Dell 2405FPW to Sammy 26" (LCD TV's for gaming?)

GordyR · 22 Jan 2006 at 20:01

MoNkeE said:
I must say, it does look quite impressive.

What sort of price did you pay? Any noticable ghosting?

Ta,

-RaZ

I paid a little more than the going rate online as I wanted it there and then so went to Curry's. You should be able to find it for around the same price as the Samsung, maybe a touch more.

As for ghosting, none at all as far as I can tell. I used a Hyundai Imagequest L90D+ as my PC monitor before and can't see any difference in that regard. For PC use it really is as good as it gets right now.

MoNkeE · 22 Jan 2006 at 20:35

Hmm, just to throw some more ideas out there:

Atec AV320W 32" HD Ready LCD TV - 2 Year Warranty & LG Panel

I've just found the above on a competitor's website for £750 inc. VAT.

To quote one of the reviews on the site:

Well...the big box arrived...

The Av320W is a cracking looking set, very nice cabinet...

Picture quality via vga or component is stunning, especially when running a 1:1 pixel mapping.

Problems? Two big ones! I have not been able to find Sky remote codes so am back to using the Tv's own remote and two, the on screen menu will not let me into the tuning setup menu... I am waiting for ****** to come back to me on that one!

If anyone has the codes, it would be appreciated if they would post them here!

DJ

For £750, it looks fantastic I must say, and I'd probably wall mount it to give me some space. 8ms response time, which certainly sounds good... Here's the product specs according to the site:

* Wall type TV of Compact and Slim Design
* Low power - consuming design (less than 40% of past Tubes)
* 8ms response time
* Eco - friendly system
* Long - life backlight, for 60,000 hours
* HD Ready Function(480i, 720p, 1080i)
* DVI, LCD Monitor
* 10W X 2 Internal Speaker, Home Theatre
* VIDEO, DVD PLAYER, PLAYSTATION etc
* TV SYSTEM NTSC- Closed Caption, Parents Control PAL/SECAM & Teletext
* Tuner System NTSC // PAL, SECAM
* Sound system M // B/G, D/K, I, L/L
* Stereo MTS,SAP // NICAM
* Teletext Closed Caption // TELETEXT
* Parents Control
* PC DVI, Analog RGB(15P D-SUB)
* VIDEO S-VHS X 1 , COMPONENT(Y,Pb,Pr) X 2, COMPOSITE X 2
* AUDIO PC Audio Input X 1, RCA L/R X 3
* AUDIO Head-phone X 1
* Speaker 10W X 2 (Stereo)
* Power Consumption Max. 160W, Min. 5W
* AC Input 100-240V (50, 60Hz)

I can't seem to find their website though - Atec seems to be a common name!

Is this worthy of looking further into?

Thanks,

-RaZ

GordyR · 22 Jan 2006 at 20:58

Looks pretty good mate. The only drawbacks I can see when comparing it to the LG are as follows:

1:1 Pixel mapping only supported on the VGA port whereas the LG offers it on the DVI and HDMI ports. (Incidentally it is possible that the Sammy does support 1:1 on the VGA port also but it too doesn't do it on the digital inputs)

Only has a DVI port whereas the LG has both DVI and HDMI.

More expensive than the LG.

To be honest you would probably be more than happy with any of the LCD's mentioned so far. The LG's main selling point is it's fantastic PC quality, hence my recommendation. But the other sets should look fantastic also as long as you only use the VGA port.

MoNkeE · 22 Jan 2006 at 21:05

GordyR said:
1:1 Pixel mapping only supported on the VGA port whereas the LG offers it on the VGA/DVI and HDMI ports. (Incidentally it is possible that the Sammy does support 1:1 on the VGA port also but it too doesn't do it on the digital inputs)

I can't see this being a huge problem - I've already purchased a Panasonic AE700 Projector which will deal with all my consoles - this will literally just be for TV and my PC. And I can't see VGA letting the quality down any.

GordyR said:
Only has a DVI port whereas the LG has both DVI and HDMI.

As I said, this screen will just be for PC and TV - I shan't be needing HDMI

GordyR said:
More expensive than the LG.

Is the extra £100 worth it for the extra 6" though? £100 for 6" sounds good to me, but I'm far from up to date with this sorta thing

And thanks for your help GordyR - you have no idea how helpful you've been to me tonight

Thanks,

-RaZ

GordyR · 22 Jan 2006 at 21:47

MoNkeE said:
Is the extra £100 worth it for the extra 6" though? £100 for 6" sounds good to me, but I'm far from up to date with this sorta thing

Whoop! Somehow I hadn't noticed that this set was 32". It certainly sounds like a very good deal although I am naturally a tiny bit skeptical at that price. I suggest you ask around at avforums. There is more than likely someone over there that will have that exact TV and should be willing to help you out.

MoNkeE · 22 Jan 2006 at 23:25

Cheers GordyR - will sign up to there ASAP. Having trouble at the moment - not showing the security image

Ta,

-RaZ

Kamakazie! · 22 Jan 2006 at 23:59

the samsung LE26R41 up there will support 1:1 mapping at 1360x768 but only over VGA. It does not support a PC signal on the hdmi port....
the new 26M51 might support PC over the hdmi port though.... its got a lower response time than the R41 too... quite a bit lower so its seems. Not sure about the LG but the lower the response time the better for games.... the R41 is still a decent response time and it should be fine for games.

Kamakazie! · 23 Jan 2006 at 00:04

seems the M51 is like the R41 and only supports PC over D-Sub.... if your running over a 3m or less cable though i doubt you will notice a loss in quality on a decent thick vgi lead. My brothers on a 3m cable and its perfect pixel for pixel...

GordyR · 23 Jan 2006 at 00:18

Kamakazie! said:
the samsung LE26R41 up there will support 1:1 mapping at 1360x768 but only over VGA. It does not support a PC signal on the hdmi port....
the new 26M51 might support PC over the hdmi port though.... its got a lower response time than the R41 too... quite a bit lower so its seems. Not sure about the LG but the lower the response time the better for games.... the R41 is still a decent response time and it should be fine for games.

I can't remember off hand but I think the R41 has a response time of 16ms. The LG is 8ms.

It's all dependant on what you intend on using the LCD for primarily really. And on how many devices you plan on hooking up to it. The main selling point for the LG is it's PC connectivity. 1:1 Pixel mapping on VGA/DVI/HDMI. Plus it is one of the few sets that offers both a DVI and HDMI port. It's perfect for me as I have my PC connected through DVI, XBox 360 through component, DVD player through HDMI and once the PS3 becomes available I will move the PC over to the VGA input and use an HDMI/DVI adaptor to have everything hooked up at once.

If you don't need all those connections then there are other TV's which should fit the bill just as nicely, all the TV's mentioned thus far are fantastic. But If you want the best options for connectivity to your PC then the LG is the way to go.

MoNkeE · 23 Jan 2006 at 13:28

GordyR said:
Whoop! Somehow I hadn't noticed that this set was 32". It certainly sounds like a very good deal although I am naturally a tiny bit skeptical at that price. I suggest you ask around at avforums. There is more than likely someone over there that will have that exact TV and should be willing to help you out.

Hey GordyR,

I did a bit of searching on the AV Forums and it seems a few people asked about the Atec screen. On the plus side, people recommended other 32" LCD screens at a VERY simular price. On the down side, no-one actually seems to own one to give a proper review.

I'm very tempted to just take the plunge and purchase it - atleast then I can give a proper in-depth review for those in the same boat as me! Besides, by the sounds of things, it uses an LG panel - and I shan't have a bad word said towards LG!

-RaZ

GordyR · 23 Jan 2006 at 13:40

MoNkeE said:
Hey GordyR,

I did a bit of searching on the AV Forums and it seems a few people asked about the Atec screen. On the plus side, people recommended other 32" LCD screens at a VERY simular price. On the down side, no-one actually seems to own one to give a proper review.

I'm very tempted to just take the plunge and purchase it - atleast then I can give a proper in-depth review for those in the same boat as me! Besides, by the sounds of things, it uses an LG panel - and I shan't have a bad word said towards LG!

-RaZ

Well good luck with it mate. I'd be very interested to hear how you get on with it should you decide to go for the Atec. Maybe it would be worth confirming before hand that you could return and swap it for another model should you not be happy. Although i'm not too sure which companies would allow that.

Regardless, the specs look fine and if it uses an LG panel then thats one less aspect to concern yourelf with. I'm sure you will be more than happy with your purchase. Good luck mate!

MoNkeE · 23 Jan 2006 at 13:55

I must say, thanks for your help - you've certainly helped me understand the useful aspects of LCD TV's for my purpose - IE 1:1 pixel mapping; I would've been gutted if I got a screen without this feature now that I know what it does!

Will also be wall mounting this, fixing some speakers above and to the side as well

Again, thanks to everyone for their input in this thread.

-RaZ

GordyR · 23 Jan 2006 at 14:06

MoNkeE said:
I must say, thanks for your help - you've certainly helped me understand the useful aspects of LCD TV's for my purpose - IE 1:1 pixel mapping; I would've been gutted if I got a screen without this feature now that I know what it does!

No problem mate, you're more than welcome.

MoNkeE said:
Will also be wall mounting this, fixing some speakers above and to the side as well

Sounds awesome, i'm sure it will look fantastic!

MoNkeE · 23 Jan 2006 at 16:28

Will update y'all once I get it.

Now just to sell my 2405FPW...

-RaZ

Mr Latte · 24 Jan 2006 at 01:34

Kamakazie! said:
the samsung LE26R41 up there will support 1:1 mapping at 1360x768 but only over VGA. It does not support a PC signal on the hdmi port....
the new 26M51 might support PC over the hdmi port though.... its got a lower response time than the R41 too... quite a bit lower so its seems. Not sure about the LG but the lower the response time the better for games.... the R41 is still a decent response time and it should be fine for games.

I think the new Samsungs like the Sony "s" & "v" models are 8ms. Probably a simular panel saying they have a joint fab lab in korea. Hdmi is a HDTV connection and isnt designed for PC resolutions hench why 1360x768 usually isnt supported. However custom resolutions based on 720p 1080i can be obtained via disabling "overscan" although compatbility does depend on the display.

Seems you guys really are into this 1:1 stuff but personally well i dont see the advantage 1:1 offers. It would be different if you were using Word or a lot of text based apps on a HDTV which isnt usually the case. Also many new games are supporting HDTV resolutions.

GordyR · 24 Jan 2006 at 09:59

Mr Latte said:
Seems you guys really are into this 1:1 stuff but personally well i dont see the advantage 1:1 offers. It would be different if you were using Word or a lot of text based apps on a HDTV which isnt usually the case. Also many new games are supporting HDTV resolutions.

It's a big deal if you are buying an LCD TV to replace your main PC display though.

Mr Latte · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:26

GordyR said:
It's a big deal if you are buying an LCD TV to replace your main PC display though.

Really i think its only text based apps that suffer, do any of you notice any scaling problems with an Xbox 360 or HD video (720p) which is all being scaled to the panels 1366x768, i think not because its very little scaling anyways.

Why not run a dual monitor setup with a cheapo perhaps even second hand additional TFT, do the normal text based PC stuff on the TFT but keep the HDTV for entertainment. a lot of people are even moving to laptops for their daily PC duties (email/surfing) different though if your still a heavy PC gamer but as i said HDTV resolutions are now available on many games and graphically id doubt theirs much difference in 1360x768 over 1280x720 and like a X360 or other 720p video the scaling isnt a problem.

Regarding the LG does it run a 1920x1080 interlaced sized desktop via DVI/HDMI? I dont think the Samsung offers that but some models like my Sony do.

GordyR · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:34

Mr Latte said:
Why not run a dual monitor setup with a cheapo perhaps even second hand additional TFT, do the normal text based PC stuff on the TFT but keep the HDTV for entertainment. If anything a lot of people are even moving to laptops for their daily PC duties, different though if your still a heavy PC gamer.

I

I think the point is, if you're going to be spending the better half of a grand on a TV and you have the intention of having it hooked up to your PC then you may as well get the best quality possible for your money and go with a 1:1 pixel mapping screen.

The dual monitor setup certainly is an option but I have always preferred the idea of having one single large screen to do everything. It's personal preference really. And as you say a lot of us are heavy gamers, for those in our position it just makes sense.

Mr Latte · 24 Jan 2006 at 11:39

see my edit above, cheers

GordyR · 24 Jan 2006 at 12:03

Mr Latte said:
Regarding the LG does it run a 1920x1080 interlaced sized desktop via DVI/HDMI? I dont think the Samsung offers that but some models like my Sony do.

I actually don't know the answer to this. I have never even contemplated running an interlaced desktop. I will have to get back to you on that one when I get a chance to play around with it.

Remember though that your Sony is in a completely different price bracket to the Sammy/LG and it's other competitors so I would expect it to offer a few extra features.