New Monitor Advice

[nFuriate]

Hello everyone,

I'm looking into purchasing a new monitor to upgrade from my 4 year old VGA 'hp pavilion f1703'. According to the stats from my monitor menu, it's been on and running for 14633 hours, or 609 days. It's lasted me well but I think it's time for an upgrade.

Now to begin with my budget is about £150 - £260, with the higher end of that being harsh teritory for my wallet. I want to purchase an 8800gt along with my monitor and i'll have £260 roughly. Now I don't mind not getting the graphics card if it means I can get a decent quality monitor, it's just the higher the monitor price, the longer i'll have to wait to game with feasably good graphics again (my 8600gts won't run too well on the new resolution). I've been looking at many 22" monitors mainly from Samsung. Now I want preferably a monitor which is wall mountable, but i'm not exactly too bothered. I will use it for gaming, movie watching (from my bed) and with the odd bit of hobby photoshopping.

I've been looking at the Samsung Pebble 2232BW and the Samsung 223BW with the latter being wall mountable (sorry can't post urls). They've both got five stars...great right? But i've been hearing of how bad TN panel monitors are (maybe ignorance is bliss). How impacting are the effects of these TN panels? Is it even worth getting a TN panel monitor? Are there any other monitors I should look in to for my needs?

I've been wondering if my old 17" monitor was a TN. I assume it is because it's 4 years old however the only time I see a notable difference in colours and gamma etc are when I tilt the monitor fully back and look at it from almost flat on.

Another thing that's on my mind is the viewing angle specifications on monitors. That samsung pebble is apparently 170 degrees both horizontally and vertically. Does this mean that if I have my head facing the monitor, I can't move my head by 10 degrees each way without the colours changing?

Thanks for anyone's help!

nFuriate (Chris)

[colmo]

I posted a fairly lengthy 'How to...' on monitors here.

Most people will not notice the downsides of TN panels. However, once you do notice them, they'll bug the hell out of you. I was infuriated when Apple dropped the S-IPS 20" panel in their 'white' iMacs for the TN panel in their 'Aluminium' iMac range, just as I was about to buy one (and thus didn't). I took no chances and got a non-glossy S-IPS panel, but paid a fair bit for it. It wasn't intended for use as an auxilliary telly, and it lacks HDCP support and widescreen aspect ratio.

By the sounds of your needs, the Yuraku that has been doing the rounds on the net meets all your criteria - not TN (it's VA-type, good for movies apparently), in budget, HDCP and widescreen.

[nFuriate]

That monitor does seem promising, but is the 6ms refresh rate decent enough for games? I play mostly rts' with the odd fps at the side.

Also, does the TN panel monitor degrade over distance? It's just i'll be watching tv's from my bed, usually at a slight angle (not very much from head on) and i'm wondering if they'll still be watchable.

On this route, what are the differences quality wise in the picture between TN panels and the VA ones in that Yuraku. I'm quite wary that the 22" I could purchase would have a TN panel, but be of higher quality picture because it being a well known, and quite high end monitor for the 22" price range. Where as the 24" Yuraku would be in the low range 24" scale, will this make a difference to quality? I went in to a computer shop the other day and thet 24" Belinea monitor was CRYSTAL clear, I was amazed.

[rufeo]

I was debating about the whole TN vs VA panels when i got my new monitor. Got to say i'm so glad i went for VA, the colour is alot better. The difference in quality is quite big, blacks are geniunely blacker and whites are whiter! I watch movies on my bed as well and the extra viewing angle is a god send, I don't need to get up and adjust the monitor or get myself in the right viewing angle.

In terms of quality, I suggested to my flatmate to get the yuraku as i heard it had the same panel as the overclockers 24" pva which another mate of mine has got. After comparing mine and my flatmates monitor there really isn't much of a difference, apart from the fact that mine cost almost 400 and his just a bit over 200! I did get an adjustable stand and more connections though....

[nFuriate]

Hmmm. I'm quite set on getting the Yuraku monitor now, it seems pretty snazzy for the price. I'll most likely wall mount it to get rid of what people say is a crappy stand.

The Yuraku monitor seems to have lots of varients, like a Digimate version etc. Are there any differences?

Also on a side note, will 800:1 contrast ratio be any different on appearance than 1000:1? And I mean for the casual movie watcher and gamer here, not some photographer.

[rufeo]

The ocuk version is non-hdcp, that's what my friend said who's got one. My flatmate's one, from aria, is on the otherhand, not sure about misco one. There should be a difference with the contrast, but from a quick comparison with my flatmate's monior I couldn't see anything that noticeable. The only other difference is that afaik some models don't have dvi whilst others do.

oh and also 6ms is enough to play games on, there shouldn't much if any ghosting. Only people who take their gaming very seriously will probably notice and be put off, but they seem to go for tn panels for that reason.

[nFuriate]

Hmm sounds good. I'll be ordering it later tonight i'm guessing. Just wondering if it works with vista? I would presume this to be a silly question as its plug and play but many monitors have a "Certified for windows vista" logo, where as this one does not.

[rufeo]

Yeah don't worry it'll work with vista since there aren't any drivers that need to be installed for it to work.

The certified for windows vista logo is also a bit misleading.... one example is the whole creative fiasco with their x-fi soundcards. I do think that adding that logo somehow adds a little peace of mind to some people, even if its not particularly applicable.

[nFuriate]

Sold out at aria! Shame, i'll have to wait now How long do they take to restock them usually?

[rufeo]

I'm not too sure, you could email or call them up to see when they have it in stock. Or you could buy the one from misco, i think its exactly the same....

[nFuriate]

Can anyone confirm the misco monitor has hdcp though?

[colmo]

Can anyone confirm the misco monitor has hdcp though?

On Misco:
Manufacturer Part No: MB24WKA

On Aria:
Manufacturer code: MB24WKA

On Yuraku's website:
Yur.Vision YV24WBH1 (MB24WKA)

So they are for sure the same Yuraku panel.

Two users confirm this model supports HDCP:
BBHD Feed - News, Gossip, Forum, Downloads, HowTo, Photos, Tweaks & Hot Deals - A better/cheaper monitor than the Digimate DGM VA from OCUK?
and
Yuraku 24″ P-MVA HDCP | equk's blog

Therefore, the answer is yes, the Misco one (like the Aria) has HDCP capability.

[nFuriate]

Great! I'll probably end up getting that one. My budget has been pushed up to around £292 now but after looking to see if I could purchase a better monitor a lot are quite crap until £340+.

I'm thinking of buying an 8800gt 512 to replace my 8600gts 512. Will it be able to play games on the highest resolution (1920x1400) with high / maximum settings or should I go for a better card?

[nFuriate]

Sorry for the double post guys!

Just want a last minute question answered. The OCUK version claims to be 500cd/m2 brightness with a 1000:1 contrast ratio, but with no HDCP. The misco one is 300cd/m2 brightness with a 800:1 contrast ratio with HDCP. Which one is better providing I won't be plugging anything else in to the monitor except my computer (no ps3's or blu ray players).

Thanks! Almost ready to make the plunge, when I do i'll keep you all updated with my progress.

[rufeo]

I think it'll be impossible for anyone to say which is better unless they have both or used both of them. I can say if the misco one is the same as the aria one then that is completely fine, unless of course you were into photo editing and needed the better settings. But tbh I would take the specs with a pinch of salt anyway since they are from the companies.

I would suggest that you either go for the cheapest one, or go with the msico one. At least then you have the added knowledge that if sometime down the line you need to connect to the monitor via hdmi then you've got the option without buying a new monitor.

hope that helps

[nFuriate]

Ordered the Misco one today. After much debate I just decided that if I ever get a blu ray disc drive etc I'll need the hdcp. Where as ignorance is bliss for the OCUK one, I don't know if it looks better so it's not haha.

As I said i'll keep you informed so stick with me

Should come tuesday next week, wednesday at the latest. BTW thanks for the help!