>=24" & <=1k euro: what will you plug in your new GPU?

[eugene]

All this ho-ha about ati and nvidia latest GPUs (well at least for nvidia we can call them latest, for ati it's still future gpu) made me wonder what will people plug in those monsters? I mean there's basically 1 major reason for people to give 400 to 600+ euro for a GPU - games. Games is what gets the industry going and new games = new requirements = new orders for the manufacturers. That's the mainstream at least. There's also of course HDTV and HD movies, but i think very few of us are gonna be using our GPUs for that purpose.

sooo i thought if i'm giving away 600 euro for a graphics card i want to play new games on a 1920*1200 resolution with full detail level. And in order to do that i need a screen... now the question is what's the ultimate purpose-built gaming display currently on the market?

Firstly, we are talking about ~ 1k euro display, because that's how much the majority of us will try to be able to pay.. more than that would be considered luxury. Secondly, it should be a minimum of 24", because that's when they start full HD resolution support. 1920*1200 or 1080p - how the cool guys call it

Few things to say about the panels or the actual stuff an LCD is built from. There are about 5 major manufacturers of LCD panels in the world, the largest is LG-Philips, the 3d largest is Samsung.

There are 3 major types of panels

TN - the 1st one used in LCD display, lowest viewing angles, basically the weakest of 3

MVA/PVA - middle class, more expensive, good viewing angles (178/178 in most cases), better color reproduction, better response times

S-IPS - most expensive pannel, almost always better response times and supposedely best color reproduction besides the fact that if viewed from an angle black turns a bit purple.

I know this is a very "fast and dirty" description of complex panels but just so you get a rough idea. I'm sure anyone could find examples of new monitors using TN panel performing better than some MVAs or whatever.

Virtually all old models (by old i mean introduced before 2003-2004) are on TN panels and that's what the majority of us are used to work with. All cheap models which cost less then 300-400 euro use TN panel, and many of them are quite good, like new samsung 20-22" vista certified monitors - they use fast accelerated TN panels there.

MVAs/PVAs started appearing not so long ago. Best examples are 19" samsung monitors like 971P which costs about 450 euro (in comparison to 226BW TN monitor which is 22" and vista certified and costs exact same amount of money - 450 euro.)

S-ISP - typical panel for Eizo/NEC monitors and the most famous one is 20wgx2 which is 20" and costs 550 euro

So much theory... now the actual list of competitors which i will update when i get new info

BenQ FP241VW ~ 1k $
size: 24"
max res: 1920*1200
brightness: 500
contrast: 1000
response time: 6ms
panel type: PVA

reviews from the web: still to come

DELL 2407 = 1080 euro
size 24"
max res: 1920*1200
brightness: 450
contrast: 1000
response time: 6ms
panel: probably PVA

reviews: http://www.behardware.com/articles/629-8/24-inches-the-dell-2407wfp-vs-the-samsung-244t.html

Samsung 244T = 1100 euro
size 24"
max res" 1920*1200
brightness: 550
contrast: 1000
response time: 6ms
panel: PVA
reviews:

LG L245WP-BN = 850 euro
size 24"
brightness: 500
contrast: 1000
response time: 8ms
panel: MVA
reviews:

NEC MultiSync LCD2470WNX-BK = 1050 euro
size 24"
brightness: 500
contrast: 1000
response time: 6ms
panel: PVA
reviews: to come

Basically what we see here is a pattern as all manufacturers use almost the same panel type for their screens with the same characteristics. Of course one differ from another and each monitor should be looked at differently as every manufacturer uses different types of acceleration for his displays.

From the looks of it i'd probably go for LG as it is the most affordable and offers various goodies like HDMI connection, 2 usb slots and very comfortable stand. From what i'm hearing, dell uses the exact same panel from lg-phillips in their monitors, only print DELL in caps on the screen and market the brand.

Another very interesting panel is the new BENQ which introduced grey frame insertion technology to get rid of artifacts, thus making the refreshrate of their panel 100 or 120 hz (currently NO LCD monitor supports refresh rates higher than 60 hz, or even if it says 75hz on your panel - it means the screen is somehow recalculating them to fit the 60hz rate - basically it's lies!) Really want to see what's benq up-to. However there's a review of another benq monitor using the same technology and the results weren't that much impressive. http://www.behardware.com/articles/646-5/benq-fp241wz-1rst-lcd-with-screening.html

[eugene]

a very valuable links from the russians about what type of panel is in the majority of modern lcd displays. They have been collecting that info for more than 5 years.. A must for anyone who wants to get the best screen for his money.

http://axofiber.no-ip.org/inside/monitor.lcd.panels.htm

LG is using AUO panel, dell is using samsung PVA, the exact same one which is used in the samsung panel (i'm takling about the displays i mentioned in the previous post) and Benq will most likely be using AUI panel, the same one is in LG. so basically LG=BENQ and DELL=SAMSUNG in terms of what's inside those monitors.

Many might wonder why the heck does LG use foreign panels for their screens? the answer is because some firms specialize in one panel size, some in the others, and it is cheaper to buy the panel from another firm rather than to start own mass production. there you have it.

[Nele]

Nice stuff eugene, thanks !

[Thund3rhans]

REally nice informations eugene, too bad that i just bught a not full-hd lcd tv ( http://geizhals.at/eu/a228817.html ), but the resolution is still ok. Its not really made for gaming, but its just great to play in such a big screen.

For normal usage i have a Hanns-G 19" TFT and its also good for gaming, although it was quite cheap with 170€ at a local pc store. Most People who buy a new Monitor dont know about which features of a LCD they should care, and for such people your list is great. But nothing of this "facts" would mind to me if i see a monitor with is mentioned to have a bad image quality and if i see it running in a store the quality is just fine. So if you are about to buy a new LCD-TFT you should go to a local pc shop and take a look at them by yourself.

[eugene]

your point is 100% valid. These reviews and facts give general guidelines for which products to look at. But if you got at a shop and see 2 monitors next to each other one displaying great and one rubbish you wouldn't care about the reviews much. The problem here in austria is that firstly there aren't many monitors in the shops and you normally have to order them and get whatever they bring you and secondly all the monitors in shops are connected through a switch with little or no calibration, settings and poor signal cause of the switch which sends it for 20 monitors.

And monitor is one of the most important parts of the pc because it actually effects your health and your eyes.

I personally wouldn't consider buying a screen from dell because i can't see it before i buy it. And monitors do have a lot of problems, from gradients/artifacts, visible backlighting on the sides to simple dead pixels..