Another monitor thread...

[WPKenny]

I'm after a bit of help choosing myself a monitor.
Thing is I was given a load of Play.com vouchers for my birthday a few weeks ago. One of the vouchers has no amount attached to it and I think it'd be rude to ask so I'm going to assume my total with all my vouchers is around 80 - 90 quid. I'm willing to stump up a similar amount myself.

So as you've guessed the catch is that the monitor has to come from play.com. And in their infinite wisdom they have over 200 monitors and no way to sort them any more finely than the fact they all happen to be monitors of some description. No "order by price" or size etc.
I was hoping for a few suggestions if anyone knows of anything specific?

I'd quite like the monitor to have DVI and also dual input if possible (it's fine if the second input is standard VGA or even component).

I currently have a 19" 4:3 CRT if that helps too.

 

[inactionman]

Going from a 19" CRT you'll need a 22" LCD really. Slightly above your price range at £200, but this looks best:

Play.com (UK) : LG L226WTQ-PF / 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor : PC - Free Delivery

 

[nath]

Going from a 19" CRT you'll need a 22" LCD really.

Only if you're going wide. I went from a 19" 4:3 CRT to a 19" 4:3 LCD and I was (and still am) jolly happy.

 

[inactionman]

True, I did the same before I got a 24". Although it's getting harder to get decent non-widescreen LCD's recently.

 

[nath]

When I was getting my Viewsonic replaced (on warranty, courier service swap, awesomeness) they had trouble sourcing the same replacement. They offered me a replacement 19" widescreen instead which I rejected, but I found out that it actually has an identical viewing area to the 4:3. It's shorter, but wider - I was always under the assumption that if you go for a 19" widescreen you end up with less viewable area.

So basically, don't dismiss the possibility of getting a 19" wide out of hand.

 

[WPKenny]

Cheers for the input so far guys.

inactionman, any idea what the difference is on the LG screen between the SF and PF versions of that model? It looks like the PF is the newer one since it has a higher contrast level but it's hard to tell them apart other than one's silver and the other's black.

 

[inactionman]

inactionman, any idea what the difference is on the LG screen between the SF and PF versions of that model? It looks like the PF is the newer one since it has a higher contrast level but it's hard to tell them apart other than one's silver and the other's black.

Just colour by the look of it. They look to use exactly the same panel (the contrast figures for monitors are misleading).

 

[WPKenny]

EEP!

I've ordered that monitor on your recommendation so if it sucks I'll be after you...


lol. Just kidding. It was a little more than I planned to spend but tbh if I get as much use out of it as my current 19" crt it's a worth while investment. I've had my current CRT at least 6 years, maybe 7.

I found a couple of reviews of that monitor and they seemed very positive.
Oh and the vouchers all came to 85 quid so another 115 quid to pay which isn't so bad for a 22" beast.

Will let you know how it is when it arrives! I hate the waiting but love the buying/getting of new gadgets!

 

[WPKenny]

Woah!

It arrived today and I've just watched a HD episode of Planet Earth on it.

Well worth the money already.

Not played many games. I've done ghosting tests, calibration and stuff on it though and there's no apparent problems at all.

While I was waiting for it to arrive I stumbled across a few forums bitching about how bad the ghosting was on these screens but I felt a huge sigh of relief as I read more....

It's a problem with earlier firmware.
It's less prevalent in european models
It's fixable through the service menu.

So I stopped panicking. It's a great looking monitor. Nice glossy black stand and surround to it. Not a single dead pixel that I've found.

Coming from a 19" Taxan CRT, I'd definitely recommend it!

 

[Jonty]

Hi WPKenny

I'm glad all is well

Just a general word of warning about monitor forums: people there tend to be really obsessive about things. They'll talk about ghosting and color reproduction and dead pixels as if their life depended on it, but in reality most users will have far less exacting demands, so always keep what's said in perspective.

Anyway, enjoy!

Kind regards

 

[DaGaffer]

When I was getting my Viewsonic replaced (on warranty, courier service swap, awesomeness) they had trouble sourcing the same replacement. They offered me a replacement 19" widescreen instead which I rejected, but I found out that it actually has an identical viewing area to the 4:3. It's shorter, but wider - I was always under the assumption that if you go for a 19" widescreen you end up with less viewable area.

So basically, don't dismiss the possibility of getting a 19" wide out of hand.

Total viewing area may be similar but the usable area isn't as good if you went from a 19" 4:3 to a widescreen. Think about it, for everything except video apps, the vertical screen size is the most important dimension. You should really replace a 19" 4:3 with a 24" widescreen.

 

[inactionman]

Glad to hear you're liking the monitor. I remember the difference when I went to LCD from CRT, the picture was much sharper and there was a lot less eye-strain. Plus the whole power saving and reduced footprint was handy.

One tip, if you have an nvidia graphics card, use it's scaling with fixed aspect ratio, not the built in panel scaling, as otherwise some applications (mainly older games without widescreen support) tend to get stretched horizontally, and look wrong.

 

[WPKenny]

Glad to hear you're liking the monitor. I remember the difference when I went to LCD from CRT, the picture was much sharper and there was a lot less eye-strain. Plus the whole power saving and reduced footprint was handy.

One tip, if you have an nvidia graphics card, use it's scaling with fixed aspect ratio, not the built in panel scaling, as otherwise some applications (mainly older games without widescreen support) tend to get stretched horizontally, and look wrong.

I did some (very) rough figures and worked out the monitor will pay for itself in electricity saving over about 3 years.

I'll also have a look at that nVidia thing tonight. Thnx for the tip!