Replace a 2407FPW?

The Halk

The Halk

The Halk

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Joined
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Hamilton
I've had a Dell 24 inch for about 5 years now. It's done the job fine, and I've never felt it was bad - although I appreciate I should notice an improvement with a new monitor. However it's now started to flicker very slightly, which is very annoying, but makes me suspect it's on the way out.

I'd like a replacement monitor... I wouldn't want a screen any smaller than 24 inches - so the nice offers on the 23 inch Samsung don't cut it and 1080p rather than 1200 is probably not going to work for me either.

I don't want to spend a great deal of money on it...

I've had a look at the Hanns G 27.5 inch and really I'd want to be sure I wouldn't feel the picture was worse than what I have just now.

The other option is a 120hz monitor. The Samsung would be £420 which is about 200 more than the Hanns G. I'm not prepared to pay an extra £200 for 3D... at least I don't think so. Additionally although glasses come with it, I don't think they're nVidia so I don't know that they'd work on games?

The 24 inch option for 3D is the BenQ it seems and that's 380 including the glasses.... So I think that's out.

So I'm left with choosing a 24 inch monitor, or a 27 inch, and possibly choosing 120hz (but no 3D kit). Picking 120hz seems to add a fair bit to the price too.

The Samsung 24 inch that's got the VAT back, and all of the other cheaper ones are all 1080p and while I could tolerate it I'd rather not have a smaller screen.

The first one that doesn't is the Dell U2412M... so I'm currently choosing between this one and the Hanns G 27 inch.

The advantage with the Dell is the soundbar I have should work on it (at least I think so).

The Hanns G I'm more tempted to go for since it seems to be a lot more for my money.

Anyone have any help for me?
 
I've also been thinking of replacing my 2407WFP, but I keep reading about thick anti-glare coating which I wouldn't want, and it's hard to know which monitors are glossy and which aren't. So I'm not really sure.
 
Some people (mostly coming from a glossy monitor) get annoyed by the anti-glare coating of the U2412M. It's less noticeable than it is on the u2711 and u2410 however, not sure how it compares to your current screen.

By all means the u2412m is by far the most attractive 1920x1200 screen imo, unlike the Hanns G you get an IPS-screen rather than a TN which means better viewing angles and colour accuracy. Look up the Hanns G on these forums as well iirc there was one more than one person who had it fail quite fast and the support (repairtech) is apparently about as bad as it gets.

So basically the Dell gives you superior support, a better panel and a height adjustable stand with pivot option. So I disagree with:
The Hanns G I'm more tempted to go for since it seems to be a lot more for my money.
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You get less, just a bigger screen with the same resolution.
 
Well, by more I meant the screen size...

I am thinking 27 might be too much though... the speakers on the 27 inch are apparently poor.. while the sound bar I have for the Dell are reasonable... not a patch on the 1K setup I have in the living room or the 400 IEMs.... however it'll 'do' :)

So the 2412 seems to be the right thing. The room I use the PC in has curtains and a blackout roller blind so glare shouldn't be a problem.
 
Ok, more thinking and I can't feel happy about going for another 24 inch. Every monitor I've ever bought has been bigger than the last.

I'm looking at 27 inch monitors, and I'm between the following...

Iiyama ProLite G2773HS 120Hz 27" Widescreen LED 1MS Monitor - Black
AOC E2795VH 27" Widescreen LED Monitor - Black
Dell UltraSharp U2412M 24" Widescreen LED Monitor - Midnight Grey

I really can't make my mind up and I don't properly understand what the pros and cons are between them.

The 120hz one I stuck in there because it seems to be higher specifications than most? ... ?
 
Hi there,

If you are looking for a 27in monitor, would you consider one of the IPS 2560x1440 ones? The hazro HZ27WC was at one point sold for £350 and next month it may get down to that level again (going from what Gibbo said in another thread).

Also, there are now Korean monitors with the same type of panels as the Hazro being imported to the UK. These are surprisingly cheap (even with delivery + duty paid) and the user response so far has generally been good, though they are a bit of a risk as the warranty situation is difficult (you basically need to main it back to korea for an RMA). Though if you are willing to take the risk then you could get a lot of high quality monitor for your money.

However, personally I would go with the Dell U2412M. It's a solid monitor, nice 1920x1200 E-IPS panel, good price and the excellent dell warranty.

In terms of 3D, may I ask what graphics card you have?
 
I'm looking to order tomorrow Andi.. for delivery friday. The flickering on this screen is getting worse and I don't want to be without a monitor....

I have a 580 GTX.

I really don't know what I need Andi.. I don't know enough to find out between the monitors what I'm after.

In layman's terms... I want an upgrade from what I have. I wouldn't go 24 inches 1080p because that's smaller... I think everything would be an upgrade from what I have... although that's a guess. I don't want separate speakers as the monitor would be on an arm which would be rotated if I wanted to watch something in bed. It wouldn't be my main screen for viewing films etc... I have XBMC running and an HDMI running to the TV in the living room...

I'm feeling quite pathetically helpless, as I know a great deal about every other part, excluding the monitor!
 
Yea, it is a tough one.

As I say, I personally would go for the U2412M, as it will be the same size, resolution and build quality as your old monitor - while also offering a lovely E-IPS panel and slightly better real-world pixel response times than your current PVA type monitor.

However, a 27in 120Hz monitor would give you the extra "wow" factor in terms of screen size and responsiveness in gaming - though you may find the viewing angles and colour accuracy slightly annoying after using a PVA panel monitor for such a long time.

I know this isn't easy, but would you be in a position to order both monitors, test them out and then send the one you like least back via DSR for a full refund? If you do this then you can test each monitor yourself and come to an personal judgement on which is best.
 
I couldn't easily return the monitor.... I'd need to arrange for collection - and I think it'd be £20 or so to get it returned to OcUK. Plus I'd feel a bit of a dick ordering something I _knew_ I was going to return, if I ordered 2.

You have just picked up on something, I have a PVA just now (I know that because you've just told me!), the 27 inches wouldn't be as good as this?
 
The Halk said:
I couldn't easily return the monitor.... I'd need to arrange for collection - and I think it'd be £20 or so to get it returned to OcUK. Plus I'd feel a bit of a dick ordering something I _knew_ I was going to return, if I ordered 2.
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That is fair enough, though please bear in mind that the DSR laws were set up pretty much for this purpose - so that a buyer has a cooling-off period when buying mail-order/online goods and they have a chance to inspect/test them like they would in a bricks and mortar shop.

I'm certain an online retailer like OCUK would much rather you buy two monitors, test both and send one back via DSR than going into a highstreet shop and picking up a monitor from there instead.


The Halk said:
You have just picked up on something, I have a PVA just now (I know that because you've just told me!), the 27 inches wouldn't be as good as this?
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Indeed it wouldn't be as good (in terms of viewing angles and colour accuracy), hence why I would recommend going with a monitor that uses a high quality panel like the E-IPS type panel in the Dell U2412M.

Just to lay it out (please forgive me if you already know this) there are basically three main types of a LCD panel: TN Film, VA and IPS.

TN is the most popular and cheapest technology. It offers very fast pixel response times (so very little ghosting is seen on-screen) and this allows high refresh rates like 120Hz to be applied to some of them. These TN panel monitors are best for gaming, due to this excellent responsiveness, however compared to the other technologies TN panels have very poor viewing angles (so when you look straight-on at the monitor and move your head slightly the colours shift, also colour banding can often be seen at the extremes of the panel) as well as not very good colour accuracy (which isn't aided by the viewing angle issues).

VA panels are a more expensive technology than TN (and include the PVA subset found in your Dell). These panels have the advantage of excellent contrast ratios and black levels while also offering viewing angles much better than TN panels as well as very good colour accuracy. However, the downside of these VA panels is relatively high pixel response times, so for tasks that involve a lot of motion (like fast-paced gaming) you are more likely to see ghosting than other panel types.

Finally, IPS which tends to be the most expensive offers the benefit of the best viewing angles, the best colour accuracy and pixel responsiveness that is better than VA panels (though not as good as TN). On the downside these IPS panels are expensive, and only offer black levels and contrast ratios which are as good or slightly better than TN panels. E-IPS is a new sub-type of IPS which offers IPS technology at a lower price-point than before. These E-IPS panels tend to not have quite as good viewing angles as more expensive IPS technologies (like S-IPS), but they do offer even better response times as well as the reduced cost.

Therefore, if you went from your 24in Dell PVA panel monitor to a 27in TN panel monitor then in many ways you would be getting lower image quality (mainly due to the TN panel, but also the lower pixel density).
 
Andi, that's the information I needed, thanks very much! I had assumed that anything would be higher quality given the length of time I've owned the Dell... I think I'll go for a 24 inch.

U2412M is the one I'm looking at, a step up from that would be the U2410, however that one is a fair bit extra, and I'd see minimal benefits... viewing angle isn't that big a deal to me.

Is there anything else I should consider?
 
Ah, good to hear.

Yes, I would go for the U2412M - if you want a significantly better monitor with similar/better image quality you really need to spend a few hundred quid more on one of the IPS panel 27in 2560x1440 models.

The U2410 is sort of the older version of the U2412M, the U2410 uses a H-IPS panel, has more connections and a CCFL backlight (the U2412M uses an LED backlight). This means that the U2410 is slightly better for viewing angles and offers an extended colour gamut - which is useful if you work in extended colour spaces, for most users the standard gamut of the U2412M is fine. Therefore, considering the feature difference in these monitors and the price difference, I would say that the U2412M is quite a bargain.

If you are interested in some more reading, here are a couple of in-depth reviews of the U2412M:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.htm
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2011/review-dell-u2412m.html
 
I'll grab a cup of tea and read those before I order. Thanks again Andi!

I hope I notice a difference in the colours, at times this monitor seems a little washed out...
 
Andi, I wanted to thank you again for your advice.

I ordered the Dell last week and set it up this evening. It's very similar to the 2407 in physical appearance, just a few enchancements to the way it works etc.

It's lighter and uses less electricity, the picture is clearer too.

I'm going to need to footer with the settings to get things right.. and frankly I've no idea what I should do to get it displaying things in an optimum way.

You wouldn't be able to suggest where I should start looking for that information? I've tried before doing it by what looks best and I usually don't make a good job of it.
 
Just a quickie, I bought the U2410 last week and the screen looks fab. Nothing wrong with the anti glare coating. It's so much better than looking at yourself in the monitor or closing all your curtains just to see what's going on. One of the reasons I went for it was the coating :)
 
The Halk said:
Andi, I wanted to thank you again for your advice.

I ordered the Dell last week and set it up this evening. It's very similar to the 2407 in physical appearance, just a few enchancements to the way it works etc.

It's lighter and uses less electricity, the picture is clearer too.

I'm going to need to footer with the settings to get things right.. and frankly I've no idea what I should do to get it displaying things in an optimum way.

You wouldn't be able to suggest where I should start looking for that information? I've tried before doing it by what looks best and I usually don't make a good job of it.
Click to expand...

Good use of the word footer man, it's a fave of mine :D Just about any monitor calibration tool, hardware or software will help you out.
 
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