Is this a decent LCD?

[Pointy_Stick]

Hi guys,

So I've been looking at 22" lcd displays for Christmas and this one caught my eye:

http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=143&bid=2&sid=32388
Newegg link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116096)

It looked good, until I read some reviews on Newegg where some people complained about the Dynamic Contrast feature and bleeding. This led me to consider the following...

http://www.umart.com.au/pro/products_review.phtml?id=10&bid=2&id2=143&sid=28046
Newegg link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116092)

..which garnered better reviews on Newegg and is quite a bit cheaper (always important to consider when choosing your own Christmas presents!). As far as I can see, the only difference between the two is the refresh time.

So my big questions are:

1. How important is refresh rate? I'm a gamer, but my game playing has taken a back seat to uni. I would mainly use it for assignments and web browsing, but I still like to play the latest releases.

2. Have I missed anything obvious about these monitors? I know basically nothing of monitors and could quite easily have missed something important.

At the moment, I'm pretty much choosing between those two, though I'm open to suggestions, particularly if they can be found on that Umart site as they are literally 15 minutes from where I live and have quite competitive prices. Other monitors not available there are fine too though, I'll just have to do a bit of hunting around. My budget is AUD$250, though that can be stretched up around $300 if its worth it.

Like I said, this monitor is mainly for work stuff, though it would have to stand up to gaming (PC and Xbox 360). It's about 50/50 of gaming/work. If you want to know what hardware I'm running, checkout 'My System' at the top of this post.

Cheers.

[Cymae]

Maybe this will help explain a little: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refresh_rate

Personally, if i had money to spend on a new monitor, I'd go for this one. It's one of the best for gaming in my opinion:

http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=computerperipherals&type=monitor&subtype=lcdmonitor&model_cd=LS22MEWSFV/XSA

[Pointy_Stick]

Thanks Cymae. I had a look around at that one and couldn't find a good price on it, not one as low as those other two. However, I think I've settled on this one (http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Review/122181,lg-w2252tq.aspx). Good review from one of Australia's foremost hardware magazines, smack bang in the middle of my price range and available from my preferred retailer.

Thanks for the input though!

[Cymae]

UMart is awesome is it not? :)

[Pointy_Stick]

They are very, very awesome. So cheap and so close. Now I'm looking at their site for what else I can pick up while I'm at it. I'm thinking more ram and an aftermarket CPU cooler:D

[SgtM]

I got a 22" Acer back in Feb. P221W.. it's awesome to say the least. You won't be disappointed with a 22"

[Pointy_Stick]

You won't be disappointed with a 22"

You bet I won't. It'll be good to get away from my 17" CRT and 15" lcd dual display setup.

How do you like your Acer? I had a look at the specs online and it seems quite nice. The cheapest I could find in the Oz Land for it was $40 more than the LG plus shipping though, so that rules that one out for me. But I'd like some feedback on what I can expect when I move into 1680 X 1050 bliss :D

Sleep time now for me, but I think I might place my order tomorrow, or at the latest the day after if no one comes forth with any other suggestions (or reasons not to get the LG).

[DonT-FeaR]

www.msy.com.au coff coff....

samsung 2253 LW :) if they still have em... 265 i paid..

[Pointy_Stick]

Is this (http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=computerperipherals&type=monitor&subtype=lcdmonitor&model_cd=LS22AQWJFV/XSA) yours? I couldn't find the LW model.

If so...you seem to have thrown a spanner into my lcd-buying plans Dont-Fear. That Samsung is very nice and looks very similar to the LG. It has a slightly higher original contrast ratio, is available in QLD (big plus) and Samsung just generally make a quality product. It does however have a slightly lower dynamic contrast ratio, slightly more expensive (probably will make no difference if I have to buy a DVI cable myself) and isn't as close to me as the other.

I'll do some more research, but I may end up sticking with the LG. Thanks though, always good to explore all the options!

P.S The Samsung has something called HDCP, which I've found out is some sort of copy protection device. What does this mean in practice? Has it affected you Dont-Fear (or anyone else)?

[crenn]

The 2253LW and 2253BW are both great monitors (2253LW is 21.6") and I can personnaly recommend the 2253BW (I have it). Mine came with a D-Sub and DVI cable.

HDCP hasn't affected me, and I doubt it will. Some contact won't display on non-HDCP monitors, but your graphics card has to support it as well.

[Pointy_Stick]

Thanks for replying, but I've gone ahead and bought that LG I posted and I'm very pleased with it! I'm posting from it right now. I thought Crysis looked good before but WOW!, does it look good now. I'm never going back to 4:3.

(oh, and after checking, I found this monitor has HDCP too:redface:)

[DonT-FeaR]

nice work... congrats