Originally posted by: thecoffeeguy
Hello! Read through a lot of this question, but was hoping to get some help for a monitor that will suit me.
I will just put down some info to help narrow down what I am looking for.
I am a gamer, but not hardcore.
Games currently played:
Team Fortress 2
Call of Duty 4
Company of Heroes
However, I do a lot of internet type work, a lot of reading, browsing, email, coding (.NET, powershell mostly). I do a lot of studying at home.
Now, I have a 19" Viewsonic at home and a Dell 20" at work (this one
http://accessories.us.dell.com...en&cs=04&sku=320-4687)
The one thing I can tell, without a doubt is that when using Mozilla Firefox, there is a HUGE difference in quality. At home, I can't even use Firefox because the way it displays the pages is crappy. Fuzzy, fonts look screwy almost and a PITA to read. Thing is, both computers are very similar in setup (hardware, software)
Hey. Well, sounds like you're fairly highly demanding (but that's a good thing).
At work though, with my Dell, the monitor is fantastic. I can use Firefox with the pages being displayed perfectly and easy on the eyes.
I guess my first question would be, whats the main difference that would cause that?
What 19" ViewSonic do you have?
I have a 19" ViewSonic VP930b (VA-based) and I dislike it because its default color settings are pretty bad. But, after calibration I have to say it looks very good. I recommend it because it now uses a different panel, to my knowledge, and in all honestly the default settings aren't *that* bad.
My ViewSonic tends to have very harsh white, making it uncomfortable on the eyes at least at brighter settings where it's any good for multimedia.
Do you have a S-IPS or VA in your Dell at Work? (Look at service menu, or if this is hidden, use one of the several utilities online to distinguish VA from IPS.)
IPS has a quite noticeable purple tint at really wide angles. And, VA will have some grayscale shift (dark tones will invert a little). IPS should have no visible shifting to your eyes and very little brightness drop at wide angles.
S-IPS monitors in my experience tend to have a very neutral, easy-on-the-eyes white.
What's making your Dell more comfortable is most likely what I mentioned above (more neutral/natural white),
and the Dell's smaller dot pitch which enables fonts to be rendered at a higher resolution, so they look smoother and more contiguous, not blocky, choppy, or chunky.
So for me, its striking a balance between the two, but if I had to choose, it would definitely be to get something that would display the internet over gaming, but I do like my games. Striking a balance is what im looking for.
Also, any opinions on that matter above? I like it a lot, but $460 (before Employee discount), is pretty hefty.
Any other alternatives to consider?
Thanks,
TCG
You shouldn't have to sacrifice between Internet use and gaming too much.
In my experience, the LG L226WT works great for Internet use and is pretty good for gaming too. That's no longer being sold, but there is the L226WTQ which is basically equivalent, with response time compensation, making it better for games.
The problem with the Dell UltraSharp 2007FP and 2007WFP (widescreen) is that you have the panel lottery. That monitor that was so comfortable on your eyes may no longer be if you end up with a VA panel. So, make sure you know what panel you have at work before buying another Dell now. If it's a VA, then go right ahead; you know what to expect and apparently you like it a lot, which isn't that surprising.
EDIT: What size monitor do you need to start considering a SLI setup with?
Only resolution matters here. For most games, probably 23-24" (1920x1200) or 22" if you get that new 1920x1200 Lenovo.
For Crysis, 15" LCD? I don't know.
Also, I would like to go with a dual monitor setup. So something that will work well for what im looking for (Lots of online reading, some programming for .NET, powershell, vbs scripting) as well as the gaming factor as well. What type of things should i be looking for?
In my opinion, dual monitor is silly compared to one big monitor. I say this having dual monitors myself. I hardly ever use my secondary 19". Even if it was 20.1" matching my primary monitor I don't think I would use it either.
Go for a single monitor Dell 2407WFP-HC setup instead of buying two $400+ LCDs. Unless you meant combining one ~$400 LCD with one you already had, in which case it's up to you.
I'm not sure what you mean by "what type of things should I be looking for" but I just assume you wanted some advice or direction. In my opinion, don't do dual monitors; they don't increase productivity unless you really do something like stock trading. I'm a huge multitasker myself (I always have tons of windows open/maxing my RAM) but I can not have myself focusing on two monitors; it is too stressful on my eyes and neck, and I can't concentrate that way. It's silly and excessive unless you know you have a need for it. If you really feel a need to check your e-mail while playing WoW, well, I guess..
The only real reason I still have my 19" here is because there's no where else it would look better, and I use it to evaluate LCD panel tech (IPS vs VA) more than anything else.
Also, what seperates the dell "UltraSharp" models from others? THanks.
The UltraSharp models used to be Dell's only DVI monitors, if I remember properly. They seem to use better quality inverters than the value Dell E series too. And, they may have better default color tuning. Dell's E series are really bargain-basement but their UltraSharp series are a [good] attempt to match industry quality.
P.S. I love coffee too, sometimes too much.