looking for suggestions ... 24"/30" monitor

I am looking for a monitor (used via a DVI KVM for both a Macbook Pro & HP 6910p)

I am looking for hi res monitor - since I often work on two documents concurrently - review one/edit other - and so looking for 1900x1200 or even 2560x1600.

I do play the occasionaly 6+ hours of WoW :) so reasonable latency is also pretty key.

I spend 10-12 hours a day in front of the monitor, so I do want flicker free, crisp, bright image.
Price is of course important, but not a limitation for the right monitor.

Any suggestions?

thanks

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Originally Posted by bbq

I am looking for hi res monitor - since I often work on two documents concurrently - review one/edit other - and so looking for 1900x1200 or even 2560x1600.

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What about two Dell 2408s? One document per screen. Or one 2408 and another smaller screen. I find 2 screens are better than one when doing something like this.

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Originally Posted by bbq

I do play the occasionaly 6+ hours of WoW :) so reasonable latency is also pretty key.

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For gaming using one monitor, the 1920x1200 res would be easier for most graphics cards...

30" is huge for a desk, measure out the dimensions first, before if you decide to get one.

Thanks for that ... certainly agree a 30" screen is going to occupy a LOT of real estate on the desk.

The advantage it has, is it only requires one (dual link) DVI cable/port... I am not sure that it is possible to drive two monitors off the two laptops, since they only have one DVI port.

however, if this is possible - then this sounds like a better/cheaper idea

Cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bbq

Thanks for that ... certainly agree a 30" screen is going to occupy a LOT of real estate on the desk.

The advantage it has, is it only requires one (dual link) DVI cable/port... I am not sure that it is possible to drive two monitors off the two laptops, since they only have one DVI port.

however, if this is possible - then this sounds like a better/cheaper idea

Cheers

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Also, with a 30" screen you'll need a higher priced gfx card to power it for WoW, and any other games you decide to play.
SiM's recommendation of two 24" screens makes more sense, and I think will be cheaper in the long run.

Ahh, missed the laptop bit. Its unlikely that you will get 2 monitors working with a laptop. Some of the big ass monster DTR laptops have 2 of DVI/VGA/HDMI but I doubt a macbook will!

Guess you will have to go for the 30" then... I would look at the Dell 3008WFP

... unless you want 1 monitor for each laptop....

I don't think the laptop graphics cards will play games at 1920x1200 or 2560x1600 well... so you will have to forget about using them for gaming

the heat generated from pumping out at that resoloution will be insane! macbooks were not really made for gaming ...

There's a guide on Anandtech that you might find useful

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3480

If having duel documents is important then 1920*1200 will be fine I work on a 22" 1680*1050 and when working in word have 2 pages open side by side at 100% if you fancy a few more horizontal pixels then you may consider the Dell SP2309W resolution is a bit strange 2048*1152 so its 16:9 rather than 16:10 but those extra 128 horizontal pixels may make all the difference! Obviously you lose 48 vertical pixels though. The real bargain aspect of the Dell though is that it can be yours for £211.65 inc. VAT and shipping direct from Dell http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna...hs1&sku=193757 if you use Quidco then you can save yourself another 4% off the ex-VAT price (works out about £7) and if you don't then you may as well as it will save you a couple of quid :)

I got the Dell S2409W 24-Inch monitor recently, which is also 16:9 but 1920x1080. They are extremely good value monitors, and the extra width compared to a 16:10 monitor might come in handy with those documents.

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Originally Posted by Reapsy

There's a guide on Anandtech that you might find useful

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3480

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that is a great guide...


the hi-res is for the document review, so there shouldn't be a heat issue... I can always run the games at a lower resolution. (though the non-native resolution wont be as good)

thanks for the suggestions... the DELL does see a good price.

bbq the Dell SP2309W has image scaling options so if you game at a lower resolution you can set the scaling 1:1 (I assume it will do 1:1 it certainly has pixel mapping but the online manual Link does not state what the options are) and just have black borders and retain the image quality :)

Worth looking on TFTCentral before buying too...

Tftcentral is definitely a good start. Personally, I'd avoid the cheaper tn panels but I suppose it you're only gaming, it wouldn't matter too much. If you want good picture quality, monitors like the hazros, benq fp241w, NEC MultiSync LCD24WMGX3 or HP LP2475w 24" are worth considering.

thanks - the gaming is a minor aspect, my job tends to see me spending 8-12 hours a day in front of the screen working on multiple documents + email + ppt.
the good colour will help when in my spare time I like to play with my digital camera and the major photoshop surgery after I have taken them :)

I'll have a look at the HP - since I think I can get a discount there. Hadn't really thought of them for screens... duh!

cheers

how about the 2709w dell? i got one and its great

The only advantage (potentially) to the 27" Dell is that the pixels are bigger (this is actually a bad thing unless you can't read text on a 24") it still has the same resolution as a 24" model (1920*1200).