New Monitor

[Pyroclastic0]

Currently saving up for a monitor or two and not entirely sure what to go for atm. would mainly be going looking for one best for watching films as I don't play too many PC games like FPS yet as I had no money to buy them, may look into trying some in the future.
looked around on the internet and am currently leaning towards this:
Dell Ultrasharp U2311H
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250841731195#ht_1028wt_698

but wondering whether to save/wait for 120hz monitor to decrease in price such as if the Samsung S23A750D comes down in price a fair bit

that's what I've gathered from reading some crap but I really have no idea what's worth it

I'm currently using a TV monitor which isn't very good so anything will be an improvement

[James]

Yeh get that one looks good! Or maybe just save up and wait for the price to drop?

[JC]

That seems fairly pricey to me, you could save a fair bit if you moved down to a 22" non-IPS monitor (IPS monitor's are generally better for graphics design/professional work but it's unlikely that you'll notice a huge difference in gaming).

Something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-P2210-22-Pro-Widescreen-TFT-W416K-4W1MD-/170655572796?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_Monitors&hash=item27bbdd633c

It seems hard to justify the extra expense for the 23" screen.

I also wouldn't recommend spending any extra for a 120 Hz screen at this point as the major benefits of 120 Hz (mainly 3D Gaming and Movies) are very new tech and you're going to pay a premium to make use of them as well as needing very particular parts (only some Screens work with some brands of graphics cards etc).

[Nick]

I'd personally make sure to have 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 resolution. JC hates the aspect ratio in 1080, but it doesn't bother me.

120hz isn't that necessary at the moment and is not worth the money, in my opinion at least.

I have had excellent results with my Samsung monitors, and they have pretty damn good quality. I just do not know how the price compares to other monitors where you are at. I can't really give you an opinion on any other brand though.

[JC]

I'd personally make sure to have 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 resolution. JC hates the aspect ratio in 1080, but it doesn't bother me.

I don't hate 1920*1080 resolution, but in this case I do struggle to see the point of paying 50% more (185 Pounds versus 125) for an extra inch and a few extra pixels

[James]

Thats true^ sometimes ive seen these really expensive screens and there the same view with movies games to a half the price screen

[Pyroclastic0]

I didn't realize there was such a large price gap between getting IPS and non, but i suppose for precision you want to pay more.

Going between what you two have said I may get the Samsung EX2220 as I can get it from the shop near me. 1920 x 1080 res, same response time (well they may both be lying) and 2 year warranty.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/monitors/22inchmonitors/Samsung/LS22CLUSBEN.html#sp2

unless for some reason this is a bad choice then I'd go for the dell

[JC]

Samsung Monitor's are great (Our university seems to use them almost exclusively and they seem to provide nice, crisp pictures), they're probably what I will get when I do my next screen upgrade (Currently running dual Dell 22").

Monitor specs are fairly common to tell 'white lies' upon (an obvious one on that screen is there is no way it actually has a 70,000:1 contrast ratio, they're publishing a dynamic contrast ratio which is not the same, but everyone does that.... The response time is probably Grey:Grey rather than Black:Black as well, which normally gives artificially fast times) but the thing is that everyone does it so you are comparing like to like and they're just trying to catch out people who go "Oooooohhhh Big numbers".

It's a common problem in all consumer electronics like Tv's, Stereo's and similar

[James]

I dont understand all this contrast talk, i personally would buy the more expensive known brand name in all honesty thou

[RobbieThe1st]

I have to say, if you've got a computer that can render your games at 100+fps... go for a true-120fps monitor(something Nvidia 3d-vision compatible). It's actually pretty darn nice, even without 3D. Basically, it reduces the need for motion-blur, and makes fast screen changes look way nicer.

I spent $500 on mine about a year ago, and while it *is* a TN display(which only displays 6-bit color, dithering the other two), it's actually *very* nice. I haven't yet regretted my purchase even once, which is saying something.

I'd ignore all contrast numbers; it just doesn't really matter at all. Brightness is also only an issue if you're in a very bright room, otherwise you'll be turning it way down to prevent eyestrain.