Sub £200 gaming monitor for the 360 (mainly)

Doctor McNinja · 23 Jul 2011 at 02:11

I know, another one of those threads.

I'm looking for a monitor to use primarily with my 360 but I will occasionally use it for watching iPlayer while I surf the net. At the moment I'm leaning toward the Samsung B2430H as it's spec looks pretty decent but I'm far from an expert when it comes to screens. Can someone please advise me whether I've chosen well or is there a better bit of kit out there for the money?

My requirements are simple.

1. The lowest possible response time.
2. Around 24".
3. HDMI input.
3. Under £200.

Doctor McNinja · 23 Jul 2011 at 17:35

Although it's right at the limit of my budget, I'm also looking at the LG W2486L.

CivilDrone · 23 Jul 2011 at 19:15

Samsung SyncMaster P2450. Great for both pc and 360

cmndr_andi · 23 Jul 2011 at 19:31

Hi there, may I ask how you want to get sound out of your Xbox?

I believe your options are:
- you already have an AV system you want to use (directly connected to Xbox)
- you need a monitor (TV) with built in speakers
- You have PC speakers that you wish to use for both
- You plan to buy separate speakers for use with the xbox

Doctor McNinja · 24 Jul 2011 at 01:08

CivilDrone said:
Samsung SyncMaster P2450. Great for both pc and 360

Thanks for the suggestion but it's over my budget (which was pushing it to begin with) and from the reviews I read, it doesn't seem to be as good as the monitor that I've got my eyes on at the moment.

I'm leaning heavily towards the LG Flatron W2363D. From the reviews I've read it has a low response time and no input lag, it's 23 inches, has two HDMI inputs and it's within my price range. So it ticks all the boxes. To add to that, it's 120Hz and 3D ready... not that I car much about the latter.

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there, may I ask how you want to get sound out of your Xbox?

I believe your options are:
- you already have an AV system you want to use (directly connected to Xbox)
- you need a monitor (TV) with built in speakers
- You have PC speakers that you wish to use for both
- You plan to buy separate speakers for use with the xbox

Thanks for asking, I'll be using either a headset or my headphones depending on what I'm playing/doing. The monitor I mentioned above doesn't have speakers but I can see that being a problem. really. Perhaps I'm missing something obvious though.

I forgot to mention explicitly in my first post that the screen, when I'm not using it with the 360, will also be used as a second monitor... I don't know if that makes a difference but I thought I should just mention it.

PCM2 · 24 Jul 2011 at 07:35

The P2450H is only over your budget because it has been discontinued and has become an 'elite' product from a select few retailers who charge a premium for their remaining stock. The LG is a decent choice overall but not so much for console gaming, as you are limited by the bandwidth of HDMI and a framerate output lower than 60fps. You would see greater advanage going for a monitor such as the S24A350H which has very low input lag, excellent response time handling and more importantly very nice mage quality. The LG is no slouch when it comes to the latter but the colour reproduction of the Samsung is certainly superior.

CivilDrone · 24 Jul 2011 at 07:45

Ive bought mine when it was on sale 170 or so, plus i had 15 discount voucher around 150 delivered. input lag and responce times are great, look and build quality is amazing, not that i am defending it, i am sure there are far better choices now, tech always moving on. Dont really trust LG or ACER for my monitor choices, tv however, i got 42in LG for xbox

Doctor McNinja · 24 Jul 2011 at 18:37

PCM2 said:
The P2450H is only over your budget because it has been discontinued and has become an 'elite' product from a select few retailers who charge a premium for their remaining stock. The LG is a decent choice overall but not so much for console gaming, as you are limited by the bandwidth of HDMI and a framerate output lower than 60fps. You would see greater advanage going for a monitor such as the S24A350H which has very low input lag, excellent response time handling and more importantly very nice mage quality. The LG is no slouch when it comes to the latter but the colour reproduction of the Samsung is certainly superior.

I'd already made my mind up to get the LG but then I saw that it was you (PCM2) who'd posted the above, I've decided to give it another day of thought. Would you mind answering a few questions?

1. You said that the LG is "a decent choice overall but not so much for console gaming". Am I to infer that the Samsung is superior in this area and if so, why?

(note: I'll be using the monitor almost exclusively for console gaming so it's performance when playing PC games is decidedly secondary to when playing on a console.)

2. You also mentioned the Samsung's low input lag and response time. I've read many reviews that have said that when the LG's Thru-mode is enabled, it's input lag is unmeasurable small. This leaves response time. Would you be able to tell me whether the Samsung noticeably better in this area?

3. Finally, the LG is currently on offer at OcUK. It's about £25 cheaper than I can for the S24A350H. In your opinion, is the Samsung really worth the extra expense?

Thanks in advance PCM2!

Oh, and colour reproduction isn't too high of a priority for me. As long as it's not flat out awful. It doesn't really bother me too much if the colours are slightly off.

Doctor McNinja · 28 Jul 2011 at 03:01

I ended up going with the LG... I couldn't say no to the price. Happy with the purchase so far. I'll update this post with my impressions after I've used it a little more.

PCM2 · 28 Jul 2011 at 08:02

Doctor McNinja said:
I ended up going with the LG... I couldn't say no to the price. Happy with the purchase so far. I'll update this post with my impressions after I've used it a little more.

Oops - only just saw your questions here. Really what I was getting at is that I feel the S24A350H has an edge in image quality whilst offering similar 60Hz performance. The LG is fantastic for the price, though, and you should be pleased with the image quality and responsiveness. Look forward to your thoughts!

secondsight07 · 28 Jul 2011 at 09:19

Doctor McNinja said:
I ended up going with the LG... I couldn't say no to the price. Happy with the purchase so far. I'll update this post with my impressions after I've used it a little more.

Does you LG2363D monitor have a slight grainyness to it when you look at bright white images?

GIBURROWS · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:08

I would go for the samsung p2450h, I have this and the p2350h and I adore them both

PCM2 · 29 Jul 2011 at 12:25

secondsight07 said:
Does you LG2363D monitor have a slight grainyness to it when you look at bright white images?

This has been addressed here - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18300418. It is subjective so there is no use asking other people what they see if you already have the monitor and have had a knowledgable individual confirm what it is you are seeing.

GIBURROWS said:
I would go for the samsung p2450h, I have this and the p2350h and I adore them both

As stated above this model has been discontinued and the OP has already purchased an LG, anyway. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=19657608&postcount=8

mashpeter · 29 Aug 2011 at 18:28

Hi PCM2,

Sorry to bug you, but I'm quite keen to get the S24A350H, but I've only found your review and would like a bit more advice.
I can actually spend up to and over £300 if its worth it.
I am not really a monitor expert but i do have two things to compare it to. My friend bought the P2450H and i was impressed by the quality of the display generally. The other thing is that i have the macbook pro and i have been really impressed by the quality of the colours its LED screen displays.
Im going to use it for my ps3 and gaming and general use on my mac.
Would you advice the S24A350H or do you think since i can spend more theres displays id appreciate more out there and should carry on looking?
Thank you!