesome to see Anandtech step up to the plate to address this. Hell, I'd be glad to assist if I could in some form or fashion.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

ViewSonic has a new 1080p IPS monitor that's sub-$200. Could you add it to your list to review?

I've been trying to get U2412Ms approved at work (software development), but they're balking at the price. /sigh

We get a corporate discount from ViewSonic so this new cheaper model they've come out with is looking like it'll win out, but I want to see something concrete on it before I fold and say yeah, it'll work for us.