New 22" Monitor time

[piggeh]

I recently had my hard drive playing up on me so RMA'd it to Ebuyer. Prior to returning I ordered a different drive as the Samsung unit was discontinued and I didnt really fancy being without a hard drive for a week regardless. Anyways, my old drive was faulty and Ebuyer have said they'd replace it, but as it's discontinued I can use the credit towards something else.

My 19" monitor has served me well but I feel it's time to make the step uo to a nice 22" widescreen (I figure with the credit and selling my old one, it'll probably be a £50ish upgrade).

Ebuyer have got quite a few monitors around the £120 mark, just wondering if there's any recommendations out of the following:

Hyundai ImageQuest N220W-A (I understand this is a VGA input, although my gfx card is DVI output, albeit I could use an adaptor)
Hyundai HM224W
Samsung Syncmaster SM2243NW
Hyundai X224Wa
LG W2242S-PF

(or any others around £120/130 but not much more)

FWIW my current monitor is a Syncmaster 913N (19") so I imagine all the above would probably be a step up, even though I've no real complaints about my current one.

Oh and it must be black of course

Preferably one which has some decent viewing angles as I sometimes lay on my bed watching AVIs and they dont always display too well at the moment when viewed from a slight angle.

All the monitors on ebuyer seem to have 5 star reviews (or no reviews), so it's difficult to seperate them.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would first look at the monitors which have DVI as this makes a large difference to image quality IMHO!!

It seems that the Hyundai HM224W is the only one which has DVI so this would be my choice TBH!!

There are some more DVI equipped 22" monitors for a few quid more:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/150174

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145472

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/151862

The first one has got some good reviews:

http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hi221d/page1.shtml

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/revie...sg-hi221d.html

I would personally go for the second one(the Samsung) over the Hanns G or the LG(third one) as it is usually around £160.

Also please note that many of these monitors are glossy though.

[piggeh]

Didn't see that Samsung, looks good on reviews.

[Hyperviper34]

I brought the Samsung SM2243BW 22" TFT Monitor 1680x1050 that CAT-THE-FIFTH has suggested from ebuyer last week, in fact I've left a review under the name Richie on the ebuyer review option.

I to went from a 19" to the 22" screen and was very impressed with the Samsung, it comes in a very neat little box, the stand is easy to fit and after removing the transit pin it becomes full height adjustable. The base also swivels which is very handy.

Easy to setup and you have the choice of using the hardware menu features or loading the software versions to alter the screen to your liking.

For £130 you’re not going to be disappointed, but don’t forget your not gaining much screen height, it's mainly in the width direction (had to explain to GF after she commented on it not being any bigger than the old 19” LCD which it replaced, taking into account the my old screen had a thick frame round it and the Samsung hasn’t).

Another thing – the picture on ebuyer is wrong! The model is matt black not gloss, which I knew about before purchase because of the reviews and research I had done.

Current games I'm playing on it are - Far Cry 2, Silent Hunter 4 and C&C Red Alert 3... all look and play great using a Zontec 8800GT Amp

[HermansArmpit]

That's great man, thanks for letting us know. I was looking for a 22" too so that really helps me decide. A few weeks and I'll probably grab one too.

[piggeh]

I brought the Samsung SM2243BW 22" TFT Monitor 1680x1050 that CAT-THE-FIFTH has suggested from ebuyer last week, in fact I've left a review under the name Richie on the ebuyer review option.

I to went from a 19" to the 22" screen and was very impressed with the Samsung, it comes in a very neat little box, the stand is easy to fit and after removing the transit pin it becomes full height adjustable. The base also swivels which is very handy.

Easy to setup and you have the choice of using the hardware menu features or loading the software versions to alter the screen to your liking.

For £130 you’re not going to be disappointed, but don’t forget your not gaining much screen height, it's mainly in the width direction (had to explain to GF after she commented on it not being any bigger than the old 19” LCD which it replaced, taking into account the my old screen had a thick frame round it and the Samsung hasn’t).

Another thing – the picture on ebuyer is wrong! The model is matt black not gloss, which I knew about before purchase because of the reviews and research I had done.

Current games I'm playing on it are - Far Cry 2, Silent Hunter 4 and C&C Red Alert 3... all look and play great using a Zontec 8800GT Amp

Cool, I read your review on the site I have a 8800GT so should look pretty sweet.

Thanks for the feedback.

[peterb]

I have just bought an NEC 24" (Overclockers had them on offer last week - about £30 off, may have them again http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MO-028-NE ) Although billed as a gaming machine and no doubt attracting a price premium for that title!! ) it has had good general reviews although I have not explored all its capabilities yet, I am very pleased with it so far (using it as an ouput device from a Freeview box at the moment)

They have a 24" Samsung on offer this week - but not looked at the specs.

[matty-hodgson]

what about this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158908

i have one and it gets top marks for quality
only one little problem i have with it.. touch sensitive buttons and en extremely bright blue LED

[Pob255]

One thing to note that at these lower end prices is that you're going to have a TN panel, personally I'd not be worried about that too much.
The 22" Acer monitor I got at xmass is a TN and I'm quite happy with it as a monitor.
However there is one issue, viewing angles.
Current TN panels have reasonable horizontal angles (around 30-45 degrees off plane) however this comes at the cost of vertical viewing angles (around 10-15 degrees off plane)
(by off plane I mean that at 0 degrees the screen should be pointing directly at your face with no vertical or horizontal tilt relative to your face.)

I think if I was in your situation I'd go for the Samsung SM2243BW simply for the more adjustable stand, if you're going to lay on your bed to watch a movie/video file then you'll want the adjustable stand to make it easier to point in the direction of you face when laying on the bed.

I have just bought an NEC 24" (Overclockers had them on offer last week - about £30 off, may have them again http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MO-028-NE ) Although billed as a gaming machine and no doubt attracting a price premium for that title!! ) it has had good general reviews although I have not explored all its capabilities yet, I am very pleased with it so far (using it as an ouput device from a Freeview box at the moment)

They have a 24" Samsung on offer this week - but not looked at the specs.

Dif you actually bother to read the original post?

[peterb]

One thing to note that at these lower end prices is that you're going to have a TN panel, personally I'd not be worried about that too much.
The 22" Acer monitor I got at xmass is a TN and I'm quite happy with it as a monitor.
However there is one issue, viewing angles.
Current TN panels have reasonable horizontal angles (around 30-45 degrees off plane) however this comes at the cost of vertical viewing angles (around 10-15 degrees off plane)
(by off plane I mean that at 0 degrees the screen should be pointing directly at your face with no vertical or horizontal tilt relative to your face.)

I think if I was in your situation I'd go for the Samsung SM2243BW simply for the more adjustable stand, if you're going to lay on your bed to watch a movie/video file then you'll want the adjustable stand to make it easier to point in the direction of you face when laying on the bed.

Dif you actually bother to read the original post?

I did - I usually do - and he asked about 22" - however a 24" is only a little bigger, and NEC do make 22" monitors. However I will admit to NOT looking at the specs of the 22" - it was merely a statement that I found an NEC monitor (which are rarely mentioned Here) to be good - implying that it might be worth looking at - I'm sorry I didn't explicitly state that and therefore confused you! (or perhaps )

[piggeh]

Current TN panels have reasonable horizontal angles (around 30-45 degrees off plane) however this comes at the cost of vertical viewing angles (around 10-15 degrees off plane)
(by off plane I mean that at 0 degrees the screen should be pointing directly at your face with no vertical or horizontal tilt relative to your face.)

Yeah - its one of the main gripes with my monitor at the moment - darker areas blend together at an angle of maybe 15 degrees odd off plane (as you put it).

Does the samsung allow the screen to be tilted so it faces slightly downwards?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH if you want a much better monitor you will need to save up some more money. A significant improvement would be the e-IPS screen in the Dell 2209WA but this costs nearly £200:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158551

The other alternative would be to look for a PVA or MVA type screen. If you can look for new old stock for some older monitors it would be a good idea as long as you can get PVA,MVA or IPS screens.

[joshwa]

I need a new monitor as well, I'm looking at spending around £150-200

This is TN but has 1080p / HDMI 1920 x 1080 (16:9) 22" IIlyama for £169
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx

Or I could spend £200 on a Samsung 24" 1920x1200 (16:10):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MO-099-SA

It's to replace a 22" Dell TN screen - and I'd prefer the quality of an "Ultrasharp" - is that why I need a non-TN?

Thanks

Josh

[matty-hodgson]

Or I could spend £200 on a Samsung 24" 1920x1200 (16:10):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MO-099-SA

i had 2 of those and sold them both to buy one of these, the quality of the monitor i have now is far better than the more expensive and DVI Samsungs that i had.

or if you really want DVI there's also this which i imagine will also be very good quality just with the DVI input too.

[joshwa]

Thanks - those look very good - however I have a PS3 so they option of having 1080p and HDMI would be very nice incase I change my setup in the future. I've read the benq E2200HD (at £149) is good for this but everywhere is out of stock...

Eg this would do 23" Samsung SM2333SW (although no HDMI)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158382

Or maybe this 24" Samsung with HDMI
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158381

I know most companies use Samsung panels, so am I best just going with Samsung in the first place?

ps - sorry for the thread-jack

[transylvanic]

josh, regarding the 2333, I have a 22" version of the model and I'd frankly advise against it. It's a very neat monitor, but the stand is pretty disgraceful. Any little tap of my desk and it wobbles.

I had to put it on a separate shelf, so now no problems, but something to keep in mind. Otherwise, as I say, a very neat panel. I can even lay down in bed and watch movies, which means it has good vert/horizontal viewing angles.

I just wanna say, though, how ridiculous this price crash in monitors has been. Now for £150 a guy can get a super-sized, widescreen, thin-bezel, multi-input, hi-def monitor. I love it!