New monitor for gaming

LEK-89

LEK-89

LEK-89

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I'm on the hunt for a new monitor, I will mostly need it for my WOW gaming and a few other games and mainly for internet & some video too.

I've got a £200 budget and I'm looking for something that is a 23-24" size. I have been out of touch with monitors for over a year now (my current monitor is a BenQ G2222HDL which isn't great for dark colors) so I have no idea which ones are well reputable / which one to go for!

I would really appreciate some recommendations from you guys.

Cheers - Liam
 
odeexs said:
I'm currently using this monitor, it's an LED 23.6" and it's pretty nice looking imo

That one has gone up in price a bit since i bought it, here's a 24" one for £113
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-063-AC&groupid=17&catid=510&subcat=

You'd probably be able to get two monitors if you stretched the budget a little, assuming your GPU could handle it.
Click to expand...

That Samsung monitor is nice, but the only concern with that one is the low contrast ratio which I think wouldn't be good for my gaming, and the OcUK one to me is just a budget monitor so that would be out of the question.

Thanks anyway - Liam
 
I think the Dell UltraSharp U2312HM would be a good monitor for you. It's an IPS monitor that's fast enough for gaming. It gets good reviews and people seem to like it.
 
Pay no attention to the bogus contrast ratios in specs for monitors. Anything above 800:1 is acceptable, monitor specs are a con. Get an IPS panel if you want nicer colours for a better picture or a 120Hz BenQ for smoother movement £240 if you can stretch the budget...much better for games. If you play wow mostly maybe you just want a nice clear display though.
 
I like the look of both the Dell & the BenQ monitors, and if that BenQ one would be the best one to go for I could probably stretch to the £240 asking price.

So basically because WOW isn't exactly graphics hungry & breathtaking, then a highly rated IPS panel such as that Dell one would be a better option?

Thanks - Liam
 
In FPS anything that helps you shoot faster than the other guy gives you an advantage that's why FPS gamers are looking for the fastest possible experience, fast pixel response times and low input lag. The BenQ fits both criteria and is aimed at that market.
The Dell does offer low input lag but falls short in the fast pixel response times department, for a game such as WoW not a problem. The Dell does offer superior viewing angles and better color accuracy which may make your WoW experience a better one.

I wouldn't go for the BenQ XL240T, its successor, the BenQ XL2420T ironed out all the flaws of the BenQ XL2410T and is the monitor to get if you're interested in the characteristics of a 120Hz screen. The XL2420T is however fair bit more expensive and if £240 is already a stretch then £320 must be too much of a stretch? Personally I'd go for the Dell.
 
Axeia said:
In FPS anything that helps you shoot faster than the other guy gives you an advantage that's why FPS gamers are looking for the fastest possible experience, fast pixel response times and low input lag. The BenQ fits both criteria and is aimed at that market.
The Dell does offer low input lag but falls short in the fast pixel response times department, for a game such as WoW not a problem. The Dell does offer superior viewing angles and better color accuracy which may make your WoW experience a better one.

I wouldn't go for the BenQ XL240T, its successor, the BenQ XL2420T ironed out all the flaws of the BenQ XL2410T and is the monitor to get if you're interested in the characteristics of a 120Hz screen. The XL2420T is however fair bit more expensive and if £240 is already a stretch then £320 must be too much of a stretch? Personally I'd go for the Dell.
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The BenQ XL2420T is one that I have been looking at aswell and it looks the business, but yeah unfortunately the £320 price is pushing the boat out too far :(

I've been reading up on the 23" Dell U2312HM and this for me could be a good contender but a couple of reviews state that this monitor really isn't great for heavy gaming at all, is the Dell U2412M (24" version) the same spec wise as the U2312HM?

Thanks - Liam
 
Just to update you all that after some careful consideration and reading up on other people's reviews from various sites and the full in-depth review on the tftcentral website, I have made the decision to place an order for the Dell U2312HM :)

I did have to order it through another company though as OcUK is unfortunately out of stock of these at the moment. Will post up my thoughts on the monitor after I have received it & after a few days of use :)

Thanks for all of your advice guys! - Liam
 
LEK-89 said:
I like the look of both the Dell & the BenQ monitors, and if that BenQ one would be the best one to go for I could probably stretch to the £240 asking price.

So basically because WOW isn't exactly graphics hungry & breathtaking, then a highly rated IPS panel such as that Dell one would be a better option?

Thanks - Liam
Click to expand...

I bought the BenQ to replace an Iiyama 22" and was left dissapointed. Despite many good things - the array of inputs, the 120hz functionality etc, the actual picture quality left much to be desired and no matter what settings I tried I couldnt get it to feel right.

So I went for a Dell U2312HM instead and it's frankly stunning. Was a bit worried about the size especially after learning it was actually a bit shorter than my 22" on account of being 16:9 but it's fantastic and I really like it. Was concerned about image stretching using consoles and the additional graphics performance needed in the future with the higher res of the U2412M.
 
[TW]Fox;22829009 said:
I bought the BenQ to replace an Iiyama 22" and was left dissapointed. Despite many good things - the array of inputs, the 120hz functionality etc, the actual picture quality left much to be desired and no matter what settings I tried I couldnt get it to feel right.

So I went for a Dell U2312HM instead and it's frankly stunning. Was a bit worried about the size especially after learning it was actually a bit shorter than my 22" on account of being 16:9 but it's fantastic and I really like it. Was concerned about image stretching using consoles and the additional graphics performance needed in the future with the higher res of the U2412M.
Click to expand...

The £320 BenQ one was highly appealing but as you and others have already said, the picture is somewhat disappointing and the quality of the picture never seems to feel right and with reports like this and having to stretch to £320 is something that I cannot commit to.

With the Dell U2312HM, I'm hearing nothing but excellent reports about it so I'm looking forward to receiving mine in a couple of days :)

Liam
 
I don't think you'll be dissapointed. As a bonus its also massively cheaper too - I had a "£300 budget like you and this was over £100 under it :eek:

Although it might be taken up by having to get a graphics card with displayport out in order to plug the PC, Xbox and PS3 in at the same time..
 
[TW]Fox;22830956 said:
I don't think you'll be dissapointed. As a bonus its also massively cheaper too - I had a "£300 budget like you and this was over £100 under it :eek:

Although it might be taken up by having to get a graphics card with displayport out in order to plug the PC, Xbox and PS3 in at the same time..
Click to expand...

I'm sure I won't be as in a way because its an IPS monitor it will be a big step up coming from my older BenQ G2222HDL :)

The only thing that I would have hoped is that it had an HDMI port (and this is slated to be the ONLY let down with this monitor), but the only real benefit of having an HDMI port is that is can also carry audio? (where as DVI-D doesn't).

I've not looked much into those DisplayPort's but is there any greater benefit into using them when comparing to DVI-D ports?

Liam
 
No, but it gets me around the limited input selection. I want to plug in 3 devices yet have only 3 inputs, meaning I need to get something that inputs to Displayport.
 
A cheap HDMI hub and a HDMI-DVI to connect it to the monitors gets you around that. In case of the Dell HDMI and Displayport will give the same picture.

For all monitors basically HDMI = Single link DVI + sound.
 
What I meant was a switch, not a hub.. they probably don't sell hubs, wouldn't make sense.
Anyway no competitor linking so I can't link you to one but I'm sure you'll able to find something if I tell you the product number is AVSWITCH-22 for a 4-1 HDMI switch. Basically it turns one HDMI port into 4. So if you stick a HDMI to DVI cable in it you can turn any monitor into a multi input monitor ;)
You're probably wondering why not just get a DVI switch, well there are much less and usually a lot more expensive
 
But the monitor doesn't have a HDMI input and the PC doesnt have a HDMI output?

Or are you suggesting I convert from DVI to HDMI out of the PC into the box, and from HDMI back to DVI out of the box into the monitor?

So I'd need a switch and two convertors?
 
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