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So here's my "dilemma", I'm trying to decide on what monitor solution I should have and it's thrown me though a loop. In this loop I have done a whole gripload of research and I think I've come up with a solution, but I want to get some outside opinions on this.

Now It looks to me that I can either get the perfect monitor for gaming or the perfect monitor for video editing, but not the perfect monitor for both at the same time.
So what do I do?

Well obviously I need to run a dual monitor setup that will handle both separately as I'm the type of person that prefers to run separate desktops and I really don't intend on scaling images across both screens very often so the fact that I'm using 2 different screens doesn't really bother me.

SO here's what a week's worth of looking after page after page of specs, comparisons, reviews and ratings.

For my image and movie editing monitor:

NEC 2490WUXi-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824002168
$1,100.00

For gaming

NEC 24WMCX-BK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824002359
$440.00


So the price of the imaging monitor makes me want to vomit, but editing images without moving my head around due to the color shifting has made me not even want to edit videos or pictures anymore. Really if there were an equivalent monitor out there I'd go for it, but it seems like NEC's only real competition is Eizo and Eizo monitors are even worse with the price gouging.

I'm 8 days away right now from pulling the trigger and just saying yes to everything I've picked out because I have waited for months to save up the money and I'm sick of trolling around researching and price shopping, I want to use computers for actual fun things or at least things I find fun.

If any of you know a decent 2 monitor solution that covers these fields I'd appreciate it. Paying 1500 for monitors alone is absurd to me but it seems like what I found is the most reasonable solution despite the despicable cost.

What's wrong with a quality panel like the 2407-HC or the 3007/3008?

I recently got a 2408wfp and I must either be one of the lucky ones or dell has sorted the panel quality out as it is fantastic and I haven't noticed any input lag while playing fps games at all yet

You will become one with the borg!

er. Question, do you know how important the "gaming" monitor is for your gaming?

I ask because my first LCD monitor had a 25ms response time, and while I could notice some small trailing, it didnt distract from my gaming at all (in fact, I noticed it when I looked for it, but in a fight, I couldnt tell anyway). My bigger problem is with TN panels. I dont like em, and while I don't notice them as much as I like to think I would...it bothers me to think that I'm even gaming with less color accuracy more than it does with a bit of pixel trailing.

Now that said, I only took a quick look, but it looks like your gaming monitor is an 8bit panel one? So I don't think it would be a bad choice.

I'd still lean towards the image editing one though. IF getting a different pannel will make you NOT want to image edit, that's bad. I'd guess you'd have less trouble gaming on that, though it wouldnt be idea for you.

OK, maybe I'm missing something. Why is your image monitor choice your image monitor choice? It says 16 million colors (which makes me think 6-bit TN panels) and it has a lower contrast ratio. ?

To the best of my knowledge the NEC 2490 has an H-IPS panel and has a 12-bit palette. I think the monitor Im using at work is a Dell 2007 and some other people are using the 2008's near my office. I'm not saying that the Dell's aren't good, I just don't think that they are the best, but it's really hard going off second hand experiences. The Dell 2408 is expensive too ,but not as much and it uses an MVA panel which isnt bad, but I'm being picky I suppose. If I have to pay more money to get the exact results I want I will, but man its a lot of money.

Do you have a colorimeter that you can use? If not, then don't even bother with the expensive one. If you do, I'd test it on your 2007 at work and see how accurate you can get that. If it's anything like the 2005 that I'm using now, I bet that once calibrated, it'll be quite good enough for you color-wise.

Maybe its just a pride thing at this point, but I've always really never liked just about anything made by Dell. Then again I have a propensity for sometimes getting impulsive when I see something I want, whether it is actually what I really want or not. Then on the other hand I've never really been satisfied by the idea of Dell products, maybe its just the flashbacks from the late 90's and the whole "dude you're getting a dell" hatred or maybe it's the fact that when I fixed computers on the regular stuff by dell was always crapping out and often relied on proprietary hardware making them even more difficult to fix. Plus the government buys them, which for some reason doesn't conjure the images of "quality" in my mind.

That said, should I put my dell hate to the side or should I consider them at all? I don't know, all I know is that I want the best set of 24" monitors I can get for a decent price, but I don't have a colorimeter right now, so maybe the 2490 NEC serves better as an f u device rather than something actually practical.

So maybe I should come back down to earth and get something more realistic for my needs, but the "what if?" parts of this equation keep rolling through my head.

Get the more expensive NEC first (are you getting that one with the included calibrator? ), then try some games on it. May be you won't even notice.

Well, I've finally let reason sink in, I'm gonna just bite my lip and go with the Dell 2408's. Mostly I just can't get myself to pay 1100 for one monitor.

After much consideration I realize as much as I think Dell makes mediocre crap, their monitors are good enough for me. That being said, I still wouldn't touch one of their laptops or computers with a ten foot pole although I use a dell everyday at work so maybe that statement isn't entirely accur

Anyway I'm settling on $1200 worth of screen real estate and shipping for it right now is free and the monitors themselves seem to be good for just about everything, and to complain about color shifting on one of these screens you'd have to be really picky.

Now I guess its just time to see if it was worth the expense.