Buying a new monitor

[Goldwell]

So as the thread title suggests I am in the market for a new monitor I have a budget of 150€ or roughly $200 US.

 

After looking around for a while it is very confusing with all the marketing jargon and everything but my main concern is that I want a monitor good for playing games.. More so in the stealth variety like The Dark Mod and Thief (both old and new). But of course a monitor that is great for playing all styles of games.

 

My experience is usually that Samsung and LG have bright and rich colors whilst Acer usually has a washed out look.

 

I noticed some monitors do not handle dark colors well and obviously I don't want one like that!

 

Thanks in advance

[STiFU]

If you want something that can handle black properly, you need to spend more than $200, e.g. for an EIZO.

 

I made some bad experiences with cheap LG displays, although I am loving their fullsized TVsets. Samsung has a good cost-performance ratio in the lower priced segment that you are currently looking at and I would also throw HP into that category.

[Lux]

Are you a "fast twitch gamer" or do you like play games where you don't move your hand in split second increments?

 

IPS panel @$250 and a review on it is decent 1900x1200.

 

TN panels will have faster response, worse viewing angles and a bit of the wash out you speak of depending on the panel. (I have some TN panels but I sit directly in front of them and calibrated them so most of these things you "get used to" and/or don't notice after a time, which is sad but... money saved and fast twitch engaged. You do get used to ghosting on lower response monitors if you are a fast twitch gamer but it is still distracting sometimes which may/may not annoy you over time.

 

What monitor do you currently have? Hard to give recommendations without knowing what we're stepping up from.

 

IMO, monitor is the best upgrade anyone can make to their PC to make it fEEl bigger and better and having more screen real estate is always welcome.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Lux

[Goldwell]

The main games I play at the moment are Thief 2, The Dark Mod, occasionally Minecraft, RTS and yeah. Very occasionally will I splash out and buy a CAll of Duty style game but I am definitely not a fast twitch gamer.

 

I prefer something nice and smooth with rich color rather than 2ms response time sort of options.

 

For example here is a monitor I found within my price range that I think is ok (i'll post the amazon US listings as its all in English)

 

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-S24C200BL-23-6-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00ARJNKH4

[Goldwell]

And here is another good monitor I found.

 

http://www.samsung.c...pe=series-3-led

http://www.amazon.co...ywords=S24C300H

 

But I am unsure if its good or not. It's quite hard to tell :/

 

Today in a few hours I will go to a retail store to have a look at a few but I want to have a few models in mind so I can make a good decision

Edited February 21, 2014 by Goldwell

[Lux]

Having a hard time finding any in-depth reviews on either of those.

 

That being said, they do have wide field of view which usually indicates they're most likely IPS/PVA panels, they both have LED backlighting which is great for longevity and color reproduction, and in your price range so I don't think you would go wrong with either.

 

Personally I can't stand 1080p monitors for computer stuff I have to have 1200 high. It makes such a massive difference in my mind for everything.

 

Also, if you have the option of buying locally that's always a good thing. If you have any issues you can exchange same-day.

Edited February 21, 2014 by Lux

[Lux]

 

I noticed some monitors do not handle dark colors well and obviously I don't want one like that!

 

 

This only has to do with the panel a particular display uses. Not the manufacturer of the display. So you can't pigeon hole certain mfgs. based on "washed out" or "great color" because mfg's use many different panels in various displays.

 

You want to look for a good panel semi-regardless of who produced the display and the one you've linked is around as good as you're going to get for the budget.

[Goldwell]

What would you say about something like this?

 

http://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/VS248H/#overview

[Goldwell]

Ok so the ASUS one I posted above was the one I decided to go for. For multiple reasons, for one they have a 3 year warranty, it seems to have a great picture quality, very fast response time, has DVI ports as well as HDMI and it has a rather wide viewing angle.. apparently 170 degrees.

 

It also is a tiny fraction over my budget but because it fits the match perfectly I went for it.

[Lux]

Have you read any reviews on it? I'm not familiar with it.

[Goldwell]

Yeah and for the most part it is recieved rather positively

[Lux]

Looks like you have yourself a new monitor then. I think with your original qualifications that the 3 monitors you'd posted previously matched better though and It is my sincerest wish that I have not confused you in some way.

[Springheel]

Anyone else still gaming with a CRT?

[Goldwell]

Looks like you have yourself a new monitor then. I think with your original qualifications that the 3 monitors you'd posted previously matched better though and It is my sincerest wish that I have not confused you in some way.

 

I don't understand what you mean sorry could you try re-wording it?

 

But I feel pretty confident in the choice I made and because it was bought from Amazon Deutschland if I have a problem I can just send it back. They're usually really good with refunds and exchanges

[Lux]

Anyone else still gaming with a CRT?

 

 

Can't beat the blacks and color representation there! <3 I miss my old 21" flat diamondtron but its sitting right next to me. I just don't use it anymore

 

 

I don't understand what you mean sorry could you try re-wording it?

 

But I feel pretty confident in the choice I made and because it was bought from Amazon Deutschland if I have a problem I can just send it back. They're usually really good with refunds and exchanges

 

You had posted that you were nOt a fast twitch gamer and that you did not want "washed out" color.

 

The 2ms response of your chosen panel indicates that it is a TN panel which typically suffer from the washed out color issue. (I think "washed out" is a strong term but they are definitely less vibrant however occasionally they can be adjusted adequately) It does have large viewing angles which TN panels typically don't have so that's a plus. If you're not a fast twitch gamer, which you have indicated, there really isn't much to be gained from the 2ms TN panel response times. I AM a fast twitch gamer and still had negligable issues with my old Dell with ~16ms response.

 

Those are just the things that concerned me that I wanted to address.

[mips]

Anyone else still gaming with a CRT?

 

I've got a 22" HP p1230 with a Mitsubishi Diamondtron NF Aperture Grille CRT in the closet somewhere. My LCD's don't come close to the image quality on that thing. It however uses to much desk space and acts like a heater!

[Goldwell]

Well i've had my monitor for a week now and I have to say i'm very happy with it. The color quality and depth is incredible. The screen is very big and bright and I don't see any ghosting. For the price I paid I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone in the market for a good quality cheap 24"