Im after a new monitor, the last tft I bought was in 2000ish and things have moved on somewhat.
Ive invested in a new pc (Q8300 quad core / 1gb Nvide G220 HD not blueray etc etc ) and need a new screen to do it justice.
Im looking for a 22" or above HD ready monitor predominantly for photography and photoshop with the possibility of moving in to video editing and if ive got a pc that powerful i'll be playing some games when its too wet to ride.
Id also like it to be under 200 quid and come with a moon on a stick.
Any recommendations.
Ta. J.
For that price... no chance!
I've got a BenQ 24" V2400W at home which is pretty good, around £200 now.
But I made the mistake of trying it out at work, next my Dell 24" 2408WFP monitor.....noticably worse 🙁
I put up the same photos on both monitors, and there were areas on the BenQ where it looked all black. Same area on the Dell and there were loads of shades of black visible.
The benq has a TN panel which is not as good as the PVA type panel in the dell. If you are treating yourself and are into photography try and get a PVA type.
Entirely possible at that price, but it will probably be a TN-film based display which means the colour accuracy won't be fantastic which may be an issue if you're using it for photography and video.
You'll get some good ideas, along with reports on colour accuracy here:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews.htm
And [url= http://www.digitalversus.com/article-857.html ]DigitalVersus have a simpler Monitor Buyer's Guide[/url]
Here you go...
[url= http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158382 ]Samsung 2333SW[/url]
I've got the "TV version" of that monitor (It's got freeview and comes with a remote, but costs £50 more, but is to all intents and purposes the same product) and can't honestly reccomend it highly enough. I did LOADS of research on the matter before I went and bought mine a couple of months ago, and the Samsungs pretty much trounced everything else for quality etc... And it's full 1080HD compatible too.
It will definitely do your new PC justice!
ooOOoo that's a bit of an unfair test given that the Dell 2408WFP is a wide gamut monitor and the Benq is a standard sRGB gamut.
OK, and what would the recommendations be around the 19-21" size? Apart from "get a bigger one!" 😉
I was considering a Dell which seemed to be a bit cheap and cheerful to be any good for the money -
[url= http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151775 ]Dell S2309W 23"[/url]
what would the recommendations be around the 19-21" size?
I wouldn't bother with that size. 22-23" 1920x1080 monitors start from around £115. That's where the bang for buck is these days.
Morrisons had some Samsungs TVs in when I was in yesterday, not sure what size they were as seen them in the distance but similar model to mine, I use a Syncmaster T2600HD. Whatever model they were they we £200 might be worth looking.
I've got a Samsung SM2494HM, which is a bit over budget, but the cutdown version, the [url= http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167615 ]SM2494HS[/url] has only had a USB hub and adjustable stand removed.
The panel (TN at this price of course) seemed to review better than the Benq and Dell equivalents, and it's got the benefit of hdmi (you can plug in a digibox to use as a tv, as well as your usual xbox etc) as well as dvi input. Touch sensitive buttons didn't work on my first one, but it was swapped out under onsite warranty.
ooOOoo that's a bit of an unfair test given that the Dell 2408WFP is a wide gamut monitor and the Benq is a standard sRGB gamut.
Tell me about it. But then it's half the price. I'm on it now and it's fine for photo editing, but the comparison showed me you can get better.
If you keep your monitors for 10 years (eco clap) then get a good un!
Can anyone recommend me a reasonably priced PVA type screen or are the all significantly more expensive?
Also are virtually all 22/23" screens 1920 x 1080 now - they seem awfully narrow, i noticed that the Benq one mentioned is 1920x1200 any other recommendations for a squarer monitor?
Ta.
[url= http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=858759&camp_id=ppc_tvcampmonitor23 ]bingo[/url]
samsung sm2333hd
23", hd, VGA input,VESA mount, £214
I got one recently and whilst the sound is a bit sh!t the picture quality is really good. i'd recommend
Compared to TN-film monitors PVA will always be a bit more expensive.
What do you consider "reasonable" and do you need [url= http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/monitors/display/samsung-sm-xl24-xl30_2.html#sect0 ]wide/extended gamut[/url] (many PVAs are, as they are often aimed at the serious am/cheap pro market).
The [url= http://www.digitalversus.com/article-357-6293-36.html ]Samsung SyncMaster F2380[/url] might be a good bet.
23" C-PVA screen, 1920 x 1080, standard gamut, £220
baw jaws: is that a PVA panel? Seems like a better deal if it is.
As mentioned above, I've got the same screen as baw jaws, the Samsung SM2333HD... Which is actually a freeview telly as well. The Monitor only version is the SM2333SW, which is about £50 cheaper...
A quick google search reveals the panel is a TN type, but what difference this makes at this price I don't know... All I can say is I researched the hell out of screens circa £200 before I bought mine, the Samsung S2333 consistently came out top of the reviews I found... Hence I bought one!
If you're bothered about screen size (ie you want a 1200 pixel high screen instead of a 1080 one) then there's always the [url= http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150970 ]Samsung SM2433BW[/url], which is essentially the same model, but in a 1200 pixel high version.
as mboy says, think its a TN. good picture on it, but i've not used it for any photo work TBH.
This may sound stupid however if i buy a 1920x1200 as opposed to 1920x1080 whats the implications for viewing high def - does it stretch the image or letterbox it like widescreen on old 4:3 tv's ?
Any decent monitor will have aspect ratio controls that will let you choose between stretching or watching with black bars top and bottom.