1 x 24" or 2 x 22"?

[malfunction]

As per the title I've been thinking of upgrading my monitor for years (yes years). I currently have an old 24" widescreen monitor with a 6 bit TN panel (6 bit assumed based on the moire / dithering effects it occasionally shows on mid level greys), a pretty slow response time and a bloody loud fan (my PC is pretty silent and from the sound of it the monitor has a fairly slow blower fan in it somewhere which is high pitched enough to really irritate me some days).

I've been looking at 2 or 3 options:

i) 1 x Dell 2408WFP or 1 x Dell U2410 or 1 x HP LP2475W (all of which are 1920 x 12010)
ii) 2 x Dell 2209WA (2 x 1680 x 1050 so either 3360 x 1050 or 1680 x 1050)
iii) 2 x far cheaper modern 24" TN panels

All of which (at best prices) ranges from £300 - £450... Am I being daft thinking I'll actually use 2 monitors? I use my PC mostly for work (which includes a bit of coding a lot of remote access into other systems and a lot of documentation), surfing, a bit of photo editing (basically tidying up my crap holiday snaps - I'm no great photographer) and the odd film (DVD) when the missus is watching something on TV that I can't stand

Thoughts? I can afford the £450 but I'm naturally a bit of a tightwad with these things though after finding my current monitor a PITA for years I'm tempted to 'splash out' for a change (no chance of stretching to £900 for 2 of the good 24" jobbies - I can probably afford it but I can't justify it).

[oolon]

Get the Dell 2408WFP I have one is great, lots of inputs no dead pixels, good colour, its a lot of monitor for your money. I was worried about changing from my trusty old CRT, but this thing is great. Getting two smaller monitors unless you want to run different computers isn't as nice as one really big one. 1920x1200 is a good size as well, as beyond that level you need dual link DVI to drive it. 1920x1200 can display an HD pic, you don't want that spanning two monitors, and HDMI/Overlays will not allow it. In a few years time you can buy another one and use it as media display/HDTV. Dual monitor can be a pain for gaming, as the center of your view is where the monitor join is (The most important location). If you want a real panoramic setup you need 3. If I wanted something like that just get a 30" instead... which will be my next monitor in a few years.

[jim]

Just a gut reaction here, and I don't doubt that people will disagree with me, but I think if you've been happy with a TN for so long (happy with the TN part, at least), why go up to the IPS/PVA business and pay the extra money?

Clearly you aren't bothered about proper colour reproduction for photos if you only do a bit of holiday pic brush ups, and "the odd film" doesn't sound like it warrants a top-notch black level etc, so I'm not sure you'd see much benefit over the TN myself.

With all the coding and remote access, I reckon dual screens would be nice, so if I were you I'd go for two 24" panels, perhaps the Samsungs (I think it's a 2443BW but don't quote me on that) or the Dell equivalent - the ones with 1920x1200 resolutions. Loads of room to work with, the benefit of two screens, and all for a pretty tidy price. Or, if that seems a bit expensive, why not drop down to 1920x1080 panels, I think they do those in 23" and 24" (again TN) and save a bit of cash - with two screens perhaps the extra 120 pixels on the bottom won't be a big deal.

There's no doubt that the IPS/PVA screens are better in various ways, but you were talking about justifying the spending - in which case I'd say a TN is a better option, because you just get so much more size for your money.

[malfunction]

Thanks guys. I'd ruled out a 30" based on cost and on the fact that I'd be too close to see all of the screen in one go. Two monitors appeals based on having a full screen to code on at all times (other windows being on the other monitor) and for remote access as I often need to have a remote screen open with e-mail and / or chat. Obviously two screeens would still involve a lot of head movement but somehow I prefer that idea to one massive screen.

I'm tempted by the better spec panels I guess mostly because I can afford it and people that have them rave about them - I guess I need to get off my bum and find somewhere with one of the IPS / PVA screens that I can see in the flesh to see if it's worth it to me.

[circuitmonkey]

I vote for 2 screens everytime, and as snootyjim pointed out it doesn't sound like you need high end colour reproduction.

Besides which all the cool kids are running dual monitors

On a more serious note, I run dual screens because I like the added flexibility it gives me keeping multiple windows full screen. I find it particularly useful when debugging code, or monitoring a simulation run whilst getting on with other work.

[malfunction]

So are we saying that colour reproduction is the only real advantage of the higher end panels? Or are there likely to be other benefits such as better contrast, response time / clarity - e.g. less blurring and shadowing, backlight bleed, etc (some of which would be associated with better build quality required for the higher end market) or am I likely to be as impressed by a more modern TN panel given that my current one is such an early panel (a good 5-6 years old).

[oolon]

If you just want extra desktop space for code why not use a second cheap monitor rather than two matching ones? I have a cheap 1024x768 display as my secondary, and a 2408WFP as my primary, and when it ages I will get a new monitor and have a cracking one for my secondary. I never like getting two computers/monitors etc at the same time as they age at the same rate and normally end up needing replacement at the same time. You could use your existing display as a secondary, and just turn it on when you need it, or when you have bought a new monitor see if there is something you can do about the fan.

Yes the colour better on a PVA, but just to throw a curve ball I also believe TN displays are faster. Personally be careful what you spend as we should be seeing oLED displays at good prices in a couple of year, and they beat the pants off everything. So you may not get 6 years use out of it as your primary, as you did with your previous display.

[malfunction]

...when you have bought a new monitor see if there is something you can do about the fan.

That's a thought - I've been tempted to take it apart for a while now but have resisted as I can't afford to be without a monitor for any significant amount of time.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I use the Dell 2408WFP at work and it is a great monitor but the HP LP2475W is just simply better:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_lp2475w.htm

Also you can get the HP monitor cheaper from the HP website using the codes HPSPLDIS or HPSHARE and the cashback website Quidco.

For non-gaming and non-photography purposes I would go with dual screens though. I find that for multi-tasking using two screens really improves your productivity!!

[simonw]

Dual screens are great for work related tasks, the extra real estate space is really beneficial. Once I've gone with dual screens, I would find it hard to go back to a single screen setup.

[Yosh]

I use the Dell 2209WA, i bought it through PC BuyIT, the store was recommended by someone on this very forum i believe, the reason i bought with them is they offer the full 3 year onsite warranty.

Its used mainly for Internet, Gaming and Movies and its been great.

However i had one issue with it within the first 3 months, i called Dell on the thursday at 4pm and had a replacement at 8.30am Friday, super fast service, i would definately buy Dell again.

[malfunction]

Thanks guys

@Yosh - presume service was direct with Dell rather than via PC Buy It?

So...

If we agree (not sure I do yet) that I can quite happily work with a TN panel I can obviously quite easily afford 2 of just about any decent TN panel out there. Recommendations?

Also does anyone know if Dell are likely to offer a discount if I call them up to haggle (particularly on the 2 x 2209WA)? PC Buy It and OcUK seem to have the best prices at the moment - Dell is a good £50-60 more *per monitor*.

[arthurleung]

Wouldn't really recommend 2x24" or 2x22". 2x27" will be a good choice though.

I've had neck problem when I was using 2x20" a couple years back. Reckon it will be worse with 24" as its even wider.

[jimbouk]

I've used dual monitors at home and work before and it's good for coding/etc but for general browsing/gaming/movies a single large screen is better (personal opinion of course).

A single large screen run from one graphics card and two smaller 'wings' run by a second card would be my preferred setup, and maybe even switch to SLI/crossfire powering the main one when gaming.

[scaryjim]

If you do a lot of remote access I can't recommend 2 screens highly enough. I run a dual monitor set up at work: a 19" monitor as the primary, and the 15.4" laptop display as the second. I hardly ever use the laptop display, but when I'm remoting to the servers I'll always open the RDC fullscreen on the laptop display - having that remote desktop on its own monitor is so much easier...

Definitely consider buying a higher spec main monitor and getting a cheapish 17" - 20" as the secondary - if it's mainly going to be used for email / IM / remote desktop then there's no real reason to spend big on a fancy monitor for those purposes...

[malfunction]

Wouldn't really recommend 2x24" or 2x22". 2x27" will be a good choice though.

Do you mean 1 x 27"?

I've had neck problem when I was using 2x20" a couple years back. Reckon it will be worse with 24" as its even wider.

Was that 2 x 20" 16:9 / 16:10 screens or 2 x 20" 4:3 screens? (wondering if it was the horizontal or vertical travel that gave you neck issues). For what it's worth I occasionally feel that I'm not actively using all of my existing 24" screen (I have an almost lazy left eye - I'm no Marty Feldman but my brain uses the input from my right eye much more than my left). This is one of the reasons that two smaller screens appeals as I'd spend most of my time fully utilising one and have the luxury of the 2nd screen when needed. The other being that while 24" / 1920 x 1200 is great for viewing two pages of a document side by side I don't find it quite wide enough to comfortably have 2 different windows side by side (e.g. IDE / code editor and a remote screen).

I've used dual monitors at home and work before and it's good for coding/etc but for general browsing/gaming/movies a single large screen is better (personal opinion of course).

A single large screen run from one graphics card and two smaller 'wings' run by a second card would be my preferred setup, and maybe even switch to SLI/crossfire powering the main one when gaming.

If you do a lot of remote access I can't recommend 2 screens highly enough. I run a dual monitor set up at work: a 19" monitor as the primary, and the 15.4" laptop display as the second. I hardly ever use the laptop display, but when I'm remoting to the servers I'll always open the RDC fullscreen on the laptop display - having that remote desktop on its own monitor is so much easier...

Definitely consider buying a higher spec main monitor and getting a cheapish 17" - 20" as the secondary - if it's mainly going to be used for email / IM / remote desktop then there's no real reason to spend big on a fancy monitor for those purposes...

The idea of mismatched monitors is probably best but I want them to match up size / looks wise (I could cope with same height but less width). With my desk space I'd probably be better off with 2 x 4:3 / 5:4 monitors side by side but I'm assuming the few remaining non-widescreen monitors on the market have been sitting on shelves for years or are simply pants.