Samsung F2380 vs NEC EA231WMI vs HP ZR24w vs Dell U2410

Which monitor would you buy?

  • Samsung F2380

    Votes: 8 16.0%

  • NEC EA231WMI

    Votes: 15 30.0%

  • HP ZR24W

    Votes: 14 28.0%

  • Dell U2410

    Votes: 13 26.0%
  • Total voters
    50
P

Pastuch

Gawd
Joined
May 13, 2010
Messages
624
Samsung F2380 vs NEC EA231WMI vs HP ZR24w vs Dell U2410

My first LCD monitor was an IPS based Dell 2005FPW. Amazing picture quality but it had bad input lag and ghosting. I recently bought an Asus VW246H based on reviews stating it was very responsive with low input lag. I am not happy with the VW246H, mostly because I didn't realize just how shitty TN picture quality is.

I am thinking of selling the Asus 246h and replacing it with one of the monitors listed above.

Usage: 60% gaming, 30% movies/TV, 10% browsing

Gaming Usage: 50% RTS/ 50% FPS

Resolution Preference: 1920x1280 is nice for gaming but it doesn't allow me to do screen mirroring with my Benq W5000 projector. Mirroring is nice when I am demoing my 112" HTPC based theater. I can always do extended desktop so I basically don't care if it's 1920x1080 or 1920x1280.

Prices are the lowest I can find in Canada as of May 14th.

Samsung F2380: $260 - C-PVA Panel: I have seen mixed reviews of the input lag. Digital Versus puts the input lag at an average of only 3ms which is the lowest of any monitor they have tested. Most people say this monitor has horrible ghosting which is a big negative for me. I know the blacks will be good for films.

NEC EA231WMI: $330 - IPS Panel: The NEC gets positive reviews from TFTCentral, DigitalVersus and FlatpanelsHD. According to TFTCentral it has a VERY low Input lag. They haven't tested the Samsung F2380 so I can't say how the input lag comparison would go. Ghosting is worst of the 3 IPS panels but better than the PVA. The USB hub is useful to me. Headphone jack is useful to me and very well situated.

HP ZR24w: $430 - IPS Panel: Much more expensive than the NEC but much cheaper than the Dell. The reviews for this monitor have been very good. According to TFTcentral the input lag is lower than the Dell but higher than the NEC. Ghosting is comparable to the Dell. My understanding is that "monitor responsiveness" is close to even on all three IPS displays. The USB hub is useful to me. Better gaming resolution. 3 year warranty.

Dell U2410: $550 - IPS Panel: Best Connectivity. Best Stand. Worst input lag of the monitors listed here but still very low. Least amount of ghosting. Highest price (Dell one day sales have it for $420 once in a blue moon). USB hub. Better gaming resolution. I loved my 2005FPW and have great respect for Dell monitors. 3 Year warranty.


Please provide your opinions and correct any miss-information I may have posted.
 
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Will be really interesting to see the outcome of this poll, I too have the 2005FPW and looking for a new display.
But there is one more display I think might be on that list and that is the Eizo EV2333WH.
 
If those are the prices, the NEC offers the best value out of that group. The NEC's 8ms input lag will make you happier than what your old monitor gave.

PS CPVA picture quality looks terrible. Just look at the head to head comparisons between CPVA screens and the IPS Dell 2209WA and you'll see why you'd want to avoid that monitor.
 
The NEC is $330 but I can probably get it for closer to $300 even. The $280 that I had posted before was not legit.

The input lag results from digital versus and TFTcentral provide very different results. Which of these sites is more "trusted"?
 
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Pastuch said:
Samsung F2380: $260 - C-PVA Panel: I have seen mixed reviews of the input lag. Digital Versus puts the input lag at an average of only 3ms which is the lowest of any monitor they have tested. Most people say this monitor has horrible ghosting which is a big negative for me. I know the blacks will be good for films.
Click to expand...

That is connected. It has lowest input lag because it doesn't do any image processing and has no overdrive which results in ghosting.

However that is only half of the problem. It has good blacks unfortunatly they are too good as they also eat into areas that should be displayed in various shades of grays making for serious problems in games that use plenty of dark shadowy passages like CS or DoD.

Whatever you buy stay away from that shit.
 
Michaelius said:
That is connected. It has lowest input lag because it doesn't do any image processing and has no overdrive which results in ghosting.

However that is only half of the problem. It has good blacks unfortunatly they are too good as they also eat into areas that should be displayed in various shades of grays making for serious problems in games that use plenty of dark shadowy passages like CS or DoD.

Whatever you buy stay away from that shit.
Click to expand...
I assume you are talking about black crush?

While that may be an issue with the original F2380, the new F2380MX fixed that problem. The picture quality on this monitor is amazing and the blacks are outstanding. As for ghosting, it does exist on this monitor but it is minimal and responsiveness is hardly an issue on this monitor unless you play FPS solely with a high sensitivity. As a former owner of the NEC EA231WMi which is highly regarded on these forums I have to say, for overall PQ the F2380MX is better.

The only negative is the price. At $399 it is pricey but If you're using it for movies and gaming, it's definitely worth it. The black level makes a huge difference and it's easily one of the most important aspects of a display. If I were you, I would pick this up from Best Buy and give it a try. If you don't like it, return it. Best Buy's in Canada seem to be very easy to deal with when it comes to returns.
 
I've read good things about the MX but does it come in Black? the only one I see on bestbuy is white.
 
The only thing i have read about MX was on digitalversus where they said screen is as good as previous one but with more inputs.

I'd stay away from this model till tftcental, prad or flatpanels give detailed review.
 
I'm surprised I'm not seeing more love for the HP ZR24W. The HP has the best warranty service with in-home replacement. Right now I'm leaning to the NEC or the HP unless another Dell one day sale comes up soon on the U2410. The samsung doesn't have the usb ports which will be an inconvenience for me.

Do any of you guys use the monitors to drive your USB devices (Keyboard, Mouse, Microphone)?
 
Since people have pretty strong opinions on those 4 monitors I would just go with whatever fits you're needs.

Personally I would skip the HP , the terrible contrast is something I personally can't stand and while I own the U2410 its the least amount of contrast I'm willing to tolerate (the HP was clocked around 425 while the dell is in the 600+ range). The NEC is pretty excellent , lower cost , great picture , 8ms input latency so great for gaming.

The P2380MX has probably the best contrast of nearly any monitor you could get and the MX fixes the gamma issues of the previous generation however I can't buy it since its not out in the states.
 
MX doesn't have USB ports and only comes in White. I would probably rather the HP.
 
Pastuch said:
MX doesn't have USB ports and only comes in White. I would probably rather the HP.
Click to expand...

The new F2370h which comes in the Samsung ToC black look I believe is the same C-PVA display as the F2380MX and the only real difference is that it doesn't have the adjustable stand like the MX. There may be some differences in inputs I don't know. I'm going to be checking out the F2370h myself when it becomes available in the States.
 
burningrave101 said:
The new F2370h which comes in the Samsung ToC black look I believe is the same C-PVA display as the F2380MX and the only real difference is that it doesn't have the adjustable stand like the MX. There may be some differences in inputs I don't know. I'm going to be checking out the F2370h myself when it becomes available in the States.
Click to expand...


Its pretty much the exact same panel. Same specs from what google says.
 
I'm very close to buying the NEC. Does anyone use the headphone jack on this monitor? Does it passthrough headphone audio from the HDMI or Displayport connection to my videocard?
 
Pastuch said:
1920x1280
Click to expand...

You mean 1920x1200.

Pastuch said:
The input lag results from digital versus and TFTcentral provide very different results. Which of these sites is more "trusted"?
Click to expand...

Digitalversus seems to get input lag results different from everyone else, including posters in this forum.

Pastuch said:
Does anyone use the headphone jack on this monitor? Does it passthrough headphone audio from the HDMI or Displayport connection to my videocard?
Click to expand...

The more important question is: does your video card passthrough audio through its HDMI or DP connections? I think most (all?) do not.
 
Right now my Radeon 4890 sends HDMI audio to my Pioneer 1019 receiver which then sends HDMI out to my Projector. The other connector on my 4890 sends DVI to my Asus VW246H. If I buy the NEC then I'll need to send it Display Port. Not sure if it does audio. I think to use the headphone output I'll need to use a 3.5mm connector anyway. There is a connector on the bottom of the monitor for it.
 
what do you people mean when you say the hp has bad contrast? It doesn't get as bright as the others at 100% contrast?
 
techpriest said:
what do you people mean when you say the hp has bad contrast? It doesn't get as bright as the others at 100% contrast?
Click to expand...

Without looking at the exact definition of contrast, it is basically the contrast between light versus dark. Contrast is not the same as brightness. There is a brightness setting and a separate contrast setting.

Regarding TVs and projectors, this is arguably the most important aspect to the quality of the image that videophiles try to achieve. It give the image the "punch" or wow factor.

There have been blind testing of projectors where contrast has easily trumped resolution. ie. 720P products were much better than fully 1080P.

All else equal, contrast ranks at the top of the most desirable qualities to an image.

My perspective is more from a video display angle.
 
techpriest said:
what do you people mean when you say the hp has bad contrast? It doesn't get as bright as the others at 100% contrast?
Click to expand...

The HP has piss poor black depth and many have complained that for some reason or another (be it software or hardware fault) its far to bright and that even turning brightness down to 0 doesn't help resolve some of the oversaturation in terms of the brightness levels.

Otherwise its a very good monitor for the price. If you can get a Dell U2410 without tinting problems then its probably the best mix of everything.
 
I recently purchased a U2311H for $250ish and it is a great monitor. The only thing I'm not lovin is the 16:9 ratio. It just looks so wide and short as opposed to my 2005FPW which has the 16:10 ratio. For this reason I'm thinking about going to the HP ZR24W. Only problem is the U2311H actually may have the better picture quality based on some of the reviews I'm reading.

I'm wondering has anyone actually used both? Which one did you keep?
 
techpriest said:
what do you people mean when you say the hp has bad contrast? It doesn't get as bright as the others at 100% contrast?
Click to expand...

I have 2 NEC 23s and 1 HP ZR23ws. Running them side-by-side, the HP with default settings was getting its ass kicked by the NECs using TFT's settings.

I used settings from TFT (I don't have a calibrator) and the blacks on the NECs are better. Not greatly superior, but superior nonetheless. Buying a calibrator may make this better.

I guess I'm lucky that I have both types of monitors and I can see the quality difference. If NEC made an affordable 24 inch version I would be all of over it.

The HP's factory settings suck. An all black desktop (Win7) will result in a god-awful white glow. I heard others say the NEC also has a white glow, but I don't see it. Maybe with an even higher quality display I would notice.
 
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