22" vs 20" at same resolution, what to buy?

HarleyDave77 · 7 Jun 2007 at 09:38

I am currently undecided on which one to buy between these two LG models.

LG L204WT 20" Widescreen
- Viewable Area: 20” Widescreen (1680x1050 Resolution)
- Response Time: 5ms
- Contrast Ratio: 2000:1
- £170.36 inc VAT

LG L226WTQ 22" Widescreen
- Viewable Area: 22” Widescreen (1680x1050 Resolution)
- Response Time: 2ms
- Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
- £211.49 inc VAT

The differences are contrast ratio and response time. My dilemma is this, if they have the identical native resolution which one would look best given one being 20" and the other 22"?

Also could you please confirm if a BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC2 640MB would be more the capable of handling such resolutions? I did some research and it seems so in reviews, they usually suggest get the 320MB version for resolutions up to 1440x900 and the 640MB for 1680x1050, but I am asking here since you folks have real life experience with such setups and would be definately better then just benchmarks/reviews found online.

Thanks in advance for your help and explanations and most importantly your suggestions.

Regards,

HD77

ihatelag · 7 Jun 2007 at 10:51

FYI it's 3000:1 dynamic contrast ratio - the actual contrast ratio is 1000:1. It's Marketing at its best

Will_3rd · 7 Jun 2007 at 10:57

the 20" will give a sharper image, the 22" might look a bit stretched at that res

FYI go for the OC version of 640, save a bit of cash over the OC2 version and clock it yourself.

fish99 · 7 Jun 2007 at 11:07

ihatelag said:
FYI it's 3000:1 dynamic contrast ratio - the actual contrast ratio is 1000:1. It's Marketing at its best

Yeah agree 100%, contrast ratios on LCDs (including HDTVs) have become a completely meaningless spec. Plus the difference between 2 ms and 5 ms is probably not noticeable at all.

I think you should decide based on the size. If you want the bigger screen, get the 22". It's true the 20" will look a little sharper, but the extra size will be more immersive for gaming.

HarleyDave77 · 7 Jun 2007 at 12:30

Thank you all for your feedback.

Given the input till now, the best choice seems to be the 20". Sharper image is always a bonus. And as fish99 said most likely the 5 vs 2 ms wont be noticeable.

Will_3rd, thanks for the advice, but for £10 difference, why not have it clocked already and covered by warranty? Or is oc'ing a card still covered by such a warranty?

Once again thanks all for your help and advice,

HD77