LCD Monitor round-up?

[amjedm]

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread....130522&page=28

I'm hoping post #541 is correct, otherwise I'll order the none 'Q' model from MicroDirect.

I emailed them on Wednesday to confirm they have the non Q model and still no reply

What if they have the Q version, will it be easy to return? My guess is no from some of the comments I've read.


Edit: I hope post 541 is right as well

[Dreaming]

Have to say the new samsung 22" - 226BW - is pretty good.

[amjedm]

Have to say the new samsung 22" - 226BW - is pretty good.

It is good but there is a panel lottery

A (AU Optronics I think) or S (Samsung) or C (Chim something)

[frazered]

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread....130522&page=28

I'm hoping post #541 is correct, otherwise I'll order the none 'Q' model from MicroDirect.

shall need time to absorb this with a large whiskey in hand

[Jayos]

Samsung 22" 226BW here

Absolutley fantastic monitor!!!

No problems what so ever colour is fantastic detail spot on and for less than £250

You can't make a generalised comment like all 22" lcd's are worth avoiding!

There seems to be a lot of crap going around about quality etc. If you get a monitor which is sub standard then return it.

It's worth checking you have a good quality dvi cable and the graphics card you have is up to the job.

[acrobat]

Its not a case of sub standard in terms of faulty parts, but that all 22" monitors are meant to use the same or similar panels.

That Samsung may be different, and there may be exceptions, but from what I've read, I wouldn't go near one. Some people don't seem to mind actually. My friend has a 22" monitor and he loves it. I think it looks like crap. It might be a relative thing though. If you have used a CRT and then get a 22" TFT, it probably looks decent. But if you have used a really good looking 20" TFT for a while, and then see a 22" one, its a league behind.

I think what you use them for matters too. My friend's 22" isn't TOO bad for playing games on. Infact, its fine for most of the games I've seen on it, apart from one game which looked bad for some reason. But movies looked really washed out on it. Basically, like I said, people have told me, as a general rule, to avoid 22" screens if you want a really high quality image. And from what I've seen, I'd have to agree with that - unless you can find a exceptional one. If you really need a big screen, save up for a 24". Otherwise, get a 20" with good image quality.

[amjedm]

Its not a case of sub standard in terms of faulty parts, but that all 22" monitors are meant to use the same or similar panels.

That Samsung may be different, and there may be exceptions, but from what I've read, I wouldn't go near one. Some people don't seem to mind actually. My friend has a 22" monitor and he loves it. I think it looks like crap. It might be a relative thing though. If you have used a CRT and then get a 22" TFT, it probably looks decent. But if you have used a really good looking 20" TFT for a while, and then see a 22" one, its a league behind.

I think what you use them for matters too. My friend's 22" isn't TOO bad for playing games on. Infact, its fine for most of the games I've seen on it, apart from one game which looked bad for some reason. But movies looked really washed out on it. Basically, like I said, people have told me, as a general rule, to avoid 22" screens if you want a really high quality image. And from what I've seen, I'd have to agree with that - unless you can find a exceptional one. If you really need a big screen, save up for a 24". Otherwise, get a 20" with good image quality.

I did briefly try out a Samsung 205BW and found the text was too small. I returned it to PC World because it suffered from buzzing/humming.

I can't fit a 24" in the corner desk shelf and neither am I prepared to spend that much money.

A Samsung 225BW has been returned to ebuyer because of slight (compared to the 205BW) humming/buzzing. Text was also a bit fuzzy but not sure if that was my G4 MX card not being able to handle the monitor.

I still want a 22" screen - any advice for me?

Thanks.

[NightshadowUK]

And now there's a post #542 now, bugger...

So 20" it is... Samsung SM206BW anyone?

Oh not forgetting the Custom PC round-up, the Belinea 10 20 35W came out on top.

EDIT @ amjedm: The two good 22" screens I've heard about are the Samsung 226BW and the LG 226WT.

[amjedm]

And now there's a post #542 now, bugger...

So 20" it is... Samsung SM206BW anyone?

EDIT @ amjedm: The two good 22" screens I've heard about are the Samsung 226BW and the LG 226WT.

Saw that post earlier and I was

I might give the LG "Q" a try if anyone can recommend some software I can use to test ghosting etc.

I only surf so don't have any games to test.

[Agrippa]

A Samsung 225BW has been returned to ebuyer because of slight (compared to the 205BW) humming/buzzing. Text was also a bit fuzzy but not sure if that was my G4 MX card not being able to handle the monitor.

I still want a 22" screen - any advice for me?

Thanks.

225BW here and it's silent as the grave. I've been near quite a few of them and I've never heard even the least hum or buzz, so my guess if you were just unlucky. Quite frankly, the 225/6BW and the LG equivalent are the best screens in their class by far these days. IMO, YMMV and all that jazz, but most reviews would seem to agree.

[NightshadowUK]

From what i can gather the 'Q' uses the same screen as the WT did but LG did something to squeeze the response time down to 2ms thus causing some ghosting.

Oh they added HDCP too.

Just seen this, Samsung SM225BW + £10 off with Google Checkout.

I'm leaning towards the LG though as it's a newer panel and Scan stock it, hmmm...

[amjedm]

225BW here and it's silent as the grave. I've been near quite a few of them and I've never heard even the least hum or buzz, so my guess if you were just unlucky. Quite frankly, the 225/6BW and the LG equivalent are the best screens in their class by far these days. IMO, YMMV and all that jazz, but most reviews would seem to agree.

Thanks for the info - much appreciated. I may even give the Samsung 225BW Black a try from ebuyer.

Have just read the customer reviews and one person has mentioned text distortion

From what i can gather the 'Q' uses the same screen as the WT did but LG did something to squeeze the response time down to 2ms thus causing some ghosting.

Oh they added HDCP too.

Just seen this, Samsung SM225BW + £10 off with Google Checkout.

I'm leaning towards the LG though as it's a newer panel and Scan stock it, hmmm...

The Samsung does have adjustable stand. Having tried a couple of Samsungs the easy switch (whatever it's called) is superb IMO - at the touch of a button you can switch between internet/text/movie/sport etc.

[frazered]

shiser

just read about the dell s-ips lottery and pva panels

this stuff is never ending! i think i am going to give up and not bother, damn those people who nagged and cost me my cheap 8800gts from amazon as well!

[acrobat]

I did briefly try out a Samsung 205BW and found the text was too small.

The small text is probably something that you will get with any of these big screens with high resolutions really. You can actually change the DPI (dots per inch) setting in windows which makes all the text and fonts bigger and much easier to read. I really like it like that, although it does screw up some web pages and a few little applications which dont allow different sized fonts. The fonts basically just go off the edge and you cant read them. But you can just change the DPI back to normal if that happens. Mostly though (like 99% of stuff) its fine to view stuff with the bigger fonts.

I returned it to PC World because it suffered from buzzing/humming.

A lot of TFT's suffer from that, whether they are 22" or not. It is usually considered a fault though, so you should be able to return one if you ever get another one like that. There isn't really any way to make sure you avoid it because they are all capable of suffering from it. (Its not like any particular brand is garaunteed silent every time or anything). Even the good ones can have a slight hum, but you usually can't hear it unless you turn your PC off and the room is completely silent. But mostly its not audible, and if you do get one where you can hear it, it should just be replaced.

I can't fit a 24" in the corner desk shelf and neither am I prepared to spend that much money.

Id have to suggest a 20" then

Text was also a bit fuzzy but not sure if that was my G4 MX card not being able to handle the monitor.

I think thats one of the problems with 22" monitors in general, that I was talking about earlier. There may be exceptions (I haven't seen them all ) but like I said, people who know a lot more about monitors than me, have told me to avoid all 22" monitors because they all (generally?) suffer the same kinds of problems. And after seeing a few of them for myself, I have to agree. The one I have seen the most (my friends) suffers from all kinds of problems, and thats why I would suggest not getting a 22" panel - unless you can somehow find one that is an exception to the rule. I don't know of any that are like that though. They just seem fuzzy, and the colours are washed out. I also think most (or all?) of the 22" panels are 6bit instead of 8bit. And the human eye CAN detect a difference, so basically, the colours aren't as good on a 6bit panel as on an 8bit panel.

So...

I still want a 22" screen - any advice for me?

I'd have to say, dont get one Stick with a 20". The size difference really isn't that noticeable. Especially if its on a computer desk just a few feet away from you. So a 20" widescreen by no means feels small at all. And the higher quality image on the 20" monitors just makes it a much better choice. If I knew of a 22" panel that had good image quality, I'd buy one myself But I dont. Thats why I suggest 20".

The only thing going for them as far as im concerned, is that they are so cheap - relatively. But I'd personally rather spend a bit more and get a high quality 20" - even if its 2 inches smaller. I can't stress this enough. Especially if you are picky about image quality and you have a good graphics card too. And espppppppeeecially if you want to watch movies on it too. If those things are true of you, then you might regret not getting a 20". Otherwise, a 22" might be ok for you. Like I said, my friend has a 22" and he likes it. After using a good 20" for six months though, I think his looks really bad Its always a bit of a shock when I go round to his house and see games that I've been playing, on his monitor. They just look washed out and fuzzy. And watching films is usually even worse. He is used to it though, and is maybe not as picky about the image quality, so its ok.

Saw that post earlier and I was

I might give the LG "Q" a try if anyone can recommend some software I can use to test ghosting etc.

I only surf so don't have any games to test.

Before you decide on anything, go to that forum called:
www.widescreengamingforum.com

and research the monitor. If there isn't a review of it, then you'll have to find one on google. But that place has a review of most monitors.

You can get stuff to test a screen there too. There are ghosting tests, and dead pixel tests too.

[Ciber]

I did briefly try out a Samsung 205BW and found the text was too small.

This is a concern of mine as well.

I'm currently using a 19" CRT and I don't use the full 1600 x 1200, only 1280x1024 for desktop/ web, as many pages use too small fonts, making me strain at the screen even on 1280x1024. Changing the DPI setting is not a good fix for this. Now with a TFT they look bad if you use anything other than the native, say 1680x1050, so with a 20" panel I'm looking at running the desktop in non native res and looking blurry and generally messed up or stupid websites that think we are all still on 640x480 having text that makes my eyes hurt.

Like many here I feel the need for a nice big widescreen monitor though. I've saved for a 24", but I fear the tiny text and associated eyestrain.

So, for non-tiny text on websites etc, do I need a 22" or maybe 27" panel, as they always seem to have larger pixels than 20" or 24" models. What do those of you that have these panels do/find?

[MadduckUK]

a 22" widescreen at 1680x1050 is going to be the best match if you liked your 19" at 1280x1024. as the pixel sizes are very close. and the monitor height is very close, its just wider