Any reviews / words of advice?

[Ronyx]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a new LCD monitor, as i feel like my 19" is getting a little too small for the more recent games.
I'm not sure what size to go with (22" - 26") and which monitors are the leaders in their respective size bracket, so was hoping to get some general advice from everyone here on the forums.

Any bad / good experiences? Which brands are recommended? Which sizes are best (or standard if you will) or is it a matter of 'the bigger the better'?

My limit is around 600$.

Thanks,
Ronyx

[Zeus]

Personally, I think 22" wide is the sweet spot. Any larger than that and the price per inch skyrockets. Dell has some pretty decent ones that you can take a look at. Personally, I use a Samsung and I am very happy with it. But in the end, the best advice is if possible, go to a store and take an actual look at them. Then you can get a better idea for brands you like. Then buy online to save $$$.

[nevermind1534]

Or at ABC Warehouse, to save even more money. I think they only have ABC Warehouse in the US, though.

[Spawn-Inc]

go with the Samsung Sync master 226BW i love this thing,

Link (http://www.samsung.com/ca/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=computersaccessories&type=monitors&subtype=lcd&model_cd=LS22MEWSFV/XAA)

[crenn]

The 226BW is no longer available. It was replaced by the 2253BW (what I have)..... which is no longer available as it was replaced by the 2253LW (which is 21.6"... not 22").

[.Maleficus.]

The Samsung T220 and T220HD are pretty awesome, check those out.

[blueonblack]

I have this 22" Acer and love it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094



My last monitor was a 19" widescreen from Hanns-G and I loved it also. Other than the size I actually liked it better than my Acer, the controls were better placed and the base was weighted to minimize movement. My wife uses it now loves it also.
________
Mercedes-Benz R170 (http://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_R170)

[Ronyx]

Thanks for all the great replies :) I'll be heading down to some local dealers soon to have a first hand look at some of these monitors.
So far from what I can tell the general consensus is that Samsung is ruling this size bracket? I currently own a samsung and am very happy with it, so will most likely stick with their brand.
Any monitors I should steer clear of?

[Eclecticos]

Get a 24" Envision. Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824197019) <=-

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/6177/envisiontk0.jpg

[The boy 4rm oz]

(which is 21.6"... not 22").

That is because that monitor isn't a true LCD. It is a TN+Film LCD panel which is a different breed of LCD.

Ronyx check out MSY (www.msy.com.au) and PC Case Gear (www.pccasegear.com.au) they have fairly good prices.

Size wise you can get 22" ws monitors from anywhere between $250-$500AUD. There has also been a huge price drop in the 24" monitors, you could get one for under $500AUD easy.

I recommend Acer, Samsung, BenQ, Viewsonic and on the budget side of things AOC (they make very good monitors). Also check out the ASUS stuff, they are pretty good but you pay for the brand name.

Here are 2 links to reviews for a few good monitors.
Samsung SyncMaster 2253LW 21.6" LCD:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/06/04/samsung-syncmaster-2253lw-21-6in-widescreen/1

BenQ X2200W 22" widescreen LCD monitor:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/05/21/benq-x2200w-22-widescreen-lcd-monitor/1

[985323]

I personally would go with an Acer, I have had mine for about a year now and LOVE it http://www0.shopping.com/xGS-acer_al2223w

[moon111]

I have a Samsung 226BW. Allot of people were up in arms because Samsung used three different panel in this monitor. The quality was suppose to be worst each time, although the different panels supplied did met the specs. I still when ahead because the price at the time was on par with a cheaper 22" model. I'm very happy with it.

[Ronyx]

Well I finally went out and bought one :)

Having checked out some of the monitors on here, I decided to go with the Samsung 2493HM. It's one hell of a sweet monitor, and the size is a definite upgrade from my old 931c. The warranty on it was a major bonus, since a three year on site full replacement is nothing to sneeze at, and the price was fairly decent considering the brand. I forked out a little under $600 for it, but since I had some credit with Scorptec, i ended up paying $475. I'm considering going for a dual setup with these two, since the piano black gloss finish matches perfectly on both of them :)

If anyone's thinking of upgrading I'd suggest this monitor. There's a distinct upgrade in image quality over the 931c, as the colours are more vivid and images seem sharper, and not sure if this was a model problem or simply my display, but the 931c had a distorted 'black text' problem, where RGB didn't quite line up and traces of red and green could be seen all around black text (especially in word and on the net). That's now all been solved, and there was very little installation. I just plugged it in and away it went.

Thanks for all the help,
Ronyx

[The boy 4rm oz]

Glad to hear you got a Samsung.