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Which is the best 30" monitor for gaming?

G

GenBanks

Gawd
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
634
Hey guys,
I've been looking around at these threads and haven't found one which pertains to this particular question. For gaming, my top priority is low input lag. My current monitor is a gateway FPD2485W and I don't notice any problems. I don't know whether mine is fast or slow but it would help me if any of you know how the 30" monitors compare to that better/worse.
I game both on PC (will probably do mainly max res, but also sometimes go lower) and will want to connect a PS3 to the monitor. So extra ports would be nice too.
Hope you guys can help!:D
 
Hmm.. not sure which is the best for gaming but, the 30" I know is the HP, Gateway Samsung and Dell 30" The new Dell 30" 3008WFP is pricey though since it just came out. The Gateway 30" is pretty nice with lots of inputs HDMI, DVI, VGA, Component, S-Video and Composite. The Gateway and Samsung 30" have a 6ms G2G response time. The Dell 3008WFP and HP LP3065 has 8ms G2G. If price was no object I's get the Dell 3008WFP. Then, next would be the Gateway 30" XHD3000
 
I'm worried about the Gateway though, I heard it mentioned elsewhere on this forum that it has noticeable input lag on anything that goes through the scaler (ie the PS3 or games running at non-native res)... and that even on native res it still feels somewhat unresponsive :(
Of course I could be wrong though, does anyone know otherwise?
 
Damn that sucks if it does. The Gateway is well rounded for a 30" in features with very good image quality.
 
I'm in a similar position, although I'm going to be upgrading from a Dell 2405, and will be using the 30" exclusively for PC gaming. From what I can tell, there doesn't seem to be a 30" with low lag and multiple ports and/or a scaler.

At the moment, I'm leaning towards the HP3065 as I can't get hold of a 3007WFP-HC in the UK, but I believe they use the same panel which is pretty much lag-free. I'm not sure how you would go on with your PS3 though, as they only have DVI ports.
 
The Dell 3008WFP and XHD3000 both have fairly high input lag induced by their scalers. If you want a low input lag system, go for a LP3065 or 3007WFP-HC, they both have very low lag for their size
 
3007WFP-HC. Hands down. Lowest lag of almost any monitor, one of the best for color accuracy (after calibration), good black levels compared to most LCDs.
 
Cool, thanks for the help, it looks like the 3007wfp-hc is pretty reasonably priced too.

Do you guys know whether it will work with a PS3 though? I do most gaming on PC, but I like having the PS3 hooked up to my monitor. I heard something somewhere about some 30" monitors not working with lower res output devices...
 
Hmm, that LG looks nice...

What about for Blu-Ray watching though? I heard that HDCP isn't supported over dual link DVI. Has that been fixed with the 9800 GX2?

Also, will both the Dell 3007WFP-HC and the LG 30 incher not be able to have a PS3 connected up to them?
 
The LG 30" probably has a scaler similar to that in the 3008WFP, but I'm not sure. I think all new 30"ers would probably have scalers now. Personally, I would prefer ones without a scaler because of reduced input lag, as I never need the external inputs that the scaler offers.
 
I don't think the LG has a scaler - it only supports 1280x800 and 2560x1600, so appears to be more like the 3007wfp-hc and hp 3065 than the Dell 3008. It should have pretty low input lag, and there is some suggestion that it might have some kind of improved S-IPS panel, as mentioned in the linked thread; that's not been confirmed yet, though.

[k]
 
There's no definitive verdict. Nobody's gonna identify any flaws in the monitor they just dropped $1000 on. I'm having a tough time picking one out. Every single person who has bought an LG, Dell, Samsung, HP or DoubleSight claims color reproduction is perfect, input lag is negligible etc etc...
 
The 30" Doublesight has the lowest input lag of any 30" LCD on the market currently. I think it has around 7.5 or so ms input lag. Generally speaking, if it has a built in scaler, it will sacrifice at the expense of input lag so avoid them if you need the absolutely most responsive display.
 
This is a list of 30" IPS monitors that have no scaler leading to around 15ms or less of input lag and the panel used:

Dell 3007WFP-HC (LM300WQ3)
HP LP3065 (LM300WQ3)
LG W3000H (LM300WQ5)
Doublesight DS-305W (LM300WQ3)

This is a list of 30" IPS monitors that have a scaler leading to 25ms or more (even up to 50ms range) of input lag and the panel used:

Dell 3008WFP (LM300WQ5)
NEC LCD3090WQXi (LM300WQ5)

This is a list of 30" PVA monitors which are generally slower then IPS due to the technology, generally in the 30ms or more (even up to 50+ms range) of input lag and the panel used:

Samsung XL30 (LTM300DS)
Samsung 305T (LTM300M1)
Gateway XHD3000 (LTM300M1)

I have owned a few of these LCD's on my quest for the perfect 30" for gaming and I have done quite a bit of research. I will provide a few notes and thoughts about the different monitors.

I generally like IPS better then PVA but I would have to say if the input lag on the Samsung XL30 wasn't as high as it is, I would be using that monitor. Best color reproduction of them all, awesome LED back light and the price has fallen to around $2200 from it's original ~$4500. But the input lag is a killer for me.

The Gateway is a pretty nice screen visually but the input lag, especially with the non-native resolution scaled was just horrid. I had tested around ~80ms input lag with that monitor when using non-native resolution and I returned it. Even in Windows at native resolution the lag was so bad I could clearly see significant mouse movement delay it was that bad.

The 305T looks nice and it uses the same panel as the Gateway but still too slow for me.

The Dell 3008 and the NEC LCD3090WQXi both use the best IPS panel (LM300WQ5), but both have scalers. I don't have any need for tons of inputs so there was no need to go with a screen that has higher input lag when I can get the same panel with a different brand with no scaler. Both of these were out of the running.

This takes us to the fastest screens. The Dell 3007WFP-HC, HP LP3065 and Doublesight DS-305W all use the 92% gamut LM300WQ3 panel. Obviously no scalars used but out of the three the DoubleSight is the fastest. In fact the DoubleSight is the fastest 30" with a 7.5ms tested input lag, while the other two are around 15ms.

The LG W3000H stands out here because it uses the best IPS panel; the LM300WQ5, and has no scalar so the input lag is relatively minimal.

If you are looking for the best gaming 30" I think it is down to two choices really. If you are looking for the absolute fastest with still a decent panel, get the DoubleSight DS-305W. If you want the best panel possible and still pretty low input lag, get the LG W3000H.
 
Vega pretty much covered the details in his post. That being said, whether you notice input lag is entirely subjective. I've never noticed the slightest hint of lag on my 3008WFP despite tests that demonstrate lag exists. Others find the 3008's lag to be excruciatingly intolerable. I game at the native 2560x1600 resolution so the scalar isn't an issue. Even at lower resolutions, however, I don't see any lag. I haven't used a CRT with any computer since 2003. Maybe my eyes are just adapted to LCDs after all this time.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
That being said, whether you notice input lag is entirely subjective.
Click to expand...

No, it is not subjective, since you can actually measure it. If you play online, those milliseconds can actually be the difference between kill or be killed. If were a gamer, you would know this.

The LG is a very interesting option. It utilizes the newest panel, yet it is as striped down as the earlier 30" models like the LP3065, which doesnt bother me at all. Low input lag is a bigger plus. The biggest plus, at least in my country, is the price: it's about 15% lower than the Samsung and over 20% cheaper as the Dell and HP. The only downside appears to be LG's poor quality control, if I have read reports correctly. I am pretty critical when I am dishing out this kind of money for a monitor and I do not think the store will be quiet pleased when I want to trade the fifth monitor in a row. I do own a fine esthetically pleasing LG plasma TV, which I am content with, but I am slightly hesistant to buy a W3000H at the moment.
 
I am a gamer. I wrote that input lag exists, it's measurable, it's there. That doesn't mean everyone is equally sensitive to it.
 
Got the Hp 3065 and love it, I believe LG makes the screen under contract for them
No noticeable lag
Game all the time but remember you need a good video card to power a 30' at max resolution 2500x1600 or whats the point of having a 30'
I got a 295 just for this reason
What are you going to say no lag but my frame rates suck!:confused:
 
Vega said:
This is a list of 30" IPS monitors that have no scaler leading to around 15ms or less of input lag and the panel used:

Dell 3007WFP-HC (LM300WQ3)
HP LP3065 (LM300WQ3)
LG W3000H (LM300WQ5)
Doublesight DS-305W (LM300WQ3)

This is a list of 30" IPS monitors that have a scaler leading to 25ms or more (even up to 50ms range) of input lag and the panel used:

Dell 3008WFP (LM300WQ5)
NEC LCD3090WQXi (LM300WQ5)

This is a list of 30" PVA monitors which are generally slower then IPS due to the technology, generally in the 30ms or more (even up to 50+ms range) of input lag and the panel used:

Samsung XL30 (LTM300DS)
Samsung 305T (LTM300M1)
Gateway XHD3000 (LTM300M1)

I have owned a few of these LCD's on my quest for the perfect 30" for gaming and I have done quite a bit of research. I will provide a few notes and thoughts about the different monitors.

I generally like IPS better then PVA but I would have to say if the input lag on the Samsung XL30 wasn't as high as it is, I would be using that monitor. Best color reproduction of them all, awesome LED back light and the price has fallen to around $2200 from it's original ~$4500. But the input lag is a killer for me.

The Gateway is a pretty nice screen visually but the input lag, especially with the non-native resolution scaled was just horrid. I had tested around ~80ms input lag with that monitor when using non-native resolution and I returned it. Even in Windows at native resolution the lag was so bad I could clearly see significant mouse movement delay it was that bad.

The 305T looks nice and it uses the same panel as the Gateway but still too slow for me.

The Dell 3008 and the NEC LCD3090WQXi both use the best IPS panel (LM300WQ5), but both have scalers. I don't have any need for tons of inputs so there was no need to go with a screen that has higher input lag when I can get the same panel with a different brand with no scaler. Both of these were out of the running.

This takes us to the fastest screens. The Dell 3007WFP-HC, HP LP3065 and Doublesight DS-305W all use the 92% gamut LM300WQ3 panel. Obviously no scalars used but out of the three the DoubleSight is the fastest. In fact the DoubleSight is the fastest 30" with a 7.5ms tested input lag, while the other two are around 15ms.

The LG W3000H stands out here because it uses the best IPS panel; the LM300WQ5, and has no scalar so the input lag is relatively minimal.

If you are looking for the best gaming 30" I think it is down to two choices really. If you are looking for the absolute fastest with still a decent panel, get the DoubleSight DS-305W. If you want the best panel possible and still pretty low input lag, get the LG W3000H.
Click to expand...

This was a very useful guide to me but is now out of date. Can you revise your comments leaving out the DS-305W, the LG, and probably the HP since these panels are end of lifed already and not available anywhere per the manufacturer. Thanks.
 
Both the LG and the HP are available here, but not the Doublesight (US only?) and nothing but the latest Dell (as always :().
Still, doesn't see why the post is out of date just cause some of the screens aren't available - there are no new screens and thats what should matter.
 
brumwald said:
Both the LG and the HP are available here, but not the Doublesight (US only?) and nothing but the latest Dell (as always :().
Still, doesn't see why the post is out of date just cause some of the screens aren't available - there are no new screens and thats what should matter.
Click to expand...

The LG is end of life. If you have a usa link to where it may be in stick please post. The Doublesight has none available in manufacturing and is looking for 30" panel supplies to fill orders. The Dell is available but somewhat scarce other than direct from Dell. It's slim pickens out there right now.
 
grdh20 said:
The LG is end of life. If you have a usa link to where it may be in stick please post. The Doublesight has none available in manufacturing and is looking for 30" panel supplies to fill orders. The Dell is available but somewhat scarce other than direct from Dell. It's slim pickens out there right now.
Click to expand...

As I said, it doesn't matter, if it isn't available just take it out of the equation. No need to try to remove it from existance, it's available in other places and could still be of interest if buying a used monitor.

But anyway, I've must have missed that it's end of life (source?). There's a rumor of it being replaced but the same was said about the HP 8 months ago, and the HP is a couple of years older than the LG. The LG is still the newest 30" monitor on the market, isn't it?

There are at least 77 stores here in Sweden that carry it (about half of them claim to have it in stock) and it's still featured on LGs site..
It is the 'most available' 30" monitor here.
 
Last edited:
To make buying such an expensive monitor more suspenseful, HP silently switched panels for the LP3065: I ordered one at June 16th directly from HP Germany and got revision GSZ002, manufactured 2008 ISO week 51. It had a much higher maximum brightness than I hoped for, but also a yellowish cast in the blacks at maximum brightness in the bottom left border when not viewed a bit from below from a distance of nearly a meter. The gamut was so wide I tried to understand colour management for the first time. I also spotted overdrive artefacts that I didn't expect: When I scrolled in the nVidia control panel, for example, there were some fine darker lines in the grey area. Also certain MPEG2 compression artefacts were much more visible, and certain bands in the sky in Fallout 3 flickered. I guess this was a LM300WQ5.
But what drove me nearly mad was the unstable DDC/CI (MCCS conformance 2.0), so I contacted the service and got a replacement. The exchange was very fast (afternoon to morning), but I didn't get a factory new monitor, but a refurbished one with visible scratches on the back. And it was revision GSZ001, manufactured 2008 ISO week 11: much lower maximum brightness, no yellow cast, nearly same gamut as my Samsung 244T, no overdrive artefacts, warmer whitepoint, more sparkle, PSU noise at 25% and 75% brightness. Perhaps LM300WQ1 or LM300WQ3. But DDC/CI (MCCS conformance 2.1) is working stable, so I guess I'll keep it.
What strikes me, too: there's only one ICM profile on the HP website: how should one do colour critical work with two such different panels?
 
Last edited:
That was discomforting to read :(
Although for color critical work you probably should calibrate it yourself.
 
brumwald said:
That was discomforting to read :(
Click to expand...

I'm really thinking of ordering a second LP3065 just to see whether the GSZ002s are all that bad in regard to overdrive and DDC/CI. If I only knew HP would take back the one I already have...

brumwald said:
Although for color critical work you probably should calibrate it yourself.
Click to expand...

Sure. But obtaining a basic profile containing the correct panel gamut to be able to view sRGB photos should be possible, shouldn't it?
 
sonic74 said:
I'm really thinking of ordering a second LP3065 just to see whether the GSZ002s are all that bad in regard to overdrive and DDC/CI. If I only knew HP would take back the one I already have...



Sure. But obtaining a basic profile containing the correct panel gamut to be able to view sRGB photos should be possible, shouldn't it?
Click to expand...

I am curious as what changes the HP LP3075w will have, it has been "on" and "off" various HP road-maps since the middle of last year. Also if the the price point of HP LP3075w will change much from that of the HP LP3065.

Tim
 
brumwald said:
Isn't gamut information atuomatically handled through EDID?
Click to expand...

Hmm, you seem to be right:

GSZ001:
Red chromaticity......... Rx 0,658 - Ry 0,324
Green chromaticity....... Gx 0,204 - Gy 0,665
Blue chromaticity........ Bx 0,146 - By 0,070
White point (default).... Wx 0,313 - Wy 0,329

GSZ002:
Red chromaticity......... Rx 0,678 - Ry 0,309
Green chromaticity....... Gx 0,198 - Gy 0,698
Blue chromaticity........ Bx 0,146 - By 0,060
White point (default).... Wx 0,313 - Wy 0,329

But how does one tell Windows to use this information without ICM profiles?
 
I think that windows handles all this automatically - meaning that color-aware applications make use of this information.

ICM profiels won't adjust for gamut anyway so that won't make a difference in that regard.
 
brumwald said:
I think that windows handles all this automatically - meaning that color-aware applications make use of this information.
Click to expand...

Sounds nice, but I doubt that: in the registry, there's still the EDID from the GSZ002. Only when I look at the realtime data with MonInfo, I get the EDID from the GSZ001.

brumwald said:
ICM profiels won't adjust for gamut anyway so that won't make a difference in that regard.
Click to expand...

I think it does: You can compare the gamuts in different monitor ICM profiles with Gamutvision. And "100%" sRGB red should translate in "95%" GSZ001 red and, say, "80%" GSZ002 red.
 
Out of curiosity, I plotted the different gamuts in a diagram. If you're interested, you can get it here.
 
I'm not that into calibration etc. but I was under the impression that icm profiles only handled gamma. Possible that gamma calibration is influenced by the gamut but icm profiles alone won't fix the wide gamut issues (oversaturation).

You could try to compare the LP3065 with the 244T in a color managed app (vistas image viewer for one) and a non-color-managed app (paint, most browsers etc.).
 
grdh20 said:
This was a very useful guide to me but is now out of date. Can you revise your comments leaving out the DS-305W, the LG, and probably the HP since these panels are end of lifed already and not available anywhere per the manufacturer. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Huh? As of 17JUL09 you can buy all three monitors in stock:

DoubleSight: http://www.supereasybuy.com/ssproduct.asp?pf_id=1011858971

HP: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176071

LG: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005115
 
sonic74 said:
To make buying such an expensive monitor more suspenseful, HP silently switched panels for the LP3065: I ordered one at June 16th directly from HP Germany and got revision GSZ002, manufactured 2008 ISO week 51. It had a much higher maximum brightness than I hoped for, but also a yellowish cast in the blacks at maximum brightness in the bottom left border when not viewed a bit from below from a distance of nearly a meter. The gamut was so wide I tried to understand colour management for the first time. I also spotted overdrive artefacts that I didn't expect: When I scrolled in the nVidia control panel, for example, there were some fine darker lines in the grey area. Also certain MPEG2 compression artefacts were much more visible, and certain bands in the sky in Fallout 3 flickered. I guess this was a LM300WQ5.
But what drove me nearly mad was the unstable DDC/CI (MCCS conformance 2.0), so I contacted the service and got a replacement. The exchange was very fast (afternoon to morning), but I didn't get a factory new monitor, but a refurbished one with visible scratches on the back. And it was revision GSZ001, manufactured 2008 ISO week 11: much lower maximum brightness, no yellow cast, nearly same gamut as my Samsung 244T, no overdrive artefacts, warmer whitepoint, more sparkle, PSU noise at 25% and 75% brightness. Perhaps LM300WQ1 or LM300WQ3. But DDC/CI (MCCS conformance 2.1) is working stable, so I guess I'll keep it.
What strikes me, too: there's only one ICM profile on the HP website: how should one do colour critical work with two such different panels?
Click to expand...

Hey guys,
I've been thinking about buying HP LP3065 monitor for some time, but after reading the post from Sonic74 (above), I don't know how to make sure I'll get revision GSZ001, which seems to be better according his research. There is no way how to do it, because online sellers don't have this info in descriptions and there is no shop anywhere near my place, where I could see this monitor and examine myself. It seems there are two models of this LCD with different part numbers, the EZ320A4 and EZ320A8. Maybe there is connection between these part numbers and revisions, maybe EZ320A4 is GSZ001, I don't know, maybe not. If someone with this LCD could help me and check his monitor and possibly find this information, I would be very grateful. Thanks for any help.
 
Seeing as both the LP3065 and 3007WFP-HC have the same panel (or at least some revisions do), I am interested in what is being discussed here.

sonic74, what can you do on an LP3065 with stable DDC/CI and MCCS compliance 2.1? What are the symptoms of unstable DDC/CI? On my 3007WFP-HC (REV A02) I can only control one thing with SoftMCCS: the brightness, which goes from 0 to 20 (SoftMCCS calls it "Luminance"). The monitor claims to be able to adjust Contrast, Color temperature, and video gain and black level for each of R,G,B; however, none of these settings have any effect when changed.

I've only noticed two overdrive artifacts on my 3007WFP-HC:
  1. Images of certain colors moving against a different-colored background leave a seemingly negative-color afterimage. I've noticed this occasionally when watching TV on the monitor. (Some time I may capture it on video to see what is actually happening.)
  2. In a Windows XP console window, using "Raster Fonts - 8x12", colored text on an opposite-color background leaves a high-frequency horizontal sinusoid pattern. The pattern is strong if the console window is placed horizontally at an even pixel and weak if placed at an odd pixel.
What overdrive artifacts did you see in the LP3065 GSZ002, and do you see any at all in the GSZ001? What part of the NVIDIA Control Panel had the artifacts? ("Fine darker lines in the grey area" is not specific enough... which mode within the NCP, and what shade of grey, where?)

It sounds like going back to rev GSZ001 had one downside for you, more sparkle. I will probably end up returning my 3007WFP-HC because of the sparkle, but there's a chance I may keep it if I can convert it to glossy with confidence that I won't be ruining it.
 
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