best 19" monitor for gaming and other general use?

Limenote

Limenote

Limenote

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hey guys, just thought id ask your advice here about monitors, i currently have a 3 year old 15" sharp tft and it just isnt cutting it with my new 7800 so im looking to upgrade to something around a 19" but im getting confused with all this talk about refresh rates and response times, can someone please put it in plain english and tell me which monitor is the best choice for my needs?

my budget can stretch to £300 but id rather not

thanks in advance
 
lots of them will suffice
i have the xerox 19 8ms
looks good and glass fronted -easy to clean, good with pesky meddling kids, pointing on the screen and the like, dvi and analogue, £290ish at OC. correction £260ish now-bargain
 
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Vegeta said:
A lot of people were recommending the Samsung 913N here a while back, not sure if this is still the monitor of choice?
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Certainly still an excellent choice. I think if you're looking for a gaming / office screen then the Samsung 913N and Neovo F419 are very good choices and help keep costs nice and low too. There is also the Samsung 930BF which is an excellent gaming screen, and marginally faster than the 913N. Won't go into details as the OP has asked to keep it basic, but these would be my recommendations at the moment. You could always try the TFT Selector here to help you decide, updated with all the top models :)
 
oh hey, thanks a lot guys for the help! i went for the xerox in the end as it looks like a pretty nice monitor and the design is rad too :)
 
Im in the same boat i want an excellent 19" monitor for pure gaming, my budget is £340.
Whats the Samsung SM-970P like is that the best one i can afford?
 
bakes0310 said:
Im in the same boat i want an excellent 19" monitor for pure gaming, my budget is £340.
Whats the Samsung SM-970P like is that the best one i can afford?
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i would like to know too, it looks lush in my opinion
 
it's a good screen, but there are faster screens out there for gaming really. The Samsung 930BF, Viewsonic VX924 and VX922 are arguably some of the fastest screens in the market right now and within budget. the 970P is much more of an all round screen, with wider viewing angles and a true 8 bit colour depth, but for a gamer, the others might be more suited
 
samsung 930B is better are you sure its quite a bit cheaper.
I know im one of these ppl that think the more expensive it is the better the product is :p
 
Ive just found the specs for my current monitor:

HP Compaq Pavilion F1703 17'' product specifications
Category Monitor Brand HP Compaq
Screen size 17'' Technology TFT active matrix
Brightness 250 cd/m² Contrast ratio 350:1
Dot pitch 0.26mm Average response time 25ms
Colour support 24-bit (16.7M colours) Maximum resolution 1280 x 1024
Maximum refresh rate 75Hz Interface VGA (HD-15)
Compatibility PC Max Horizontal viewing angle 140°
Max Vertical viewing angle 120° Audio output No audio output
Colour Silver Width 40.4cm
Height 48.2cm Depth 27.4cm
Weight 5.5kg

So how would that compare with the Samsung SM-960BF 19" LCD Monitor
would i notice a huge difference in my picture quality in games.
 
bakes0310 said:
samsung 930B is better are you sure its quite a bit cheaper.
I know im one of these ppl that think the more expensive it is the better the product is :p
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For gaming, yes. Ok, i'll go into more depth to set your mind at ease.

The Samsung 930BF uses TN Film panel technology whihc is traditionally the cheapest to manufacturer and has been widely used in the 17" and 19" market. It is also traditionally the most responsive panel technology in the market and has therefore been used widely in "gamers screens". The problem with TN Film is that viewing angles are pretty restrictive, especially in the vertical field. The colour depth is only 6 bit as well (in fact only achieving this through a process called dithering). Black depth is not always very deep and movie playback is often hampered by noise.

On the other hand, the Samsung 970P uses PVA panel technology which is manufactuered by Samsung themselves. This is traditionally more of a 'premium' technology and offers wide viewing angles, a true 8 bit colour depth with no need for dirthering, better black levels and often smoother movie playback. However, this technology was always pretty slow and not really suited to fast gaming. With the introduction of overdrive over the last 6 months or so, Samsung have managed to improve response time enough to make their 6ms PVA generation (like the 970P) suitable for gaming, and can offer some excellent all round performance.

However, at the same time, overdrive has also been used to boost response times in the TN Film market, and the TN Film sector still provide arguably the fastest panels around, and are most suited to gamers. Models like the Samsung 930BF, Viewsonic VX924/VX922 and Hyundai Q90U all use TN Film panels and are very popular with gamers. These offer an edge over even the fastest 19" PVA and MVA panels (like the 970P and models like the Viewsonic VP930). These models are still very fast (thanks to overdrive) and good for gaming. However, the TN models still have the edge.

The 970P is certainly a bit more of an 'all round' screen, but if you're looking for a pure gaming screen, you would be better saving the money and getting one of the TN screens which are more suited to your needs anyway.

hope that helps explain, price isn't everything :)
 
bakes0310 said:
Ive just found the specs for my current monitor:

HP Compaq Pavilion F1703 17'' product specifications
Category Monitor Brand HP Compaq
Screen size 17'' Technology TFT active matrix
Brightness 250 cd/m² Contrast ratio 350:1
Dot pitch 0.26mm Average response time 25ms
Colour support 24-bit (16.7M colours) Maximum resolution 1280 x 1024
Maximum refresh rate 75Hz Interface VGA (HD-15)
Compatibility PC Max Horizontal viewing angle 140°
Max Vertical viewing angle 120° Audio output No audio output
Colour Silver Width 40.4cm
Height 48.2cm Depth 27.4cm
Weight 5.5kg

So how would that compare with the Samsung SM-960BF 19" LCD Monitor
would i notice a huge difference in my picture quality in games.
Click to expand...


well that's a pretty old screen. Colour reproduction has come on a lot since the days of these type of panels. Black depth is improved, brightness is certainly much better and i think you would notice a marked improvement in image colour levels and vibrancy. If you find that ok for gaming then you will certainly have no issues with the MUCH faster models like the 960BF etc. The extra screen size will also be really nice and add immersion feeling in games.
 
just followed them for years really. Long term member of this forum, just read a lot about them, run a site about them (TFTCentral.co.uk) and generally take a big interest in the industry :)
 
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