21.5" Dell monitor comparison.

Adster3000

Adster3000

Adster3000

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Dell ST2220M

Dell Ultrasharp U2211H

Are there any significant differences between these monitors that I'm not getting? Their specs are the same. Do the Ultrasharps have a much better picture or something? I've noticed they're priced much higher.

The cheaper one even has the 3 year next day swap warranty.
 
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The top one uses a TN panel, the bottom one uses an E-IPS panel. As a result the U2211H has much more accurate colours and wider viewing angles.

Here is some more info on the differences between panel types.
 
Andi you seem to know your stuff, here's a question.

i am an avid gamer and always have had mid range systems, but never really upgraded my monitor much currently i have a 19" samsung 913N, which i bought years ago and was very pleased with if I'm honest, sharp picture/fast response etc etc

yesterday i built a £700 system that i bought for someone from here and i got them the Ilyama offer 22" screen in this weeks deals, and its an absolutely fantastic screen it really is so sharp, clearly comparing it to mine i now feel waaaaay behind the times with monitors.

being a bit more of a gamer than the person i bought this latest system for i started comparing or at least trying to an LCD v LED screen.

my question is i was thinking if getting the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-027-AS&groupid=17&catid=949&subcat=

what i really wanna know is, is a LED screen a must for serious gaming now as there is so much marketing going into pushing LED's, i honestly don't know if its needed.

cheers buddy, and FYI my budget is around £120 I'm open to suggestions:confused:
 
One thing that I should highlight is that "LED" is still LCD. The "LED" bit just refers the the backlighting system of the LCD panel (the older technology still in use is CCFL). There is some more info on this here.

As for whether you should go for LED or CCFL backlighting for a gaming monitor - to be honest it really doesn't make much difference. The edge-lit implementation of LED backlighting used in all consumer/gamer level monitors offers the following benefits over CCFL:

- thinner profile monitors possible
- lower power usage
- can produce a more vibrant image
- turn on faster

However, these benefits don't really mean that LED backlighting is a must-have technology (the LED backlighting technology used in modern TVs is much more advanced and is used in conjunction with higher quality/price LCD panel technologies such as IPS and MVA) as it doesn't affect the response times, input lag, contrast ratio, viewing angles or black level. Instead I would recommend choosing your monitor based on its performance in tests which are relevant for gaming, such as:

- true response time (and therefore extent of ghosting)
- Input lag
- static contrast ratio
- black level
- colour accuracy
- viewing angles

As a result, if you are playing a lot of fast-paced games, then LG W2363D 120Hz TN panel (CCFL backlit monitor) is the one to get. It has very fast response times (very little ghosting) and zero input lag - so great for gaming. However, the colour accuracy isn't that great and viewing angles are rather poor (you move your head a bit and the colours shift). Here is a review.

If you are mainly playing less fast paced games and really want to prioritise image quality, then an E-IPS panel like the U2211H (which you mentioned in the first post) or the newer LED backlit U2312HM would be a good choice. These don't offer quite as low response time as the LG above (though still good enough for most gaming uses) but the input lag is pretty good (for the U2312HM it is almost zero like the LG), however the main reason to go for an E-IPS monitor like this is the excellent colour accuracy and wide viewing angles. There are also some fringe benefits with these dell monitors like a really nice stand and an excellent warranty service from Dell. Here is a review of the U2312HM and here is one for the U2211H, considering the current price of the U2312HM on OCUK (£200) this is really the one to go for of the two (as it is better suited for gaming and larger).
 
Personally, I would say yes - I put a premium on image quality, which the IPS monitors really do win on.

However, I guess you have to put these things in perspective, if spending on the extra £80 is really not what you want to do, or will mean you have to greatly compromise on other things you plan to spend your money on then it isn't a good idea (since for most uses the cheaper monitor will be "good enough").
 
cmndr_andi said:
Personally, I would say yes - I put a premium on image quality, which the IPS monitors really do win on.

However, I guess you have to put these things in perspective, if spending on the extra £80 is really not what you want to do, or will mean you have to greatly compromise on other things you plan to spend your money on then it isn't a good idea (since for most uses the cheaper monitor will be "good enough").
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I think you may have convinced me to go for the Ultrasharp.
I haven't purchased a TV/monitor in about 4 years, what's the situation with dead pixels nowadays? I'm incredibly fussy when it comes to tiny defects such as this and I understand "the industry" doesn't consider it a fault worth replacing unless there's something like 6 dead pixels?

Knowing what I'm like, I'd probably end up DSRing the monitor if it has a single dead pixel in the middle of the screen.
 
With Dell their "premium panel guarantee" will give you a next-day replacement if there is a single bright pixel. However, for deal pixels there is a tolerance level (up to 5 at 1080p I think) however it is always worth contacting Dell direct if you are not happy - as they are usually rather good with their warranty service for Ultrasharp customers. If you have no joy on that end - then DSR is always an option.

That said, I have bought a lot of ultrasharp monitors over the years (and have many friends who use them) and I don't think any of us have noticed a dead pixel - their quality control seems to be rather good.
 
Dell are very good for warranties.
My 22" Dell P2210H was showing a dimmer colour in the left hand side, they've replaced it with a 23" P23 model next working day.
 
Martini1991 said:
Dell are very good for warranties.
My 22" Dell P2210H was showing a dimmer colour in the left hand side, they've replaced it with a 23" P23 model next working day.
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I think I'm gonna go ahead with it then and purchase one at the end of the week. There's only 2 left in stock so knowing my luck, they'll have sold out. :(

Out of interest, what other monitors are there to be considered for this price range? I don't think there will be anything to compete with Dell's warranty. Just after personal preferences really.

Thanks for your help guys.
 
Well the only obvious price competitor that's an IPS display is the LG IPS231P-BN ...which is pretty well regarded and of course slightly bigger than the Dell, the Dell offering in the 23" category is over 200 pounds.
 
Moeks said:
Well the only obvious price competitor that's an IPS display is the LG IPS231P-BN ...which is pretty well regarded and of course slightly bigger than the Dell, the Dell offering in the 23" category is over 200 pounds.
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Any idea on the pros and cons of the monitors? I'd prefer the 21.5" as the pixel density will be higher. And obviously the price is a fair amount lower for the LG.
 
That LG uses basically the same E-IPS panel as the U2312HM, however looking at this review (and this one dedicated to the LG) the response time of the LG is not nearly as good as the Dell. Whether this matters or not really depends on whether you plan to do a lot of fast paced gaming.

If you are really set on a 21.5in 1080p IPS monitor, then you may want to consider waiting for the new Dell U2212HM, which should be out soon and based on the current pricing of the bigger U2312HM, it should be close to the price of the LG - but feature the lower response time of the other dells.
 
cmndr_andi said:
That LG uses basically the same E-IPS panel as the U2312HM, however looking at this review (and this one dedicated to the LG) the response time of the LG is not nearly as good as the Dell. Whether this matters or not really depends on whether you plan to do a lot of fast paced gaming.

If you are really set on a 21.5in 1080p IPS monitor, then you may want to consider waiting for the new Dell U2212HM, which should be out soon and based on the current pricing of the bigger U2312HM, it should be close to the price of the LG - but feature the lower response time of the other dells.
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Will the only difference be the response time? And will it be noticeable between the two? Just trying to determine whether it's worth waiting for, I don't want the price of this one to go down a month after I buy it. Would you wait?
I'm currently using an old Dell SE197FP. That's spec'd at 8ms so that's what I'm used to. Been using this for more than 5 years I think.

Glad there are knowledgeable people such as yourself on these forums, I appreciate the help.
 
I doubt you would even be able to tell the difference unless you did a side by side comparison with something like counter-strike. Having said that even if the price does change within a month, which prices do, it wont be by anything massively significant, 20 pounds at the very most I would think, but more like 4-6 pounds ...if at all.
 
Adster3000 said:
Will the only difference be the response time? And will it be noticeable between the two? Just trying to determine whether it's worth waiting for, I don't want the price of this one to go down a month after I buy it. Would you wait?
I'm currently using an old Dell SE197FP. That's spec'd at 8ms so that's what I'm used to. Been using this for more than 5 years I think.

Glad there are knowledgeable people such as yourself on these forums, I appreciate the help.
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Adster, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you've actually stated what you wanted to do with the monitor. The LG is certainly built as a budget IPS monitor and isn't as solid or sturdy as the Dell. The warranty and support of Dell is also a lot better - and if you so much as touch games I would advise against the LG. The differences in pixel responsiveness between the two monitors is quite significant in practice. If you are familiar with our reviews (website if you click my name) compare the performance of the EA232WMi (non-overdriven IPS, similar performance to the LG) and U2312HM when gaming and the differences are stark.
 
PCM2 said:
Adster, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you've actually stated what you wanted to do with the monitor. The LG is certainly built as a budget IPS monitor and isn't as solid or sturdy as the Dell. The warranty and support of Dell is also a lot better - and if you so much as touch games I would advise against the LG. The differences in pixel responsiveness between the two monitors is quite significant in practice. If you are familiar with our reviews (website if you click my name) compare the performance of the EA232WMi (non-overdriven IPS, similar performance to the LG) and U2312HM when gaming and the differences are stark.
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I apologise, the primary thing I use my machine for is gaming. What about the differences between the U2211H and the U2212HM, would you know anything significant about that? I don't want to rush and buy the U2211H if the newer model will be noticeably better. I did a quick search last night and found nothing, is there any sort of release date or anything?

Thanks for your input.
 
The U2212HM seems to be available here now, though the review from TFT Central is on it's way.

If its as close to the performance of the U2312HM as the U2211H was to the U2311H then I would imagine this new Dell 22in will have a good response time and rock-bottom input lag. So if you have your heart set on a higher-DPI 1080p IPS monitor for gaming then this will be the one to have. But I guess we will have to wait for the reviews to see.

The LG does look nice if you want a good value IPS monitor for general tasks, but according to this review it really isn't suited for gaming.
 
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