NEC EA231WMi or Dell U2311h

Adium

Adium

Adium

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Hi guys,

I've been researching a new monitor to buy for the past few weeks and I've finally narrowed my choice down to the NEC EA231WMi and Dell U2311h. I could really do with some opinions on both monitors and which of the two you guys think I should get. My main uses will be design work and playing games on the PS3. Although the NEC has a higher response time rating, some of the reviews I've read online and videos like the one below have convinced me that it'll be perfectly fine for games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od2VJsdPkHA

Both monitors have similar specs and use the same e-IPS technology so I guess it all comes down to quality and price. The NEC is being sold for around £300 and the Dell for £260. I don't mind paying the extra money if the NEC is a better display. What concerns me about the Dell are some of the issues that surfaced when it was first released but I'm hoping those have now been resolved.

Question: Can I use a DVI to Dispayport adapter/cable to connect my computer? I want to reserve the monitor's DVI input for the PS3.

Thanks in advance to all who respond.
 
I don't know if you've read this or not already, but the guy who made that Youtube video wrote up this comparison/review to go with it. There are some other threads on that forum of interest too, like this one or this one.

You also may want to read both the the TFTCentral reviews on the U2311H and the EA231Wmi.

The Dell U2311H does have slight quality control issues where people have reported tinting and backlight uniformity issues, in fact, I bought one myself a few days ago and I also have some minor tinting. However, they are much less now with the newer A01 revision. I'm actually considering getting another for my Dad.

You can read my initial impression here and also gaming performance.

I don't know if you're aware, but there's current a deal on the U2311H where you can effectively get it for £186, which is why I bought it. However, this only lasts till the 23rd of November and be aware that you have to buy as a small business so there are some drawbacks to that.

As for DVI > DisplayPort cable, as far as I know you can, however I've not tried it myself.
 
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Thanks for your post crackerbear and the links you provided. I've already seen/read the TFTCentral reviews but not the other links. I saw that U2311h deal on Hotuk a few days ago but unfortunately I never buy directly from Dell anymore, and wouldn't even dream of it under Small Business as I've had bad experiences with their customer service in the past. Any company that's quick to take your money but then gives you the runaround when there's a problem isn't worth it in my opinion. I'd rather pay extra for good customer service but anyway, I digress :). I'm currently leaning towards NEC mainly because of the quality control issues surrounding the Dell. I was hoping revision A01 would have fixed all issues but it looks like there are still tinting problems, albeit minor ones.
 
The EA231WMi is going to be replaced at the start of next year with the EA232WMi (pretty much the same but LED backlight) so it's possible it might get cheaper shortly... or you could always wait a month and a bit and see what the new one is like!
 
Somnambulist said:
The EA231WMi is going to be replaced at the start of next year with the EA232WMi (pretty much the same but LED backlight) so it's possible it might get cheaper shortly... or you could always wait a month and a bit and see what the new one is like!
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I see NEC wants a slice of the LED pie. I can imagine the EA232WMi being very expensive when released, especially here in the UK, so hopefully its predecessor will go down in price.
 
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i dont think the EA232WMi will be necessarily too bad, but remains to be seen. expect to have a price confirmed and a review sample within a couple of weeks :)
 
NEC EA231WMi is a really good monitor if you can find one, OCUK used to have them in but they all got snapped up.

It is perfectly fine for gaming and watching tv/blu rays; this is what I do most with mine.

Regarding dvi or hdmi to display port I did a lot of searching on this and came to the conclusion that it can't be done except with some expensive active converter apple makes, which itself would need another converter as apply uses mini dp as I remember.

There are lots of adapters sold on line but be careful as they are display port to hdmi/dvi not hdmi/dvi to display port. I got burnt making the mistake.
 
dazzerd said:
NEC EA231WMi is a really good monitor if you can find one, OCUK used to have them in but they all got snapped up.

It is perfectly fine for gaming and watching tv/blu rays; this is what I do most with mine.

Regarding dvi or hdmi to display port I did a lot of searching on this and came to the conclusion that it can't be done except with some expensive active converter apple makes, which itself would need another converter as apply uses mini dp as I remember.

There are lots of adapters sold on line but be careful as they are display port to hdmi/dvi not hdmi/dvi to display port. I got burnt making the mistake.
Click to expand...

I've been doing some research myself on DVI to DisplayPort and I haven't yet been able to find a clear solution; it's just not as straightforward as I'd hoped it would be. I guess I need to wait until I buy the monitor myself and then try out different adapters/converters to see what works best. Thanks for your input.

Baddass said:
Indeed:) already arranged with NEC but waiting for it to arrive in the uk
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I look forward to reading the review :)
 
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