Best 24/27 inch monitor for up to £700

naefeart

naefeart

naefeart

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Thought it best to start a thread, save hijacking another.

To set the scene: I currently use am NEC 20.1" GWX2 monitor which I bought from OcUK several years ago, on the recommendation of people from this very forum.

I have had no issues in all this time and am still very happy with this monitor. I play games mostly (BF2/3 etc), watch movies regularly and occasionally use it work work purposes - 3D geological model building and interpretation)

The time has come to get a bit more 'realestate' and I am looking at 24/27 monitors.

Now, in light of my current uses the replacement must be a good all rounder - good for gaming and movies with decent brightness and colour handling. Now I don't need a professionsal spec monitor and have a budget up to £700.

I orignally looked at the Dell U2410, but I read that the U2412M is slightly more responsive. I then looked at the U2711 as price isn't that much more than the U2410, but this seems less performant in a gaming sense.

I have also looked at the 120Hz monitors as I'm wondering if this is the way forward.

Probably worth mentioning I am also indifferent to extras such as card reader and usb ports.

So there you have it. Thoughts/recommendations are welcome.
 
Haha, thanks interesting solution.

It sounds like there isn't one monitor that satisfies all my needs equally. Two monitors might get me hung atm, so I'll look back at the reviews for the Benq.

No other options?
 
It will be the argument between IPS screens and TN pannels.

IPS are better for colours whilst TN screens (especially the 120Hz) have a lower input laitency.

Although there does seem to be one exception: Dell U2312HM
Scroll right to the bottom and see the input lag tests.... 0-0.6ms Sounds almost too good to be true.
Only issue for you is its 23"
 
It might be worth looking at the Samsung SA850. It's a PGS screen which a development from IPS. From the review I read it might be a bit laggy for gaming but otherwise it seems good. I hope so as one was delivered here this morning....
 
The Hazro HZ27WC has the lowest inputlag among the 27" screens.
The Hazro HZ30Wi-Q (30" / 2560x1600) is also within reach of your budget although their site is lacking an order option (guess it's successor will replace it in the next few weeks as it's been announced a while ago). It's slower than the WC but still nearly twice as fast as the Dell U2711.

If you do go for 120Hz do note that the 27" screens are only Full HD (unlike the Dell/Hazro's which sport a much higher resolution).

The Samsung S-PLS monitor isn't that interesting imo, it failed to live up to Samsungs claims of being better than IPS (oh gosh wat a surprise, a manufacturer making their product out to better than it actually is). The screen also has backlight uniformity/backlight bleed issues in most reviews.
 
If I had that budget I'd be looking at the Hazro if your video card can handle that resolution. Unless you are a competitive gamer input lag is overrated imo, so you might as well go for a nice IPS screen. If your desk can support it then the two monitor solution is a good option too.
 
Thanks guys, you've given me some suggestions to mull over.

Pig - no I'm not a competitive gamer, but no-one likes lag, right? ;)
 
It's generally grosely exaggerated how much this affects the gaming experience though. I have the HZ27WD has a measured input lag of 26.3ms. Never even noticed it in the slightest, old Acer had 20ms (according to acer self, most likely much worse if it was measured) only noticed it ever so slightly while playing Unreal Tournament (that was about a decade ago).
I'm quite sure that for me personally every monitor currently on the market would be fine for me when it comes to input lag.

Moral of the story, don't say no to a monitor with slightly worse than normal input lag. Just be on your toes when the numbers get into the 40'ish ranges.
 
If your looking at the BenQ XL2410T, then the latest revision is the XL2420T which is around the same price (£270ish?) and there is a XL2420TX out soon (end of this month??) which includes Nvidias 3D Vision 2. Only downside is that they are only 1080p.

I don't know if that helped lol...
 
I was looking at the Benq until I read the reviews saying it was rubbish at anything other than games and that it was a TN panel. I feel I should be looking towards IPS...

The more I read, the less sure I am lol
 
R088ieS86 said:
Benq XL2410T 24" For gaming. (Very low input lag)
Then use:
Dell UltraSharp U2412M to watch movies. (Displays colours so very well)

YOUR BASKET
1 x Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey £299.99
1 x Benq XL2410T 24" TRUE 120Hz 3D Widescreen LED Monitor - Black £284.99
Total : £601.48 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Saved you £100 :)
Click to expand...

If I were you and had the budget/desk space/wanting the best, then I would do this ^^ but with the xl2420t/tx :-)
 
3D and IPS is a no-go. All currently available 3d monitors are using a tn-panel.
High resolution displays (2560x1440 or 2560x1600) are all IPS based (if you consider S-PLS as a IPS variant).

Pick one or the other, you can't have a higher than Full HD resolution monitor and 3d. (Unless as suggested you go for dual monitor ;))
 
naefeart said:
Haha, thanks interesting solution.

It sounds like there isn't one monitor that satisfies all my needs equally. Two monitors might get me hung atm, so I'll look back at the reviews for the Benq.

No other options?
Click to expand...

I wouldnt bother with the Benq XL2410T to be honest. Theres a newer version thats meant to be due at the end of the month

BENQ XL2420T and BENQ XL2420TX. 2nd one has built in 3d emitter i think

http://gaming.benq.com/gaming-monitor/xl2420t

[edit] Sorry just noticed Adam123 said the same thing :)
 
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Axeia - Im not interested in 3D, but I read some comments that 120hz in 2D was producing some very smooth results. I was just concerned that I should be looking at 120hz monitors.

With regards to resolution, again I am not bothered. HD would be the minimum I think. It's not a must to game at 2560x1440+ but if the right monitor came along and used this natively, I would go for it and probably pick up another gfx card.

Thinking about the dual set up (Dell and BenQ), it seems a bit wasteful atm.

Perhaps I'm looking do deeply into this, but really I just want something that combines the best bits of the dell and BenQ.

Is there anything on the horizon perhaps?
 
Well 3D and 120Hz are the same thing at the moment I think. At least I haven't noticed a 120Hz monitor that doesn't 3d or the other way around yet.

PCM2 or BaddAss might have some more insight in what's yet to come but as far as I know no one is working on a 120Hz IPS.
 
Axeia said:
Well 3D and 120Hz are the same thing at the moment I think. At least I haven't noticed a 120Hz monitor that doesn't 3d or the other way around yet.

PCM2 or BaddAss might have some more insight in what's yet to come but as far as I know no one is working on a 120Hz IPS.
Click to expand...

The current IPS technology isn't responsive enough to make a good go at 120Hz and provide the kind of smoothness benefits you'd associate with this. There may be other restrictions as well - I have spoken with LG and Dell about this and they are aware of the consumer desire for such products but have simply said they are 'impractical at this time'. So don't expect anything in the near future.

There is currently a handful of monitors which make use of passive 3D technologies such as LG Display's FPR (Film Pattern Retarder) which don't require 120Hz output - although they may interpolate frames and claim something like 'TruMotion 120Hz' which is similar to what TVs do. Some models using this technology include the LG W2342P and HP 2311GT. Given your budget OP you could indeed have 'one of each' (a highly responsive 120Hz TN panel monitor and IPS panel monitor) but I would also suggest you have a look at the S27A750D in the meantime which offers an excellent mix of colour quality, contrast and responsiveness. You could kill two birds with one stone if you don't require supreme colour accuracy, an adjustable screen or a tight pixel pitch. But do note you require certain lighting conditions otherwise reflections will be an issue - this is touched upon in more detail in the review.
 
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Thanks PCM2, I've read the reviews on the S27A750D and S27A950D and there is a lot to like there. The 950 particularly so, but seems the stand causes some issues. The 750 lacks some connections, but nothing too serious.

Bit concerned about the viewing angles, having seen an HP monitor with similar viewing angles 160/160 degress being almost unusable - the colours would shift as you moved your head in normal use.

I'll go away and read up some more on these two.

Cheers
 
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