Which of these 2 Dell Monitors?

[MSIC]

Hi, i'd welcome any experience on the following:

I currently have a Dell 2005FPW, which i love.
I use it for gaming, video editing, and very minor photo editing (but nothing pro, dont need 100% full colour etc).
It simply looks brilliant in my view, and am happy with it, despite being 4 years old.
It has loads of video inputs but i only actually use DVI, with VGA occasionally when i'm fixing another PC. The USB is nice, but not a necessary feature.

My mum has just ordered a new Dell PC, and it comes with an S2309W, which is frankly overkill for her emailing & web browsing needs.
I'm thinking about swapping the 2 over so i can have 1920 x 1080 gaming.

Will the visual quality on the 23" be as good as my current 20" Ultrasharp? I note that the 23" isn't a part of their 'Ultrasharp' range, however technology has come on over the past 4 years.

Thanks in advance

[Webby]

Well since you will have access to both give it a try!

Your current Dell is an IPS screen so will have better viewing angles than the 23" it will also have better colour depth 8 bit rather than 6 bit with dithering however the 23" will have superior refresh rates and probably better contrast ratios.

Seriously give it a go and see what you think then you can let us all know which is your prefered choice

[chuckskull]

Like webby said, yours has the better panel, but it's a 4 year old better panel. Just turn them on side by side if there's much difference(apart from size), you'll know right away which one you prefer.

TN's are getting better I have a 2208 which is TN and I think it's ace, but I came from an old CRT, not a nice LCD so I might be biased.

[Pob255]

The TN pannels are better that they where and they are using more tricks to improve them.
One standard one are thoes shiney surfaces, they are also filters which effectively reduces the brightness slightly but increases there visible contrast and makes blacks look far stronger (to understand what I mean, look at a cloudy sky, then look at it through sunglasses)

One thing I am surprised about is the 23" normally dell includes the option to change the screen size which should also lower the price.

[MSIC]

One thing I am surprised about is the 23" normally dell includes the option to change the screen size which should also lower the price.

They did, and I did.
Hence the 23".
I deliberately gave myself this choice, as it was only £20 more than the basic 20" monitor that comes with the base spec (Inspiron 520, Quad core, 3 Gig RAM, 4 yr warranty).

The only hiccup is, ideally i want to know what is better BEFORE i set them up, ie whether or not i have to take my 20" monitor 2 hours up the motorway without any packaging, only to bring it all the way back again.

Thanks for the replies so far.
Any other experience?

PS Thanks Webby, i didn't realise my current monitor was an IPS panel - i've heard a bit about those, never knew i had one!
However - 6 bit with dithering? The spec on the 23" says 16.7 million colours - i thought 6 bit dithered only did 16.2 million... Any links to show me?

[chuckskull]

Well I don't have experience with the 23inch, but if I had the choice I'd take it. If the 23inch is any worse image quality wise and it wont be much if it is tbh, then the size will make up for it IMO.

Like I said I love my 2208 and wouldn't hesitate buy a bigger Dell TN if my wallet would allow it.

[Webby]

Hmm apparently you can get 8 bit TN panels and Samsung (the OEM for the panel in the Dell) make them so I may have been wrong and it could actually be able to show the full 16.7m colours properly. Or it may just be some fancy trickery you know what these manufacturers are like!

So I really think you should look at them side by side set them up in clone mode and watch a movie see if one screen appears better in any particular aspect. My personal inclination would be to stick with the 20" but then the black depth and refreah rates will be a lot better on the TN as long as viewing angles are not a real issue it may be the better monitor for gaming and watching movies.

[Pob255]

Another trick that's been used for a while on TN panels, due to the nature of the lcd viewing angles are better in one direction than the other. (you'll notice colour & contrast change)
the eairly ones where set vertically but later the screens were rotated through 90 degrees, upshot is that you get better horizontal viewing area but smaller vertical area. (ie move your head up and down or angle the screen back a little and the colours will bleach)