Is there a 'sweet spot' for resolution and screen size?

[Morgy]

I have been using 15" LCD monitor for about 6 years now. It has served me well for my games over the years but now I feel it is finally time to upgrade. I would like a good quality widescreen LCD, about £150-£200, but cannot decide on the size. I'm not so concerned about getting a bigger screen but rather a better, sharper picture. My question is what would be the best screen size for this, if there is one? After trying out our 22" TV on my PC I feel that would be as big as I would ever need, so i am looking for a something 22" or smaller.

My main concern is that getting a new monitor will only give me a bigger picture rather than a better one - if my games aren't going to look much better than they do at 1024x768 on my trusty 15", then I'd rather stick with that so that my 8800GT will last me longer.

 

[gurusan]

nah bigger is better. 22" minimum I'd say really....the picture at 1680x1050 is still plenty sharp.

I have a Samsung 223BW and I love it.

 

[james.miller]

as far as picture sharpness goes, in widescreen (16:10) 20,24 and 30" are the sweet spots. reason being a 22" will have the same resolution as the 20" (meaning bigger pixels, not as sharp) and anything >24 and <30 will have the same resolution as the 24".

oh and games will look much better lol.

 

[gurusan]

I briefly had a 20" and the extra screenspace on a 22" FAAAAR outweighs any "sharpness"...

 

[james.miller]

i had a 22" and the extra screen space, resolution, sharpness and image quality on my 24" put it to shame

 

[devilkazuya]

don't forget to take into account the distance you are from the screen. This may make the intermediate screen sizes more appropriate if you are further back from the screen.

 

[Richdog]

Amazing how the people raving about 22" monitors seem to forget that the vast majority of 22" panels are all TN panels... whereas the 20.1" varieties (even the cheaper ones) are largely host to vastly superior S-IPS/VA panels. I guess if you eat McDonalds for long enough you start thinking it's nice...

 

[james.miller]

yes as far as im concerned the 22" screens are only a viable option if you absolutely cant fit a 24". you can get 22" screens with decent panels but when you look at the prices, they are more often than not more expensive than a decent 24" screen anyway.

 

[fulcrumer]

You need my NEC 20WGX 20.1 Wonderfull display and served me well for 3 years but is now about to be replaced by a Hazro 24 inch.

 

[Richdog]

You need my NEC 20WGX 20.1 Wonderfull display and served me well for 3 years but is now about to be replaced by a Hazro 24 inch.

Ditto, it's like the caviar of sub-24" monitors.

Was considering the Hazro but can't really justify the cost at the moment... and the lack or 'proper' scaling really outs me off...

 

[williamd]

I briefly had a 20" and the extra screenspace on a 22" FAAAAR outweighs any "sharpness"...

you realise both screens are the same res?

 

[Richdog]

you realise both screens are the same res?

I think he obviously just means the physical size.

 

[gurusan]

yes i am talking about size....during gaming and movie watching bigger is always better IMO.

 

[Richdog]

yes i am talking about size....during gaming and movie watching bigger is always better IMO.

Not when it sacrifices image quality, not at all. No to mention TN panels suffer more in terms of viewing angle the bigger the panel size, and that's the last thing you want for movies.

 

[gurusan]

Well personally I would never move back down from 22" to anything regardless of image quality....I'd only move up but at the time of purchase anything up from 22" was drastically more expensive and not affordable. Now a year later 24" prices have gone down

My Sammy IQ is just fine for HD movies and gaming.

 

[Adrianr]

If you're making the move from 15", going to 24" will make you feel like you've just advanced ten years in computer technology, i kid you not. They are SO damn big! Heck moving from a 22" widescreen to a 24" I still found myself looking at the desk thinking "That's rather large.." .. There just seems to be this huge jump when you hit 24", and 1920 x 1200 is just marvellous.

 

[Bobmunkhouse]

You need my NEC 20WGX 20.1 Wonderfull display and served me well for 3 years but is now about to be replaced by a Hazro 24 inch.

I have an NEC 20WGX 20.1 at the moment and I was thinking of going for the Hazro 24 inch and just wanted to know if it was good buy?

 

[Richdog]

I have an NEC 20WGX 20.1 at the moment and I was thinking of going for the Hazro 24 inch and just wanted to know if it was good buy?

There's a thread dedicated to it in this section, have a read.

 

[ticktock]

So, would this mean that a 19" widescreen would have a nicer crisper picture than a 22" TFT. If not, would a 20.1" TFT be great to get for all round PC use? Not interested in 24 etc. Ta guys.

Are the Samsung 20" TFT's good ones to go for or do you think a 22" would best, i.e: Samsung Aqua SM2253LW

 

[Richdog]

22" = bigger but generally inferior panels thus lower IQ. 20.1" = smaller but better quality panels thus higher IQ. I have an NEC 20GX2 and it's amazing, i'd never swap it for anything besides a 24" of similar quality.

19" widescreen is too small imo due to the lower rez.