Advice needed for new Monitor

Hardware Other Hardware
1

hello everone;

as you  all could, i am looking for a new monitor.

i have a samsung syncmaster T220 right now, and i would like to go for a bigger screen.

i would prefer 27 inch..!

i will gonne look for it next month, so i have time to look, but i realy need help with it, cause i dont know much about it.

so my questions:

What is better for Gaming ? LCD or LED?

and are there any more inportant things i have to look at? like respons times and so on?

i realy dont know much about monitors, but for me its a very inportant thing, cause i have one  bad eye, so its inportant, that the screen stays clear, at all diffrent watching angles, i use in windows it self low resolutions on this screen 1024 /768 , in game i use higher resolutions offcourse..

i hope some one can give me a good advice, and offcourse links to monitors are welcome..

thnx

kiss kira

 edit: i have a his radeon 7870 GHZ edition, ifthat make sence

2

Id grab a BenQ GW2750HM if thats what your looking for, i have one and grabbed it onsale for 220$ ish, its 1080p so if you get too close youll notice the lower pixel density, but other than that its awesome, ill be glad to help if your more interested in it!

3

Thank you for youre quick reaction, i will look at the BenQ offcourse, 220 dollars sounds very good, i live in holland so then it would be about 200 Euro or so..

more suggestions are very welcome ☻

 

4

When it comes to LCD vs LED, there really isn't much difference, and it won't affect your gaming at all. The difference between LCD and LED is the type of backlight used. Both displays use LCD technology to actually put the picture up on the screen, but monitors labeled "LCD" use cathode backlights where LED monitors use LED backlights. You're going to want to go with an LED monitor, because it's going to give you a better contrast ratio, and you won't get as much light bleeding through the screen as you would with a normal LCD panel. This means you're going to have darker blacks and brighter whites without having any light bleeding through the edges of the screen. An LED monitor will also use less power.

Long story short, definitely go with an LED monitor.

The thing you really have to look out for when gaming is the response time. Generally, you're going to want a monitor with a 5ms or lower response time. 2ms is going to be the absolute best, although I have seen a few 1ms monitors out there.

Now, if you want to have the best picture possible, then I would suggest going with an IPS panel. IPS panels give you much better color accuracy and a much larger viewing angle than normal LCD or LED TN panels. One issue with IPS panels, however, is that you start to see slower response times. I personally have an IPS panel that is rated at 6ms, but I can't tell the difference between that and my old 2ms LCD.

Also, you might want to consider getting an even higher resolution. At 27 inches, you start to see many monitors with a 2560x1440 resolution, which is going to give you an even sharper picture than 1920x1080 (1080p), but the price does start to jump up a little here. Also, 2560x1440 is going to cause your framerate to drop (especially if you don't have enough VRAM) in games a little just because the resolution is so much higher.

If you want a really nice 1080p monitor that's going to give you amazing colors and viewing angles then I would definitely suggest this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236309

If you can spend a little more, then you could always upgrade to 2560x1440 though. This is the one I'm using (fyi: I did have to adjust the colors quite a bit when I first got the monitor, but they're amazing once calibrated correctly):

http://www.amazon.com/Nixeus-Resolution-2560x1440-Monitor-NX-VUE27/dp/B008M08SN6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363112108&sr=8-1&keywords=nixeus+vue+27

You could also go for something from Overlord Computers, but it looks like they're sold out right now. They're definitely something to look out for though:

http://overlordcomputer.com/collections/displays

If you're really loaded then you could always go with a Dell U2711, but I really don't like the anti-glare coating on the screen. I feel that it washes out the colors a bit:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363112265&sr=1-1&keywords=dell+u2711

You could also go with a Yamakasi, Catleap, or Achieva Shimian monitor, but those IPS panels are pretty bare bones monitors (many come with only a power button and a single input port), and you're not going to get a warranty with them. Logan did a review on the Achieva Shimian a while ago: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akJVKzzp4a4

5

thanks for this big input. i realy appriciat it.

i will look also to those ips panels.

so  till now  wenn im gonne look for a monitor at 27 ich, the most inportant thing to look is the lowest reaction times, if i get this right?

so 5 ms or 2 ms is about somthing to keep watching about.

thnx for the input.

i searched some  dutch hardwares  webshops. the only thing that i dont get right now, is that there are many diffrent monitors with ratios, some are 10 000000:1 dynamic some 50 00:1 i saw eaven some 200 000 000:1 or so. is there maybe some inportant diffrence? ir are that just numbers? :)

those ips panels looking nice to. some are a bit pricy ofc, but its something i take in mind, when i gonne buy a monitor.

thank you very much all till so far.

more inputs are allways welcome ☻ i just study all the things you all posting here, to make a decission based on,  on the inputs at this forum :)

thanks guys ☻ 

6

Yeah, the biggest thing to look for in a gaming monitor is going to be response time. Either 5ms or 2ms would be ideal for gaming, but if you're considering an IPS panel with 6ms definitely don't shy away from it because the difference is so small that it's unnoticeable.

As for the contrast ratios...well they're kind of a crapshoot. Different manufacturers use different standards of measurement when it comes to contrast ratio, and some even measure it when the display is turned off (which might as well be false advertising). The problem with this is that you see ridiculous numbers floating around all over the place like 80,000,000:1. Common sense would say that the bigger the first number, the better the contrast, but this is a problem because, like I said earlier, every manufacturer uses a different standard of measurement. The companies who are going to be measuring contrast ratio most accurately are likely to be using the standard measurement, which is going to give you smaller numbers like 3000:1 or 1000:1. 

Because of these different standards of measurement, a contrast ratio of 3000:1 may, in fact, be the exact same thing as 80,000,000:1. You usually see the skyrocketing numbers with monitors that have "dynamic contrast ratio" listed under their specs, so if you're comparing monitors that are all measured in dynamic contrast ratios, then you can easily compare them. The larger the number, the better the contrast ratio. On the other hand, if you're comparing a monitor that is using dynamic contrast as a standard of measurement and another monitor that isn't, then it's kind of up in the air as to which has the better contrast ratio.

I don't really pay much attention to contrast ratio anymore because of this, and also because there's not a huge difference between different contrast ratios. Most monitors are going to have enough contrast for everything to look nice nowadays (contrast is just the different levels of blacks, whites, and all the shades of gray you get in between). I don't usually look at contrast ratio as a deciding factor anymore.

And yeah, I know some of the monitors I listed are pretty pricy, but I figured I'd lay out all the options in front of you when it comes to IPS panels, because you really do get the best color reproduction and viewing angles from them.

7

Thanks for youre input, so if i get this right you have to look to the first number wenn it comes to  contrast ratios, but that isnt realy an inportant thing thease day..

i now got a samsung syncmaster T220 its a 22 ich monitor with 2 ms response time.

i realy wane have a bigger screen. and ofc a full hd one.

my current monitor is 60HZ i saw many 27 ich monitors 1080p there are also 60 hz refrash rate.. how bad is 60Hz refrash rates on 27 inch monitors?

 

 

8

60hz is totally fine. It really doesn't matter how large the screen is. The refresh rate is just how many times the screen will refresh itself in a certain period of time. I believe 60hz means it will refresh 60 times in one second, but I'm not totally sure about that. What I can tell you is that if you have a 60hz refresh rate, then the maximum frames per second you will be able to see is going to be 60. If you stepped up to a 120hz monitor then you would be able to see a maximum of 120 frames per second as long as your video card is fast enough.

9

thanks again lets see if i get it right..

the main inportant thing is the respons time 5ms or quicker.

60hz is good, but 120hz would be better.

the  contrast ratio isnt realy inportant these days, just look at the first number higher is better.

best way to go i a ips screen, maybe  because ive got one lazy eye..

okay well if i see this all right lets  give a first shot i found this one.

LG IPS277L-BN Led monitor

http://azerty.nl/36-4297-541128/lg-ips277l-bn-led-monitor-.html

what do you think about it?

its just a first shot,to look if im learning right.

☻ 

i realy like that asus ips screen you posted by the way :)

10

Both the Asus and the LG look like very good monitors. If you are looking for a greater pixel density then you should definitely look into the 2560x1440 panels (consider your frame rates and what games you want to play), however the 1080p monitors are good if you are not going to be looking at it from a foot (~30cm) away, and even then it should not make such a huge difference. IF you are looking at the higher resolution monitors then keep in mind that they do get bloody expensive (mainstream brands). HOWEVER there are the Achieva Shimian, Catleaps, or Yamakasi that Vortex88 posted earlier, but I am not too sure about their customer service of something goes wrong (I am sure they have that information somewhere). With regards to the ones that you already mentioned, they are both very good monitors (keep in mind that LG makes some of the panels for Asus as well as those Shimians). Personally I do like the Asus, but there is no VESA mount (if that is a problem). Also, yes if you are looking at this price range go with an IPS panel. Keep looking and post some more that you are considering.

11

a pls screen isn't bad either. pls is about the same as ips.... in almost every regard

12

Yeah, that LG is a very nice monitor. The only real difference between that one and the ASUS I posted earlier seems to be the contrast ratio.

And like Commissar said, PLS panels are very nice as well. I'm not sure what the difference is between PLS and IPS, but I've heard they're very similar.

13

the LG monitor looks nice, although it is only 1080p, which may be a bit bothersome if you happen to sit within a foot of the monitor during gaming (you may begin to see the pixelation). Otherwise, everything looks to be in order.

14

Have skimmed over what everyone else has been saying, and i think i should step in to correct some inaccuracies

1. Response time is Important but not everything, anything under 7-8ms should be fine, but the larger factor is input lag which if over 10-15ms can cause some bigger problems with gaming, and a lot of lower priced IPS panels and even TN panels (with an apparent 2ms response time which is a lie) have input lag over 15ms 

 2. Contrast IS important, its just that the rating on most Panels is 2-3 times the monitors actual capabilities, anything over an actual static contrast ratio of 1/800 (Dynamic Contrast just plays with backlighting) should be good for gaming and the like, but the higher better (this can make a huge difference in seeing things in the darker or lighter areas of the game) 

3. any IPS will have great colour accuracy, but the cheaper IPS monitors and even higher end models usually have worse Contast ratios (Which is more noticable to the human eye) and Higher input lag, along with slower response times. 

4. Unless used to 120Hz your eye wont be able to tell the difference, and the difference it makes to the average user is trivial most of the time.

The Monitor your looking at is pretty good, but isnt the best suited to what im guessing youll be doing, its why i recommended the little Gem i found that isnt the absolute best at everything but does everything extremely well.

The GW2750HM i recommended earlier from BenQ, it has a response time of 4ms (GTG) when set to maximum, it has a Static Contrast ratio of 5000:1 (which ends up being about 2500/3000:1) and if you want is has DCR mode which actually works due to the already high contrast ratio, an input lag of around 6ms, and finally it is a lot cheaper than comparable IPS panels because its an AVMA type panel.

I have one and its good for everything i do, which includes Photo Editing/Viewing, Gaming, Movie Editing/Watching, and Web browsing. 

So if you have any more Questions about monitors id be glad to help, and sorry if this is long and drawn out and/or hard to read, im pretty sleepy at the moment.

 

15

PLS panels are actually very similar to IPS panels, they are just Samsungs version of eIPS Panels, which are the lower end IPS panels most people end up buying

16

I'm not saying that contrast ratio isn't necessarily important, but you would be hard pressed to find a monitor with terrible contrast. Most monitors have a decent contrast ratio.

Also, she said viewing angles were important to her, and IPS panels are going to have much better viewing angles than any LED monitor.

What's the difference between response time and input lag, and how can you determine the input lag of a monitor?

17

thanks you all very much for youre help so far.

a monitor  is something inportant to me, the main thing what is inportant is vieuwing angles,  ive got a lazy eye, so wenn reading tekst and so is very intense for my better eye, i have a normal lcd screen now, and my eyes getting tired soon. so so  confort is very inportant, then screen i have right now isnt bad, but the problem with vieuwing angles  on normal lcd screens, makes my eyec  tired. :)

so confort is the first thing whats inportant.. ofc gamin what i gonne do too is inportant, but if it  cost me about 3 ms more in response time , then that doesnt be a big deal for me.

so im realy happy with all youre comments, cause i dont know the technical parts about it, and if i go to a shop those sellers, mostly dont know much too, and i dont want, to buy something that isnt good for me ☻

so tonight i will go searching again for some models then post them here, offcourse  i´m verry thankfull for all youre help.

greetz Kira

18

Don't get a 1920x1080 27" monitor; the pixels are huge, and the image doesn't look nearly as good. I would definitely look into getting a Korean IPS 2560x1440 panel. They can be had for $350-450 on Ebay, much cheaper than an Asus or Dell equivalent. A 7870gHz probably wouldn't handle games taht well at 2560x1400, but if you lowered the settings or resolutions, you would be fine.

19

Thank you i will keep that in mind. ☻

the main question for me  should i go for a normal led monitor, or a ips...?

in the price range about 200 to 300/350 there are plenty of normal led screens, with about 1/2 and 5 ms response times...

but the problem with  normal led screens is wachting angles, wenn reading text that is much intensive for my better eye, they getting tired quickly as i need to reed much tekst, thats just my experiance with it.

now i readed about ips pannels and did some research on youtube and so,  where they  compared ips with non ips models , en there you see the diffrence with watching angles i mean.

the only thing i noticed is that ips panels  between 200 and 350 euro , is a little bit hard to find. so thats where im stuggeling a bit...

i realy want whats best for my eye, and good  colors, so that my eye won't get that  soon tired anymore..

till now i readed very positive reactions about the LG ips, thats on sell for about 280 euro´s and the asus looks very nice to me too, its on sell in Holland for about 356 euro

the lg ips has response time  from 5 ms..

but i will go look to find more models.. and post them here.

and still the main question led or ips in my situation.. ☻

i´m realy happy you all helping me. :)

grtz Kira

 

 

 

20

1080p only looks bad when your 1-2 feet away from the monitor, atfer that its not very noticable if it even is at all