What MONITOR should I Buy?

[Joshmcmillan]

Get a Samsung 226BW 22 inch Widescreen , it is great.

Why is it worth the extra $130 over the BenQ FP222W 22"?

I'm getting rid of a leadtek 8600gt haha. If you play games then I wouldn't recommend the 86 anymore. It used to be great. But, all these new games are harder to run AND 1680 x 1050 makes it hard to even max out oblivion on the card. If you just want to be able to play the games on med settings then its a good card. But, most people won't play it if they can't run it full

As long as it runs all the new games, It will be good. I don't mind on medium settings. As long as it runs in at least 1024x768 and at least at 30fps then I'm happy. . I don't HAVE to play it at the monitors maximum resolution do I? Or if I run it at lower resolution does it look worse on a bigger screen? Maybe I should get a 19" or something if 8600gt isn't good enough for 22"?

 

[Woah Mama!]

The 226BW is worth the extra money because its response time is 2ms instead of 5ms, its contrast ratio is 3000:1 instead of 700:1 and other various reasons that I cant be bothered to look up. I honestly haven't heard of a 22" monitor that can rival the 226BW for quality. They are also starting to drop pretty fast in price. You can pick one up (or have it couriered) for $399 from ITestate here. I've bought from them before, they are good, but once you hand the money over you won't hear from them unless you contact them yourself. I didn't hear from them for a day after I paid for some stuff I bought and as I was about to call them, the courier arrived with it at my front door.

Seriously this monitor was $450 a few weeks ago, then $407, now under $400. The cheapest price on Shopbot is $425. This is the only LCD monitor I want.

I'm pretty sure that you dont have to play something at the monitors native resolution? You should be able to play on a 22" at 19" res?

 

[Wile E]

The 226BW is worth the extra money because its response time is 2ms instead of 5ms, its contrast ratio is 3000:1 instead of 700:1 and other various reasons that I cant be bothered to look up. I honestly haven't heard of a 22" monitor that can rival the 226BW for quality. They are also starting to drop pretty fast in price. You can pick one up (or have it couriered) for $399 from ITestate here. I've bought from them before, they are good, but once you hand the money over you won't hear from them unless you contact them yourself. I didn't hear from them for a day after I paid for some stuff I bought and as I was about to call them, the courier arrived with it at my front door.

Seriously this monitor was $450 a few weeks ago, then $407, now under $400. The cheapest price on Shopbot is $425. This is the only LCD monitor I want.

I'm pretty sure that you dont have to play something at the monitors native resolution? You should be able to play on a 22" at 19" res?

The response and contrast ratings are pretty meaningless. They're both Tn-Film panels. I'm willing to bet they share the same panel. The ratings aren't standardized, so you'll see monitors with different ratings actually performing identically, and if the Samsung does respond faster and have better contrast, it's most likeyl achieved thru overdrive technologies, which when cranked too high can cause noise, artifacting and other visible anomalies. Tn-Film panels have terrible viewing angles(especially on the vertical axis, tilt just a few degrees up or down, and you'll see the hues and contrast change) and the best ones only have so/so color reproduction. Not saying that the 226BW is a bad monitor, but there are much better out there. Take manufacturer ratings with a grain of salt.

EDIT: If you are stuck buying a Tn-Film panel (as they are cheaper), you can find one cheaper than the 226BW that gives the same picture quality.

 

[Joshmcmillan]

I think seeing as I'm already in debt to my parents a bit from buying a remote control plane, then from the video card, and they said they would only pay for a 17" one and if I want bigger as it's not needed I can pay, going in debt $80 more is a lot less then $210 more. But i agree it sounds good but it's just too expensive.

 

[hercules71185]

out of native resolution

it gets kinda blurry like taking a magnifying glass and going to close or to far away. In games I guess its not to bad. But, if you kept your desktop like that it would be horrible. I'd stick in native resolution and lower the settings of the game it does look much better in my opinion. I think if you test them side by side you will agree too. The one who recommended samsung. Yea I do agree that samsung is a great monitor. And depends on the acer you get. The cheapest line the AL22 one isn't the best but,it was still a nice monitor. Samsung is probably the best for your dollar unless you find a good deal on a site such as passwird.com

 

[GLeN]

What about NEC? any good, it has 20 ms, and is a 19 inch maybe it would be good for you?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEC-MultiSync...goryZ174QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[panchoman]

yes the samsung is worth the extra cash

 

[Joshmcmillan]

What is the best monitor overall out of the ones on this page under $350?

http://umart.net.au/au/index.php?cPath=46_424&osCsid=e1f381babdf2ac75394f5173493d03a5

 

[hercules71185]

its a comp between 20 and 22"
Samsung has the best monitor under 350 but, its also 2 inches smaller. Me I'd HATE to go back to 20 inches. It seems so much better having the extra size. Even sacrificing a small bit of quality. You will be astonished eitherway and won't regret your choice reguardless.

 

[Joshmcmillan]

Ok, Thanks for the help everyone. I think I will go for 22", which means that the BenQ is probably the way to go. It has a 14 day 0 dead pixel or bright pixel replacement warranty and a 14 day DOA replacement as well as a 3 year repair or replace warranty. It should be pretty good for only $80, as that's what I will be paying because that is the extra cost over the 17".