Spec me a decent monitor

Dogfood09

Dogfood09

Dogfood09

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18 Dec 2009
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Guys,

Got a spare £500 to use on a new monitor, will be mainly used for gaming and watching hi-def content and in 3d although my gpu is a radeon7970 , not sure if I can get 3d with that card as I don't have the nvidia vision thing.

Any ideas?

Dog
 
Hi there,

For that money your best options are either a 27in Samsung S27A750D / S27A950D 120Hz 3D monitor or one of the 27in 60Hz IPS panel 2560x1440 resolution monitors (like the Dell U2711, Hazro HZ27WD or HP ZR2740w).

One of these Samsungs will allow you to play games in 3D using your HD 7970 graphics card - you just need to connect it up via Displayport and use the Tridef middleware.

The 2560x1440 IPS monitors don't do 3D, but they do offer massive resolution (much larger than the 1920x1080 -1080p resolution of the 3D monitors like the samsungs), nice quality panels and high pixel density - so for gaming (and pretty much any use) they do look lovely.
 
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In fairness I am not that bothered about 3d, I think it will be just a novelty that will wear off soon. I have a 3d tv for films , was just curious about 3d gaming . So I guess I will need a monitor that will give me the best possible gaming experience...
 
I would agree with you on the 3D - it is a bit of a gimmick. However, the monitors that provide it (using the active shutter glasses tech at least) need to have a 120Hz refresh rate for the 3D to work. This also means that you can run the same monitors in "2D" mode at 120Hz refresh rate - so in fast-moving games the motion feels a lot smoother. Therefore if you are going for a top-end gaming monitor then you either want to be looking at a 120Hz monitor or one of the 2560x1440 IPS models I mentioned earlier.

If you don't want to spend quite as much then this 24in BenQ XL2420T is a very nice gaming monitor and gets a very good write-up.
 
Just looked at the two ips screen and they both look fantastic , will be a toss up between them both , the dell has more 5 star reviews than the other one , but the hazro has speakers , so if need be I could use it as a second tv. Tough choice to make.... I take it my two 7970 will be able to run at the highest res smoothly enough?
 
I would personally go with the Dell - as they have better build quality and much better service than Hazro (as Hazro is a relatively small company and Dell are known to have one of the best warranty services for monitors).

As for the speakers, the dell doesn't have built-in speakers like the Hazro - but it does have an audio-out connection, so you can hook up some cheap (but good quality) speakers like this set to the monitor and get sound out of a HDMI device (like a games console or sky box).

Here is an in-depth review of the Dell U2711:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2711.htm
 
I would go with the Dell too, I hear there are many complaints about the Hazro monitors people having all sorts of issues though when they work they are superb.

Stoner81.
 
I have decided to go for the dell thanks for pointing that screen out, as i will use this monitor as a spare tv till i have finished building my rig is there anyway of getting sky set up on it without getting sky multiroom, only as a short term measure...
 
Before you put your money down I feel I should mention that a few people find the anti-glare coating on the Dell IPS monitors (like the U2711) to be too agressive and it makes the image look a bit "dirty". Personally, I don't have a problem with this and really appreciate the anti-glare feature, but not everyone feels the same.
 
If you are going to game a lot go for a 120hz panel for sure.I had one of the best 24 inch ips panels and now i have one of the best 120hz panels yet the difference between them for colours/image quality is hard to tell though viewing angles are better on the ips but not by a great deal.

Also 3D can be pretty good if you give it time, tweak it properly for some games and use it from time to time.(i've played 15-20 games in 3D now only really had some issues in one which was Mass Effect 3 but guess that's due to it being very new so should be resolved soon)
 
Dogfood09 said:
Ok , so what would give me best gaming 120hz or a higher res? I will have 2 7970 And a i7 3960x if that matters.....
Click to expand...

That really is the question...

It really varies between individuals - some prefer the smoothness of 120Hz, while others prefer the super-detailed high res IPS screen.

If you are going to spend this kind of money it may be worth finding a store that is showing off a 120Hz monitor - and then compare this experience to the 27in imac (which uses the same panel as these other 1440p 27in monitors). You probably won't be able to test any games, but hopefully you will be able to get a feeling for how they handle.

Personally, I would go with the 27in 2560x1440 IPS panel option.
 
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