1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Displays Monitor Selection Help

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by shaile, 4 Feb 2009.

  1. shaile

    shaile Go BIG or GO HOME

    Joined:
    21 Nov 2008
    Posts:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    I am getting ready to start a new i7 build this weekend and am trying to decide on a monitor. I am looking currently at a Dell S2209W. I am going to be starting with an EVGA 260+ for graphics and plan to use the step up program in about three months to either a 285 or 295, depending on price at the time.

    I am going to do some gaming, but mainly I want a lot of real estate for doing multiple projects at once, ie using programs like mathmatica, matlab, pspice, word, excel, ect. I can get the afore mentioned Dell monitor for ~$200 with a work discount but have found very little information besides the Dell website.

    Does anyone have any experience with this monitor? Or does anyone else have a suggestion for a different monitor? I am looking at 22"-24" range with the vision of adding a second exact monitor in the future. Would like 1920x1080 resolution, but it isn't absolutely neccessary.

    Thanks for the help!
     
  2. azrael-

    azrael- I'm special...

    Joined:
    18 May 2008
    Posts:
    3,852
    Likes Received:
    124
    Would that be the UltraSharp 2209WA? If it is, then it might be worth getting, since it has an e-IPS panel.
     
  3. shaile

    shaile Go BIG or GO HOME

    Joined:
    21 Nov 2008
    Posts:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
  4. azrael-

    azrael- I'm special...

    Joined:
    18 May 2008
    Posts:
    3,852
    Likes Received:
    124
    I was thinking of this one. Even though it's a bit pricier and doesn't have full HD resolution it's in every way superior to the one you linked to, which has a TN panel.
     
  5. Delphium

    Delphium Eyefinity enabled

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2007
    Posts:
    1,406
    Likes Received:
    35
    Just purchased 3x of the dell S2209W (1080p) monitor and am very pleased with them indeed.
    What would you like to know?

    1920x1080 res
    vga + dvi-d (digital only) (has support for hdcp over dvi)
    no speakers or usb
    1000:1 typical contrast ratio
    10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
    typical viewing angle of 160° / 170°
    60Hz refresh rate

    Stand only able to tilt, no pivot or rotate.
    Absolutely no back-light bleed on any of them.

    Contents of the box contains...
    Monitor
    Stand
    IEC power cable
    ~2mtr DVI-D cable
    ~2mtr VGA cable
    Manual + warranty info's (i think, i dint bother to actually get it out of the packaging)
    Driver CD (again not even removed from packaging)
    and 2 rather large blocks of foam holding everything in place x]


    I am typically using them mostly for gaming, watching videos and the odd bit of photoshop and coding.
    Ive a dark photo of them setup here, however can take more including viewing angle upon request.
     
    Last edited: 4 Feb 2009
  6. shaile

    shaile Go BIG or GO HOME

    Joined:
    21 Nov 2008
    Posts:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    I was basically just wanting to know about its performance, pros and cons since. The 2209WA now intrigues me as well. I will need to do a little research on the TN vs e-IPS panels as I am not extremely educated in the monitor sector.
     
  7. Delphium

    Delphium Eyefinity enabled

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2007
    Posts:
    1,406
    Likes Received:
    35
    Pros:
    DVI-D with HDCP support
    Good image quality
    16:9 ratio
    full 1080p
    great value for money

    Cons:
    no HDMI
    60Hz max (not that this is really a problem, no image flicker or such, all very smooth. Most tft's are rated at 60Hz)
    16:9 ratio can take a little while to get used to.

    (im really kinda struggling for con's at such great value for the screen.)

    The 2209WA may use an e-IPS pannel, however it has the same response time, contrast ratio, video inputs, max refresh rate and brightness, it is NOT 1080p (1680x1050), and has a slightly increased viewing angle, and of cause more expensive, yet it is still a very nice panel (one i had considered but after looking at the price could not justify specially with the S2209W being around £100 cheaper for what is almost identical in spec, yet has a higher resolution).


    Monitor__________________S2209W_________ 2209WA
    Panel Type_______________ TN_____________ e-IPS
    Resolution_______________ 1920*1080_______1680*1050
    Screen Ratio_____________ 16:9____________16:10
    Refresh Rate______________60Hz____________60Hz
    Brightness________________300 cd/m2_______300 cd/m2
    Typ.Contrast______________1,000:1_________1,000:1
    Dyn.Contrast______________10,000:1________3,000:1
    Viewing Angle_____________160/170_________178/178
    Color____________________16.7m differed___16.7m true
    Pixel Pitch________________0.248mm________0.282 mm
    Inputs___________________VGA,DVI-D_______VGA,DVI-D______(both support HDCP over DVI-D)
    BTW here is a useful resource for monitor info's.
     
    Last edited: 4 Feb 2009
  8. azrael-

    azrael- I'm special...

    Joined:
    18 May 2008
    Posts:
    3,852
    Likes Received:
    124
    Just a quick note: It's not a detriment if a TFT (LCD) runs at 60Hz. It's what TFTs do. All panels run at 60Hz internally.

    TFTs also do not flicker. The reason is that TFTs a socalled "hold type" displays as opposed to "impulse type" displays like CRTs. TFTs will "hold" and show the exact same content until they're instructed to show something else. CRTs "paint" content which then rapidly fades away until it is refreshed.

    Actually there's only one situation where a TFT could flicker and that's when you connect your graphics card to it with an analogue connection and there happens to be a phase disalignment. Using an analogue connection is also the only way you may *seem* to be able to select any higher refresh rate than 60Hz, namely 75Hz. As I stated before, the panel still runs at 60Hz.

    Almost *no* TN panel, as used in the S2209W, has 16.7 million colours, even if it's stated in the specs. TN panels are constructed with 6 bit + 2 FRC dithering, meaning they can display 262.144 actual colours and the rest by dithering.

    TN panels excel at speed, though. If you're heavily into gaming you might opt for speed sacrificing viewing angles and colour reproduction.

    In the end, what type of TFT you will go for really depends on what you want to do with it. If it's gaming then it's mostly likely a TN panel based monitor. If it's picture quality, then it's a IPS or xVA panel based monitor.

    Happy hunting! :)
     
  9. Delphium

    Delphium Eyefinity enabled

    Joined:
    18 Mar 2007
    Posts:
    1,406
    Likes Received:
    35
  10. shaile

    shaile Go BIG or GO HOME

    Joined:
    21 Nov 2008
    Posts:
    43
    Likes Received:
    0
    Thanks guys! Went ahead and ordered the S2209W for $216US today. If you're interested, I'll be doing a build post hopefully starting this weekend if everything comes in.
     
  11. azrael-

    azrael- I'm special...

    Joined:
    18 May 2008
    Posts:
    3,852
    Likes Received:
    124
    Best of luck! :)
     

Share This Page