The perfect multi-use monitor?

T

therapy

Gawd
Joined
Dec 20, 2000
Messages
867
I'm an advertising major and gamer who works in the tech industry and I need a great monitor.

I'm currently using a Dell 2007WFP, which is fine, but the resolution is kind of low for me to use with excel spreadsheets side-by-side or powerpoint. The color reproduction is decent but the monitor itself seems kind of lacking in brightness.

I got a Dell Studio XPS 16" from work, the screen is fantastic, RGB LED backlight, 1920x1080 resolution on a 16" screen, not sure what kind of panel it is, but it looks great from head-on. Kind of crappy from the sides and angles, though.

So what I am looking for is this:

Something with much better than 1680x1050 resolution (1920x1080 isn't that much more noticeable, 1920x1200 is better, but I really like the new 23" LCDs with 2048x1152 resolution. However, I dislike their color accuracy (at least the samsung I saw at Fry's) and the fact that they're CFL backlit.

So ideally what I want is (in order)
-Good color reproduction (IPS or PVA?)
-Low input-lag (for gaming)
-LED backlit (or RGB LED backlit)
-High resolution (above 1920 preferrably)
-Under $700 US


Is there anything like this?

I like the Dell U2410 but it's still CFL backlit.
I like the Dell G2410 but it's a TN panel.

I also like the looks of some of the Samsung and NEC monitors, but don't know where to start.

What's the right answer here? Can anybody help me out?
 
However, I dislike their color accuracy (at least the samsung I saw at Fry's) and the fact that they're CFL backlit
Click to expand...

First, it is likely that the samsung you saw at Fry was not properly calibrated. It is very hard to judge the quality of a monitor in a store where the lighting is very strong.

I think you are confusing color gamut with color accuracy. A LCD LED offers a higher gamut than a LCD CFL but without proper calibration nothing guarantees that its accuracy will be better. In fact, larger gamut monitors are often less accurate due to the fact their color space does not match the standard color space.
Generally, color accuracy is not the most important feature to look for in a monitor. IMO, resolution and contrast ratio are more important. Furthermore, any calibrator would agree that grey scale + gamma calibration is more important than color accuracy.

I think the greatest advantage of LED is the possibility of local dimming which has an significant impact on the contrast ratio. However, this feature is only available on very expensive HDTV.
 
Don't reaaly see any appeal of LED backlit monitors. Yes, they are thin but so what? Excluding CCFL backlit monitors really limits your choices to mediocre LCD monitors.

Based on your description of the Dell Studio XPS 16", it uses a TN panel.

If you can do with a $800 budget, and CCFL backlighting, then I recommend the 26" Planar PX2611w.
 
JaguarSKX said:
If you can do with a $800 budget, and CCFL backlighting, then I recommend the 26" Planar PX2611w.
Click to expand...

I'll second this recommendation. It's the PX2611w or a 30" of some description right now... beyond that you're looking at massive massive price increases for very little return.
 
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