Feedback for new monitors with 16:10 aspect ratio

[gohan]

Hello Friends,

I am in market for a new LCD monitor. My previous monitor was HP W2207 which i bought for $ 240 back in 2008. I was very happy with that monitor but had to sell it as I was moving cross country.

I will be using my rig mostly for gaming, web stuff (have atleast 20+ tabs open in FF any given time), word/excel/PPT/visio/Project etc. Very rarely I will use this monitor for work purposes with my office laptop

Things that I am looking for
1. Big (atleast 22" but probably bigger)
2. 16:10 aspect ratio ( don't know whats with all the 16:9 1080P monitors but I hate them)
3. Preferably with a VGA connection as I might have to connect my office laptop
4. Don't necessarily care if its a TN panel as nothing I do requires professional level colour accuracy
5. I intend to use DVI connection to connect my GPU to this monitor
6. Would be great if the monitor can do both potrait and landscape mode though its not a deal breaker
7. I am looking to spend USD 300 including taxes and shipping

Keeping the above things in mind i think these are the options i have

1. ASUS VW266H: Seems to have everything I need but is at the limit of my budget

2. Hanns.G HH-281HPB: Looks attractive but lots of crappy reviews

3. HP LP2465: Is a refurbished and smallest of the three but its actually s-PVA panel. Also i can buy 1 yr warranty and still get it for under USD 300

I am tilting towards the HP monitor and am planning to buy it in next couple of days. If you guys have experience with these monitors please let me know. Also feel free to suggest any other monitors or deals.

[Skrying]

The HP... not even close in my opinion.

[gohan]

The HP... not even close in my opinion.

Are you saying that the HP monitor is bad or are you saying that the others are not even close to HP ? (Sorry i get confused easily)

[Skrying]

Get the HP. It has a better stand, the image will be sharper, the color reproduction better, the monitor simply looks better... yeah I can't think of a single reason not to get the HP.

[grantmeaname]

PVA panels have horrid response times compared to TN; keep that in mind as the trade off (along with price) for the color reproduction you don't necessarily need but could definitely appreciate.

Airmantharp and I (and one other person, IIRC) have 28" hanns-G panels. I'm extremely happy with mine.

[gohan]

PVA panels have horrid response times compared to TN; keep that in mind as the trade off (along with price) for the color reproduction you don't necessarily need but could definitely appreciate.

Airmantharp and I (and one other person, IIRC) have 28" hanns-G panels. I'm extremely happy with mine.

How long have you had that monitor ? I read a lot of reviews on newegg saying the monitor bricked after a year or so.

[roont]

20 tabs?? really?? wow.

i thought i had a lot with 5 open at any given time.

[gohan]

thanks Skrying & grantmeaname for your feedback. I did do some research on gaming with HP LP2465 and turns that there are severe ghosting issues due to slow response time. That kills the deal for me and the chance to upgrade to a much better panel

good news is that today newegg is offering an extra $ 30 MIR on the ASUS monitor with free shipping. My prev exp of MIR with ASUS was satisfactory so I am thinking of biting the bullet and ordering it.

@ roont: your comment is rather interesting. i thought 15-20 were the normal no-of tabs people have open. mos of my friends use that many. maybe moderators can get a new poll out to see no-of tabs TR users have open.

[Vaughn]

You have some good choices.

It saddens me what is currently on the market for monitors tho all 16:9 Tn's monitors.

I hate the fact everything is 16:9 .... I don't care to watch movies on my monitor that is what I have an HDTV for.

But the sheep keep buying it up so they keep making!

[Dieter]

I've had the Samsung T260HD for about 6 months now and really like it. It's huge (25.5"), the right resolution, has a built-in TV tuner (and comes with a remote), and is a nice looking monitor (the Touch of Color is really nice). Did I mention it's huge???

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... key=t260hd

It often goes on sale for about $300. I think the viewing angles are pretty good for TN (not nearly as bad as some of the reviews would leave you to believe). It's also plenty bright. I think we have brightness set to 40%. It's a NON-glossy screen, so even with direct sunlight you can still see it just fine (although the sun is not directly behind me). The speakers are not great, of course, but are good enough for system sounds.

The stand is really basic and only has a little tilting ability. Also, there's no portrait mode. It does have all of the inputs you're looking for (VGA, DVI, and 2xHDMI).

It also comes with a 3 year warranty, which is pretty unusual for consumer-grade monitors.

It's a nice monitor for the price, and I've been really happy with it.

Good luck!

Edit: Corrected warranty info.

[Dashak]

+1 vote for a TN panel. I've tried gaming on a Dell 2408WFP (sPVA panel) and there was between 60-70ms of lag, which I measured by cloning it to a CRT monitor, running a millisecond timer, and photographing them side by side to compare times. So I'm not imagining the problem. I'd also suggest you get a monitor without speakers - they won't be any good. Pick up a Klipsch 2.1 Promedia speaker set at BestBuy when they go on sale around $100 - I got mine for $80-ish thanks to knowing someone who works there.

[Norphy]

But the sheep keep buying it up so they keep making!

Unfair. The "sheep" buy them either because that's all that they have available to them (New Mac buyers for example) or because that's whats best in their price range. In any case, I'm pretty sure it's the panel makers that demanded the shift from 16:10 to 16:9 panels since they're cheaper to manufacture! Consumers will buy what's on the market!

[gohan]

+1 vote for a TN panel. I've tried gaming on a Dell 2408WFP (sPVA panel) and there was between 60-70ms of lag, which I measured by cloning it to a CRT monitor, running a millisecond timer, and photographing them side by side to compare times. So I'm not imagining the problem. I'd also suggest you get a monitor without speakers - they won't be any good. Pick up a Klipsch 2.1 Promedia speaker set at BestBuy when they go on sale around $100 - I got mine for $80-ish thanks to knowing someone who works there.

Thanks for the info. I read similar things about the HP monitor online and hence decided against it.

As for speakers I have Logitech G51 for movies and Razer Barracuda AC-1 sound card paired with HP1 headphones for gaming. Also I will be using monitor with a DVI cable which won't pass audio signals to the monitor. So just dont give any consideration to monitor speakers (good or bad)

[grantmeaname]

How long have you had that monitor ? I read a lot of reviews on newegg saying the monitor bricked after a year or so.

Just over a year.

It saddens me what is currently on the market for monitors tho all 16:9 Tn's monitors.

I hate the fact everything is 16:9 ....

Not everything is. Look at Newegg, for example. There are over 100 monitors that aren't. Surely if you really tried you could find one you liked that wasn't.

I don't care to watch movies on my monitor that is what I have an HDTV for.

It's 10% fewer pixels, which makes the panel more than 10% cheaper, and some of those savings are passed on to consumers. That has nothing to do with watching movies.

But the sheep keep buying it up so they keep making!

Anyone who disagrees with you is a sheep?

Samsung T260HD ... I think the viewing angles are pretty good for TN (not nearly as bad as some of the reviews would leave you to believe).

TN viewing angles are identical on every TN monitor, because the panels are all the same technology. You can't have good viewing angles for a TN monitor or bad viewing angles for a TN monitor.

It's also plenty bright. I think we have brightness set to 40%.

The trend in the LCD industry recently has been towards overwhelming brightness; my monitor's is literally set to zero.

The stand is really basic and only has a little tilting ability. Also, there's no portrait mode. It does have all of the inputs you're looking for (VGA, DVI, and 2xHDMI).

Mine has a pretty depressing excuse for a stand, too. 15 degrees or a little more of swivel in each direction, no height, no portrait.
If you badly need any of those features, consider getting a VESA stand...

[Dav27]

I am in the same boat, want a 16:10, probably get one of these, seems to fit all your ctriteria:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-p ... returnurl=

[yaler]

I have a 2209WA (eIPS) and a U2410 (hIPS). The 2209WA is a killer monitor for the price. My U2410, which costs about double, has a slight gradient issue and a backlight buzz whereas the 2209WA has perfect panel uniformity and only a very slight buzz on 0 brightness (barely audible in my near-complete-silence basement room). I love the colour on both, so natural. I highly suggest you call them up and ask for their lowest price - here in Canada that's only ~$200.

Edit: These are Dell's, haha, and both do portrait mode.

[Dieter]

TN viewing angles are identical on every TN monitor, because the panels are all the same technology. You can't have good viewing angles for a TN monitor or bad viewing angles for a TN monitor.

I respectfully disagree. Even looking at specifications, different TN panels will often list 160 or 170 degrees for horizontal or vertical viewing angles. Subjectively, TN panels look better today than they did a few years ago, with regards to viewing angles. My T260HD looks different at different angles than my Dell Ultrasharps (TN). So, I disagree that viewing angles on all TN panels are the same.

However, my point in mentioning the viewing angles in my original post was that some of the negative reviews make it sound like you have to mount your head to a stand so you don't move or else the picture washes out. Sure, it's not consistent like an IPS panel, but it's very usable. The effect IS more noticeable on a huge screen since your head moves a little bit when looking at the opposite side, but it's not an issue (for me, at least), since I expect that from TN. It's still a great monitor for the price.

I was about to pull the trigger on a U2410 (great monitor, as well!), but then I found out I could try out the T260HD with no risk except return shipping. And at only 2/3 the cost (or less!), I'm glad I did. I never considered returning the T260HD. I don't do graphics work or need hyper-accurate color. I just need a nice, sharp monitor with lots of room!

I will say, however, that the stands on Dell's Ultrasharp (and I guess now "Professional") line are really nice. Easy to install, and adjustable just about any way you want them. I'm sure some of the HP's are the same way, but I've never had one. Don't expect much from the T260HD's stand.

[gohan]

Thanks all for your feedback. Finally looking arnd a bit & trying some monitors at COSTCO & Best Buy etc I have decided to give ASUS VW266H a try. I ordered it on newegg today and should arrive in a couple of days.

If I am lucky enough to get my MIR i will only pay $ 250 for this monitor. That should be quite a deal !!!!

[grantmeaname]

I respectfully disagree. Even looking at specifications, different TN panels will often list 160 or 170 degrees for horizontal or vertical viewing angles.

Go ahead and Google it for me and tell me the system by which they rate that. Just kidding, you can't. The numbers are completely arbitrary -- made up by manufacturers!

Subjectively, TN panels look better today than they did a few years ago, with regards to viewing angles. My T260HD looks different at different angles than my Dell Ultrasharps (TN). So, I disagree that viewing angles on all TN panels are the same.

The worse a backlight is or the older it gets, the worse the viewing angle difference gets. Your old monitors are likely not as nice backlights because they're using much older technology; top that off with years of use and it's easy to see where the difference comes from.

However, my point...

Oh, I totally agree. I don't dispute that!