£450 Budget...

RoEy · 15 Feb 2009 at 22:49

Hi all,

I'm building my system next Friday and I'm a bit unsure about what monitor setup I should go for. I have a budget of £450 and I've been looking at the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3 Professional Gaming monitor for the last few weeks. Would it be better to get this monitor or 2 cheaper 24" monitors instead and if so which ones? Or is it better to get the Nec and have quality over quantity?

I'll be watching movies, gaming, surfing, web design, and graphics....all the usual.

I'll be getting a 4870x2 to go with it.

Hope someone can help.

Cheers,

RoEy

RoEy · 16 Feb 2009 at 11:08

Duff-Man · 16 Feb 2009 at 12:24

If you can afford the extra £200 over your budget, the Hazro HZ30W is working out just great for me

Still excellent value for a 30" screen.

RoEy · 16 Feb 2009 at 13:09

Duff-Man said:
If you can afford the extra £200 over your budget, the Hazro HZ30W is working out just great for me Still excellent value for a 30" screen.

lol! Jesus...I'm already spending £2500 in total on my build.

30" would be way to big for my little study. Thanks anyway.

RoEy

philjohn · 16 Feb 2009 at 14:30

HP LP2475W can be had for under your budget, IPS so has good viewing angles and very good input selection (2 DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, Component, S-Video, Composite). Only drawback is that it's wide-gamut, but if you aren't doing colour critical work you'll get used to it very quickly (especially using some of the preset profiles and RGB settings).

RoEy · 16 Feb 2009 at 15:15

philjohn said:
HP LP2475W can be had for under your budget, IPS so has good viewing angles and very good input selection (2 DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, Component, S-Video, Composite). Only drawback is that it's wide-gamut, but if you aren't doing colour critical work you'll get used to it very quickly (especially using some of the preset profiles and RGB settings).

So is it better than the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3? It's a lot uglier but if it performs better then I'll get it.

RoEy

cataferal · 16 Feb 2009 at 15:25

HP LP2475W is definitely a viable candidate. As far as I'm aware, it's currently the only H-IPS panel on the market within that price range. I say take the plunge with that one.

philjohn · 16 Feb 2009 at 18:34

RoEy said:
So is it better than the NEC MultiSync 24WMGX3? It's a lot uglier but if it performs better then I'll get it.

RoEy

I actually think it's a lot better looking that the NEC!

The stand isn't as bad as it looks in the photos, and you hardly spend any time looking at it (mine is normally covered in some document or another).

RoEy · 16 Feb 2009 at 23:00

Thanks for the info. Still not sure if it's better to get two cheaper 24" monitors though and they'll be faster for gaming.

RoEy

cataferal · 16 Feb 2009 at 23:29

Cheaper screens will almost always be TN technology, as you may well know. The problem is that, as screens get bigger, the poor viewing angles inherent in this technology become more and more evident. At 24" or more you'll likely see a huge gamma/colour variance between the top and bottom of the screen (unless you sit a long way away from it).

Personally speaking, 24" gives me more than enough desktop space to play with, and the response times associated with VA/IPS panels have never detracted from my gaming experience. I've owned a TN before (Samsung 226BW), and although I was pleased with it, I'm glad I made the upgrade. The difference in the colour fidelity and black depth is credible, and justifies the price.

Anyway, the NEC GMX3 seems to be more in line with your requirements, as a gamer/movie-viewer. It seems to be designed with media-based entertainment in mind (and even includes a remote), while the LP2475W is advertised as a professional industry-standard monitor for a colour intensive work. Either way, the HP will handle anything you throw at it beautifully, but you may need a calibration tool (and patience) to get the most out of it.

Hope that helps.

RoEy · 16 Feb 2009 at 23:46

cataferal said:
Cheaper screens will almost always be TN technology, as you may well know. The problem is that, as screens get bigger, the poor viewing angles inherent in this technology become more and more evident. At 24" or more you'll likely see a huge gamma/colour variance between the top and bottom of the screen (unless you sit a long way away from it).

Personally speaking, 24" gives me more than enough desktop space to play with, and the response times associated with VA/IPS panels have never detracted from my gaming experience. I've owned a TN before (Samsung 226BW), and although I was pleased with it, I'm glad I made the upgrade. The difference in the colour fidelity and black depth is credible, and justifies the price.

Anyway, the NEC GMX3 seems to be more in line with your requirements, as a gamer/movie-viewer. It seems to be designed with media-based entertainment in mind (and even includes a remote), while the LP2475W is advertised as a professional industry-standard monitor for a colour intensive work. Either way, the HP will handle anything you throw at it beautifully, but you may need a calibration tool (and patience) to get the most out of it.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your help. I'll keep looking into it.

RoEy