New PC monitor

I know that we already had this thread several times, but as time goes so fast, and monitor models change quite often, and of course there's all the price drops, so I open another thread about monitors again.

I want to buy a new one, I have an older Samsung, although not that old, and when using Photoshop lately, I wanted to edit my picture I started on my laptop, and oh my god, colors looked so bad. So I recalibrated the monitor, but that didn't change anything.

White was not white, but like light dirty brown, horrible to look at.

So today I was looking a bit about monitors, mainly Samsung because I quite like them, and they're also not too expensive. After going for the S24A450BW LED, and some others, I saw at several sites that the PX2370 LED got quite good reviews, and it's only 199€. Trustedreviews was suggesting the SyncMaster F2380M, which has apparently a better image than the PX2370 and is the successor of the award winning F2080, and this one has a pivot function, which would be nice to use when playing some pinball ;)

Originally Posted by Trustedreviews:
the F2380M should offer better build quality (over the PX2370), full adjustability and far superior image quality, thanks to its use of a cPVA rather than TN panel.

My requirements would be 24" (although the PX2370 is only 23", but that would still be fine), HDMI connection, Full HD (1080p), but most of them have this.

I don't use it for playing, so reaction time is not crucial, also IPS is unimportant to me. TV support is not needed at all.

What are your thoughts on LED? I would prefer a LED now over an LCD, pricewise there's no difference anyway.

If you are more interested in colour accuracy and image quality, rather than gaming, then that is the same for me. IPS gives a much more accurate image than the older panels, and I also agree that LED is worth getting as you will end up with a much more evenly lit screen across the whole surface. If you are interested in 24" screens have you considered the higher resolution 1920x1200 over FullHD 1920x1080? That extra vertical room is very useful when editing images.

As you say, 23-24" monitors have really dropped in price and you can pick up a nice one for under £200 these days. Also remember you don't always need an HDMI port as it is wired exactly the same as a DVI port but obviously with a DVI port lacking audio Support, so you can easily pick up a cheap HDMI to DVI cable if needed.

Like you I used to like Samsung monitors, but recently the image quality has fallen behind others. At the moment I would suggest the Viewsonic VP2365wb or the LG IPS236V. The latter has a special sRGB colour setting which enables exact colour matching and is meant to be spot on.

However, also take a look at the Hazro HZ27CW. This is currently the bargain monitor of the moment. For just £375 you get a 27" 2560x1440 S-IPS panel which is exactly the same panel used by the 27" Apple iMac and the 27" Apple display monitor and it producing an amazing image and at such a bargain price.

A 27" monitor would be too big for me, as it's definitely only used for office work, meaning sitting very close to it. At the moment I have the Samsung T220 (non HD), which is already big enough imo, wouldn't even need something bigger, although I think it could be slightly bigger like 23" or 24", if it gives you nicer features.

At the moment my T220 is also connected via DVI, so HDMI is really not so important.

Is there a real advantage of 1920x1200 over 1920x1080?? Never thought about that, I wouldn't also care if my screen is 16:10 or 16:9, I don't use it to watch movies. Could be interesting when using file managers though.

I finally decided to give DOpus a try again, and I might buy it, because I use Windows Explorer quite a lot lately, and it sucks a bit, I have 5 internal disks with loads of files, and always have to scroll like mad to get to the files I need, no split screen, no favorites, no synching, no ftp... So a wide screen could be very interesting.

I never play games on the PC, besides perhaps some emulation stuff.

I don't use Photoshop a lot, but when I use it, I want to see the colors that I will have in my end result.

I will now check the 2 monitors out you suggested. Thanks.

EDIT: Checked out the 2 monitors, and the LG seems to be very good, an IPS panel which is very good, and very cheap. I looked in the shop I usually order, and they have it for 178€, quite a bargain compared to the competition.

Only downside is apparently the very bad cheap plastic stand, it doesn't almost rotate at all, and is very flimsy.

EDIT2: It seems I found the perfect monitor now, the Dell Ultrasharp U2412M, pivot function, eIPS panel, Edge LED backlight and 1920x1200 pixel resolution. It's a bit more expensive, but still very reasonable, would be at 299€. And it's very new, came out 1-2 months ago.

You can check out a thorough review at FlatpanelsHD.com: http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.p...&id=1312883832

I just don't understand what they mean by "dirty screen look", call it crystalized coating?? Apparently that's a more common problem with IPS screens.

dell do make some very nice monitors. As you say, they are a bit more expensive then most, but you do get some of the best from them. Normally good colour accuracy too. So i would recommend them. They make some of the best there days. Big contrast to their poor pcs.

The Ultrasharp U2412M is not available yet, comes to the shop on September 15th. But I might get that one.

The U2412 looks good.

I'm considering getting a U2410 later this year if I can afford one. The video inputs on it would probably be useful as then I could use it as a 24" widescreen TV.

Can't say I'm too fussed about whether it has LED backlighting or not.

Demon, did you buy a new monitor yet?

No, not yet, thought that my older 22" is still ok. I have some other expenses going on at the moment, so I thought to leave it at the moment.