If you have a choice, 1920 x 1200 or 120Hz?

[Isendar]

I'm trying to decide if its worth it to replace my monitor. Sure it works and its not bad. Doesn't have a direct HDMI connection but it does have DVI-D. Its a 24" widescreen HP monitor and has 5ms (Yeah there's some 2 and even 1ms monitors but in reality 5 miliseconds is hardly capable of human being to notice). The nice thing is that the resolution is the old 1920 x 1200. Now I know movies don't show anymore than 1080p but games can utilize that higher resolution. Now here's the other monitor I am considering:

Any brand 23.6-27" monitor. LED backlit or LCD is fine. No more than 5ms (2-3 seems typical these days). 1920 x 1080 (I can compromise if this monitor type is better) resolution. HDMI (kinda nice not having to use the ol' DVI-DVI cable that cost an arm and a leg). The most interesting thing of note is 120Hz.

My ultimate question is, will I notice more of a difference stepping down from 1920x1200 to 1920x1080 or stepping up from 60Hz to 120Hz. Money isn't the issue so yeah you could say I should just stick with the HP 24" but if there is a difference and the 120Hz will make it look a bit better, i'll consider upgrading. Also is there a difference in visual quality between DVI-D and HDMI?

[BicycleMafioso]

1920x1200 if you do things other than watching movie or gaming.
If you don't, either way, but you likely seem to lean toward the 120Hz. I personally wouldn't feel the need to sidegrade (at best).

There is also no difference between DVI-D and HDMI, in terms of visual quality.

[Deleted]

Both will yield a noticeable difference.

*1080 @ 120hz is superior in games for two reasons; a larger field of view (see more of the game) along with potentially smoother game behavior - particularly when making sharp turns in shooters. The latter benefit requires that your machine can deliver 120fps however or its completely lost, and the sooner can be acquired on a 1920x1200 monitor by just changing the resolution.

But for desktop use - the 120pixels will yield a noticeable loss of real estate. Nothing you can't get used to, but you'll find that you can't quite fit as many lines of text as before.

[Shakadam]

I'd stick to the one with higher resolution. 60 to 120 hz is extremely hard to notice unless you specifically look for the differences. With normal use you won't see a difference. You will however immediately see a difference with a lower resolution.

The thing you really should look for is what kind of panel the monitors have, if your old has a TN panel and the new an IPS or better then go for it, it'll be a massive difference in quality. If both are TN then don't bother really

[BicycleMafioso]

The thing you really should look for is what kind of panel the monitors have, if your old has a TN panel and the new an IPS or better then go for it, it'll be a massive difference in quality. If both are TN then don't bother really

There are no true 120Hz 3D-capable non-TN monitors readily availible to consumers, although there are several concept models.

But I'd agree on the notion of TN; it'd all be a side-grade image quality wise, even if fluency might be better with the 120Hz.