which monitor? - im so confused

talkshowhost · 15 Jan 2006 at 02:07

hopefully someone can help me decide - ive been going round in circles for the last 2 weeks trying to make a decison!!

I want new TFT moniter - it has to be at least 19''.

First off it has to at least be 8ms so there is no visible ghosting in games (i could accept a little but ive read most 8ms have limited ghosting). I mostly play FPS like COD2, f.e.a.r, HL2. I don't think i want a TN panel as i want to my dvds to be of decent quality unless someone can convince me that i would be better getting a TN panel for games and the "noise" in dvds was acceptable.

i also cannot decide whether or not i want a widescreen monitor - i think i do but this must be at 20'' as i don't think i could accept a smaller vertical picture than what im used to so the vertical resolution would have to be 1050. I would probably have already decided on the Viewsonic VA2012W already had it not been so ugly! Does anyone know for sure when the viewsonic VX2022W is released as im tempted to wait because that screen looks so sweet... the only other widescreen moniter i can see would be the DELL Ultrasharp 2005FPW although i have read stories about backlight bleeding etc which puts me off and does anyone know whether this is good for gaming. the belnea 20.1'' also interests me but again is this good for gaming etc. It would be out of those three for widescreen or wait for the viewsonic

can anyone help me please decide as i went from widescreen to 19'' and back again and am no further forward in my decision. if i did get a 19'' it would prob be a samsung although then i might regret not getting a widescreen.

hope this all makes sense and someone can help me decide. thanks in advance for any suggestions.

cheers.

Simps · 15 Jan 2006 at 02:33

I bought a Belinea 102035W today and i have been gaming on Day of Defeat:Source all night on it and its superb. Its bright, crisp , clear and colourful. Watched half an hour of a dvd and it was fine in that too.
If you get one I doubt you would regret it.

uknorthboy · 15 Jan 2006 at 09:53

I got a viewsonic 19" lcd and very chuffed with it, counterstrike source look very good when I play.

Baddass · 15 Jan 2006 at 10:01

welcome to OcUK talkshowhost

Firstly the TN Film vs other technologies, is a tricky one. TN Film panels are typically the most responsive out there and are best suited to fast paced games. However, they wont offer the wide viewing angles and smooth movie playback that VA and IPS panel varients can offer. However, you will need to look at the VA panels which are using a heavy dose of overdrive to boost response time, since other models are not really as suited to fast FPS gaming for most people.

The Viewsonic VA2012W is a TN Film panel, and while it might offer some decent gaming peformance, it will suffer from the draw backs of TN Film technology as discussed. The Dell 2005FPW is a nice screen and many people find it fine for gaming. However, it is based on a 16ms S-IPS panel from LG.Philips (same pretty much as the Dell 2001FP as well btw) which is not really the most responsive panel out there. S-IPS tend to be pretty slow, but like i said, many people find it ok. There are ongoing issues with backlight leakage and uniformity with this model, something to be wary of.

The Belinea 102035W might be your best choice really, as it is based on a P-MVA panel offering decent movie playback and wide viewing angles. The WS aspect would be nice i think if you're a frequent movie watcher,. and this screen is very well priced. AU Optronics, the panel manufacturer, have done a very good job controlling the overdrive application and so response time is low and the panel is about as responsive as you're going to get in the non TN market at the 20" size. Again, there have been some issues with backlighting, but read the massive thread about the Belinea for more

Other than that, if you look in the 19" market, you are going to struggle to find any non TN panels which are as cheap, and you might miss out on the aspect ratio when you're watching movies. There are also plenty of other new 20" models on their way this year, but you'#ll have to wait a while for many of them....

talkshowhost · 15 Jan 2006 at 13:10

thanks for the very helpful responses guys it is much appreciated.

after reading through the belinea thread i think im just going to take the plunge. Seems to be a very good TFT and i think i would regret not going widescreen. Don't think i can wait any longer cos i've been thinking about one for a while - now just to pray for no dead pixels