Hate to do this... but spec me?

Frame352

Frame352

Frame352

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I have to call on the expert advice of OcUKers, as my knowledge of modern day monitors is severely lacking (yeah, still using CRT).

Anyway, my little bro needs a monitor, 22-24". While he'll be using it for surfing, watching the occasional movie etc, his primary use will be gaming. He says he'd prefer visual quality over real estate, so if there is a 22" which looks better than a 24" in a given price range, he'd take it.

Speaking of price range, he'll spend up to £350 if necessary, but would prefer to spend less if possible. So I was thinking maybe some kind soul could recommend something at maybe the circa £200-250 mark, and then something again at the max range of his budget so he can compare a few reviews.

As I say, modern monitors are something I'm completely unfamiliar with (and so is he to be fair), so I can't even narrow it down to a particular panel type. What I can do is tell you that viewing angles aren't important to him, as he'll be the only one looking at it at any time. He's also concerned about depth of blacks - he plays a lot of games with darker surroundings (L4D, STALKER series etc), so if there are any screens that do nice dark blacks, he'd appreciate hearing about them.

Finally, he's not really interested in 3D gaming at the moment, and having a huge range of connection types and what not isn't a concern either.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate all replies :)
 
Dell U2311 for image quality - much better than TN based screens.

Not as fast as TN based screen on paper but in reality appears to perform fast enough. About £250.

Or the Samsung XL2370, highly regarded image quality for the fast TN screens. About £210.

Very simplistic lesson.

IPS screens give the best picture quality in terms of colour reproduction and stability from different angles. Also sharper. But this technology is slower. More expensive.

TN screens are fast but at the cost of image quality. Colours can cahnge when viewing angle changes slightly. Less sharp. Cheaper.

So for most users there needs to be some compromise. The two I have listed above, from my research represent the IPS with the best speed and the TN with the best image quality within your price range of upto £250.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
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HP ZR24w just fits in his price range, personally I'd go for that as you get a 16:10 ratio and a slightly bigger screen than the u2311h
 
I responded based on the OP's request for recommendations circa £200 to £250.

The HP is well beyond this range.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
+1 for the U2311H - it fits in the optimal price range and is generally an excellent monitor. It features a 1920x1080 23in 16:9 E-IPS panel, so a proper 8 bit panel, with accurate colours, wide viewing angles and still decent responsiveness. Here is an in-depth review.

As you state the maximum budget could go up to £350, then the HP ZR24w is certainly worth considering. The image quality is similar to the Dell (it uses an E-IPS panel too) but it is a 24in, 1920x1200 16:10 panel - if you look at this you will see how the screen size compares to the dell (also the extra vertical pixels helps in desktop use as well as games). Here is an in-depth review of the HP.
 
Thanks guys for those great posts :)

Bro will have a look-see at the thread when he gets over here today, and will check out reviews for your recommendations. Thanks again fellas, I/we really appreciate it!
 
Hi everyone. This is Frame's brother. I just wanted to say thanks for all your help. The linked-to articles were of great benefit in particular!

Just one last thing as Columbo would say. I'm favouring the Dell at the moment in every respect except size. Coming from a 22" 4:3 CRT, I'd be losing 2 inches off the height of the display, and while I'd be gaining that (and more) horizontally, I think I'd really notice that lack of height :(

The HP on the other hand would lose only 0.5" in height, but gain over 2.5" across, so it would actually feel like a bigger monitor. My concern with the HP is to do with the fact that it seems to need calibrating? In particular, I refer to one of the "Cons" from the TFT Central reveiw;

Poor black depth and contrast ratio at default contrast setting. Can be corrected, but will sacrifice gamma and shadow detail unless combined with proper calibration
Click to expand...

What does "proper calibration" mean in this context? I'm guessing some third party hardware is needed or something? Are any owners of this particular model (HP ZR24w) able to comment?

Basically, I'm at the point where I think I'd be happy spending the extra money over the Dell, simply so I don't feel like I'm going to a smaller monitor, but only if the issues mentioned in the review can be overcome simply enough.

Hope that makes sense, and all thoughts are welcome :)

Liam.
 
any IPS panel is better than a TN panel for quaiity TNs are better for speed.

i have a iiyama prolite e2407HDS. its not as nice as others but good for the price
 
If your an FPS player (and don't mind the viewing angle on TNs) the 120Hz Samsung 2233rz is worth a look. With the right settings the color quality is decent (tho if you look for it you can see the dithering compared to an IPS panel) with deep blacks. With the low input latency, fast response times and 120Hz its excellent for fast paced gaming.

One thing I like about this panel too - with the right settings you can make it look display wise like a CRT by turning up sharpness and brightness which works nicely for gaming.
 
Thanks for that Rroff. He says he'll definitely look at some reviews, as staying at 120Hz would be ideal. In terms of size, there's not much difference between it and the 23" Dell, with the Samsung being a smidgen taller.
 
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