Best alternative to S-IPS?

nitro666 · 27 Dec 2007 at 22:47

Hi everyone,

I really like overclockers.co.uk and that is where I buy my computer parts from now even though I live outside the UK. My next purchase is a montior and I want the NEC MultiSync LCD2690WUXi 26" model but I have been waiting for this for over a month and it seems to be out of stock all the time.

The primary reason why I want this particular model is because it has an S-IPS panel actually (H-IPS panel to be more accurate). I current have an 18.1" NEC (LCD1850E, IPS panel, 5+ yrs old) and a 19" Samsung (910v, PVA panel, 3+ yrs old). Among many things I am a graphic designer and color accuracy and wide-angles without color shift is very important. My current NEC is perfect with this and the difference with the samsung is quite big so I am quite hesitant with other panels other than IPS. However my current screens are quite old now, so I am pretty sure the technology today has drastically improved so I am considering a different model other than the NEC LCD2690WUXi and I need to select one from the following:

- Samsung SM-245T 24" (WS Samsung S-PVA panel)
- LG L245WP 24" (WS AU Optronics P-MVA panel)
- Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP-HC 24" (WS Samsung S-PVA panel)

I rarely play games on my computer, so its mainly Photoshop sRGB color mode for web work and occassionaly RGB and CMYK for print work... Quality is top priority.

So from the above list, the Samsung is the most expensive and it seems to be very well spec'd however it apparently uses the same panel as the Dell 2407WFP-HC Ultrasharp except that it doesn't have any ghosting issues that users reported with the Dell. I like the looks of the Dell and features but it is the cheapest from the lot so not sure if there is a quality cost for this such as the ghosting issue. So apparently the Samsung SM-245T is better than the Dell 2407WFP-HC model. So now it's the LG L245WP versus Samsung SM-245T

The LG has a variation with the panel so not sure which is best from these two and it has more brightness. On the other hand the Samsung has faster response time so that's a plus for the occasional game I play and higher contrasts which is more important for me than the extra brightness I guess...

Can anyone share some opinions please?

Psycho Sonny · 28 Dec 2007 at 02:18

first of all welcome to the forums

i have a nec multisync 20wgx2 pro and its probably the best monitor you can get apart from its 26inch big brother, this is no longer being manufactured so is very hard to get a hold of, so i would advise you to grab one quick if you want one, or you could try and see if someone is selling theirs, theres no trading outside the members market so you will have to make another 249 posts i think before you can gain access to them (no spamming)

so if you want a s-ips either the 20inch nec or the 30 inch dell is the best way to go, im pretty sure the dell uses ips, or phone OcUK - the actual shop and enquire about the 26inch, maybe the only order them when someone places a pre-order, because im sure someone said after they pre-ordered it they were told stock would be arriving within 3 days, so just phone the shop and ask its the best way to know whats going on with that particular monitor.

20 inch nec
26 inch nec
30 inch dell

other than those 3 monitors your better off with the samsung you mentioned then the dell 2407, after that its a lottery when it comes to colours, generally speaking you get what you pay for, so the more expensive the screen the better it is, so although the 20 inch nec is expensive, it is worth it

nitro666 · 28 Dec 2007 at 12:36

I didn't know that the Dell 30" (3007WFP-HC) has an s-ips panel but it turns out it does, it has a WS LG.Philips S-IPS panel. That's great and it almost cost as much as the Nec 26" however the only problem (for me at least) is the very high resolution. I am not sure if it will be a problem to design web graphics at 2560 x 1600 resolution, so I will have to make a few tests. The screen will be massive infront of me so there are other practical issues to consider. For video-editing, photo-editing, cad, print work, etc it's a dream! but my main business is web so I have to think this through

Right now I am imagining a 2560x1600 in a small monitor which would be a nightmare as everything would be very tiny but on a 30" it might actually be comfortable. We'll see, if not like you said, I'll pre-order the Nec 26", unfortunately anything less than 24" will not work for me as I want to step up from the 19"/20" size.

nitro666 · 28 Dec 2007 at 13:38

It turns out that 2560x1600 will be a problem for me. I usually have my applications maximized and with that resolution everything will be miles apart

I current work with dual screens and have the same width, but of course apps maximimzed on one screen not both. 1920x1200 is perfect! I finding it a problem to work on 1280 width when I am designing web sites that look good on 1280x1024 as I don't have enough room, so I am going to stick with my original descision to buy the 26" NEC. I might consider the Samsung SM-245T 24" even though its not an s-ips panel but on the other hand since I am doing mostly web work not many users view my work with an s-ips so we'll see...

Psycho Sonny · 29 Dec 2007 at 01:55

why dont you just resize the application to the size you want it to be? the 30 inch dell is one of the best screens you can get, maybe the samsung 30 inch or apple screen are slightly better, it would be a shame to opt for a small screen just because you want to maximise your applications, the whole point of the dell 30 incher is that you can open 100 different applications at the same time and see them all, failing that, you could always use the screena t a lower res when your "working" and then when you wanna watch a movie or view digital photos whack it into full res, if you can afford it get the 30 inch dell, i want one, they are bringing out a new model soon, after a few reviews hit the market ill make my decision

Kendo Nagasaki · 29 Dec 2007 at 19:57

I recently bought the Samsung 245T after a lot of reading around and it seemed to tick all the right boxes. However, I returned it after quickly noticing that there was a buzzing sound coming from the rear of the panel when it was switched on. I left it a couple of hours but the buzz sound didn't decrease in the slightest.

I remember reading a review that hinted at this buzzing sound but i thought that it wouldn't be a problem but the sound was so annoying that it was enough to give you a headache.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17764291&page=5

MR.B · 30 Dec 2007 at 12:29

nitro666 said:
It turns out that 2560x1600 will be a problem for me. I usually have my applications maximized and with that resolution everything will be miles apart I current work with dual screens and have the same width, but of course apps maximimzed on one screen not both. 1920x1200 is perfect!

Theres a Dell 3008 coming out soon, i have a thread here with info on it. It has 117% colour gamut which is way higher than most monitors - so great for graphic design.
I find it quite bizarre the 2560x1920 res puts you off... I do graphic design aswell and the more space the better, your'll then have all the tool boxes and so on out of the way right at the edges of the screen, and a massive load of space in the middle to work with.

Spyhop · 30 Dec 2007 at 12:56

The mindset of having to maximise whatever application you're currently using gets ridiculous when you have a high-resolution widescreen display.

Arcane · 31 Dec 2007 at 11:01

A collegue at work uses the 30" Apple monitor for high-end photoshop work, he's very happy with it but reckons it's a bit overkill (size wise) and thinks he would have done nicely with a 24".

fish99 · 31 Dec 2007 at 12:10

nitro666 said:
Among many things I am a graphic designer and color accuracy and wide-angles without color shift is very important.

Do not buy PVA then, they have a noticeable (but little talked about) problem with some dark details fading out when your head is slightly off from the centre of the screen. S-IPS doesn't do this at all. No idea about MVA.

kleox64 · 31 Dec 2007 at 17:43

there is no alternative, any other display technology has contrast shift.

MVA would be the next best thing if you really really wanted to cut back but only as a last resort, there is contrast shift on about 15-20% of the screen. PVA we are talking about 30-50% or so, but this is very subjective and based on a 24" panel.