Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM ok for gaming?

Soldato
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Hi all,

I currently have a Samsung syncmaster 2232BW but it has developed a fault and now all the control buttons don't work correctly, so the on/off button now brings up the magic bright menu :rolleyes::p. So think its time for a new monitor.

Been looking into IPS as they would be beneficial as I do a bit of photography as a hobby. I also like the better viewing angles IPS offers. I do do a fair bit of gaming, so don't want it to ghost too badly.

Probably going to go for the Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM as the U2312M seems to get good reviews. Apart from the black levels, which is a shame.

Is the Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS worth a look? I can't find any reviews on it and don't know if Iiyama is a decent make.

I taken the Asus PA238Q 23" off my list as there seems to be a lot with backlight bleed issues.

TL;DR - see title :p
 
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Soldato
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Internet Service Providers are a godsend - sorry, I wouldn't resist! IPS panels would certainly be a good choice for your photography work due to the enhanced colour accuracy and consistency.

THe U2312HM is very much ok for gaming, yes. As mentioned in this review and this review it has very low input lag, meaning that the monitor is nice and responsive to your mouse movements and you won't feel any significant delay between asking your in-game character to do something and the screen responding to this. Furthermore the pixel responsiveness is surprisingly good. Traditionally this is seen as a weakness of IPS panels but actually your modern IPS panel can, in practice, outperform many 60Hz TN panel monitors in some instances. I like to call these instances your 'medium pace' instances - like running around on Battlefield 3. This is covered on the second review linked to :).

With the U2312HM, as with the ASUS PA238Q, there are no guarantees when it comes to black level uniformity across the screen. As long as you are aware that this isn't going to be a highlight of the monitor and not to expect perfection you should be fine. The advantages in other areas should outweigh this for your photography in particular.
 
Soldato
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Haha :o

Thanks, I read the first review a few days back and that's what initially put me off buying it due to the fact they seemed to really not like the black levels. Will have a look at the second review in a sec. Its the pictures showing the level of ghosting thats also putting me off. I did try to find a review of my current monitor so I could compare the two but they dont appear to have reviewed it.

You don't happen to know of any reviews of the Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS do you?
 
Soldato
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The PixPerAn images (that show the 'ghosting') are also explored in the second review. As explained subsequently, though, the overdrive trailing that these tests highlight is not really a problem in practice and the actual responsiveness of the monitor is rather good. The X2377HDS behaves as a typical VA panel and is very similar to the BenQ EW2430 (reviewed on both of the websites that reviewed the U2312HM). In short it is considerably less responsive than the U2312HM and as with all modern VA panels I wouldn't recommend it for gaming. There are certain 'high contrast' transitions that you will notice on games (relatively light colours moving against a relatively dark background and vice-versa) that will appear to 'smear' on the X2377HDS. That kind of trailing is far more noticeable than anything the U2312HM would produce. The colour consistency across the screen isn't as good on the Dell, either, so really the U2312HM stands as the best all-rounder for your uses.
 
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Soldato
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Thanks for the help. I think I'll give the Dell a go as I have found it for around £180, which is cheaper than I paid for this Samsung TN monitor I got about 3 years ago.

I'd imagine the blacks will still be an improvement on my 2232bw and hopefully the screen wont go lighter or darker depending on how much I slouch in my chair.
 
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I got my U2312HM last friday and I am amazed at how good it is compared to my old Samsung SM226BW. I use my PC for gaming and I find the colours are excellent and really clear with the U2312HM, compared to my old monitor.

I've not noticed any input lag in games, I got mine for £170 but had to pay just under £10 for next day delivery.
 
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i have the U2312HM, and i see evident ghosting in mafia II and borderland or deus ex, and i think there are other games like these.

In other fps instead there is sometimes only sightly ghosting.

Dont belive the tftcentral review, its patetic review, his games opinion is based only to a single ridicolous bench like Pixperan, and it is not reliable.


Dell IPS are slow, only for casual gamers.
 
Soldato
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Hmm, seems there are two opinions of how bad the ghosting is.

I think i'd consider myself a casual gamer. I don't game every day and am not great at online fps. I mainly play coop online games like L4D and also a lot of single player FPS games. I do enjoy gaming a lot and would hate for the experience to be ruined by ghosting.

Just out of interest, is it the same with the Dell UltraSharp U2711 27"? I was looking at getting a bigger monitor but at the moment my hardware wouldn't cope with the extra res. It was something I was considering for a future build but I'll scratch that if this would be the same.
 
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it's roughly the same with all DELL IPS screens. and don't worry, you will not notice anything, unless you are a hardcore counter strike or quake progamer.

i do play games A LOT and i do play them on a DELL U2311H (had a couple of 120Hz TN panels but returned them because of colour reproduction).

my upgrade will be either a DELL U2412M or one of the new 27" LG IPS monitors which will be announced on CES next week and should start selling in february.
 
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Get the iiyama above I posted and if you don't like it I'll refund you the money myself. If you want no ghosting, good colours and response time. IPS is more for editing and such imo if it's mainly for gaming the iiyama is perfect.
 
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I use the older 'DELL U2311H' and I have no problems as long as I use Vsync otherwise I get lots of tearing, the colours and viewing angles are really good also.
I have heard rumours of 120hz IPS coming this year and if they are true I'll definitely be buying one.
 
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