Need New Monitor Advice Please!

Hi guys!

I just joined today, due to needs on some PRO advice on monitor purchasing. I for one knows almost nothing about monitor picking so I figured why not come to a forum and ask some guys who wouldn't mind helping a guy out! I'm in no rush, so hopefully if someone stumbles upon my "newbie" thread they can help a fellow out haha.

Bassically I'm looking for a monitor that's about 21" (Desktop Computer use) and can be connected, with simple wiring (not a whole bunch of connectors and what not, cause that's where I get lost), to a laptop or a console (xbox360 and PS3). I'm thinking of spending around $300 - $350 USD; although if it really is a good monitor $400 USD MAX!!!! I'm not sure if my budget will include monitors that are HD. HD being something, that once again, I have no clue about, but my friends tell me it's the bomb!

Let me know if you guys need anymore information to help make a recommendation, maybe I can fetch some other details, but this is all I can imagine someone would need.

For those who wonder why I came here to pestor you guys about such a simple question is because I know if I go to the shops, the salesmen always try to sell you the most expensive set, so I never trust them!

Thanks guys :)

Welcome to Hexus.

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Originally Posted by davids21

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For those who wonder why I came here to pestor you guys about such a simple question is because I know if I go to the shops, the salesmen always try to sell you the most expensive set, so I never trust them!

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Ironically, not necessarily. Sometimes it'll be the ones they're trying to shift, perhaps because they're end-of-line and need to clear them out in a hurry. It also depends on the pricing structure from suppliers .... the monitors that are the most expensive in-store aren't necessarily always the ones that have the greatest profit margin for the seller, so you can't even be sure that you're getting good advice if the product they recommend isn't the most expensive.

Anyway, I'm not the best one to give monitor advice, but there are plenty here that'll be glad to help, and I'm sure they'll be along shortly. Be aware, though, we are UK-based, so the prices we pay aren't the same as the ones you lucky so-and-so's pay. It shouldn't affect model advice too much though. :D

Wow.!!! This is super cool! I was just surfing the other forum topics and when I came back BOOOM! Someone had already replied! Thanks for the welcome note as well! I know I sound over excited, but this is the first time I've tried using a forum and I wasn't sure how accepting it was, but gee thanks a lot! I'm loving this experience already!

And oh yeah! I was aware of this being a UK forum, but the layout was one of the nicer ones (that's how I picked which one to use hahaha), so for the pricing I'll just multiply GBP by 2 and it should be around there. Thanks for the advice on the sales people as well!

See you around Saracen = )

Ive recently purchased a samsung 2232bw and i am very pleased with it, its a 22inch wide screen which has a dvi and dsub port on the back so you should be able to connect both a laptop and console to it (think you may need a dvi to hdmi convertor though). The only problem i have experienced is there is some backlight bleed at the bottom but its only evere noticable on a black screen.

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Ive recently purchased a samsung 2232bw and i am very pleased with it

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How much did you pay for your Samsung monitor though? Money is sort of an issue at the moment for me, so it's sort of the first thing I need to know. Thanks = S

But 22inch does sound nice. Is it HD? And what's widescreen mean?

What do you mean by bleeding backlight?

Sorry about all these questions ahhaa. I'm quite a newbie at monitors!

Thanks = )

Widescreen is just the same as it is with TV. Your aspect ratio is either 16:10 or 16:9 compared to the 5:4 of old.

Basically means it's wider but not as high when compared inch by inch. So a standard 5:4 will give you a better vertical resolution but the widescreen will give better horizontal. Basically you can put two pages of MS Word side by side and not compromise your view in widescreen.

Backlight bleeding is where the back light makes an impression on the top and bottom of the screen. Where you would have the two black strips when watching a movie there would be a sort of grey glow rather than just pure black.

theres the yuraku 24" monitor for about £220, that has a dvi and vga connection (i have one myself and it's great :D)

uses samsung S-PVA panels

Welcome to Hexus :)

If you're not doing colour critical work with your monitor (ie photo editing and the like) and are just using it for games, then I reckon pretty much any monitor in your price band of $350-$400 should be good. They'll all most likely use TN panels, but they're fine for gaming (and they have the fastest repsonse times and lowest input lag, both good things for games). Just check the inputs match up with what you want to plug in :)

I've heard a lot of Americans praising Doublesight monitors, they're not available here in the UK though more's the pity...

Samsung & Dell are two good manufacturers as well (Samsung actually makes the LCD panels for most manufacturers anyhow...) Dell offers a great 'dead pixel' warranty here in the UK, not sure if it's the same in the States...

cheers :)

I WOULD PERSONALLY GET THE DELL FLAT PANEL LCD MONITOR SP2208WFP DISPLAY 22"
FOR UNDER £200.00 AS IT HAS ALL THE CONNECTIONS YOU WANT INCLUDING HDMI!!!

SPECS-

# Product Category : Flat Panel Display
# Monitor Size (Viewable Image Screen) : 22 inches (22-inch viewable image size)
# Pixel Pitch : 0.282mm
# Response Time (Typical) : 2ms (grey-to-grey)
# Viewing Angle (Typical) : 1600 (vertical), 1600(horizontal)
# Luminance (Brightness) : 300cd/m2 Typical
# Dynamic Contrast Ratio (Typical) : 2000:1
# Optimal Resolution : 1680 x 1050 at 60 Hz
# Connector Type : HDMI, Analog, DVI-D (Digital), Audio Out
# Warranty : 3-Year Warranty

Have you considered a Dell 2407WFP? They're last years model so can be found quite cheap <$400

By the way, I was reading this article and was totally confused by the language.

Anyone knows what "dot-to-dot technology" is?

And "16:9 aspect ratio"?

:drool: (i just love this smiley HAHAh)

24" Westinghouse L2410NM (with HDMI/HDCP, Composite, and S-Video) = $400 - including 3 business days S&H.

If you'd prefer to keep it <$350... this 24" BenQ T241W (with HDMI) is $340 - also including 3 business days S&H.


Being in the UK myself, I've never had a chance to see a Westinghouse 'in the flesh', but I know a number of members on another forum who use Westinghouse LCD's, and they speak very highly of them :)

I can vouch for the quality of Samsung monitors though :cool:


You wouldn't go wrong with either of those two :thumbsup:


BTW: Just Google 'Aspect ratio' to find out the difference(s) between 16:9 and 16:10 ;)

Hey I was looking at some Benq monitors and I realized that their monitors are rather inexpensive. Is this true with the majority of Benq monitors?

OH yeah!~ And thanks 'TheReaFireblade. I'm not sure how to actually thank you. Like to let it show in your status. If you teach me, I'll give you a thanks Hahaha

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Originally Posted by davids21

OH yeah!~ And thanks 'TheReaFireblade. I'm not sure how to actually thank you. Like to let it show in your status. If you teach me, I'll give you a thanks Hahaha

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you can't thank people until you have (IIRC) 25 posts, and then another button appears at the bottom (where the quote/edit/PM buttons are), that allows you to thank the user :D

it looks like this: http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k...erbutton-1.jpg

OH man... are you serious? That sucks... I guess I have to stay a newb for a while.