Displays Just another monitor display purchase question

Evening all.

I've been trawling the internet to find a 24" monitor for a couple of days now and I am no closer than when I started!

Every time I think I am a step closer to choosing, I see complaints of pink / green tints, multiple attempts to get a working monitor, lack of HDMI, etc, etc. Bouncing between negative customer and good professional reviews seems to be quite common, and its confusing. It doesn't help there is no 'jack of all trades' at this monitor size.

If you guys could give me some help that would be great. Here is what I am after:

• 24" as previously stated
• 1920x1200 pixels
• Xbox connectivity
• Not too much lag
• 300 quid or less (can go a tad more for a real jump in quality)

Currently, I have a LG204WS, so anything that blows it out of the water is appreciated! I don't mind calibrating or any extra legwork, it just needs cope with gaming and general use admirably. I use Photoshop but not enough to require exact colours in that respect.

Apologies for what seems to be quite a common question.

 

Hi Gr1ffy & all,

I've got to say I'm in the same boat. I'd be looking at 300~100 myself, and monitor coverage does seem to be lacking... This isn't a hijack, it's a bump! Bump! Please help us spend our hard earned cash pounds!

 

Most 24" seem to be 1920x1080 res, except for the Dell Ultrasharps. I got an iiyama 26" for just under €300 (260 sterling) and it's workig like a treat for myself for gaming. Although, it does not have a HDMI connection, so that is one thing lacking.

Others here certainly know more than myself, just thought to throw in my 2 cents

 

how about a second hand older jack-of-all trades monitor? i have a Samsung T240 sitting next to my pricey Dell Ultrasharp U2711. the T240 is 24 inch, 1920x1200, with HDMI and audio-out for HDMI.

the problem you are facing is that most monitor of this price range are TN panels. so you will always get pink/green tints. because TN panels are targeted at budget users, they would be on the cheap side with 1080 resolution and often just DVI+VGA.

if you want no colour tints, you will need to spend a little extra to get Dell U2410.

 

Dell's IPS monitors seem to be the monitors to get at the moment, well recommended by everyone who has them it seems.

However if you get one of these you'll either need to spend an extra £100 and get the 24" U2410 or drop down to a 23" and get the U2311.

 

I'm rocking the U2311 and its awesome. +1 for that ^

 

The Dell U24 was a monitor I was tempted by, but I've seen a lot of reviews saying their screens had green / pink tints, and if they swapped it, they would receive a similarly faulty one back. Put me off a bit, and also the HP LP24, as that can have the same problem.

The U23 was also tempting, but I am really after 16:10 so things aren't 'missing' on screen.

No other recommended screens under 300 quid?

I saw this, and as I will be using it mostly for gaming from a distance would it be any good? - http://www.amazon.co.uk/HannsG-HZ28...14?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1288644877&sr=1-14

 

28 inches is fairly large for a 1920x1200- the pixels will be noticeably large close up, though it'd be good for the Xbox.

 

Dell uses a LG panel on the U series, same for the HP.
As the panel was new from LG it had manufacture errors.
All problems related to the screen (sever back light bleeding, the dithering on the Adobe and sRGB profile, tint screen issue), has been resolved long long long long time ago. Revision A01 of the monitor has all that fixed.

The reason why a replacement monitor from Dell could have the issue is that if you just got the monitor, Dell will send you a new one.. BUT the panel is most likely from the same batch, or before LG fixed the problem. And if it's after, you get a refurbished, which someone else return (which been expected and any scratched or damaged part replaced, but the panel is the same).

I have the U2410 as many other people here, and we all love it very very much, and have 0 issues.

Also remember that Dell offer 21 days return if you are not happy. Just return and say you are not please with the colors and they will send you a pre-paid shipping label to you, so that you can return the monitor for free.

1920x1080 is 23inch in reality.. I know some manufacture claim 24inch... but if you read the exact dimensions of the panel.. it's 23inch.
1920x1200 is true 24inch in computer monitor land.

 

hp Zr24w, it's a lp2475w without as many inputs, just DVI, Displayport, and VGA using one of these you can connect your xbox


zr24w


same monitor with asus g73jh in front

 

That Acer LED backlit display is very very cold lol. You should put some calibration on that.

 

Cheers for the help so far, I did notice the newer revisions were supposed to solve the earlier problems, so that's good.

If I can stump up the 440-odd quid, I will go for the U24. However, if I can't, are there no other good 1920x1200 monitors out there? If the screen technology comes from LG, do they not have an offering?

 

It is hard to pinpoint the exact model from LG that uses the same panel.
But the closest LG offering I found is about 1k$ Canadian (that was the price a year ago, when Dell released the U2410), and lacks features compared to the U2410. Basically you pay much less to not have the LG brand, and I believe as Dell and HP mass produce this monitor, reducing the cost. I strongly suggest to wait for a special on the U2410. In Canada, Dell like to throw these hidden 24 or 48 hour special on it. Be sure to bookmark the U2410 page of Dell, and check everyday. Also order from Dell small buisness, as you can negotiate further a price over the phone.

 

Well I did some more research, decided to look at the HP ZR and a few of the budget 28" monitors with 1920x1200. Was so much closer to finding a monitor until I found none of them do 1:1 scaling when you have a console plugged in! They all have HDMI slots so you would think this would not be an issue.

It seems like I either eat into my upgrades budget a bit more and get the Dell U24 as you said, or just put up with losing 120px of vertical resolution, which I am not keen on.

 

I'm lucky enough to own both the U2410 and the U2311H.

I have to say that both are fantastic screens. I have never had any issues on either screen with colour at all.

I've had the U2410 for around 8 months and use this on my main gaming PC. In gaming mode it's superb as there is hardly any input lag whatsoever. You do lose colour quality in this mode, but the absence of input lag is more important to me. It's by far the best screen I have owned. On the down side, the touch sensative buttons to make screen changes are a little annoying.

About 2 months ago I built myself a machine for my bedroom on the pretense of it being a media system. It actually turned into a backup gaming machine, but 99% of the time it's for browsing and watching movies on. I had a 19" monitor gathering dust and tried that. Compared to the U2410 it was embarrassing and had to go. I would have loved to have bought another U2410 but I couldn't justify the cost. I ended up going for the U2311H and I am delighted with it. Apart from being 16:9 the cost has been kept down by shipping with lesser options. A few of the pre-set screen modes (such as gaming) are gone. I tried gaming on it though and didn't notice any input lag which is important to me (I haven't given it a thorough test though, so this may not be fully the case)

I do understand why you would prefer the full 1920x1200 and I do notice the difference between the two when gaming. When I'm not gaming, yes I notice the difference; does it bother me? No.

If you can afford the U2410 then I would say go for it, you really won't be disappointed; especially when gaming. If you want to keep to your £300 budget then the U2311H is fantastic value for money. Is the U2410 worth the extra £200? Only if you must have the full 1200.

 

and all the inputs (with it's extra features like side-by-side picture in picture), and pre-calibrated color profiles (Adobe RGB and sRGB) for a great out of the box experience.
The 2 color profiles is not needed is you don't plan to draw with your monitor, it does look nice, but doesn't justify the price, especially if you don't care about all the inputs.

 

I have two Dell U2410 for video editing, and really satisfied with them,
lot of connectors, ergonomics, pre-calibrated profiles, menu buttons...

You can find review at TFTCentral:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2410.htm

I`m only not sure about the input lag

 

I totally agree with you on this, the U2410 does have more going for it and it is superior in more ways than just screen size, but if very high colour/modes are that important then I doubt the U2410 is up to the job (there is one thread I can think of that goes into this in great detail).

I was thinking that for a £300 budget the U2311H is more than up to the job. For the average user the only thing that the U2410 is offering over the U2311H is the extra screen res, as both are great out of the box screens.

 

In my opinion, this monitor is aimed at people who loves colors, who wants the best out of the box experience (open the box > install it > pick Adobe RGB or sRGB. And your done)
Or amateurs, those who want to perform graphic drawing, but isn't at a stage yet were the slight offset of the LCD wear is even close to important.

A true professional will calibrate his screen every now and then to compensate the wear and tear of the monitor, so they could not care less about pre-color calibration, as they can do it in a few minutes.

The color calibrator that Dell uses is a very very good one.. one that cost over 1k.
In other words, it's the equipment that a studio would use for all it's monitors so that everyone has the same results, for instance.

TFT Central has a problem in it's review.
First of all, TFTCentral reviews the late A00 revision, which had most issues resolved but not all of them. The sever back light bleeding is something I don't have.. ok well I do.. of course, it's a limitation of the IPS technology on blacks (PVA is on white), but it's not at that point, it's close though if I set my brightness to 100%... but it also makes you blind. My screen is brightness is like most people, 20-30% depending if it's summer (have the sun hit my room) or winter (cloudy).

Another note, is that the color calibrator they use, is a just a basic ~200$ one, and not the super fancy one that Dell uses (which is on the report sheet that Dell send with the monitor.. you need to keep this report to return the monitor, btw, as it's different for every monitor).
And the report sheet doesn't match the one from TFT Central, where TFT Central graph looks like it's a crappy TN monitor in comparison. So something is definitely wrong, which I think all U2410 users can agree on. But the rest of the review is fine.

 

Reading that comment was hilarious...Do you know the make/model/price of the color calibrator that Dell uses or can I dismiss this as the logic of a 7 year old.