Trying to choose a budget IPS monitor

[DanceswithUnix]

The old TV which my daughter was using as a VGA monitor as died.

She is secondary school age so seems a good time to upgrade. She uses the PC to draw, so IPS seems a must but she does also game so Freesync would be nice (she has an R7 260X graphics card). Her desk could take a 27", but she would prefer 24".

A quick look has this as a front runner, the LG 24MP59G at £140:

http://www.ebuyer.com/787798-lg-24mp...itor-24mp59g-p

Not perfect, but I'm sure better in every way than the 1680x1050 TN VGA panel she was using before. Would pay more for better colour reproduction, vertical adjusting stand, but trying to keep it under £200.

How good/bad is 6 bit+frc these days, it seems the norm on these low end panels?

[DanceswithUnix]

Edging towards the Dell SE2717H. Sounds like a better panel, bit more expensive. Downside is that it is 27" which is larger than the optimum 24" and it only has one hdmi input (also a VGA input but who cares about those these days).

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/dell-s...iew-33743.html

Why is monitor choice so damned hard, you would think with hundreds of the things to choose from there would be several that were just right.

[EndlessWaves]

I wouldn't restrict yourself to IPS, you're already dealing with multiple sources of slight colour distortion (6-bit, no colourimeter) so one more isn't going to be a big deal.

The budget/mainstream monitor market is always a headache though as there are so many models and so few concrete reviews.

What about the U2412M? Not much of a gaming screen and as it's 1920x1200 it's slightly bigger than a 24" 16:9 screen but Dell's Ultrasharp range is generally decent quality.
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/dell-...hite-210-ajur/

[Pob255]

Personally I've always liked Hanns Star, just one of the cheapest ips on ebuyer
http://www.ebuyer.com/739578-hannsg-...nitor-hs245hpb
maybe not the best for gaming . . . but how important is gaming to her?

[DanceswithUnix]

The U2412M looks like the monitor I had three of on my desk in my last job, not a bad bit of kit. Seems to be getting hard to find though, I guess it is an old model by now.

These Dell monitors, is the second two digits the model year?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Integr...dp/B06XSHMWGK/

She might go for that because it is pretty, though plain black and Gothic might go down better

[DanceswithUnix]

maybe not the best for gaming . . . but how important is gaming to her?

Not as important as work, she spends a lot of time on the graphics tablet and I can imagine her taking graphics options for GCSE.

But she does game, more Minecraft than anything twitchy.

A bit more looking has turned up a Dell with apparently decent sound output which is handy:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Integr...dp/B06XSHMWGK/

and for a bit more I could get a Samsung with Quantum Dot for better Adobe sRGB coverage, DisplayPort, 144Hz and height adjustment

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computi...66854-pdt.html

[Pob255]

for gcse I'd not worry too much about prefect sRGB coverage, that dell looks excellent
I've recently picked up a 2nd hand 21" dell ultrasharp, no speakers and the top 5 rows are dead but it was only £40 but undamaged dell ultrasharp tend to cost almost as much as new

[DanceswithUnix]

for gcse I'd not worry too much about prefect sRGB coverage, that dell looks excellent

True, but I find a half decent monitor lasts 5 years or more, which is getting into University age if she goes that route.

But you are right, and I have yet to use a Dell monitor that disappointed. I notice that the one I linked isn't an Ultrasharp though, so it doesn't come with the zero bright pixels guarantee.

[EndlessWaves]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Integr...dp/B06XSHMWGK/

At that sort of price you can get the 144hz LFC screens though, which presumably are higher quality panels (they usually are but I'm not sure in 24").

and for a bit more I could get a Samsung with Quantum Dot for better Adobe sRGB coverage, DisplayPort, 144Hz and height adjustment

The trouble with non-sRGB colour gamuts is that they require mucking about between using different programs as most programs aren't colour aware and will display incorrect colours on a non-sRGB screen.

[jimborae]

What about an offical Dell refurb? I've used this place few times and never been disappointed.

https://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/...-Displays.html

https://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/...0.html#SID=320

https://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/...4.html#SID=320

[cptwhite_uk]

I think the main thing I'd look for with an IPS is a brightness of 300 nits / lux / cd/m2 (all mean the same thing) and a contrast ratio of 1000:1

[DanceswithUnix]

Thanks guys.

Talked it through with my daughter as she is the one who will be staring at the thing, she went for the Samsung on grounds of colour & contrast. It is on offer that is about to expire, so I ordered it.