Best Monitor for Gaming and Movies?

MiniNukinfuts

I've searched for a while and I couldn't find the answer to my question.

What type of monitor would be best for gaming and movies?

Would I be better off going for an IPS monitor like this?

Would I be better off going for a 120hz monitor like this?

I was also looking at this Dell, It has good reviews.

Or would anyone have any good recommendations? I'm looking for a monitor to last me for a year or two.

Thanks (hope this is in the right forum too)

Moon54

That monitor is a bit cheaper on Scan.co.uk;
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/23-lg-w2363d-full-hd-3d-black-dvi-hdmi-1920x1080-10001-400cd-m2-5ms

I'm in a similar situation, but that LG is getting my vote so far.
I'd say getting a 120hz monitor is the way to go.

farna_boy

This is one of the best websites that gives reviews of monitors.

Prad.de

I bought my monitor a few months ago and ended up going for the Samsung P2450H.

After spending months of reading reviews, I came to the conclusion that it is totally subjective. I chose that monitor simply because most of the people who bought it were happy with it, it has a 2ms response time that is needed for gaming and it cost around €200. I also managed to find it in a shop and have a look at its quality there and that is perhaps the best way to do it.

A 2ms response time is generally recommended if you will be gaming and a lot of people seem to think the 1900x1200 is the best resolution for movies (a 16:10 aspect ratio).

There weren't many affordable 120Hz monitors when I was looking for my monitor and only one that was 1920x1080 (which was the minimum, resolution I wanted). Apparently, they do give a better image, even if you are not using them for 3D viewing. If you do want 3D viewing though you will need an nVidia graphics card and the associated 3D pack.

Finally most of the experts tend to recommend an IPS monitor, listing one of the primary reasons as the greater viewing angles. This has always confused me, though because if I am watching something or gaming I tend to sit directly in front of the monitor . IPS monitors are generally considered the best monitors though and the Dell Ultrasharps are considered one of the best.

MiniNukinfuts

Thanks guys for the reply.

@farna: I already have a 2ms LG monitor, it's a year and a bit old and I'm just sick of the annoying touch sensitive buttons. That's why i'm looking to change. The reason why i want to get either an IPS or a 120hz monitor is that ips and 120hz are the only drastic changes in monitors for a while (beside looks).

This is my current monitor. Is there any point in changing? Or would I notice any huge difference with an IPs or 120Hz?

Serephucus

I'll just chime in here with my experience.

I'm not a monitor buff. I know about contrast ratios, brightness distrobution, viewing angles, gamut, and panel types. Anything beyond that and it probably won't mean much to me.

I went from a Dell 2208WFP, which is supposedly a very good quality TFT TN panel, to a Dell U2410 IPS display (pretty similar specs with everything else, though I think the U2410 is 300cd/m2 vs 250 on the 2208), and the difference was night and day. Everything was much brighter, brightness levels were much more clearly defined, and the contrast was excellent.

Just my €0.02.

farna_boy

to be perfectly honest, I don't really know. I was playing on a crappy 19" TV before I bought my monitor so you would probably be better off waiting for someone who has either an IPS or 120Hz monitor to give you some better advice.

Looking at some of the IPS monitors now though, I am reminded that most of them do have a higher response time than TN panels. The IPS are generally very good for video/picture editing but I think the TN panels have the edge when it comes to gaming. Saying that though, I have never actually seen a game being played on an IPS monitor so it may not be all that noticeable.

The one last thing I do remember is that if I had the money at the time I probably would have got a 1920x1080, 24", 120Hz monitor and just used it for 2D gaming. To be honest, I have not been overly impressed with 3D gaming, the little I have seen it in shops or on TV and I can't think of any games that would really benefit from 3D. I did read some reviews at the time though saying that there was a noticeable difference between using a 60Hz and 120Hz monitor for 2D gaming and maybe this alone may be enough.

If you ever do see a 3D monitor/TV being used in a shop, you could always ask one of the shop assistants to show you the difference between 60 Hz 2D, 120Hz 2D and 3D I suppose and see if you think the extra money is worth it.

Solitaire

farna_boy wrote: »

Finally most of the experts tend to recommend an IPS monitor, listing one of the primary reasons as the greater viewing angles. This has always confused me, though because if I am watching something or gaming I tend to sit directly in front of the monitor . IPS monitors are generally considered the best monitors though and the Dell Ultrasharps are considered one of the best.

You get IPS monitors for precalibration and colour reproduction, and in the case of the newer Ultra/Hyper IPS panels, without sacrificing much in the way of GTG response times or ghosting issues either. TN is cheap and responsive, but not good for accurate colour reproduction, a fact made worse by the fact that most TN panels are horribly miscalibrated from the factory, sometimes deliberately. Graphics designers laugh at those "vivid" panels with their brightness settings cranked up to "nuclear" to make them look the biz while anyone who works in digital media is actually cranking their brightness down to 100-120cd/m (most monitors have a maximum of 200-300cd/m and the vivid displays ship pretty close to that) so the display is sharp and displays (with further calibration) accurate, natural colours.

farna_boy

Solitaire wrote: »

You get IPS monitors for precalibration and colour reproduction, and in the case of the newer Ultra/Hyper IPS panels, without sacrificing much in the way of GTG response times or ghosting issues either. TN is cheap and responsive, but not good for accurate colour reproduction, a fact made worse by the fact that most TN panels are horribly miscalibrated from the factory, sometimes deliberately. Graphics designers laugh at those "vivid" panels with their brightness settings cranked up to "nuclear" to make them look the biz while anyone who works in digital media is actually cranking their brightness down to 100-120cd/m (most monitors have a maximum of 200-300cd/m and the vivid displays ship pretty close to that) so the display is sharp and displays (with further calibration) accurate, natural colours.

But when it comes to gaming, are you really worried about how accurate the colour is? I'm not sure how much I would care about colour accuracy and think I would gladly sacrifice some (within reason) if it meant my response times were faster.

Saying that, I only recently realised that my monitor was set at "faster" instead of "fastest" for response times and I haven't really noticed the difference since I changed. How many ms this actually contributes I don't know though.

MiniNukinfuts

So you're saying that it's all a matter of preference. Asking myself if i'd prefer brilliant colours or brilliant response time/ refresh rate.

If only there was a 120Hz IPS panel :P

MiniNukinfuts

So i've decided to get an IPS monitor, but now, i'm not sure which one to get.

I've looked at this and this.
Both are LG IPS monitors, and they're both a similar price.

Would anyone be able to recommend another IPS monitor? Thanks