Originally posted by: alins
Confirmed that the Lenovo L220X uses an S-PVA panel (See the comments section):
http://www.slashgear.com/lenov...ustry-first-177437.php
Weird. The module isn't listed on Samsung's site yet. Well, wait, actually that's not so weird.
Originally posted by: munky
I'm looking into getting a new monitor to replace my 17-in CRT. I like the response time and color accuracy of the CRT, but a bigger screen would make the games much more immersive, so I'm looking to get a 24-inch monitor or bigger. I have several uses for the monitor, like gaming, photo editing, and watching movies so I'd like to know which one would be decent for all these things. Also, I'm using an Ati 1900xt video card, and while it plays everything nicely at 1280x960, it know it will have a hard time at 1920x1200, so I'm hesitant to get a high resolution display. I was looking at possibly getting a 32 or 37-inch LCD TV to use as my primary monitor. These displays have the size to make gaming more enjoyable, but without such high resolutions. What are some of the pros and cons of using a LCD TV for a monitor? Anyone with experience want to chime in? How well are these monitors suited for gaming, photo editing and movies? And which are some good models I should look at, preferably under $1000?
LCD TVs aren't usually a good choice for a monitor. They can have slower response time and overscan over DVI.
A better solution is the HTPC LCDs I list in the OP like the Westinghouse LVM series. They should have good DVI input (they are actually "monitors") and decent image characteristics. I'm not as sure about their response time though. I wouldn't be using them for gaming personally. They are mainly intended for movies which I assume the response time is fast enough for (they have gotten good reviews).
I think you should look at the BenQ FP241WZ for an all-around good LCD. Mentions of flicker in its reviews are due to its new response time accel tech, which you can switch off if you'd like (and it has 2 or 3 modes besides OFF, I believe). Coming from a CRT, maybe you won't even notice it.
Even in the OFF setting it's as fast as the other 24" LCDs, which are fast themselves. It still uses overdrive aside from the backlight scanning (flickery) tech.
These 24" models (and probably all bigger LCDs) suffer from some input lag so this is something you want to be aware of.
You might want to wait and see what new rev Dell conjures up for the 2407WFP-HC too (there is supposed to be a new rev to fix ghosting, soon). This is something you can count on as all Dell UltraSharp monitors that I know of have had several revisions, up to 3 sometimes. It's a wide gamut LCD, whereas the FP241W is a normal gamut which may be better for photo editing.
If you don't photo edit for professional or matching purposes then a wide gamut should be OK (not worse than a normal gamut TN, probably). It's not bad it's just that the colors will appear more faded on other people's displays than yours since yours naturally is more vibrant due to the backlight. Not a big deal and you can probably get used to this.
There's also the wide gamut Samsung 275T if you want an even bigger screen (note: bigger dot pitch). It has awesome response time but I'm not sure about its input lag. Probably not any worse than the 24" ones. Then there's the wide gamut Planar PX2611W, if you can find it for sale. It retails for $1000 and should have the least input lag with a good response time. It doesn't have any inputs other than DVI or VGA though. I'd think the best option for you is the Samsung 275T if you're coming from a CRT. You'll demand quality and that's what you'll get, I believe. The 275T has awesome black levels and very vibrant colors.
The same can be said for the FP241WZ to a certain extent. It should have OK black levels (not as good as the S-PVA 275T), but it won't have colors as vibrant due to its normal backlight. You'll probably end up turning off the backlight scanning tech so its response time may end up worse than the 275T's great response time.
Hopefully this gives you some food for thought. About the resolution problem, all I can say is that lowering details (especially AA) or getting a faster card is the best solution. Hopefully without AA your games will play decently with good quality. The lower the dot pitch the less the need for AA, though.
A good mid-ground for settings, I think, is 2xMSAA + medium settings + native res.