IPS monitors: how to find & choose?

foop

foop

foop

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I need a new monitor and, having fallen in love with the IPS monitors on my desk at work, I want to buy IPS. But I can't afford the price of the 27" beasts I use here so I start searching for a more reasonable alternative.

It could just be because I'm stupid, but I'm having a terrible time even getting a list of candidates. Is there a list of current IPS monitors somewhere out there, or am I going to have to wade through the specs one by one searching for IPS?

If anyone has any recommendations, what I'm looking for is a 24" 1900x1200 IPS display. I game, but don't need FPS shooter response speeds. If I have to, I'll buy up to 27" (but not at increased resolution, don't want to buy a new GPU), or put up with 1080p.

The Dell U2412M seems an obvious choice, but I've read a few comments suggesting the image quality is a bit dull, and not as zingy as most IPS screens.
 
as you said yourself - U2412HM is the obvious choice.

had one as a primary for a couple of months, now it is my secondary, bought a 27" 2560x1440 IPS monitor for primary.

no complaints about the DELL though - i don't do professional photo editing though, only surfing, gaming, movies - so again, thumbs up from me towards the U2412HM
 
The people people saying it is dull (hah, Dell, Dull.. one letter difference) are most likely comparing it to
A) A glossy screen. Glossy screens always have more zing to them - there is no light diffusing layer messing up the picture.
There are no glossy IPS screens in sizes other than 27" unless you want to buy second hand
B) To a wide-gamut monitor or more specifically the Dell u2410. Wide gamut monitors give an over saturated picture for normal day to day things which some people seem to prefer, this can be somewhat emulated if you have a NVIDIA videocard by playing with the.. forgot the name of the slider and don't have a NVIDIA card anymore. someone help me out here.
 
Axeia said:
can be somewhat emulated if you have a NVIDIA videocard by playing with the.. forgot the name of the slider and don't have a NVIDIA card anymore. someone help me out here.
Click to expand...

Digital Vibrance. ;) But yes this is kind of like a less extreme version of an untamed extended gamut. Some good points above. :)
 
foop said:
I need a new monitor and, having fallen in love with the IPS monitors on my desk at work, I want to buy IPS. But I can't afford the price of the 27" beasts I use here so I start searching for a more reasonable alternative.

It could just be because I'm stupid, but I'm having a terrible time even getting a list of candidates. Is there a list of current IPS monitors somewhere out there, or am I going to have to wade through the specs one by one searching for IPS?

If anyone has any recommendations, what I'm looking for is a 24" 1900x1200 IPS display. I game, but don't need FPS shooter response speeds. If I have to, I'll buy up to 27" (but not at increased resolution, don't want to buy a new GPU), or put up with 1080p.

The Dell U2412M seems an obvious choice, but I've read a few comments suggesting the image quality is a bit dull, and not as zingy as most IPS screens.
Click to expand...

If you want to take the risk, you can go with the barebones Korean 27" monitors. Use the same LG panel, but cost between £200-300.
 
I'v been in the same boat for about a month now. Almost every monitor out there wants to hide what kind of panel tech they are using, why? If it is an IPS monitor tell us, and if it is using TN, again, tell us!

It's been a nightmare of some close hits and misses. 'Ooh look theirs a nice monitor, oh wait it's using TN, damn'!

Some sites even get it wrong, under the panel type they put LED or LCD-LED! Thats the backlighting tech not the actual panel.

It's like being lead in to a sweet shop where all of the labels have fallen off the boxes and you have to lick all of them to find out what they are, just hoping you don't get any liquorice or saliva from the previous shopper.

*Rant over*
 
Gregfoster17 said:
I'v been in the same boat for about a month now. Almost every monitor out there wants to hide what kind of panel tech they are using, why? If it is an IPS monitor tell us, and if it is using TN, again, tell us!
Click to expand...

I have just this afternoon come across a marvellous search function on the prad.de monitor review website.

http://www.prad.de/en/guide/ausstattung_auswahl.html

You can search by as many or as few criteria as you like. I searched for 1920x1200 24" IPS monitors released in 2010 or later and got:

Dell U2412M
Lenovo LT2452p
Acer B243PWL
HP ZR2440w
Asus PA246Q
Fujitsu P24W-6 IPS

...before the price got into the region where I'd have to sell my first born son.

I'm still wondering whether the U2412M, PA246Q, U2410 or ZR2449w would best meet my needs. All I can find on Google is lots of forum bickering about which is best ;)
 
Apologies for the slight necro. I thought I'd reply to my own thread to say what I bought and what I think of it.

In the end I got the Dell U2412M. After a *lot* of thought - I spent maybe two weeks reading reviews of various monitors and changing my mind about what I was going to get.

After unpacking it I was initially somewhat underwhelmed. Then I realised that I was probably subconsciously comparing it to the beautiful, hideously expensive 27" displays I use at work. A quick comparison with my old Samsung 226BW TFT reveals that it is, indeed very nice. Not spectacular, but a nice, well performing IPS monitor.

The anti-glare coating isn't too obvious, despite all the raging you see on forums about it. If anything it's more discreet than that on my old Samsung.

There's a fair bit of IPS glow if you view a black screen from larger angles in a darkened room. But I don't do that much.

It's fair to say that it's not as fast as a TFT screen, subjectively speaking. I only really notice this when I have a hangover, which is odd but occasionally slightly unpleasant. I don't play twitch multiplayer FPS stuff, so this doesn't bother me. Skyrim, Diablo III, Total War and the like are perfectly fine.

In summary: Not bowel-disturbingly spectacular but a nice, neat, well-built, bright, vibrant, unobtrusive monitor.
 
I had the u2412m and for an office monitor I couldn't find any fault with it. The IPS glow drove me nuts, however, when watching movies.

I've since tried a VA TV and a VA monitor, and come to the conclusion that IPS glow isn't the worst of all monitor evils. I can live with it.

After trying a 32" VA TV, and a 27" VA monitor, I'm back with a Dell IPS. Actually the 23" 16:9 this time, in an effort to make movies less affected by the glow.
 
The ACD 24" has been discontinued (although there may be some clearance stock lying about on some sites). I would agree that a better choice of smaller glossy IPS/PLS models would be nice. I think a 24" SB970 would be good to see myself.
 
HP ZR2740w, Dell U2711, Apple 27" Cinema display, Hazro HZ27W A/C/D models, a load of different Korean models, DGM IPS 2701, NEC PA271W range, Eizo SX2762W

Lots really...
 
Baddass said:
HP ZR2740w, Dell U2711, Apple 27" Cinema display, Hazro HZ27W A/C/D models, a load of different Korean models, DGM IPS 2701, NEC PA271W range, Eizo SX2762W

Lots really...
Click to expand...

Sorry, i missed the keyword of glossy. So the question should have been what 27" glossy IPS panels are there? (Apart from the Apple Cinema and DGM one)
 
Curious said:
I think both the Eizo and NEC can be considered glossy.... But they cost an arm AND a leg.
Click to expand...

The NEC PA271W has a high haze matte surface, nothing remotely glossy about it in a monitor context. The Eizo SX2762W has a lower haze value surface that could perhaps be considered 'semi glossy' but it still has a matte anti-glare finish and isn't glossy.
 
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