Which 24" monitor to go for?

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 13:12

Please help! I've decided I want a bigger monitor. I currently have a Samsung SM226BW, which has been pretty good to be honest. Very low input lag, decent enough response time, good IQ and so on. I hope things have moved on however!

Which 24" panel to go for? I'll be selling the 226 to help fund this.

Primary usage - games and reading PDFs/word processing.

LED worth it? I like power savings and a thinner model would be great. Would love a 90 deg tilt stand but they're usually not in budget.

Low input lag and decent response are obviously preferred due to the usage. All brands are considered, I had a very average experience with Samsung RMA and the whole panel lottery, so they're on the bottom of my list, but if it's the best panel I won't exclude it.

Budget is probably up to around £170. I don't have enough cash to put on top to fund much more after the sale of my 22".

Thanks for any advice, let me know what you're using too, especially if you're a gamer!

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 15:27

OK, here are some options, let's try weigh up the pros and cons at some point too:

BenQ

G2420HDBL - £164

V2410T - £165-£180

Samsung

P2450H - £200

B2430L - £160

BX2450 - £260

XL2370 - £260

Dell

Anything of note for Dell? Liked the 2209WA when it was well-priced but it's not a 24".

Any opinions welcome, there's a few wildcards in there too just in case they're worth the extra!

PCM2 · 30 Sep 2010 at 15:53

Well Alex. I think the best way to approach this would be for me to add comments to all of the monitors you're considering.

G2420HDBL - A panel that many have purchased because, when it was first released, it really did offer outstanding value as the only truly affordable 24 inch LED-backlit monitor. Things have moved on a bit now and having used the monitor myself I was not particularly impressed by the image quality (the dithering algorithms and contrast controls in particular) or build quality (unusually 'cheap' feel to it). Now that the price has been bumped up a bit and availability is questionable I'd skip this one myself.

V2410T - The panel itself is probably very similar to the G2420HDBL and perhaps moreso the V2420 (we have reviewed the smaller V920 on our website). But it offers a very good level of adjustability.

P2450H - A striking looking monitor with pretty decent image quality. Was certainly worth a look when it was £165 but now the price has been bumped up to closer the £200 mark and it is pretty much EOL it's best to move on.

B2430L - Great build quality and image quality for the price. You can actually get the B2430H (which has a slightly larger screen and includes HDMI) for £165 and the B2430L for even less - they are both great value for what they offer and if you do a search for posts of mine or have a quick look at my website you'll notice I'm an outspoken fan of this one.

BX2450 - We have reviewed the very similar BX2350. Whilst the colours were natural and the brightness was decent there was a certain lack of vibrancy. Aside from the stand (if you like shiny things that look like boomerangs), LED backlight and general build quality there was not that much to distinguish this from slightly cheaper monitors.

XL2370 - In our opinion currently the best TN LCD monitor currently in production. Our review says all that needs to be said about the XL2370.

As for Dell... Well given the pricerange you are considering why haven't you thought about the excellent U2311H? We reviewed the similar U2211H from an entertainment standpoint fairly recently alongside the absolutely fantastic U2410. If you're into your thin and efficient LED-backlit monitors you'll also want to look out for the Dell ST2420L which has just launched at very limited capacity for around £150. We hope to review this shortly.

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 16:09

PCM2, thanks very much for your time and expertise, I'll review what you've said and add some comments soon. That's really going to help me decide, thank you.

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:05

Okay, I've got to be serious about my budget so let's narrow it down a bit more.

BenQ V2410T - I like the stand. I like that it's LED and well-priced.

Samsung B2430L - I like the price. Not so keen on the looks but not too important. Not very adjustable stand. I can't find the B2420H anywhere, is that a typo? Also, is the screen really bigger or is it just HDMI? I don't need HDMI, DVI is fine as I don't need sound. Only one device connected, sometimes another via VGA.

Samsung BX2450 - Love the looks and profile, very nice. Bit pricey for an average panel though. The XL2370 is really great, but it's out of my sensible price range, as are the IPS monitors tbh. I'd need a better response time anyway.

Dell ST2420L - Looks like it might fit the bill, no info on performance yet, but can't see it for £150 anywhere. That's a steal if so.

I'm coming from a Samsung SM226BW, have you used one? I know it was good at the time 3 years ago.

Which of the sub £200 panels would you choose for gaming?

Cuchulain · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:08

alexhull24 said:
Please help! I've decided I want a bigger monitor. I currently have a Samsung SM226BW, which has been pretty good to be honest. Very low input lag, decent enough response time, good IQ and so on. I hope things have moved on however!

Which 24" panel to go for? I'll be selling the 226 to help fund this.

Primary usage - games and reading PDFs/word processing.

LED worth it? I like power savings and a thinner model would be great. Would love a 90 deg tilt stand but they're usually not in budget.

Low input lag and decent response are obviously preferred due to the usage. All brands are considered, I had a very average experience with Samsung RMA and the whole panel lottery, so they're on the bottom of my list, but if it's the best panel I won't exclude it.

Budget is probably up to around £170. I don't have enough cash to put on top to fund much more after the sale of my 22".

Thanks for any advice, let me know what you're using too, especially if you're a gamer!

Whatever you choose do NOT go for the IIyama ProLite E2407HDSD, it's junk, really REALLY poor image quality over DVI (red banding on text, poor colour reproduction and a terrible viewing angle).

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 17:10

I've heard bad things about some of the current Iiyama 24" panels. They used to be a great brand back when I had my CRTs!

Thanks for the tip though.

PCM2 · 30 Sep 2010 at 18:12

alexhull24 said:
Okay, I've got to be serious about my budget so let's narrow it down a bit more.

BenQ V2410T - I like the stand. I like that it's LED and well-priced.

Samsung B2430L - I like the price. Not so keen on the looks but not too important. Not very adjustable stand. I can't find the B2420H anywhere, is that a typo? Also, is the screen really bigger or is it just HDMI? I don't need HDMI, DVI is fine as I don't need sound. Only one device connected, sometimes another via VGA.

Samsung BX2450 - Love the looks and profile, very nice. Bit pricey for an average panel though. The XL2370 is really great, but it's out of my sensible price range, as are the IPS monitors tbh. I'd need a better response time anyway.

Dell ST2420L - Looks like it might fit the bill, no info on performance yet, but can't see it for £150 anywhere. That's a steal if so.

I'm coming from a Samsung SM226BW, have you used one? I know it was good at the time 3 years ago.

Which of the sub £200 panels would you choose for gaming?

Sorry about the typo - meant the B2430H but I had BenQ on the brain. The Dell ST2420L was incorrectly listed at that price (unsurprisingly) and is now over £200 including VAT at the moment. Since you have restricted your budget I would actually be quite inclined to go with the B2430H. You say you don't like the looks, however, which is of course still an important factor to consider. If you like the adjustability, looks and LED backlight then the BenQ V2410T may be just what you need. I haven't used one myself so maybe I was being a little brash earlier - I haven't used the SM226BW either so it would be difficult to draw any sort of comparison. You might also want to look at the LG W2361V which I've blabbed on about on my website. Performance is supposed to be similar to the B2430H and if you prefer the look then that's great. It's only around £150.

alex24 · 30 Sep 2010 at 23:37

LG looks like it's not VESA mountable, so that goes against it, but it seems nice enough.

I think the final choice is between the B2430H and V2410T.

B2430H - Likely to have better image quality. Cheaper than the BenQ. Stand not very adjustable, but is VESA mountable.

V2410T - LED so uses less power. Slightly bigger panel? Image quality likely not as good as the samsung. Less connectivity. More expensive. Highly adjustable stand.

I suppose it comes down to whether LED is worth it over CCFL and whether I care that much about having an adjustable stand. It would be nice, but since the Sammy has a VESA mount it's not the end of the world, I could always eventually get a desk or wall mount. I plan to keep the panel 3 years.

Which is likely to be better for gaming though? My current panel is actually rated at 2ms (faster than those two) but that's using RTA (response time acceleration) which does cause ghosting artifacts. They're reported to not be very noticeable but I can see them easily when playing online FPS games so I have RTA turned off. 5ms is then fine really, I was just hoping things had moved on in 3 years, but it appears they haven't much. I'll reserve judgement until the new one arrives though. There are always unquantifiable distinctions that aren't on the spec sheet that can make a difference.

shipinabottle · 1 Oct 2010 at 03:56

Picked up the BX2450 this week with my new system.

got to say for sub £200 i was very happy with it, image is better than my 226BW on my other computer.

After a little adjusting of the Settings it looks great, games look fantastic, and general computer use its working like a charm.

no Backlight bleed either which is always nice, 226bw, suffered with this

PCM2 · 1 Oct 2010 at 08:15

How did you get a BX2450 for sub £200? New? And don't worry about the response time Alex. The figures don't mean a lot. For example the B2430 is more responsive than a lot of 2ms G2G panels I've used.

alex24 · 1 Oct 2010 at 10:59

I would also like to know how you got the BX2450 so cheap! Maybe if OcUK get them in they can price match it.

My first 226BW had worse backlight bleed than my RMA replacement one did, which I imagine was rebuilt. I never thought it was that bad. In fact, I think the image is still pretty darn good, if the BX2450 is better that's a good sign.

Thanks for the info on response times PCM2. I just didn't want to leave myself disappointed when playing fast moving games, the input lag and response of the 226BW were extremely good at the time and probably still are pretty decent.

Would the BX2450 be a better bet than the B2430H then do you think? It's an LED panel, a lot nicer looking in my opinion, but I don't really want to sacrifice IQ by spending more!

Exsurgo · 1 Oct 2010 at 11:18

I went from the Samsung 226BW to a dual monitor setup with Samsung
B2430H, and the difference in quality is quite suprising to say the least, and the Samsung 226bw is a decent monitor anyway. The difference in backlight bleed and viewing angles is quite amazing really, shows how much things have moved on.

alex24 · 1 Oct 2010 at 11:33

That's reassuring, thank you. I now know I won't be disappointed if I go for that. Vertical viewing angle on the 226 is quite unforgiving, but horizontal is OK.

alex24 · 1 Oct 2010 at 12:44

Just found a Samsung model with a height and tilt stand, LED - Samsung BX2440.

Any opinions?

vorticalspace · 1 Oct 2010 at 12:51

alexhull24 said:
Just found a Samsung model with a height and tilt stand, LED - Samsung BX2440.

Any opinions?

Hi
Sorry, just to hijack slightly

I've been wondering about the benefits of a fully adjustable stand as opposed to just tilt.
Surely on a TN panel, tilt only will affect the veiwing angles/colour/contrast shift. :confused:

On my current monitor, it is tilt/swivel only but isn't really a problem as my desk has a monitor plinth.

On a flat desk, with a TN panel, is anything less than a height adjustable stand going to cause image problems :confused:

Assuming working from a fixed seating position

alex24 · 1 Oct 2010 at 12:56

OK, happy to try and answer that!

Firstly, the height adjustment is useful. I currently have made a frankenstand for my monitor to sit on, on my desk, so that it is elevated to the right level. It's annoying looking down on them all the time.

Secondly, the 90 swivel into portrait mode may be of use to me. I'll be doing massive amounts of word processing this year, so having things that way round *may* make it easier to produce a full page document.

My current monitor does tilt up/down to accommodate different mounting levels (so you can look head on otherwise viewing angle is bad) and also it has swivel around on it's base. This way you can 'angle' the monitor towards you, with or without a desk plinth/frankenstand, but you still have to look down on it rather than it being at a natural height.

So yes, a fully adjustable stand certainly has its benefits for TN panels, though TN panels are designed to be cheap and affordable, so the stands inevitably follow suit.

PCM2 · 1 Oct 2010 at 13:19

The problem with putting a TN panel into portrait mode and a reason why this aspect of adjustability is often not included on such panels is that the viewing angle is a lot worse, under normal viewing, vertically. It is difficult to explain, but when you rotate a TN panel the horizontal viewing angle becomes particularly poor and the whole image across the screen looks noticeably uneven. The Samsung BX2440 is a fairly odd and not very popular LED-backlit monitor and it's not one I can recommend simply because I haven't used it.

shipinabottle · 1 Oct 2010 at 13:49

Am I allowed to link a competitor despite OCUK not selling the BX2450?

if not contact me via email in trust?

vorticalspace · 1 Oct 2010 at 14:14

alexhull24 said:
OK, happy to try and answer that!

Firstly, the height adjustment is useful. I currently have made a frankenstand for my monitor to sit on, on my desk, so that it is elevated to the right level. It's annoying looking down on them all the time.

Secondly, the 90 swivel into portrait mode may be of use to me. I'll be doing massive amounts of word processing this year, so having things that way round *may* make it easier to produce a full page document.

My current monitor does tilt up/down to accommodate different mounting levels (so you can look head on otherwise viewing angle is bad) and also it has swivel around on it's base. This way you can 'angle' the monitor towards you, with or without a desk plinth/frankenstand, but you still have to look down on it rather than it being at a natural height.

So yes, a fully adjustable stand certainly has its benefits for TN panels, though TN panels are designed to be cheap and affordable, so the stands inevitably follow suit.

Many thanks
As I expected really but rather ironic that the monitors that would most benefit from a fully adjustable stand i.e TN panels, don't have one :rolleyes:

My desk plinth is really only large enough to hold a 19" display unless I pull the desk away from wall. With this in mind, I was going to remove the plinth to accommodate a larger 24" display.
Looks like unless I go IPS, height adjustment is quite important.

I am currently undecided between the HP ZR24W(IPS) or PCM2's fave TN panel the Samsung B2430H.

I genuinely cannot decide :confused: