[thingie2]

Well I've been rather out of the loop recently, and never really been very "in the loop" with monitors, so I need some help.

I'm looking to buy a new monitor, I'm wanting:

• Widescreen
• atleast 24"
• 1920*1200 resolution
• DVI
• Good contrast. Contrast rates can be measured very differently, so how can I compare them?
• Good refresh rate. Would prefer no more than 5ms
• not much more than around £200, I can go a bit higher, but don't want to go much higher.

I might watch TV on it a little bit, but primarily it is going to be used for my PC, with some gaming. I know my gfx card isn't great, so won't be able to play high end games on high detail at full resolution, but I'm hoping to upgrade everything reasonably soon anyway.

Hope someone can point me in the right direction. And if anything needs clearing up, just ask

Thanks

[philthomas]

I bought this one a few weeks ago from ebuyer and I am very happy with it.
It's only 22", but was a super price and the quality is excellent.
The added bonus is ... it has 2 x HDMI sockets, as well as VGA, which makes it nice and future proof.

[thingie2]

Hmm, that looks like a nice monitor, and at a very attractive price, however I think I'm still wanting a 24"
Cheers for that though philthomas

EDIT: I also forgot to mention in my first post, I'm also willing to consider second hand units, if anyone is looking to sell one.

[philthomas]

If you want a 24" ..... this one from Samsung at £202,50 fits all your requirements.
Samsung panels are up there with the best ..... only vga input on this one though.

[thingie2]

Hmm, I would prefer DVI, as I do notice a difference in picture quality with my current monitor between DVI and VGA. So after a quick look, I saw this monitor and from the looks of it, it is the same monitor, just with DVI, and with a height adjustable stand, is this correct, or have I missed something?

[philthomas]

Yep ..... that looks very nice, I must have missed that one.

Samsung are renowned for making great panels, so it should be fine .... also has 3 years manufacturers warranty, which is reassuring.

[katana]

i have an Acer X233H, its a great moniter and it's dirt cheap, 23''
do you'll be sacrificing an inch. it has VGA and DVI, which is nice and its full HD 1920x1080 and has proper 16:9 widescreen. The Acer also comes in 24''

Benq E2400HD is also a very good monitor apparently.

And I agree with phil, Samsung do have great panels, i believe they supply Sony with panels for their Bravia T.V's.

[katana]

i have an Acer X233H, its a great moniter and it's dirt cheap, 23''
do you'll be sacrificing an inch. it has VGA and DVI, which is nice and its full HD 1920x1080 and has proper 16:9 widescreen. The Acer also comes in 24''

Benq E2400HD is also a very good monitor apparently.

And I agree with phil, Samsung do have great panels, i believe they supply Sony with panels for their Bravia T.V's.

[thingie2]

Alright, Cheers both of you, I think I'm going to be going for a Samsung, as their specs and looks are great, and they are among the cheapest. But Are there any brands I should stay away from?

I've also been a little concerned about dead pixels, how common is it, and how many manufacturers replace the unit if there are any?

Also, I just noticed I made a typo in the title of my topic it should have been "New Monitor, any Recomendations?" If someone could change that for me, that would be great.

[philthomas]

Most monitors these days are listed as Class 2 .... only monitors used for Military or Aviation purposes are Class 1 and these will be mega expensive, if you were able to source one.

There is an ISO (13406-2) that covers monitors, but not all manufacturers work to it, especially Chinese/Taiwan import jobbies. Have a read here for more info.

Just avoid the cheap unknown brands and the rest will normally all be on a par.

If it's any consolation, I have never seen a dead pixel on a Samsung screen, but I'm sure someone has