Advice on a new monitor

TheDoc

Back to the pros for more advice

I've been using a 32" HD telly for my gaming needs for the last two years but I'm thinking of making a switch to a PC monitor.

I had intended to go dualscreen but unfortunataly the size of the workspace does not allow it.

So I'm thinking of going with a monitor for my pc/gaming needs and moving the telly higher on the wall for TV and movie viewing ( essentially running dual screen i guess)

I'm looking at 22" models and I guess looknig for advice on where to shop, price, brand and spec.

I run a pretty nice machine so I'll want something in monitor wise to match.

The important parts are really the connections. My PC has a dvi-vga cable, but I recently went with a DVI-HDMI convertor and then a HDMI cable into the telly.

I'm not sure what connections mointors rock these days but advice welcomed.

From the look of things they all seem to have VGA and HDMI ports.

Been checking out some nice LG ones with nice resolutions but there is some stuff I dont understand.

So I guess the breakdown.


Need a 22" monitor for PC gaming/work.
Have a 32" HD telly, will run that dual screen for movies
Want good resolution for gaming ( and hd content)
Best possible cable connection ( be it hdmi etc)

Budget is between 150-22, from the looks of things these are all priced at around 150-170, pixmania have a good LG one with the cables etc for 180, I just wanted to check in here.

Preferably I want to buy in a walk in store ( high hopes considering irish prices)

Been looking at this one ( granted the specs on site are a bit lax) cause I have a €25 voucher

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9262904/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7C23716614%7CComputers+and+monitors%7C14419111/c_3/4%7Ccat_14419111%7CPC+monitors%7C14419112/Trail/searchtext%3E22+INCH.htm

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

The one on argos is fine, but its only got a VGA output.

For 185 including VAT and delivery will net you this little beauty of a Iiyama monitor. It has much better specs then the LG and has VGA, Dvi-d and HDMI:

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/16_MONITOR/03_MONITOR/productdetails/80001119/Iiyama_Pro_Lite_E2409HDS_1_LCD_display_TFT_/E2409HDS_B1/default.aspx

I'm pretty sure the price is wrong on this one, so get in there while it lasts

TheDoc

Komplett-Tech: Ryan wrote: »

The one on argos is fine, but its only got a VGA output.

For 185 including VAT and delivery will net you this little beauty of a Iiyama monitor. It has much better specs then the LG and has VGA, Dvi-d and HDMI:

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/16_MONITOR/03_MONITOR/productdetails/80001119/Iiyama_Pro_Lite_E2409HDS_1_LCD_display_TFT_/E2409HDS_B1/default.aspx

I'm pretty sure the price is wrong on this one, so get in there while it lasts

Cheers, 24 inch is a little big though, funny enough I forgot to check komplett :O Good price on that though

Will have a mooch round, whats the story with that brand? Any use?

Never heard of them before and I'm sceptical of buying thsoe type of brands tbh

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

I've got 3 of the larger 27's at home and i find them amazing. They have actually been around a lot longer then Samsung and LG (In the monitor game atleast) They first started producing them back in 1954

They also make pretty much the same monitor in a 22" but without the HDMI port for 144 Although this one is out of stock until the end of the month.

http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/16_MONITOR/03_MONITOR/productdetails/20010395/IIyama_22_E2208HDD_1_LCD_5ms_DVI_D_VGA/E2208HDD_B1/default.aspx

marco_polo

TheDoc wrote: »

Cheers, 24 inch is a little big though, funny enough I forgot to check komplett :O Good price on that though

Will have a mooch round, whats the story with that brand? Any use?

Never heard of them before and I'm sceptical of buying thsoe type of brands tbh

They are not a no name brand by any mean, while they are not as well known in the consumer display market as others, they have been making professional grade monitors for donkeys years.

TheDoc

Well that clears the brand thing up, but it still doesnt have a 22" option with my needs

Ideally id love love to have dualies side by side, but not an option I'm afraid

Keywal

Hi Doc,

i'd forget the one your looking at on Argos, no hdmi even though it has the resolution and has that silly anti glare coating which causes images to lose color and definition.

if your machine (GPU) has a HDMI output then it would be crazy not to spend a little more on it.
also i have been looking at monitors for months now so know a little about them and am seriously leaning toward LED over LCD.
different lighting technology is all which give colours more brightness and definition. it also handles black and white a lot better add to that the fact that the LED's go right around the perimitter of the monitor, it has a lot less light bleed that the CCFL bulbs that are in LCD Monitors.


in the end the choice is yours!

yes a better response time and image brightness are preferred but unless your gaming to the highest degree, you wont notice them.

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=35717&agid=1390
this is a slight bit towards the top of your budget but worth a look!

TheDoc

Those specs are pretty much the same across the board I've noticed from my research.


And the going price is roughly between €150-170.

I'd prefer a walk in store so I can basically just walk in and buy it , plus in work I can get vouchers for most walk in retailers, but also amazon and pixmania.


Pixmania look to have some good offers but they tend to be a bit steep on the pricing.

looking in the argos catalogue today there was a nice 24" LG with hdmi output etc.


My machine has DVI output, but I currently have it running a HDMI adaptor, so hdmi from pc to TV


I've gotten some good information here tbh, mostly confirming that they are all the smae and that I need to hitup some HDMI outputs.

Guess I'll get hunting

darconio

I think this one covers all your requirements:

Samsung SyncMaster B2230H 22"

Keywal

Doc,

just thought i'd add to your pain.....

all monitors of the LCD variety suffer from input lag or ghosting... this is something the retails tell you. this can cause serious issues with game playing. some monitors have an input lag of close to 100ms which to the gamer is a loss of 3-5 frames, possibly more, per second! add that to a mid range GPU and you can forget playing Crysis! :P

my advice now is to get on to Newegg and do some more research. in there you will see reviews from those that have gone before and at least you will know what area to look in!!

TheDoc

darconio wrote: »

I think this one covers all your requirements:

Samsung SyncMaster B2230H 22"

Looks good.

Still wondering does anyone have some advice on an irish walk in store. Im pretty much sure about the specs, but I want to buy irish, so I can get it asap and have no hassles.

looked at currys and argos, nothing much.

Amazon and pixmania are going to be the winners for the online bracket, but am I missing out on any irish retailer.

Harvey norman for example i havnt gone into look cause their website is shocking, but might have something in there

Keywal

Power city have good sales on at the minute!

darconio

Isn't Komplett an Irish e-tailer?

If you look for a walk in store option you could try:

http://www.itdirect.ie/

peats

Beyond 2000 (Even if I found it quite pricey)

ED E

You could try the Dell Outlet store. Its not totally buying Irish, but it should only take 3-5 days to arrive. I have an ST2210 ant its a beaut. Worth a look.

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

TheDoc wrote: »

Looks good.

Still wondering does anyone have some advice on an irish walk in store. Im pretty much sure about the specs, but I want to buy irish, so I can get it asap and have no hassles.

looked at currys and argos, nothing much.

Amazon and pixmania are going to be the winners for the online bracket, but am I missing out on any irish retailer.

Harvey norman for example i havnt gone into look cause their website is shocking, but might have something in there

Peats are a good store to walk in too, nice friendly people. Not much use if you're not in Dublin though.

marco_polo

Keywal wrote: »

Doc,

just thought i'd add to your pain.....

all monitors of the LCD variety suffer from input lag or ghosting... this is something the retails tell you. this can cause serious issues with game playing. some monitors have an input lag of close to 100ms which to the gamer is a loss of 3-5 frames, possibly more, per second! add that to a mid range GPU and you can forget playing Crysis! :P

my advice now is to get on to Newegg and do some more research. in there you will see reviews from those that have gone before and at least you will know what area to look in!!

Input lag is rarely much of a problem for a quality LCD monitor from a reputable manufacturer nowadays, no harm to check reviews though to be sure as there are some bad ones out there.

I picked two random 22" mid priced TN panel 1080p LCDs here, an LG an Iiyama, you can see that the input lag vs a crt for both both are just over 10ms which is very good, even the poorer performers rarely seem to go much over 30 ms.

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=35&mo1=501&p1=5175&ma2=50&mo2=399&p2=3700&ph=12

Venom

Komplett-Tech: Ryan wrote: »

Peats are a good store to walk in too, nice friendly people. Not much use if you're not in Dublin though.

Bugger all selection tho.

Kintarō Hattori

Venom wrote: »

Bugger all selection tho.

Let me know what you'd like to see stocked. We cut back on the range of monitors we were stocking as sales started to get very slow, as they did with most PC components last year.

Venom

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Let me know what you'd like to see stocked. We cut back on the range of monitors we were stocking as sales started to get very slow, as they did with most PC components last year.

Top end gaming monitors for a start. I understand you guys can't stock up like the online places but at the end of the day its always quicker for me to order online than have you guys order me the product I want and sadly cheaper to.

Iv gotten some killer bargains from Peats over the years and do keep an eye on yaz so keep pluging away

TheDoc

Agree with the above, love peats, great store, introduced to me by Geoff Peat himself ( used to play golf with him) and there is always a good bit of help in there and some decent stuff for a gaming rig.

As of late though online purchases trumps any irish store, and sadly there isnt alot irish retailers can do about it i guess : /

plonk

http://www.dabs.ie/products/benq-g2420hd-24--widescreen-1920-x-1080-hdmi-dvi-d-vga-lcd-monitor-65FD.html?refs=376750000

Just bought this one myself and am extremely happy with it. I have it hooked up to my laptop via hdmi.

TheDoc

Going to have a mooch into some walk in stores tomorrow and see whats what .

At the moment I'm leaning towards an LG from Pixmania ( good few friends have the same model and was impressed yesterday after having a nosey )

2 HDMI ports, vga and dvi.

€170 including a hdmi cable and dvi-hdmi adaptor. (Granted shipping might add on a bit0

But can grab a voucher from work for the site so it makes it a decent bargian coming in about €150 for me

Komplett-Tech: Ryan

If you can get it for 150 you can't really go wrong to be honest.