Monitors are hard work...

[Deleted]

Hello everyone,

I'm in need of a new monitor to go with my new PC. My old monitor is a fairly crappy HP 2210i (21 or so inch) and now I'm aiming for something a bit bigger. I just find it hard to pick a good one because there are so many variables to think about and the reviews are often confusing. I don't think I've seen a monitor, even popular ones that have a convincing number of good reviews over the bad.

Other than that it needs to be a overall good and respectable monitor with good, I'm thinking something close to 24 inch. It doesn't have to be 24 inches exactly, but larger than 23. Tilting is also a must if I'm going to be buying it. Budget is around £150.

This is the only thing I've found so far that I like, but I'm not sure about it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-S24B...pr_product_top

[Deleted]

I just bought this LG IPS monitor, excellent quality for the price:

LG IPS237L-BN £135

it's slightly below the quality of this:

Dell UltraSharp U2312HM £162

The dell is nice and come few a few more connection options but also cost an extra ~£30, I'm happy with my LG panel so far.

[Deleted]

I just bought this LG IPS monitor, excellent quality for the price:

LG IPS237L-BN £135

it's slightly below the quality of this:

Dell UltraSharp U2312HM £162

The dell is nice and come few a few more connection options but also cost an extra ~£30, I'm happy with my LG panel so far.

Thanks for the recommendations. The LG seems to have a larger contrast ratio than the Dell which I find surprising. Is that something that's very noticeable? Some people seem to think the response times on those monitors might be bad for gaming. What do you reckon?

Edit: Damn, I really was starting to like the LG, but after watching some reviews it seems that the bezel isn't actually as thin as it looks and it's actually 11mm

[Deleted]

yeah 11 mm is HUGE (sorry sarcasm...) it's still quite thin but you're right it's not as they originally advertised. The response time is fine, unless you're going to do like competitive FPS shooter.

[Deleted]

The Dell's response time is actually good and interms of input lag it's very good. Overall a great monitor and definitely worth the asking price for it's ergonomic features.

If you're on a stricter budget then by all means go for the LG monitor. My vote will be the Dell monitor. I own the older version, Dell 2311h and it's a fantastic monitor for gaming.

[Deleted]

yeah 11 mm is HUGE (sorry sarcasm...) it's still quite thin but you're right it's not as they originally advertised. The response time is fine, unless you're going to do like competitive FPS shooter.

It's not the size of the bezel that puts me off, really, it's that the picture doesn't fit the entire monitor. If the bezel was caused by a normal border then that'd be fine for me.

---------- Post added 2013-03-09 at 01:04 PM ----------

The Dell's response time is actually good and interms of input lag it's very good. Overall a great monitor and definitely worth the asking price for it's ergonomic features.

If you're on a stricter budget then by all means go for the LG monitor. My vote will be the Dell monitor. I own the older version, Dell 2311h and it's a fantastic monitor for gaming.

Is there something that makes the 2311h better for gaming than the U2312HM? I'm assuming just lower response time?[COLOR="red"]



Edit: Looking up more on the Dell: People claim that it can ghost and the blacks are crap.

This is what I mean when I say it's hard to find a good monitor.

[n0cturnal]

This is what I mean when I say it's hard to find a good monitor.

It isn't hard to find a good monitor, you just have very high expectations for quite a limited budget.

[Deleted]

It isn't hard to find a good monitor, you just have very high expectations for quite a limited budget.

I don't have high expectations. I just find it annoying that every monitor seems to have a problem with it.

[n0cturnal]

I don't have high expectations. I just find it annoying that every monitor seems to have a problem with it.

You shut down IPS monitors because they have less than perfect blacks and that it has minor ghosting. Blacks are a weakness of IPS panels, if you want good blacks you need to get a VA panel. Ghosting is a weakness of any panel except for TN which is crap for everything else. With a £150 budget you can get a entry level IPS or perhaps a VA panel but you can't get a monitor that is good at everything.

[Deleted]

It's not the size of the bezel that puts me off, really, it's that the picture doesn't fit the entire monitor. If the bezel was caused by a normal border then that'd be fine for me.

---------- Post added 2013-03-09 at 01:04 PM ----------


Is there something that makes the 2311h better for gaming than the U2312HM? I'm assuming just lower response time?[COLOR="red"]



Edit: Looking up more on the Dell: People claim that it can ghost and the blacks are crap.

This is what I mean when I say it's hard to find a good monitor.

You place way too much emphasis on negative feedback. Consumers can be very finicky. Unless you have an incredible monitor at the moment, which will not be the case since you're in the market for a new one, then both those monitors linked by Notarget will be a massive improvement over your old monitor. I have not noticed any major ghosting, not that I notice such things, and the blacks are fine especially compared to my old and dead 19" LCD monitor which was alot more expensive when I initially bought it.

Like n0cturnal has suggested, if you want a better monitor you need a larger budget. The Dell 2312hm has overwhelming positive reviews and is an excellent monitor for it's asking price.

If you want a better gaming monitor than you can opt for the BenQ XL2420T, which is about twice as much. http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-XL2420T.../dp/B005XZBMTU

And even then it doesn't have perfect reviews.

[Deleted]

You place way too much emphasis on negative feedback. Consumers can be very finicky. Unless you have an incredible monitor at the moment, which will not be the case since you're in the market for a new one, then both those monitors linked by Notarget will be a massive improvement over your old monitor. I have not noticed any major ghosting, not that I notice such things, and the blacks are fine especially compared to my old and dead 19" LCD monitor which was alot more expensive when I initially bought it.

Like n0cturnal has suggested, if you want a better monitor you need a larger budget. The Dell 2312hm has overwhelming positive reviews and is an excellent monitor for it's asking price.

If you want a better gaming monitor than you can opt for the BenQ XL2420T, which is about twice as much. http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-XL2420T.../dp/B005XZBMTU

And even then it doesn't have perfect reviews.

You're right, I do focus on the negatives, but that's sort of natural when trying not to waste money. You're right though, the Dell U2312HM is a good monitor and I'll probably be getting it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[Deleted]

You're right, I do focus on the negatives, but that's sort of natural when trying not to waste money. You're right though, the Dell U2312HM is a good monitor and I'll probably be getting it. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

I know, I'm the same. But I'm using the very same monitor you're about to purchase and when I compare it to the cheap but lagless monitor that's running upstairs or the crappy monitors I have to work with at my workplace, coming home to the Dell monitor can be a joy to behold. It's impressive stand and rich colours will instantly hit you especially if you've been using a cheap LCD with rubbish contrast settings that are pale bright and washed out looking.

[Deleted]

I know, I'm the same. But I'm using the very same monitor you're about to purchase and when I compare it to the cheap but lagless monitor that's running upstairs or the crappy monitors I have to work with at my workplace, coming home to the Dell monitor can be a joy to behold. It's impressive stand and rich colours will instantly hit you especially if you've been using a cheap LCD with rubbish contrast settings that are pale bright and washed out looking.

This what I'm coming from.

https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...roduct=4084959

I didn't notice any problems with it, but no doubt you'll be able to tell by the specs if it's crap or not. If it is, then I shouldn't be complaining about the better monitor I'm about to buy. :P

[Deleted]

Well, no I can't actually tell by the specs alone if it's crap or not, only by user experience.

It's a budget monitor for starters so it's most likely using a pretty cheap TN panel. If it's anything like the Samsung Syncmaster screens I bought for my siblings 2.5 years ago, and the cost of those was around £130, then I would suspect the quality not to be all that great. Not only do you get shitty viewing angles with old TN panels, but the colours especially look really pale and slightly washed out since you're having to turn both the brightness and contrast up on those monitors.

The Dell you're about to purchase uses a low end IPS panel, known as eIPS. It's by no means a stellar IPS monitor, again if you want one of those you'll need to splash out, but the image quality is significantly better when you compare it to your old TN panel. You also have to bear in mind that the Dell 2311h (which is equivalent to the monitor you're buying) was well over twice the cost of your HP monitor back in 2010. It's original cost was well over £250. My monitor is actually a refurbished monitor which I bought for around £200 in 2011, so you're getting a fantastic deal for £162 even if you factor in cheaper production costs coming into 2013.

[Deleted]

Sarithus, I'm happy with the LG panel and it saved me money compared to getting the Dell one, I'm not bothered one bit with the bezel and I actually think it looks quite good. If you don't mind paying extra for the Dell then go for it, the response time is slightly better even though they're basically both LG eIPS monitors with some slight differences. I believe the Dell also offers a few more connection options.

With IPS I can lay on my bed/sofa and watch TV/movies etc. and the picture looks really good regardless of the angle.

basically 5 stars average from 91 comments on Amazon.co.uk, not sure how that is really negative in any way sure you will find bad reviews/comments by users but don't forget people love to give negative reviews if something wasn't exactly how they expected, even when sometimes it's a "user error". It's much harder to get people to go write a comment when everything is working as intended/expected.

[Deleted]

I actually did a bit of research on that LG IPS monitor and it's indeed an excellent buy. I had no idea there was such a great budget IPS monitor out there. It does indeed have the same quality panel. Definitely something I'll be recommending in future builds.

[n0cturnal]

Keep in mind that the extra money you pay for the Dell goes into the better stand and the very good warranty service Dell provides. (3 year on site)

[Deleted]

Keep in mind that the extra money you pay for the Dell goes into the better stand and the very good warranty service Dell provides. (3 year on site)

Very true, users on a strict budget should definitely consider the LG monitor though.

[Deleted]

The LG can be tilted but not raised or lowered, not an issue for me but might be for some. Then again they had to save somewhere I guess.

[Kagonpeak]

I've had the U2312HM and the screen itself looked awesome and the quality was excellent. When I started using it, the colors were excellent as well, but there was only one (big) problem for me. I'm not sure it was ghosting, because it looked more like the colors weren't catching up fast enough.

I noticed this especially when I was playing Torchlight 2. That game is a top down game like Diablo 3 where colors have to move almost constantly horizontal or vertical since the screen always moves when you move your character. It was in this game I noticed the colors were not shifting fast enough. My character was leaving a trail and every npc/object as well. It was quite frustrating tbh, since the colors look awesome and very nice when the screen isn't moving and everything is crisp clear, but the moment you start to move... everything leaves this trail of color smear behind.

WoW had this problem too though. When I turn around with my character, everything was quite smeary. A good example of this are the new NPC's in Pandaria with a white text balloon above their head. The U2312HM was causing that white text baloon to almost double... like there were two text balloons above the guy's head when I was panning the camera. It seems to happen more to brighter colors.

I wonder if this is because of the IPS response time. IPS have a high response time compared to other pc screens and as far as I know this affects the speed of the pixels moving around.

Could be I'm just very sensitive though. My mother has an iPad 2 and I notice the exact same thing when I move around apps on the home screen (swipe left/right)... you can clearly see a big trail when the apps move around.

Then again, I used to have a Acer S243HLAbmii 24 inch (TN screen) and I can't remember having this problem on that monitor.