Gaming Widescreen monitor advice

[billythewiz]

Hi

as the title suggests I'm thinking of getting a widescreen TFT monitor. This will be primarily for gaming, but also for when I remotely connect to my work desktop (where I have two 17in screens).

I was wondering what features I should look out for and if there are anythings I should avoid.

I've done a bit of research, but would like your thoughts.

Brightness. Always good when gaming to have a bright picture. What's a good spec and what's a minimum to consider ? 300 cd/m2 seems standard. Is it worth paying for more.

Contrast ratio. Like brightness, good to have for gaming. 700:1 seems about average. Again is it worth paying for more ?

Resolution. High is good, but you need a great gfx card to drive it (I have a 7800gt). 1680 x 1050 seems standard for widescreen. Is widescreen worth it ? Is higher res needed ? Are there ever any aspect ratio problems ?

Response time. Faster the better. The last time I looked at getting a TFT monitor 20ms was standard, 16 was good and 12 was the best you could get. Now it seems that <8 is common, so how fast does it need to be ? Is 5ms ok ?

Anything else I should worry about ? Viewing angles, stand adjustment, dead pixel policy ?

Finally does anyone have a recommendation ?

Scan have a whole bunch of monitors on their TO page, including a Dell E207WFP 20in widescreen for £233. Any good ?

[billythewiz]

Plenty of viewers but no replys.

Probably should have posted in the gfx/displays forum

Anyway, I found this FAQ which I thought was pretty good and thought I'd pass it on.

[Trash Man]

Not sure on your budget, I just got a Dell 2407, 1000:1, 1900 x 1200 and I have to say that it is simple awesome. It's my first TFT screen, and being an avid gamer I was a little worried about TFT's, but so far I have had no problems at all, only hours of enjoyment

I know it's a lot to spend on a monitor, but I feel it was well worth the money. They have a 22in version due out soon.

[kalniel]

The display monitors forum section has a lot of useful advice on this kind of thing, but I'd advise you to stay clear of the e207wfp - it's really not a good effort.

[bigblue]

I can thouroughly recommend the NEC20WGX2 (again... )

Had it since May and it's the only bit of my PC I haven't had the urge to change since then.

For once, I'd say the reviews in the mags (PCF, Custom PC) have it spot on.

[Deadlight]

I've got the same as Trash - the Dell 24" jobbie. I love it - don't let the Dell web site puts you off the price though - I got mine off a ebay seller (A03 version) and paid 200 quid cheaper than the Dell retail price!aft

I would say you might need a gfx card update - I found this out, as my X1800 XT is fine for World of warcraft as 1900 x 1200 (lovely it is too!) but you run a Pixel shader 3 game with a widescreen resolution and it doesn't cut it. A nice DX10 card is on the cards!

[Trash Man]

I've got the same as Trash - the Dell 24" jobbie. I love it - don't let the Dell web site puts you off the price though - I got mine off a ebay seller (A03 version) and paid 200 quid cheaper than the Dell retail price!aft

I would say you might need a gfx card update - I found this out, as my X1800 XT is fine for World of warcraft as 1900 x 1200 (lovely it is too!) but you run a Pixel shader 3 game with a widescreen resolution and it doesn't cut it. A nice DX10 card is on the cards!

Are you getting any screen tear in WoW? I never used to have this problem on my old CRT, I do have V-Sync enabled.

Anyone have any ideas what I can do to stop this?

[Deadlight]

weird - no problem here!

[tinners]

take a look here dell have offers on the e207 and 2007 at the mo.

[acidrainy]

Are you getting any screen tear in WoW? I never used to have this problem on my old CRT, I do have V-Sync enabled.

Anyone have any ideas what I can do to stop this?

Install this driver and use the monitors dektop mode. http://tinyurl.com/t2mmp

Other than that, contact dell. Some panels suffer from the issue which you describe.

[Trash Man]

Install this driver and use the monitors dektop mode. http://tinyurl.com/t2mmp

Other than that, contact dell. Some panels suffer from the issue which you describe.

Cheers, I'll give it a try tonight. Not noticed any tearing in other games so far, only WoW. Wondering if there is a setting that may cause it.

[DratUK]

I've got the same as Trash - the Dell 24" jobbie. I love it - don't let the Dell web site puts you off the price though - I got mine off a ebay seller (A03 version) and paid 200 quid cheaper than the Dell retail price!aft

was that ericbunny? Just about to purchase the same monitor and I wanted to make sure he was legit as it seems a very low price for the Dell.

[Trash Man]

was that ericbunny? Just about to purchase the same monitor and I wanted to make sure he was legit as it seems a very low price for the Dell.

Not sure what you are going to be paying for it, but Dell have it on special again at the moment, and bought through quidco it's about £500

[acrobat]

I can thouroughly recommend the NEC20WGX2 (again... )

Had it since May and it's the only bit of my PC I haven't had the urge to change since then.

For once, I'd say the reviews in the mags (PCF, Custom PC) have it spot on.

Thats what I've got and its amazing.

I have a tiny bit of backlight bleeding though at the top Its only quite faint but it pees me off just knowing it exists... Can only see it when the screen is black otherwise its fine. All these flat panel monitors nowdays, seem to be a bit hit and miss though. Some come with dead pixels etc..

So Im pretty happy with mine. If it wasn't for that bit of bleed, it would be 110% perfect and highly recommended.

I would send this one back to get replaced but I would have nothing to use in the meantime And there would be no garauntee the next one doesnt have something worse wrong with it.

[bigblue]

Acrobat: NEC have pretty damn good customer service. I think they do a swap-out warranty in both UK and the US so there's nowt to fear, give them a call !

I don't know how long you've had your monitor but they seem to get better with time. I heard a few folks elsewhere saying this and I was HIGHLY sceptical but it seems to be true. I'm pretty sure I had a bit of bleed when new but it's pretty near perfect now.

Good luck if you get it swapped, and I'm sure you'll find NEC helpful, I did

[acrobat]

Well its funny you should say that, but it was quite bad when I got it. Then after a couple of weeks it got much better. Then it went completely.... then it came back! lol

But since my post above, its actually gone again.... So its perfect now

Think I'm just gunna stick with it. Its an amazing monitor btw.