Trying to decide on a 20"+ WS TFT, these reviews aren't helping

mcast123 · 5 Mar 2006 at 11:36

I was all set on the Dell 2405fpw, then I read games may be sluggish in native mode due to the higher res. So I read the Belinea reviews and I was about to click on "checkout now", when I see the NEC review. So here I am about to buy the NEC, but I see a few comments about the glossy screen. I also read the 2407fpw is out soon which may be even better. The problem with reviews is, people are unlikely to be negative about something they just spent lots of cash on.

I will be running a 1900XTX, 4400 x2, with whatever monitor I buy, can anyone help me decide?

Also, some games I "dual box", i.e. 2 windowed mode games at 1024x768, thats why I was seriously tempted my the Dells 1900x1200. My question is, will two windowed mode games running simultaneously, be slower on the Dell 2405@ 1900x1200, compared to a monitor running 1600x1050 native? I'm assuming it just the number of pixels that are being thrown round at any one time so it'll make no difference and I should buy the Dell?

Vigil · 5 Mar 2006 at 12:02

It's at times like that when you wish someone would make your mind up for you. For each monitor, imagine that you already have it at home, then see if you'd have any regrets for not buying one of the other monitors.

At some point, you have to take the plunge. You can always send it back if you're not happy with monitor x, but then consider the hassle of that.

fish99 · 5 Mar 2006 at 12:05

mcast123 said:
I was all set on the Dell 2405fpw, then I read games may be sluggish in native mode due to the higher res. So I read the Belinea reviews and I was about to click on "checkout now", when I see the NEC review. So here I am about to buy the NEC, but I see a few comments about the glossy screen. I also read the 2407fpw is out soon which may be even better. The problem with reviews is, people are unlikely to be negative about something they just spent lots of cash on.

I will be running a 1900XTX, 4400 x2, with whatever monitor I buy, can anyone help me decide?

Also, some games I "dual box", i.e. 2 windowed mode games at 1024x768, thats why I was seriously tempted my the Dells 1900x1200. My question is, will two windowed mode games running simultaneously, be slower on the Dell 2405@ 1900x1200, compared to a monitor running 1600x1050 native? I'm assuming it just the number of pixels that are being thrown round at any one time so it'll make no difference and I should buy the Dell?

The last bit you're spot on. If both windows are 1024*768 then what screen you've got shouldn't matter, as long as the windows will actually fit on screen. Do you want a monitor where you can't run a game full screen / native res when you want to though? 1900*1200 is a stretch even for top end SLI in games like Fear.

I've also heard someone say the electronics in the 2405 leads to a sort of 'lag' between controller inputs and what happens on the screen (like the screen is half a frame behind the game), which makes FPS games hard to play on it.

The NEC seems to get the most positive comments (or the least negative if you want to look at it that way) from what I've read (the glossy screen shouldn't matter unless it's facing a window), but I fear that since you are considering the 2405, that if you go 20" you'll be forever missing those extra 4 inches.

mcast123 · 5 Mar 2006 at 12:54

My only concern with the Dell 2405 is the scaling down, if I wanted to play at 1600x1200 or 1280x1024, does it just use some of the pixels thus improving the frame rate? I would definitely buy the 2405 if I could run my fps games in a lower res for better performance, then I'd have the best of both worlds.

Baddass · 5 Mar 2006 at 13:05

you can do. You could use 1:1 pixel match from the OSD menu on the 2405FPW which would play the game at whatever res it is supposed to be at, but with black borders around all the sides. So it would be like playing on a smaller screen, within the massive screen area of the 2405

mcast123 · 5 Mar 2006 at 13:17

Thanks Baddass, that makes it a no-brainer, I'm buying the 2405, or the 2407 if I can hold out that long. :-)

igors · 5 Mar 2006 at 23:48

fish99 said:
but I fear that since you are considering the 2405, that if you go 20" you'll be forever missing those extra 4 inches.

Yeah, I was definitely puzzled after reading his post. His purchasing directions were rather confusing. If he can switch so easily back and forth to 24", I guess that money is no object and size does matter, definitely. He didn't clarified what exactly he wants from the monitor, apart from the windowed & dual gaming mode ... and that can't last forever, I suppose

Apart from the fact that it seems that monitor will definitely have the "gaming" life, he didn't mentioned other things as potential input for our suggestion.

igors · 5 Mar 2006 at 23:51

mcast123 said:
The problem with reviews is, people are unlikely to be negative about something they just spent lots of cash on.

Yes, that is true to some extent. Good review should represent just the guideline what the people may expect from the monitor and "personal touch" should be avodied in any way.