Advice about buying monitors

[xShadow]

Long version:

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Well, my computer's been upgraded some months ago, but I notice that I'm still rolling with this crappy 1280 by 1024 monitor that looks like it came from the dark ages (okay, that's a huge dramatization, it's at least an LCD).

Now, I'm no complete newbie about getting PC parts, like graphics cards and whatnot, but monitors is something I've pretty much never invested seriously in. All of my monitors have been crap quality, and I never thought twice about it... until I saw my friend's huge-ass 2x-inch ASUS running at 1080p. Then, I realized that something was seriously missing from my build.

tl;dr version:
I can't even view 1080p things half-decently (even my vertical res is lower than that, ffs!). I realize there have been other monitor buying threads before, but those are at least a few months old.

These are things I want from the monitor:

• Good picture quality for both gaming and watching anime (I can't list contrast ratios that I want and whatnot because I nave no clue how they work)
• Sized around 22 inches (higher the better)
• Resolution has to be at least 1920 by 1080.
• Priced under 250 bucks (if it's higher, I don't mind working a little for it, but there better be some great reason for it)

So, I need some advice from you folks, since I think 1080p-size monitors is probably something a fair share of this kind of community would invest in (y'know, with the 1080p anime and whatnot). I just need advice on three things:

• What monitors in the current market look good (based on the needs I've listed)?
• What brands are good?
• Where would it be best to purchase them (mainly in order to avoid dead pixels)?

I don't mind having to pay a little extra as long as I can make sure there aren't dead pixels. Also, if there's some crazy technology that's going to revolutionize monitors forever and make everything cheaper or something, I don't mind waiting to purchase this. My monitor doesn't specifically bug me, like lagging on a video game would. I can go without a new one for around a month or so.

Currently, this is a monitor that I found on Newegg that I think (with my zero experience in monitor purchasing) fits my needs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001378
^ Not quite.

Again, the problem may be the place I'm purchasing it from. As an FYI, I'm in the Atlanta area, so I can probably find a lot of electronics stores here. The problem is which ones have what I need.

So, if you guys are using some crazy good monitor you purchased from somewhere, or have some advice on this in general, I'd be happy to hear it. Thanks

</wall of text'd>

[Louise]

Hmm... My mom had that, The image quality was pretty good. But Im not sure how it would do when it comes to video playback,etc. (I only saw it bieng used for internet browsing and stuff) then its typical samsung supplying not many connection options (only DVA & HDMI?) I'll let the others be of more help.

[borgbean]

As someone that's also been doing some research my first question would be: how important is color accuracy and contrast to you? Unfortunately you're not going to find a LCD with excellent response times AND good color accuracy. It is easy to get a cheap monitor with good accuracy OR response times, though. The monitor you linked will have good response times, but the accuracy is low compared to monitors that don't focus on response times. Granted, it will still be good enough for watching anime if you aren't too picky. You'll drive yourself insane looking for something with perfect response times and excellent color accuracy, though, as such a thing does not exist.

[fohfoh]

The one you posted looks good.

However, from what I have usually seen, many will recommend dishing the extra cash out to purchase a Samsung Syncmaster (I think that's what it's called).

[nstgc]

I was considering this monitor.

This should be merged with the other "buying a new monitor" threads and stickied.

[edit] I made this one a few weeks ago. It was more specific, however.

[edit2] I would buy from tiger direct due to their return policy.

Also, if you want something for gaming you may want a 1920x1200 instead. That one is a bit more expensive than the $250 you (xShadow) mentioned, but its probably better. If I had the money I'd get the larger screen.

[sdedalus83]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176144

If I didn't have about $1600 in one time bills coming up, I'd be getting one of those, along with a couple of the $199 128GB SSDs they've got on sale right now.

[Soryon]

what I am using right now is This ACER, but-
But, Ive always like samsung,
My old moniter (well I still have it, its just on my last build) was a Samsung SyncMaster 2333 with the purrty flowers on the back =P, I really liked that one.

The monitor nstgc linked also looks like a good one, btw.

[nstgc]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176144

If I didn't have about $1600 in one time bills coming up, I'd be getting one of those, along with a couple of the $199 128GB SSDs they've got on sale right now.

120hz, 500 cd/m^2, 3d, 1920x200

THat is nice.

[edit] oops, no 3d that was the Acer. A very pretty and expensive acer.

[edit2] Nor is it 120hz. Oh well, its still a $210 1920x1200 monitor thats very bright.

[xShadow]

I was considering this monitor.

This should be merged with the other "buying a new monitor" threads and stickied.

[edit] I made this one a few weeks ago. It was more specific, however.

[edit2] I would buy from tiger direct due to their return policy.

Also, if you want something for gaming you may want a 1920x1200 instead. That one is a bit more expensive than the $250 you (xShadow) mentioned, but its probably better. If I had the money I'd get the larger screen.

Well, I made a search for "Monitor" in the topic title before making this thread, and the last one I saw was made in January, and it ended up going way off-base, with people suggesting 60 inch monitors...

Guess I didn't look hard enough. Your topic is kind of different from mine, though.

I'm interested in Tiger Direct, but I can't find their return policies anywhere (their site is kind of a mess...), do you have any word on what their monitor return policies are?

As someone that's also been doing some research my first question would be: how important is color accuracy and contrast to you? Unfortunately you're not going to find a LCD with excellent response times AND good color accuracy. It is easy to get a cheap monitor with good accuracy OR response times, though. The monitor you linked will have good response times, but the accuracy is low compared to monitors that don't focus on response times. Granted, it will still be good enough for watching anime if you aren't too picky. You'll drive yourself insane looking for something with perfect response times and excellent color accuracy, though, as such a thing does not exist.

I already assumed that there was going to be some kind of trade-off. I'm just looking for something that serves both of my purposes decently. As in, it would be "good" for gaming and "good" for anime. I don't care if it's "excellent" in either one. In other words, I guess I'm just looking for that middle line between picture quality and response times.

... Except I don't know what "picture quality" means in monitor spec terms. I know that "response time" is always listed in the product name on the site, but.. again, I don't even know what response time is "good" for gaming and whatever, so that's why I need some help with that. I'm a complete newb when it comes to monitors.

But based on what you've said I'm guessing that one I picked out isn't what I'm looking for, huh?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176144

If I didn't have about $1600 in one time bills coming up, I'd be getting one of those, along with a couple of the $199 128GB SSDs they've got on sale right now.

Interesting. From the reviews, I'm guessing it has great picture quality. How good would it be for gaming, though? I'm just wondering how much those extra 6 ms mean when it comes to actual performance. Otherwise, if it's still good for gaming, I think you may have found what I'm looking for. It's just that none of the reviews for it (that I've looked at) have mentioned any gaming with it. There's some random programmer that says the text is crisp, which is nice, but I do more that lurk at forums. >_>;

[rathoriel]

The monitor you listed looks good make sure your video card supports the resolution. We have a dell dimension at work that is a few years old but it doesnt support the 1920x1080 monitor we have on it (no new drivers from dell and even tried some hacked drivers but no go)

[sdedalus83]

Interesting. From the reviews, I'm guessing it has great picture quality. How good would it be for gaming, though? I'm just wondering how much those extra 6 ms mean when it comes to actual performance. Otherwise, if it's still good for gaming, I think you may have found what I'm looking for. It's just that none of the reviews for it (that I've looked at) have mentioned any gaming with it. There's some random programmer that says the text is crisp, which is nice, but I do more that lurk at forums. >_>;

I'd much rather deal with the mild ghosting on an IPS panel than the input lag, poor color reproduction, poor viewing angles, and poor contrast of an excessively overdriven TN panel.  That goes for everything from work to video to gaming.

[konjou]

here's some advise on LCDs

First is get one that's Active Matrix, (but it's a moot point nowadays since most LCDs are Active Matrix),
Second is a 5ms response time at least (of course the faster the better for this) since this how much time is needed for each pixel to be refreshed,
and a little quote about contrast ratio, from a book I have "The contrast ratio is the measure of the ratio of the luminance of the brightest color to that of the darkest color the screen is capable of producing." or in some different words, the higher the ratio the better

[xShadow]

Interesting. From the reviews, I'm guessing it has great picture quality. How good would it be for gaming, though? I'm just wondering how much those extra 6 ms mean when it comes to actual performance. Otherwise, if it's still good for gaming, I think you may have found what I'm looking for. It's just that none of the reviews for it (that I've looked at) have mentioned any gaming with it. There's some random programmer that says the text is crisp, which is nice, but I do more that lurk at forums. >_>;

I'd much rather deal with the mild ghosting on an IPS panel than the input lag, poor color reproduction, poor viewing angles, and poor contrast of an excessively overdriven TN panel.  That goes for everything from work to video to gaming.

But the one you listed isn't an IPS, is it? From what I've searched on Newegg, they only have a handful of IPS monitors, and they're all quite highly priced. It says the one you listed is a TFT (I have no clue what that means, but yeah...).

Other than that, the contrast ratios on pretty much all of the monitors I've looked at so far seem to be 1000:1, which is the same as this one.
That leaves it with 1920x1200 and a brighter display, at the cost of an 8ms response time as a trade-off.

I'm actually still interested in it, I'm just wondering how that 8ms is going to affect my gaming experience.

[nstgc]

Tiger direct allows you to return a monitor with no restock fee even if it has a single stuck pixel (as opposed to newegg's 8 ).

[edit] how do you know if a monitor interpolating color (is actually using 6 bits per color)? They all claim to display 16.7 million colors. I suspect that is the excepted input, rather than the actual number of possible colors.

[xShadow]

I'm not the person to ask that...

Anyway, though, after doing a bit more research here and there, I guess what I'm looking for is something like this?

It comes at 400 dollar price tag, but I've recently (from what everyone's saying) started questioning whether I can really have quite what I want without buying something like that.

... But that's a lot of money.

I really kind of don't want to spend quite that much.

Need alternatives, please!

[erious]

I'll need to switch monitors too... Once I'll be able to find and afford anything that beats my 21", 2048 x 1536 max resolution CRT that I picked up couple years ago for about 100$.
Doesn't seem like the day will come anytime soon, though.

[sdedalus83]

Interesting. From the reviews, I'm guessing it has great picture quality. How good would it be for gaming, though? I'm just wondering how much those extra 6 ms mean when it comes to actual performance. Otherwise, if it's still good for gaming, I think you may have found what I'm looking for. It's just that none of the reviews for it (that I've looked at) have mentioned any gaming with it. There's some random programmer that says the text is crisp, which is nice, but I do more that lurk at forums. >_>;

I'd much rather deal with the mild ghosting on an IPS panel than the input lag, poor color reproduction, poor viewing angles, and poor contrast of an excessively overdriven TN panel.  That goes for everything from work to video to gaming.

But the one you listed isn't an IPS, is it? From what I've searched on Newegg, they only have a handful of IPS monitors, and they're all quite highly priced. It says the one you listed is a TFT (I have no clue what that means, but yeah...).

Other than that, the contrast ratios on pretty much all of the monitors I've looked at so far seem to be 1000:1, which is the same as this one.
That leaves it with 1920x1200 and a brighter display, at the cost of an 8ms response time as a trade-off.

I'm actually still interested in it, I'm just wondering how that 8ms is going to affect my gaming experience.

   Sorry, it's a PVA panel, when Samsung stopped making PVA panels they switched to IPS and changed the model number to 2475.  PVA has slight advantages with viewing angles and response times, while IPS has better color accuracy.  The low price is due to the refurbished nature.

TFT - Thin Film Transistor
All modern LCD panels are TFT.

If you really want an IPS panel, and would prefer something both new and cheap, both Viewsonic and Dell make ~$300, 23", 1920x1080 IPS displays.

[kureshii]

Dell's 22" IPS is at ~$260 now. You can get it much cheaper in Asia though (It was going at 229SGD [~170USD] sometime back, after $50 discount.)

[xShadow]

Interesting. From the reviews, I'm guessing it has great picture quality. How good would it be for gaming, though? I'm just wondering how much those extra 6 ms mean when it comes to actual performance. Otherwise, if it's still good for gaming, I think you may have found what I'm looking for. It's just that none of the reviews for it (that I've looked at) have mentioned any gaming with it. There's some random programmer that says the text is crisp, which is nice, but I do more that lurk at forums. >_>;

I'd much rather deal with the mild ghosting on an IPS panel than the input lag, poor color reproduction, poor viewing angles, and poor contrast of an excessively overdriven TN panel.  That goes for everything from work to video to gaming.

But the one you listed isn't an IPS, is it? From what I've searched on Newegg, they only have a handful of IPS monitors, and they're all quite highly priced. It says the one you listed is a TFT (I have no clue what that means, but yeah...).

Other than that, the contrast ratios on pretty much all of the monitors I've looked at so far seem to be 1000:1, which is the same as this one.
That leaves it with 1920x1200 and a brighter display, at the cost of an 8ms response time as a trade-off.

I'm actually still interested in it, I'm just wondering how that 8ms is going to affect my gaming experience.

   Sorry, it's a PVA panel, when Samsung stopped making PVA panels they switched to IPS and changed the model number to 2475.  PVA has slight advantages with viewing angles and response times, while IPS has better color accuracy.  The low price is due to the refurbished nature.

TFT - Thin Film Transistor
All modern LCD panels are TFT.

If you really want an IPS panel, and would prefer something both new and cheap, both Viewsonic and Dell make ~$300, 23", 1920x1080 IPS displays.

Yeah, I read about that like right after I made that post, but I didn't bother editing it. I know... it looks dumb. But I'm a complete newb in this arena. >_>

Anyway, from how some of the suggestions went, I should be getting a 1920x1200 if I plan on gaming, so that's why I listed such an expensive monitor. I've been noticing more and more that 1920x1200 seems to be rare as hell to come across (not to mention quite expensive), so I might indeed have to settle in for a 1920x1080.

Anyway, I'm not looking for an IPS monitor specifically. I just said I'm looking for something that has good color accuracy and good gaming capabilities (not exceptional in either one). If there's another monitor type that has that, it doesn't have to be IPS; I just need those two qualities in it.

My question to you is how pissed you would be if that monitor came in with nothing but a few dead pixels. >_>;

On a side note, since I couldn't find any specific return policy notes on their site for monitors, I started wondering where we got this "8 or more stuck pixels=replacement" version of Newegg's monitor return policy, so I just went ahead and decided to speak with one of their customer service people. Record of the conversation (I replaced my name with "Me"):

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9:04:41 AM :  Connected with Lindsey. Your reference number for this chat session is 1769956.

 9:04:41 AM :  Hello my name is Lindsey. How may I help you today?

 9:04:57 AM : Me: Hi

 9:05:09 AM : Lindsey: Hi Me.

 9:05:14 AM : Me: I have some questions about your return policy regarding monitors

 9:05:30 AM : Me: Mainly, about dead pixels

 9:05:42 AM : Me: how many dead pixels warrants a replacement

 9:07:01 AM : Lindsey: I would be glad to assist you with that... if there is one dead pixels, we will still honor the replacement 30-day warranty.

 9:07:30 AM : Me: So, if there's even one dead pixel, I can get a replacement?

 9:08:03 AM : Lindsey: Yes, that is correct.

 9:08:11 AM : Me: How about stuck pixels?

 9:08:56 AM : Lindsey: It is the same.

 9:09:29 AM : Me: Is the policy the same for a recertified monitor?

 9:09:35 AM : Me: Or is it only new ones

 9:10:11 AM : Lindsey: It is for all the type of monitors.

 9:10:24 AM : Me: Alright, that's all I wanted to ask.

 9:10:28 AM : Me: Thank you for your assistance.

Apparently you can get a replacement for a monitor if it has even one stuck pixel. I'm not sure if this change is recent or not, but it looks it's actually quite favorable to order from Newegg again! I might be getting that monitor you're looking at, sdedalus. It has the resolution I want, and a decent response time. Of course, it has a much higher chance of being DOA (read the reviews lol), but I might take my chances.

[sdedalus83]

Apparently you can get a replacement for a monitor if it has even one stuck pixel. I'm not sure if this change is recent or not, but it looks it's actually quite favorable to order from Newegg again! I might be getting that monitor you're looking at, sdedalus. It has the resolution I want, and a decent response time. Of course, it has a much higher chance of being DOA (read the reviews lol), but I might take my chances.

Just make sure to get the extended warranty.