Monitor recommendations

Sareth

Sareth

Sareth

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Joined
9 Sep 2006
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Sorry about doing another one of these but I'm really feeling quite stuck, hopefully this is enough info to help you give me your opinion.....

I have been considering changing my monitor setup for a number of reasons and having procrastinated over
what to do for some time I have come seeking advice.

Presently I have a VMPro 451 running next to a VmPro 400 both running from a box with an Athlon64 3500+ 2gb ram
and twin 6600GTs (The second vga input on the 451 is attached to a linux box that isnt really relevant)

So heres the situation:

1) I used to do a lot of PC gaming but Ive been gaming less recently and more of that reduced time has been spent
on my ps2 and DS, my PC being used more and more for just coding web browsing e-mail etc. I am considering getting a
mac mini and using that for day to day tasks to keep the dB level and electricity usage down !

2) I have a massive backlog of ps2 games to get through and with it presently sat in the living room I only get on it
for extended periods of time once or twice a week.
To get round this I have been moving the ps2 into my lair and rigging it up through s-video input on the 6600GTs and playing it back
through media player classic on the second monitor but the picture is somewhat fuzzy and there is a lot of lag so Im
pretty much limited to turn based RPGs on this setup.

3) I am tolerant of ghosting but very intolerant of screen defects on relatively static images, the VM Pro 451 was a 450 but it went back
three times before Iiyama gave up with my frustration with the convergence and sent me the 451 to shut me up.
Additionally we got a 19" HannsG at work recently to give to a client and the distortion as the viewing angle
changed was terrible to my eyes.

So I could do with a monitor that I can run the ps2 directly to(through component preferrably),
that will give me more screen real estate to make up for (at least partially) the loss of the second monitor and that I can
attach both the mac mini and my pc to.
One other thing; I would prefer not to have to upgrade the PCs graphics card(s)
to run whatever setup I end up with (also see mac mini re: intel GMA950 integrated, ugh)

As far as i can see it I'm limited to:-

Asus PW201
Samsung SM-215TW

Both of these having component in,

and the big boys:-

Samsung SM-244T
Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP
BenQ FP241W

Though ive pretty much ruled out the FP241W owing to the lack of display options for non native res.
The trouble with the 24"ers being the pushing the mini to its limits and the no more gaming for me on the PC
unless I upgrade cards, which I dont want to do. Also no-one seems to review the non vga/dvi inputs on monitors
its a damn nuisance, all I have to go on is vague reports of the Dells bad component performance and nothing on the 244T
with the additional threat of the 245T appearing out of the blue.

Setting fire to my PS2 so I dont have to worry about alternative inputs and can expand my choices,
although technically speaking an option,
is not preferred !
 
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Sorry about bumping this, anybody ?


Another option: Would I be better off getting a component to vga convertor for the ps2 and a monitor with just vga/dvi, thus running the mac through the dvi and the pc on the pass through of the converter ? ...just Ive never heard anything good about converters that dont cost an arm and a leg.
 
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I have the Samsung 215TW , I use it for PC games / office stuff & my son has used it with the PS2 . Screen is crisp & bright with excellent viewing angles :)
 
Ordered a 215TW, *crosses fingers re: dead pixels* 2407 was still too rich for my blood even on that offer esp. as I blew 600 on a mac mini not 3 days before.
 
Get a VGA box for your PS2. It's way more convenient than going through your PC. Picture quality isn't quite up there with component input but should beat composite if you can go through S-VIDEO.

Edit: Scratch that - just use component, composite or S-VIDEO on the monitor if you've got them.
 
It came this morning, some of its x shape bleeding but not visible in normal use, I do have one irritation though, its not a stuck pixel and its not on the surface of the screen (on the left hand side, black on the rhs is the edge of a letter):-

leak.jpg


Zooming in it looks like a shadow on the + where 4 sub pixels join creating that + shape, less noticeable than a dead pixel but worrying as the only reference I can find to such a phenomenon mentions a bleed effect where it spreads =(


Other than that:- =)


hl2.jpg
 
That's an odd mark, there might have been an impact there or something. Hard to tell from that shot how big that mark is but it's probably enough for an RMA considering the number of pixels that look to be affected. Personally, I wouldn't want to spend as much as the 215TW costs and get a mark like that. I guess it depends how noticeable it is during use.
 
Its is a bit more noticeable than shown but not much, certainly not as bad as pictures of dead pixels ive seen, doesnt show at all on anything as dark as the banner with the faq etc. on this forum
 
Do you notice any screen lag when you play fps games like HL2? I.e the reaction of the gun onscreen is slightly delayed after you have moved your mouse.

Been wanting this screen for a while but the reports on its bad lag are putting me off. :(
 
Give us a sec, that picture I just posted was from bringing up an old HL2 save as that area has good contrast and detail ,ill just load up Quake 4....
 
Didnt notice any lag, had to edit config file to get it to run 1680*1050.
Should be taken into consideration that I'm over 30 and my eyesight and reactions arent what they used to be.
 
Sareth said:
Didnt notice any lag, had to edit config file to get it to run 1680*1050.
Should be taken into consideration that I'm over 30 and my eyesight and reactions arent what they used to be.
Click to expand...

I'm 45 :( and this screen is perfect in CS:S to my ageing reflexes , then again my 13 year old son hasn't spotted any problems either :cool:
 
I'm over 30 and can easily see the lag on my Samsung 172T (just an old 17"er). I can also see the ghosting (it is 25 ms afterall) and the poor black depth (even on a PVA panel). I can get a lot more one-in-a-million twitch kills in UT2004 instagib on my CRT than on my LCD, no doubt about it.

That's got nothing to do with the 215TW of course, which I've never used. Just pointing out that you can be over 30 and still perceive these things :)
 
Think im going to leave it for now, its not very noticeable, if it spreads at all itll be going back fast.

Im watching you...

spec2.jpg


Also made a little bmp with a black box and white centre to put over it from time to time, perhaps im obsessing too much...
 
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