Having Trouble Deciding

[ismellbad]

I'm looking to upgrade from my single 19" Acer AL1926W but am having trouble deciding which route I should go. I don't really know a whole lot about monitors, and even less about TVs, other than what I've read here over the past couple of days, so I figured I'd ask for some assistance.

I will be using the display(s) for the following:
General PC use ( web browsing, email, school, etc. )
PC Gaming ( pretty much FPS games exclusively, mostly TF2, CS:S, nexuiz and warsow )
Nintendo Wii
Streaming HD and SD video from my computer

As of now I don't have any plans for viewing any other HD content 720p+ other than what's coming out of my computer, but that may change in the future so part of me would like to have that ability in case I do decide to go down that road.


Here's the routes I've been thinking of taking:

1. Single large display for all uses, with a lot of inputs and good overall quality.

Considering:

BenQ FP241VW
DoubleSight DS-263N
Viewsonic VX2435WM
NEC ASLCD24WMCX-BK
Viewsonic VX2835WM


2. Two displays, both monitors

Considering:

2 x Samsung 2253BW
2 x LG L227WTG-PF
2 x LG W2252TQ-TF


Because these montiors only have D-sub and dvi inputs ( as well as the DoubleSight listed above ) I'd need some type of adapter for the Wii. I know vdigi sells a VGA cable for 40$, but I'm curious if this + the wii's component cables would work properly.

3. Two displays, one monitor, one TV

Considering:
One of the above 22" displays and one of the following:
Samsung LNT2353H
Toshiba REGZA 32HL67U (Refurb)
Westinghouse SK-32H240S
Toshiba 26AV500U


I'd like to avoid TN panels if I can, but I realize because my budget is somewhat low ( 700$...will possibly stretch to 800$ :/ ) it may not be possible and am willing to compromise to save some money. I'm just curious to see what you guys think would be the best route to go for what I'm going to be using the display(s) for.

Also if it helps here are my computer's specs:
evga 8600GT SSC
X2 5400+ @ 3.0ghz
2 GB ddr2 800

 

[KingDiamond]

I have gone through two dual monitor setups and now I'm using a single 26-inch (the DS-263N) and I like it a lot more this way. With my last dual 19-inch LCD setup I found myself using mostly one monitor and the other one would be used for almost nothing. The advantage of the dual monitors came in big applications such as when I would be programming or creating audio in Cubase SX and I could use one screen for the mixer panel and the other for audio editing. But when it came to gaming I found it distracting to have both monitors on so I would turn one off. Now with the single 26-inch LCD I have a much bigger view of stuff but the resolution is also bigger so I can fit more things on the screen.

There is that cool factor of having two or more screens but when it comes to practical use I think a single monitor is the way to go.

 

[10e]

Get the BenQ or the Doublesight. You'll be happy you did. Stick with a good single monitor. Your budget is higher than most, which means you should be able to afford an excellent screen.

I have two 24" monitors on my desk. One is mainly a PC monitor (the BenQ FP241VW), and the other is a PS3/360 monitor (Westinghouse L2410NM). Right now I feel like I have two monitors that I like, but not very often that I can concurrently use. I just can't decide which I like better. Save yourself the grief.

Regards,

10e

 

[ismellbad]

Thanks for the input both of you.

10e - since you have the FP241VW, which is one of the two single displays I was strongly considering, do you have any issues with input lag, and does it do proper 1:1 scaling? Those are two of my biggest issues.

 

[10e]

Hey,

Input lag seems pretty low. I haven't had a chance to test it vs. a CRT or my Dell 2005FPW, but I don't get the "rubber band" feeling with my mouse, and it is far faster than my Westinghouse L2410NM when I view them in clone mode.

1:1 pixel mapping works perfectly on all inputs on all resolutions.

The only issue I've had with the monitor is that my ATI 3870 cards have caused me grief when I try switching to the HDMI connector to the PS3 at 1080p. With 1080i it doesn't seem as much of an issue, but I prefer 1080p. I don't know why, but both my 3870 and x2 have caused this issue, whereas with the 8800GTS 512 and 640 I've tried it worked perfectly. I've contacted ATI on the matter.

But I've had issues with these cards using my Westy via an HDMI switch, so it's not isolated to this monitor.

Using the nVidia card, I've had zero issues with the FP241VW.

Regards,

10e