Yet another "help me find a monitor" thread.

Stan_Lite

Stan_Lite

Stan_Lite

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Sorry about another "spec me a monitor" type thread guys but I'm looking to spend a fair wad of cash on a new monitor and want to make sure I get the right one.

Basically, what I want is a large, widescreen monitor which will be used mainly for multimedia but I want to start getting into gaming too (bit late in life really but hey :p ).

Resolution shouldn't be a problem as the spec of my PC (below) should easily cope with pretty much anything.

Money is not a major problem - I am willing to spend up to £2000 to get the best kit.

I need a good quality monitor which will serve both purposes well.

Machine spec:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+
Asus A8N-SLi Premium nForce4 SLi
Corsair 2GB DDR XMS4000PT TwinX
ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI
Western Digital Caviar Special Edition 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache
Antec SLK3800BUK Black Quiet Midi Tower Case
Thermaltake PurePower 680W ATX2.0 Power Supply
I am using the onboard sound with a set of old 5.1 Videologic speakers at the moment which will be upgraded eventually but the current system isn't bad and won't affect my choice of monitor.

I already have a Vusys HD19A which is a good enough desktop monitor but I don't think it would be the best as far as gaming is concerned (but then I know virtually nothing about monitors - I have other lower spec machines I can use it for, anyway).

Thank you in advance for any advice :)

Stan :)
 
TFT or CRT mate?

If you're looking for a TFT then there are quite a few good WS models around nowadays. The DELl 2405FPW is a monster and certainly excellent fro multimedia use. Good for multitasking, movies are a excellent and the resolution and desktop real estate are fantastic. I did a review of mine here which you might find helpful. There is also a massive chunk of info on the front page of the sticky about it too.

There are some excellent models emerging in the 20" WS market too, including the Belinea 102035W and some new offerings from Viewsonic, Xerox, BenQ etc all on their way over the next few months. These are a little more responsive for gaming than the 2405FPW and larger models, as this is the main area of R&D in the TFT market at the moment. Thanks to impoved technologies they are really pushing the gaming performance from the 20"WS range, and im sure the 21" - 24" range will follow at some point, but not for now.

I think it depends what level of gaming you will play anyway. I find the 2405FPW fine for the few games i play, and many people find it absolutely fine for even some fast gaming. I think unless you're an avid CRT fan who does a lot of LAN gaming then you will probably be fine with all the modern TFT's as there are certainly a lot of improvement since a few years ago when many were pretty much unusable for gaming.
 
Sorry mate, should have specified TFT (I have 4 PCs - I'd never find space for 4 CRTs :p ).

Thanks for the advice, I was looking closely at the 2405FPW, it seems to be very well thought of and not nearly as expensive as I would have thought.

Like you, the little gaming I do is not of the "hardcore" intensive variety so I don't need a particularly fast monitor. I basically need something with a decent sized screen which I can use as a desktop and for watching DVDs etc with the occasional bit of low intensity gaming thrown in.

The 2405FPW sounds like it's just the baby I'm after. Having read your excellent review and skimmed through the masses of information regarding it in this forum, my mind is pretty much made up. I had half decided on it anyway but it's nice to have it confirmed by others more knowledgable on the subject.

Thanks again mate.

Stan :)
 
no problems Stan. It's an excellent screen and seeing as your requirements are pretty much what mine were personally, i think you''ll be very happy :)
 
it comes with VGA and DVI cables. Also a USB cable to hook it up to the PC so that the ports on it are fully active for USB to be plugged in. Doesn't come with Svideo, composite cables or anything for the other external inputs
 
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