22 replies to this topic

[Morior Invictus]

As you can see in the thread title, im looking to upgrade my ancient gateway 20" CRT to something modern =P

Ive been doing a little research and have seen some suggestions for gaming monitors as far as specs go, but i could definitely use a few ideas on monitors themselves or testimonials.

Currently Ive got about a 300-350 budget set aside for a new one. Is that enough for a good (above average is what im hoping for) flat screen gaming monitor?

Any recommendations or suggestions would be awesome. Even just good brands, etc.

Thanks.

[AkuPyro]

Well, with that kind of budget, I think you are good for a wide range. Question here though is what size are you looking for, or even if you have a restriction? Any special features you looking for such as needing multiple HDMI inputs or Displayport, etc...

[Lakevren]

http://www.rockpaper...you-should-buy/

While I don't think it's the only 4 you should buy, you really have four types of choices:

• 1. AOC i2352vh
  
  
  Bottom line: £140, 23-inch, 1080p res, lovely IPS panel, cheap------ chassis. (US $190)
  
• 2. Viewsonic VP2365-LED
  
  
  Bottom line: £200, 23-inch, 1080p res, fab IPS panel, great stand. (US $300)
  
• 3. BenQ XL2420T
  
  
  Bottom line: £280, 24-inch, 1080p res, best TN ever, stupid quick, 120Hz loveliness. (US $400)
  
• 4. Hazro HZ27WC
  
  
  Bottom line: £450, 27-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 res, IPS panel, cheapest option for true high-res gaming.

Pick one, and there might be an alternative. For instance, I can't find the Hazro anywhere in the US, but there are alternatives. There is one other alternative for the Viewsonic (that I know of).



The Hazro alternatives are the Shimian and the Catleap. Both are around $400. They are bought directly from Korea, generally, and generally through ebay. The other alternative to it is this: http://www.microcent...duct_id=0384780 but it is in-store only.

According to your budget, you can either get the BenQ or the Shimian from Ebay

Edited by Lakevren, 23 June 2012 - 01:36 PM.

[Morior Invictus]

AkuPyro, on 23 June 2012 - 01:16 PM, said:

Well, with that kind of budget, I think you are good for a wide range. Question here though is what size are you looking for, or even if you have a restriction? Any special features you looking for such as needing multiple HDMI inputs or Displayport, etc...

I'm not too terribly picky, essentially it just needs to be good for gaming and thats about it, i dont need to run multiple monitors or need built in speakers or stuff like that. Just looking for a good quality gaming monitor. Size wise I'm looking for something that is the same as what i have now (20") or a little bigger. Doesnt need to be massive. =P

[Odins Fist]

Check this out.... http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824236153
.
You will be able to read text a lot easier with this... LOL.
For $204.00 free shipping today... 24" 2ms DVI- HDMI- D-Sub (75% five stars, and only 4% 1 star) Not bad at all for shipped monitors.

[razorkill12]

I have to say that I have had a viewsonic 24" LED for the last year and the picture has been awesome. SO for the price of like $180 it has been a great picture. I have played BF3 and WOT among other games.

[SmokeRises]

Spend $200 on lots of pixels, and LED brightness...use the rest and save to upgrade your video card.

[Morior Invictus]

SmokeRises, on 23 June 2012 - 03:12 PM, said:

Spend $200 on lots of pixels, and LED brightness...use the rest and save to upgrade your video card.

any recommendations on that front? Yeah i probably use an upgrade for the ol' GPU at some point as well, but i think a gateway CRT is a little more in need than a 560ti at this point (maybe not by much, but still =P).

[sumdumfu]

don't take the advice of anyone that doesn't know the difference between a TN, VA, IPS or LED panel.

if you see an LED panel for <$500, i'd almost guarantee you it's a TN panel with LED backlight, with all the drawbacks of TN panels - dull color reproduction, poor viewing angles, poor static contrast, and maybe decent black levels because of the LED backlight. in short, stay away from TN panels if at all possible - they're usually the ones on display at best buy where colors start to invert if viewed from anything other than straight on.

here's how the market shakes out: LED > IPS > VA > TN. there are a couple new technologies that have crept out since last i was in the market, but essentially, I wouldn't get any worse than a VA panel. my own is a 27" dell S-PVA that blows any TN panel out of the water. was a certified manufacturer refurb for $500, but do a little research and i'm sure you can get a smaller VA or IPS screen for cheaper.

[Lakevren]

sumdumfu, on 23 June 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

don't take the advice of anyone that doesn't know the difference between a TN, VA, IPS or LED panel.

if you see an LED panel for <$500, i'd almost guarantee you it's a TN panel with LED backlight, with all the drawbacks of TN panels - dull color reproduction, poor viewing angles, poor static contrast, and maybe decent black levels because of the LED backlight. in short, stay away from TN panels if at all possible - they're usually the ones on display at best buy where colors start to invert if viewed from anything other than straight on.

here's how the market shakes out: LED > IPS > VA > TN. there are a couple new technologies that have crept out since last i was in the market, but essentially, I wouldn't get any worse than a VA panel. my own is a 27" dell S-PVA that blows any TN panel out of the water. was a certified manufacturer refurb for $500, but do a little research and i'm sure you can get a smaller VA or IPS screen for cheaper.

No, there are sub-$500 IPS panels now. It's largely budget IPS, but still MUCH superior to TN. For instance, Dell U2412M and U2312HM. There's a few more other sub-$500 IPS panels that are LED backlit.
Your statement was true...more than 2 years ago. Not anymore, however.

You also can't say "LED > IPS > VA > TN" since there are IPS LED and VA LED and TN LED. There's also White LED backlight and RGB LED Backlight, the latter being superior, but incredibly rare.

The problem with VA panels is input lag. IPS also has this problem, but nowhere as severe as VA. With the budget IPS panels, the input lag has reduced. The only real advantage TN panels have now are the 120Hz panels, but there are even IPS panels with more than 60Hz, but it gets hard to find. The only ones that are available are largely in Korea, and it's the Shimian, and perhaps the Catleap.

These are all LED-backlit IPS monitors under $500

Do note that there are different types of IPS, and there are IPS monitors over $500 that are significantly better looking, but most of them are wide gamut and look overly saturated in an sRGB profile. They are great for graphics professionals, but for gaming? Not really, and they cost too much.

Edited by Lakevren, 23 June 2012 - 07:38 PM.

[Morior Invictus]

Lakevren, on 23 June 2012 - 07:35 PM, said:

No, there are sub-$500 IPS panels now. It's largely budget IPS, but still MUCH superior to TN. For instance, Dell U2412M and U2312HM. There's a few more other sub-$500 IPS panels that are LED backlit.
Your statement was true...more than 2 years ago. Not anymore, however.

You also can't say "LED > IPS > VA > TN" since there are IPS LED and VA LED and TN LED. There's also White LED backlight and RGB LED Backlight, the latter being superior, but incredibly rare.

The problem with VA panels is input lag. IPS also has this problem, but nowhere as severe as VA. With the budget IPS panels, the input lag has reduced. The only real advantage TN panels have now are the 120Hz panels, but there are even IPS panels with more than 60Hz, but it gets hard to find. The only ones that are available are largely in Korea, and it's the Shimian, and perhaps the Catleap.

These are all LED-backlit IPS monitors under $500

Do note that there are different types of IPS, and there are IPS monitors over $500 that are significantly better looking, but most of them are wide gamut and look overly saturated in an sRGB profile. They are great for graphics professionals, but for gaming? Not really, and they cost too much.

First off, i want to say thanks for giving me links to a wide array of models. It helps a lot since im in the shopping phase right now, more so than the research phase. Regarding the most recent link to that newegg page you linked, i noticed that most of those had ~8ms response times. Will this present an input lag or ghosting problem? from most of the reading ive done, ~5ms is ideal for gaming?

Also i was looking at that BenQ from the earlier post you made and was drawn to the good response time, high cmd, etc. Its obviously a little spendy, but i was wondering if id be paying for the tech, or brand if i were to go w/ that monitor or if my money would be better spent elsewhere?

Thanks again to you and everybody else that has thrown in their 2 cents, i appreciate it.

[Biglead]

73 inch plasma TV.

[Necrodemus]

Odins Fist, on 23 June 2012 - 02:35 PM, said:

Check this out.... http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824236153
.
You will be able to read text a lot easier with this... LOL.
For $204.00 free shipping today... 24" 2ms DVI- HDMI- D-Sub (75% five stars, and only 4% 1 star) Not bad at all for shipped monitors.

A friend of mine has this monitor and is quite pleased with it. It mainly gets used for FPS and platformers, but sees a wide variety of games. Personally I use a Dell G2410 and a Dell P2411H. They do quite well for a every game I've tried and have no dead/bright pixels. I'll be purchasing a third shortly... probably before Aug 7th.

Edited by Necrodemus, 23 June 2012 - 08:41 PM.

[sumdumfu]

input lag used to be a problem, but manufacturers have come up with new technologies to virtually eliminate it. here is mine:

http://accessories.u...en&sku=222-7315

note the 6ms grey to grey response time. grey to grey meaning its ability to cycle through all colors and back to grey. a lot of places only list response time as white to black, which is a much faster process. i like lakevren's recommendations, even if he is arguing with me over pointless details. i can say LED > IPS > VA > TN because ceteris paribus (look it up) it's still true.

i'm surprised IPS panels have come down so much in price. not long ago even a midsized IPS would cost over a grand. the most noticeable difference will picture quality will be from high contrast ratio and high brightness, so from lakevren's list look for that. also, any response time < 10ms is fine for gaming.

Edited by sumdumfu, 23 June 2012 - 08:50 PM.

[Lakevren]

Morior Invictus, on 23 June 2012 - 08:28 PM, said:

First off, i want to say thanks for giving me links to a wide array of models. It helps a lot since im in the shopping phase right now, more so than the research phase. Regarding the most recent link to that newegg page you linked, i noticed that most of those had ~8ms response times. Will this present an input lag or ghosting problem? from most of the reading ive done, ~5ms is ideal for gaming?

Also i was looking at that BenQ from the earlier post you made and was drawn to the good response time, high cmd, etc. Its obviously a little spendy, but i was wondering if id be paying for the tech, or brand if i were to go w/ that monitor or if my money would be better spent elsewhere?

Thanks again to you and everybody else that has thrown in their 2 cents, i appreciate it.

The BenQ doesn't have great color accuracy due to its TN panel, but it does have 120Hz. For some, it might be noticeable, and for others it might not be. But for gaming, it excels ridiculously well, since it has been described as being ridiculously smooth.

For most, input lag is not a problem, but TN panels tend to have the least input lag, which makes them ideal for gaming.

The other 3 still have minimal input lag, but possibly greater than the BenQ.

The Shimian is the best value, but it does not include a warranty.

Edited by Lakevren, 23 June 2012 - 09:04 PM.

[Skrapheap]

I'll link the monitor I am using now, and encourage you to do your own research.

http://www.newegg.co...6201&Tpk=PA238Q

[LordDeathStrike]

crts are the single greatest cause of eye cancer and blindness!

[Morior Invictus]

sumdumfu, on 23 June 2012 - 08:42 PM, said:

input lag used to be a problem, but manufacturers have come up with new technologies to virtually eliminate it. here is mine:

http://accessories.u...en&sku=222-7315

note the 6ms grey to grey response time. grey to grey meaning its ability to cycle through all colors and back to grey. a lot of places only list response time as white to black, which is a much faster process. i like lakevren's recommendations, even if he is arguing with me over pointless details. i can say LED > IPS > VA > TN because ceteris paribus (look it up) it's still true.

i'm surprised IPS panels have come down so much in price. not long ago even a midsized IPS would cost over a grand. the most noticeable difference will picture quality will be from high contrast ratio and high brightness, so from lakevren's list look for that. also, any response time < 10ms is fine for gaming.

Thats a nice monitor there, also thanks for your input. It may seem like you 2 are arguing small things, but it really helps me out in the end by having 2 knowledgeable people use their experience to get me the best bang for my buck.

Lakevren, on 23 June 2012 - 09:03 PM, said:

The BenQ doesn't have great color accuracy due to its TN panel, but it does have 120Hz. For some, it might be noticeable, and for others it might not be. But for gaming, it excels ridiculously well, since it has been described as being ridiculously smooth.

For most, input lag is not a problem, but TN panels tend to have the least input lag, which makes them ideal for gaming.

The other 3 still have minimal input lag, but possibly greater than the BenQ.

The Shimian is the best value, but it does not include a warranty.

okay, and if go w/ something off that newegg list for those IPS monitors under 500, would there be a specific one you personally would get? That question is for either of you. =P

Thanks again guys, I'm much closer to getting a new one than i was before i started this thread.

[sumdumfu]

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824176221

i think that's the best one. best size, good brightness, best contrast. 1000:1 static is insanely good for that price. your colors are really gonna pop and your blacks are going to be deep and, well, black, instead of washed out dark grey like on a bad quality monitor. wish it showed color gamut, but eh, it should be at least decent being an IPS panel. good luck.

[Lakevren]

Morior Invictus, on 24 June 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Thats a nice monitor there, also thanks for your input. It may seem like you 2 are arguing small things, but it really helps me out in the end by having 2 knowledgeable people use their experience to get me the best bang for my buck.



okay, and if go w/ something off that newegg list for those IPS monitors under 500, would there be a specific one you personally would get? That question is for either of you. =P

Thanks again guys, I'm much closer to getting a new one than i was before i started this thread.

If I didn't give two craps about warranty, I'd get the Shimian from Ebay.

If I did, I'd get either the Dell U2412M (which I already have) or the HP ZR2440w.

Why? Because I'm used to 1920x1200. The only thing I'd get better is the 2560x1440 (which the Shimian has) or 2560x1600 resolution. I personally dislike 1080p monitors, simply because they are lower than 1920x1200 resolution.
Oh and both have pretty decent stands.

As for the LED>IPS blah blah blah, I think he's talking about diode displays rather than backlighting... which is like nearly impossible to find unless you are talking about OLED, which is still in the thousands of dollars. Still hard to find. I completely forgot about those types of panels and thought he was talking about LED backlighting vs CCFL backlighting.

If you don't care too much about the extra 120 pixel height, the Dell U2312HM or U2212HM or HP ZR2240w might be good enough, depending on the size of a monitor you want.

Edited by Lakevren, 25 June 2012 - 04:18 AM.