A new monitor advice

[Illdisposed]

Hello there.
I am looking for a new monitor to replace my old ViewSonic CRT "21. It's just too big and bulky and occupies too much room on the desk. I am looking for something in the range of 22"-24". The most daunting task (except regular day to day activities) I see this future monitor to endure is watching some HD/Blue Ray videos on it. My graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT. I was hoping some of my very knowledgeable fellow civ fanatics could recommend some particular models, or at least show me the right direction.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Well the first question is what do you expect to do on it. If you're a graphical artist, you will probably want more accurate colors and better viewing angles. If all you do is games and surf the web, a simple TN monitor will work best for you ( they're the cheapest)

With that being said, you wil want to look into Asus vw series. They're pretty cheap and are good quality monitors. Some calibration is needed, but my 26" ASUS looks great and has good viewing angles. Dell also makes some nice lower-end monitors, and they very often have some kind of sales on them. Samsung is another bran that is often good (although they, like everyone else, have a couple of crappy monitors)

Every other brand from what I believe is hit or miss.

You will also want to do extensive research on monitors you're considering. A good place to start is http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78 as they generally know what they're doing.

 

[Illdisposed]

Thank you for reply.
As I have mentioned, I do not intend to play games a lot and don't need the fastest response times possible. What I probably want most from the monitor are its color reproduction, color range, good viewing angles etc, but by no means I am a graphics artist.
Also, thank you for the link - I'll dig into it.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Then you probably want to look into an IPS panel. Dell makes good ones, but expect to pay between 300-400 USD for a refurbished 24" or about 600$ for a new one.

 

[Zelig]

Probably just get the cheapest monitor from a decent manufacturer (Dell, BenQ, LG, some others) that has all the features you're looking for. As long as you don't go with noname brands, you're unlikely to get anything particularly bad anymore.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Well, that still really depends on your requirements. TN panels have come a long way, but they still have horrible viewing angles. I cant even turn my monitor sideways because the colors on top would look different from the bottom.

 

[Maniacal]

I've never had a problem with viewing angles, my monitor is always facing me. Although due to my desk I did prop it forward slightly by keeping my dusting rag under it. TN panels are certainly very decent now.

 

[Zelig]

Well, that still really depends on your requirements. TN panels have come a long way, but they still have horrible viewing angles. I cant even turn my monitor sideways because the colors on top would look different from the bottom.

Sure, take a look at some reviews or take a look at the monitor in person before you buy. TNs are certainly worse than PVA/MVA/IPS monitors for viewing angles, but depending on your use, they may be fully adequate.

My monitors, the left is TN, the right is S-PVA:

 

[J-man]

If you have windows 7 you could get one woth touch screen.
IIRC full HD is 1920 x 1080.

 

[Rub'Rum]

Last time I bought a screen, it was not as hard as it is today, jesus. I gave a screen as a gift idea to my parents, and now they're showering me with questions I have no idea how to answer. Anyway, are these screens any good? I play lots of game. They're LG.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...2&atab=&spviewed=&newlang=EN&logon=&langid=FR

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...1&atab=&spviewed=&newlang=EN&logon=&langid=FR

They seem to almost be the same, one of them is larger. I found good reviews for the large one, but I can't find any reviews for the smaller one. How can I tell if they're the "glossy" type or the "matte" type. I don't know how to explain. Some of them seem to be shinier or something, and you can't just stick your finger in them.

 

[Maniacal]

Glossier ones (iirc) are more prone to getting reflections and glare.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Glossy ones will be brighter and if your lighting setup is good, they will look better. Unfortunately, just about any bright source of light behind you will reflect a lot on the screen. Id avoid them at pretty much any cost.

 

[kingworldss]

i would recommend samsung ones ,its color and quality is the best ,i think.and this model is very popular and good for you.model:Samsung LD190N .

 

[Maniacal]

They make 18.5" monitors?

I don't know about you, but I like symmetry, and nicely rounded numbers. Like 22", not 21.5".

Also @Zelig: While IPS monitor shows less dark in that rock, you obviously have the brightness up much more than the TN, and the IPS looks more faded and not as solid as the TN

The viewing angle dif is obvious though, but only a problem if you aren't able to look at your monitor head on (which while gaming is probably the only choice, probably helps the eyes too).

 

[Zelig]

Also @Zelig: While IPS monitor shows less dark in that rock, you obviously have the brightness up much more than the TN, and the IPS looks more faded and not as solid as the TN

The viewing angle dif is obvious though, but only a problem if you aren't able to look at your monitor head on (which while gaming is probably the only choice, probably helps the eyes too).

That's just a function of my camera and the angles, they look pretty much identical head-on in person. I wasn't able to take photos from the same angle from both sides due to my desk position. (They're actually both calibrated with a Spyder3, the biggest difference head-on is the different colour gamut on the two monitors.)

 

[Genocidicbunny]

They make 18.5" monitors?

I don't know about you, but I like symmetry, and nicely rounded numbers. Like 22", not 21.5".

22" and 21.5" are essentially the same size.