help buying a new new monitor...
Posted by ralv585
Please read the message down below 
im thinking of buying a new monitor just after christmas, i've decided to get one from John Lewis because i can get 12.5% discount on all goods there
the ones im looking at are [www.johnlewis.com]
the thing im not too sure about is screen resolution, its 1680 x 1050, so does that mean that is its native resolution, so if i play games i have to play the in that resolution or can i still play them in 800X600 or 1024X768, would the image then be upscaled and look horrible?
the response time is good and i can get it for about £245.
the other one is this [www.johnlewis.com]
2 inches smaller but £45 cheaper
i'll use it primarily for GP4, pro evo 6, movies and tv shows, and is it possible to use my xbox 360 with it as well, i think i might need aditional cables but if i could that would be great
i run GP4 in 1280 X 1024 and pro evo 6 at 800 X 600 windowed, will they still look the same or need to be upscaled?
thanks for any help
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2008 09:41PM by ralv585.
im thinking of buying a new monitor just after christmas, i've decided to get one from John Lewis because i can get 12.5% discount on all goods there
the ones im looking at are [www.johnlewis.com]
the thing im not too sure about is screen resolution, its 1680 x 1050, so does that mean that is its native resolution, so if i play games i have to play the in that resolution or can i still play them in 800X600 or 1024X768, would the image then be upscaled and look horrible?
the response time is good and i can get it for about £245.
the other one is this [www.johnlewis.com]
2 inches smaller but £45 cheaper
i'll use it primarily for GP4, pro evo 6, movies and tv shows, and is it possible to use my xbox 360 with it as well, i think i might need aditional cables but if i could that would be great
i run GP4 in 1280 X 1024 and pro evo 6 at 800 X 600 windowed, will they still look the same or need to be upscaled?
thanks for any help
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2008 09:41PM by ralv585.
HP website says that 1680 x 1050 is the max. resolution and that speakers are sold seperatly
[www.shopping.hp.com]
That resolution is prety useless IMO, I have 3 years old Philips 19' CRT (is that the right word for the big no LCD monitor?) and it has max. resolution of 1920x1440 and because of that I can play games on 1600x1200 with no problems.
I don't know what happens on an LCD if you use smaller resolution, but I would guess that for normal windows use you would need at least 1280x1024 or you will have very big icons.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2006 03:12PM by anze89.
[www.shopping.hp.com]
That resolution is prety useless IMO, I have 3 years old Philips 19' CRT (is that the right word for the big no LCD monitor?) and it has max. resolution of 1920x1440 and because of that I can play games on 1600x1200 with no problems.
I don't know what happens on an LCD if you use smaller resolution, but I would guess that for normal windows use you would need at least 1280x1024 or you will have very big icons.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/2006 03:12PM by anze89.
Alternatively you can try to find the best monitor ever made the 24" widescreen CRT from Sony the GDM-FW900, I'm keeping mine until it becomes a pile of smoking rubble and will then proceed to look for another, anything else just isn't a monitor anymore, perhaps when SED shows up I might be swayed :D
NickKK Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alternatively you can try to find the best monitor
> ever made the 24" widescreen CRT from Sony the
> GDM-FW900, I'm keeping mine until it becomes a
> pile of smoking rubble and will then proceed to
> look for another, anything else just isn't a
> monitor anymore, perhaps when SED shows up I might
> be swayed :D
You can also get a new desk, and another room for the monitor!
Seriously, get the 22" - you'll appreciate the extra desktop space.
That resolution is widescreen (16:9), and is starting to become the dominant standard (as opposed to 4:3).
Most graphics drivers can use 'centred' displays now without penalty, so say I had a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, I could still run 1024x768, but it wouldn't use all the screen - it would be 'letter-boxed' in the middle of the screen. It doesn't have any draw-backs (apart from being inefficient use of screen area I guess), so that's not a concern. I know the recent ATi drivers can do this, and I'd be staggered if the nVIDIA one's couldn't (don't use this feature at work, so I've never tested it).
Iain: there's only a few manufacturers to use for LCDs (mainly because they use each others panels) - while the Belinea has better specs, they mean next to nothing at all. Without looking at reviews, I'd quite confidently state that the HP is superior overall. NEC, Dell, Apple and Samsung all make excellent displays too - some of the higher-end Viewsonics are nice as pure gaming monitors too. Apparently the latest NEC models are excellent, but there's a price premium to pay.
As always with monitors, get the very best you can afford. It'll still be going strong long after you've made probably several other upgrades.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alternatively you can try to find the best monitor
> ever made the 24" widescreen CRT from Sony the
> GDM-FW900, I'm keeping mine until it becomes a
> pile of smoking rubble and will then proceed to
> look for another, anything else just isn't a
> monitor anymore, perhaps when SED shows up I might
> be swayed :D
You can also get a new desk, and another room for the monitor!
Seriously, get the 22" - you'll appreciate the extra desktop space.
That resolution is widescreen (16:9), and is starting to become the dominant standard (as opposed to 4:3).
Most graphics drivers can use 'centred' displays now without penalty, so say I had a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, I could still run 1024x768, but it wouldn't use all the screen - it would be 'letter-boxed' in the middle of the screen. It doesn't have any draw-backs (apart from being inefficient use of screen area I guess), so that's not a concern. I know the recent ATi drivers can do this, and I'd be staggered if the nVIDIA one's couldn't (don't use this feature at work, so I've never tested it).
Iain: there's only a few manufacturers to use for LCDs (mainly because they use each others panels) - while the Belinea has better specs, they mean next to nothing at all. Without looking at reviews, I'd quite confidently state that the HP is superior overall. NEC, Dell, Apple and Samsung all make excellent displays too - some of the higher-end Viewsonics are nice as pure gaming monitors too. Apparently the latest NEC models are excellent, but there's a price premium to pay.
As always with monitors, get the very best you can afford. It'll still be going strong long after you've made probably several other upgrades.
thanks guys!
so the image will be letter boxed
it wont stretch to fit the screen?
on my current crt, in the menu screen i can stretch the display so i see no black borders whatever the resolution, do lcd's have that option too?
im definately getting the 22inch after christmas, my sis said she'll help chip in.
@madotter that Belinea looks good too, but i'd prefer to have one from the major companies like gav said, so what the difference between 700:1 contrast and 1000:1 contrast?
so the image will be letter boxed
it wont stretch to fit the screen?
on my current crt, in the menu screen i can stretch the display so i see no black borders whatever the resolution, do lcd's have that option too?
im definately getting the 22inch after christmas, my sis said she'll help chip in.
@madotter that Belinea looks good too, but i'd prefer to have one from the major companies like gav said, so what the difference between 700:1 contrast and 1000:1 contrast?
ralv585 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> so the image will be letter boxed
> it wont stretch to fit the screen?
> on my current crt, in the menu screen i can
> stretch the display so i see no black borders
> whatever the resolution, do lcd's have that option
> too?
No, no - if you leave the settings in the graphics properties at default, then it will be stretched. You just don't have to... I prefer not to stretch the image personally. Prefer it nice and crisp.
ralv585 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @madotter that Belinea looks good too, but i'd
> prefer to have one from the major companies like
> gav said, so what the difference between 700:1
> contrast and 1000:1 contrast?
The difference will likely not be noticeable. More contrast is generally better, but like the timing it's a very grey area. Monitors are one area (along with PSUs and processors) where specifications mean very, very little. You could have an awesome contrast ratio, but if it's a poor panel, it can only be a worse monitor than one with a lower contrast ratio and better panel.
Your only real options are to have a look at some in a shop (even PC World for example), probably without the intention of buying one from them unless you can bargain them down to a good deal. Next best option would be to look for some reviews from customers - not the ones on actual sites like Amazon or Kelkoo or anything - look at the ones in forums. Overclockers.co.uk has a specific monitor section in their forums. Have a scout through there, or make a post of your own. AVForums.com too are specialists in all things digital display, so perhaps a look over their discussions too. Never buy a monitor on what the specifications list. The manufacturers can just make them up, as it's so hard to prove accurate.
-------------------------------------------------------
> so the image will be letter boxed
> it wont stretch to fit the screen?
> on my current crt, in the menu screen i can
> stretch the display so i see no black borders
> whatever the resolution, do lcd's have that option
> too?
No, no - if you leave the settings in the graphics properties at default, then it will be stretched. You just don't have to... I prefer not to stretch the image personally. Prefer it nice and crisp.
ralv585 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @madotter that Belinea looks good too, but i'd
> prefer to have one from the major companies like
> gav said, so what the difference between 700:1
> contrast and 1000:1 contrast?
The difference will likely not be noticeable. More contrast is generally better, but like the timing it's a very grey area. Monitors are one area (along with PSUs and processors) where specifications mean very, very little. You could have an awesome contrast ratio, but if it's a poor panel, it can only be a worse monitor than one with a lower contrast ratio and better panel.
Your only real options are to have a look at some in a shop (even PC World for example), probably without the intention of buying one from them unless you can bargain them down to a good deal. Next best option would be to look for some reviews from customers - not the ones on actual sites like Amazon or Kelkoo or anything - look at the ones in forums. Overclockers.co.uk has a specific monitor section in their forums. Have a scout through there, or make a post of your own. AVForums.com too are specialists in all things digital display, so perhaps a look over their discussions too. Never buy a monitor on what the specifications list. The manufacturers can just make them up, as it's so hard to prove accurate.
This is what i bought today, SAMSUNG 2232BW Syncmaster 22" wide format TFT screen
Really pleased with my purchase, i'm about 9 months late looking back at my first post, but everything is so much better now, can't believe how bad the crt monitor was, its like going from black and white to hd!
I'd definately recomend this to you if you're looking for a new monitor, its £249, so its quite pricey, but comes with 3 year guarentee and it won some awards for its build and technology!
Really pleased with my purchase, i'm about 9 months late looking back at my first post, but everything is so much better now, can't believe how bad the crt monitor was, its like going from black and white to hd!
I'd definately recomend this to you if you're looking for a new monitor, its £249, so its quite pricey, but comes with 3 year guarentee and it won some awards for its build and technology!
looks nice glad you like it
And the prize for least understandable abbreviations goes to...
H E L L O
H E L L O hey gav, what's TN?
i'm no computer expert like yourself, so i'm sure the 2007wfp would be better, but thats your job, you could tell the difference straight away, but i'm just your average joe
but i'll be honest, one of the biggest attractions was the way it looks, it looks great, sleek, modern etc
i just thought most flat screen panels give the same image quality, i was primarily looking for one that looked nice, was made by a recognised manufacturer and had a good guarentee, i found all that in the samsung
but the specs are good too, 2ms responce time 3000:1 contrast, but it was a bit of a bastard to setup, the stand was quite hard to attach to the screen, that's my only complaint so far
i'm no computer expert like yourself, so i'm sure the 2007wfp would be better, but thats your job, you could tell the difference straight away, but i'm just your average joe
but i'll be honest, one of the biggest attractions was the way it looks, it looks great, sleek, modern etc
i just thought most flat screen panels give the same image quality, i was primarily looking for one that looked nice, was made by a recognised manufacturer and had a good guarentee, i found all that in the samsung
but the specs are good too, 2ms responce time 3000:1 contrast, but it was a bit of a bastard to setup, the stand was quite hard to attach to the screen, that's my only complaint so far
as Gav will no doubt tell you, response time and certain things in the spec mean nothing really because they all test the monitors in different ways.
RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael
RIP Jules, never to be forgotten. #KeepFightingMichael
2ms from grey to grey.
I can move from point A to A in 2ms, too!
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy
I can move from point A to A in 2ms, too!
hey guys, its been nearly 9 months since i got my new/old monitor, and i'm absolutely loving it, but there comes a time when only bigger and better things will do
my tv is a standard def 20inch set, thats been with me for about 5 years, i'm looking to get a new tv for my room, i was intially looking at a hd tv, around 32inches, while hopefully looking to spend no more than £400, needless to say, there ain't no tv out there that fits my needs
so i was fortunate enough to stumble across this little beauty [www.overclockers.co.uk]
its more of a monitor but...
looks gorgeous, full hd 1920x1200 and has an inbuilt freeview digital tv tuner.
i do have some questions before i splash the cash though
it has an inbuilt tv tuner, does this mean i can just turn it on, and watch it like a tv without having to turn on my pc aswell?
it will mainly be used with my ps3 and pc, while my 360 can use the 22inch one, but can i use the two monitors together, so my pc will power both of them and the display will be split between the two?
there is an option in my nvidia control panel to set multiple displays, will this do the trick?
Also would it be possible to hook my wii up it as well?
it uses scart, but i'm told you can buy component leads for it, is there connectivity with my wii and the monitor?
and another thing, is there anywhere else that i can but this monitor, i've been looking around and overclockers seem to be the only place to get it so far
Thanks for reading
my tv is a standard def 20inch set, thats been with me for about 5 years, i'm looking to get a new tv for my room, i was intially looking at a hd tv, around 32inches, while hopefully looking to spend no more than £400, needless to say, there ain't no tv out there that fits my needs
so i was fortunate enough to stumble across this little beauty [www.overclockers.co.uk]
its more of a monitor but...
looks gorgeous, full hd 1920x1200 and has an inbuilt freeview digital tv tuner.
i do have some questions before i splash the cash though
it has an inbuilt tv tuner, does this mean i can just turn it on, and watch it like a tv without having to turn on my pc aswell?
it will mainly be used with my ps3 and pc, while my 360 can use the 22inch one, but can i use the two monitors together, so my pc will power both of them and the display will be split between the two?
there is an option in my nvidia control panel to set multiple displays, will this do the trick?
Also would it be possible to hook my wii up it as well?
it uses scart, but i'm told you can buy component leads for it, is there connectivity with my wii and the monitor?
and another thing, is there anywhere else that i can but this monitor, i've been looking around and overclockers seem to be the only place to get it so far
Thanks for reading
Not wanting to open a new thread for this, let's use this one
So, I want a new monitor, and I've seen these ones [www1.la.dell.com] (it's in spanish, but it's just for you to see the models available here in Argentina). Of those, I like the first 2 and the 4th, UltraSharp 2208WFP ($339.00 in US), E228WFP ($289.00 in US) and UltraSharp 2009W ($289.00 in US).
I'm no expert and will surely not note too much of a difference between a high end monitor and an average one, I'm just looking for some 20" or 22" lcd that looks nice, can run 1680*1050 and has a dvi input, everything else is just a plus. Can you guys tell me which one would be best, or recommend another brand in that price range if you think it's better than these ones?
I'm upgrading from a 17" crt, so almost anything would be a massive improvement :P
I'm against sigpics
So, I want a new monitor, and I've seen these ones [www1.la.dell.com] (it's in spanish, but it's just for you to see the models available here in Argentina). Of those, I like the first 2 and the 4th, UltraSharp 2208WFP ($339.00 in US), E228WFP ($289.00 in US) and UltraSharp 2009W ($289.00 in US).
I'm no expert and will surely not note too much of a difference between a high end monitor and an average one, I'm just looking for some 20" or 22" lcd that looks nice, can run 1680*1050 and has a dvi input, everything else is just a plus. Can you guys tell me which one would be best, or recommend another brand in that price range if you think it's better than these ones?
I'm upgrading from a 17" crt, so almost anything would be a massive improvement :P
I'm against sigpics
ralv585 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hey guys, its been nearly 9 months since i got my
> new/old monitor, and i'm absolutely loving it, but
> there comes a time when only bigger and better
> things will do
>
> my tv is a standard def 20inch set, thats been
> with me for about 5 years, i'm looking to get a
> new tv for my room, i was intially looking at a hd
> tv, around 32inches, while hopefully looking to
> spend no more than £400, needless to say, there
> ain't no tv out there that fits my needs
>
> so i was fortunate enough to stumble across this
> little beauty
> [www.overclockers.co.uk]
> id=MO-088-SA&groupid=703&catid=17&subcat=1120
>
> its more of a monitor but...
> looks gorgeous, full hd 1920x1200 and has an
> inbuilt freeview digital tv tuner.
>
> i do have some questions before i splash the cash
> though
>
> it has an inbuilt tv tuner, does this mean i can
> just turn it on, and watch it like a tv without
> having to turn on my pc aswell?
>
> it will mainly be used with my ps3 and pc, while
> my 360 can use the 22inch one, but can i use the
> two monitors together, so my pc will power both of
> them and the display will be split between the
> two?
>
> there is an option in my nvidia control panel to
> set multiple displays, will this do the trick?
>
> Also would it be possible to hook my wii up it as
> well?
>
> it uses scart, but i'm told you can buy component
> leads for it, is there connectivity with my wii
> and the monitor?
>
> and another thing, is there anywhere else that i
> can but this monitor, i've been looking around and
> overclockers seem to be the only place to get it
> so far
>
>
>
> Thanks for reading
Not spotted this, so here's my opinion.
It's FullHD (1080p) ready, and at that price, it's a no-brainer. I'd get one if I had the money. The in-built tuner means it's a TV first, monitor second, so no need to have your PC on to watch telly. If you're using the TV as a primary display for the computer, you can't do both at the same time. The PS3 I think would be connected via HDMI, the Wii can be connected via the Component input, so you're sorted on connectivity.
The split-display is a bit trickier. Depending on the DVI or VGA outputs on the graphics card, and more importantly the VGA or DVI inputs on the TVs, you can have 2 displays driven by one card. Unless it's a monster of a card, don't expect to be playing games across the displays at full resolution. A bit of jiggery-pokery within NVIDIA's control panel should get them working at optimum settings.
Paco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not wanting to open a new thread for this, let's
> use this one
>
> So, I want a new monitor, and I've seen these ones
> [www1.la.dell.com]
> spx/22_20widescreen?c=ar&cs=ardhs1&l=es&s=dhs
> (it's in spanish, but it's just for you to see the
> models available here in Argentina). Of those, I
> like the first 2 and the 4th, UltraSharp 2208WFP
> ($339.00 in US), E228WFP ($289.00 in US) and
> UltraSharp 2009W ($289.00 in US).
>
> I'm no expert and will surely not note too much of
> a difference between a high end monitor and an
> average one, I'm just looking for some 20" or 22"
> lcd that looks nice, can run 1680*1050 and has a
> dvi input, everything else is just a plus. Can you
> guys tell me which one would be best, or recommend
> another brand in that price range if you think
> it's better than these ones?
>
> I'm upgrading from a 17" crt, so almost anything
> would be a massive improvement :P
Firstly, I'd keep the 17" CRT, because these things are a dying breed and are very versatile with multiple refresh rates and mutiple resolutions. LCDs are usually fixed refresh rate, fixed resolution. Just my €0.02.
Secondly, out of the 3 you appear to like, I'd pick the 4th one, UltraSharp 2009W. Only thing that separates it is the wider viewing angle, and the lower price.
Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld
GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.
-------------------------------------------------------
> hey guys, its been nearly 9 months since i got my
> new/old monitor, and i'm absolutely loving it, but
> there comes a time when only bigger and better
> things will do
>
> my tv is a standard def 20inch set, thats been
> with me for about 5 years, i'm looking to get a
> new tv for my room, i was intially looking at a hd
> tv, around 32inches, while hopefully looking to
> spend no more than £400, needless to say, there
> ain't no tv out there that fits my needs
>
> so i was fortunate enough to stumble across this
> little beauty
> [www.overclockers.co.uk]
> id=MO-088-SA&groupid=703&catid=17&subcat=1120
>
> its more of a monitor but...
> looks gorgeous, full hd 1920x1200 and has an
> inbuilt freeview digital tv tuner.
>
> i do have some questions before i splash the cash
> though
>
> it has an inbuilt tv tuner, does this mean i can
> just turn it on, and watch it like a tv without
> having to turn on my pc aswell?
>
> it will mainly be used with my ps3 and pc, while
> my 360 can use the 22inch one, but can i use the
> two monitors together, so my pc will power both of
> them and the display will be split between the
> two?
>
> there is an option in my nvidia control panel to
> set multiple displays, will this do the trick?
>
> Also would it be possible to hook my wii up it as
> well?
>
> it uses scart, but i'm told you can buy component
> leads for it, is there connectivity with my wii
> and the monitor?
>
> and another thing, is there anywhere else that i
> can but this monitor, i've been looking around and
> overclockers seem to be the only place to get it
> so far
>
>
>
> Thanks for reading
Not spotted this, so here's my opinion.
It's FullHD (1080p) ready, and at that price, it's a no-brainer. I'd get one if I had the money. The in-built tuner means it's a TV first, monitor second, so no need to have your PC on to watch telly. If you're using the TV as a primary display for the computer, you can't do both at the same time.
The PS3 I think would be connected via HDMI, the Wii can be connected via the Component input, so you're sorted on connectivity.The split-display is a bit trickier. Depending on the DVI or VGA outputs on the graphics card, and more importantly the VGA or DVI inputs on the TVs, you can have 2 displays driven by one card. Unless it's a monster of a card, don't expect to be playing games across the displays at full resolution. A bit of jiggery-pokery within NVIDIA's control panel should get them working at optimum settings.
Paco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not wanting to open a new thread for this, let's
> use this one
>
> So, I want a new monitor, and I've seen these ones
> [www1.la.dell.com]
> spx/22_20widescreen?c=ar&cs=ardhs1&l=es&s=dhs
> (it's in spanish, but it's just for you to see the
> models available here in Argentina). Of those, I
> like the first 2 and the 4th, UltraSharp 2208WFP
> ($339.00 in US), E228WFP ($289.00 in US) and
> UltraSharp 2009W ($289.00 in US).
>
> I'm no expert and will surely not note too much of
> a difference between a high end monitor and an
> average one, I'm just looking for some 20" or 22"
> lcd that looks nice, can run 1680*1050 and has a
> dvi input, everything else is just a plus. Can you
> guys tell me which one would be best, or recommend
> another brand in that price range if you think
> it's better than these ones?
>
> I'm upgrading from a 17" crt, so almost anything
> would be a massive improvement :P
Firstly, I'd keep the 17" CRT, because these things are a dying breed and are very versatile with multiple refresh rates and mutiple resolutions. LCDs are usually fixed refresh rate, fixed resolution. Just my €0.02.
Secondly, out of the 3 you appear to like, I'd pick the 4th one, UltraSharp 2009W. Only thing that separates it is the wider viewing angle, and the lower price.
Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld
GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.
Thanks
Anyone else? Gav maybe? I'd like to know what you can say about these, you've recommended Dell monitors in the past, is any of these worth it?
I'm against sigpics
Anyone else? Gav maybe? I'd like to know what you can say about these, you've recommended Dell monitors in the past, is any of these worth it?
I'm against sigpics
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