Choosing a gaming monitor....

[KowShak]

I'm looking to replace my Dell 1905FP with a newer monitor, I've decided to go up to 22" since 24" is a bit large for my desktop.

I used the 1905FP for the usual things, video, gaming, web browsing, office etc. Gaming wise the current monitor can be a bit ghosty, thats something I'd like to get away from, but I do game at native resolution on it (1280x1024) and I'd like to be able to game at the native res of whatever I buy to replace it. Gaming at a res of 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 is pushing towards the limit of what my PC can handle (probably beyond the limit) so I think a 1680x1050 monitor would be best.

The list of contenders looks something like the following....

Samsung T220
Samsung 2253BW
Dell 2209WA
LG W2252TQ
LG L226WU
LG L227WTG

So, does anybody have any of the monitors I've listed?
How suitable are they for gaming?
What else should I be looking at?

[Phage]

I have the LG W2343T which IS a 1080 monitor, but I can recommend the quality of the panel at the price. It is TN though, and there are some great deals at the moment. What's the budget ?

EDIT: Lifted from another thread, this looks like a great deal.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/177132

[KowShak]

There are a couple of reasons I don't want a 1920x1080 screen. I think that res is too high for the size of panel and my PC is going to struggle running games native at that res or things are going to look bad scaling from a lower res. There is also the question of how small text will get, 1680x1050 is getting towards the limit of what will fit on a 22" screen and I don't have desk space for a bigger screen. The budget isnt fixed to a particular value but if it costs more money it had better be worth it. One thing I like about the monitor I've got is that the stand adjusts e.g. for height, thats not a feature I see on a lot of monitors.

I was going to the Dell from eBuyer when they had it priced under £200, I sent them an email asking what the warranty would be like and they ignored it and while I was waiting for a response they put the price up. Eventually I sent another email asking the same question and asking about the price increase, the response I got answered my question about the warranty but ignored the question about the price increase..... In short unless the Dell comes back down in price, I'm looking for something else.

[muppet_hat]

I would first recommend you to upgrade your rig so it can handle 1920x1080, then go for a 24" if possible, if you absolutely can't then settle for a 22". Full HD (16:9) display on a 24" is fabulously stunning.

For display I would recommend you to just read about BenQ's LED backlit monitor series: V2200 Eco. They're eco friendly monitors with RoHS and energy star stamps, yet they still pack themselves as powerful displays with Full HD, HDMI, 1920x1080, and 5 ms response time.

Here's a review on it:
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review...200_eco/322127

[KowShak]

I would first recommend you to upgrade your rig so it can handle 1920x1080, then go for a 24" if possible, if you absolutely can't then settle for a 22". Full HD (16:9) display on a 24" is fabulously stunning.

For display I would recommend you to just read about BenQ's LED backlit monitor series: V2200 Eco. They're eco friendly monitors with RoHS and energy star stamps, yet they still pack themselves as powerful displays with Full HD, HDMI, 1920x1080, and 5 ms response time.

Here's a review on it:
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/review...200_eco/322127

Upgrading is an option but, as I've said a 24" screen is simply too big for the desk space I have and I've seen 1920x1080 on a 22" and the text size gets too small for my liking. I spend a lot of time scrolling code and even though that won't be the main use of this monitor, I don't want the higher resolution, in short it has to be 1680x1050. Did I forget to mention that a lot of older games don't support 1920x1080, specifically some of the ones I play?

I'm certainly interested in the newer LED backlight technology from a technology point of view, but its not a must have feature and I can live without it. The things I'm really bothered about are the input lag and response time because thats where my current monitor falls down.....

[Perfectionist]

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-gaming...ng-gamers.html (3 pages, OLED stuff covered towards end)

Any kind of backlight = nasty, OLED is definitely the way to go, just hard to get hold of at the moment...

On resolution and text size: It really doesn't matter how high it is these days with windows having native options for dots-per-inch scaling for text to make any program that shows text show it bigger, and ctrl+mousescrollwheelup/down in web browsers!
On resolution and older programs: High resolution monitors can usually show lower resolutions too, not fixed.

I'm using Viewsonic G90fB-4 1920x1440 CRT atm. There's no real reason to choose LCD over CRT if quality is the priority, unless desk space is an issue.

[KowShak]

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-gaming...ng-gamers.html (3 pages, OLED stuff covered towards end)

Any kind of backlight = nasty, OLED is definitely the way to go, just hard to get hold of at the moment...

On resolution and text size: It really doesn't matter how high it is these days with windows having native options for dots-per-inch scaling for text to make any program that shows text show it bigger, and ctrl+mousescrollwheelup/down in web browsers!
On resolution and older programs: High resolution monitors can usually show lower resolutions too, not fixed.

I'm using Viewsonic G90fB-4 1920x1440 CRT atm. There's no real reason to choose LCD over CRT if quality is the priority, unless desk space is an issue.

There is a lot of hype about OLED but until somebody makes a 22" OLED screen that I can afford, I'm not likely to buy one.

High res monitors can show lower resolutions, I'm not going to deny that. There is a big difference between running an LCD monitor at its native resolution compared to running it at a non-native resolution, i.e. you lose a lot of sharpness which is the whole point of running at the higher resolution. My point here is that I will actually be worse off running the higher res monitor at a lower res than buying the lower res monitor.

Its true that a lot of applications can scale but for each that scales properly there are several that don't, including some that I use.....

To get the same viewable area on a CRT as on a 22" LCD, I'd need a 24" CRT monitor..... I don't have the space for a 24" LCD never mind a 24" CRT.

[KowShak]

I think I've found two more contenders, the ViewSonic VX2268wm and the Samsung 2233rz.

These are both 120Hz LCDs and according to the reviews they are as fast as any for gaming. Anybody have experience of either one?

[muppet_hat]

If that's the case with your preference then I have nothing more to say about 16:9 hahaha.

I would go with the Samsung 2233rz, it looks nicer and the specs are good. Don't worry about the Samsung being 5 ms and the viewsonic being 2ms, because 2 ms GTG is not calculating the overall ms response time. And the truth is the human eye will not be able to tell the difference between 5ms and 2ms..

Go with the Samsung = )

[Rollo]

I think I've found two more contenders, the ViewSonic VX2268wm and the Samsung 2233rz.

These are both 120Hz LCDs and according to the reviews they are as fast as any for gaming. Anybody have experience of either one?

Love my 2233RZ, have had it since December 2008. A very nice monitor, and if you add 3d Vision, arguably the best gaming experience available on a computer monitor today.

[KowShak]

Love my 2233RZ, have had it since December 2008. A very nice monitor, and if you add 3d Vision, arguably the best gaming experience available on a computer monitor today.

The reviews seem to suggest that the 2233RZ is faster than anything else in terms of its input lag and response time / lack of ghosting etc. The downside (i.e. its a trade off) is that the viewing angles aren't the best and that the colors aren't as vibrant as the slower monitors. its stand is also not as adjustable as the Dell's stand, I know that a Vesa mount is an option and there are height adjustable stands available after-market for reasonable amounts of money but that adds cost.

I can't win, the Dell still looks like the best option!

[Perfectionist]

OLED-Display.net, 'Sony show 24.5 inch 3D AMOLED at CES-2010'

Sony is showing new 3D AMOLED prototypes at the CES-2010. The display does have 24.5 inch and is 3D ready, and a really amazing picture quality and contrast. Sony says this is only a prototype there are no release date price or anything.

OLED-Display.net, 'LG Display plans to [..]set focus to OLED'

LG Display plans to start operation of an additional line of its eighth-generation LCD plant and to focus on new growth areas such as 3-D display, solar cells, e-paper and OLED this year, its CEO Kwon Young-soo said. Kwon Young says: "We may start to produce 30-inch OLED TV panels in 2012."

OLED-Info.com, 'LG Display reveals OLED roadmap: 40" OLEDs in 2016, cheaper than LCDs'

LG Display has revealed their OLED TV roadmap: 15" displays in 2009, 20" in 2010, 30" in 2011 and 40" or larger panels in 2012. The 40" panels in 2012 will be "fairly expensive", but they will be available in the market.

[..]

LG Display aims to get OLEDs at about 50% higher cost than LCD, with 30% lower yield in 2012. In 2016, OLEDs will be 20%-30% cheaper than LCD, with an equivalent yield.

(via TechOn http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english...091030/177155/ )

http://www.oled-info.com/lg-15-oled-...ound-2500-3000

Obviously this is a lot of money for a 15" TV. But it's about the same as Sony's 11" XEL-1 (which still costs 2,500$ in the US), so you get almost 40% more screen for the same money. Also this is the price for Korea, hopefully it will be lower when it launches worldwide in 2010.

The 15" OLED TV will have a 1366x768 resolution, 100,000:1 contrast ratio and it'll be only 1.7mm thick.

Smarthouse, 'Large OLED TV's Closer Say LG & Samsung'

Samsung Mobile Display is already producing 20,000 OLED panels a month for mobile phones with this set to be significantly expanded in 2010 said a Company spokesperson.

Samsung, which has been reaping the benefits of its investment in LCD TVs with light emitting-diode (LED) backlighting, is forecasting a mass market for OLED TV's sometime in 2012.

Where's Doctor Who when you need him. Backlit LCD is rubbish in comparison...

[KowShak]

OLED-Display.net, 'Sony show 24.5 inch 3D AMOLED at CES-2010'

OLED-Display.net, 'LG Display plans to [..]set focus to OLED'

OLED-Info.com, 'LG Display reveals OLED roadmap: 40" OLEDs in 2016, cheaper than LCDs' (via TechOn http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english...091030/177155/ )

http://www.oled-info.com/lg-15-oled-...ound-2500-3000

Smarthouse, 'Large OLED TV's Closer Say LG & Samsung'

Where's Doctor Who when you need him. Backlit LCD is rubbish in comparison...

I've only seen one OLED screen to date (or at least only seen one that I knew was OLED). The particular screen was in a Zune HD and was quite impressive, compared to the non-OLED screen in my phone.

Now, if you could point me at the OLED monitors section at Scan or Ebuyer, specifically the OLED 22" gaming monitors for less than £200 subsection, I'd appreciate it

[Random_guy]

If it helps, I really like my T220. The quality is superb and I think its quite a pleasing design. Its still a TN panel so the usual stuff about viewing angle and colour applies, but viewing head on, say, for gaming, its great value.