Help me choose the best gaming monitor for my needs

S

SXTC

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 27, 2011
Messages
244
Hi everyone.
I currently own an 22" LG L226WTQ LCD wich I've owned for about 2 years now.
But the thing is that eventhough the quality of the monitor is nice, the size doesn't impress me and I need to feel the "wow" factor once more (last time I went from 17" to 22").
Wich is why I would want to move on to a bigger monitor (and yet not too big so I can carry them around often - need 2 so both me and my wife will have one).
I've been looking online for hours trying to figure out the technoligy but I can't figure out what happens if you combine those technologies.
From what I read 27" might be the best choice in terms of getting a descent dpi quality (I don't want to downgrade too much from the quality I allready have on my 22").
Keep in mind that I only use my pc for gaming, googling and rarely for photoshop (I hate ghosting and slowing wich I sometimes have now with the current screen at dragonage 2)
Also I would love to find a screen with 120 Hz since I can see the refresh rate under 75Hz and it annoys me, I did notice that with my old CRT of phillips wich broke down, had 200Hz and the mouse cursor moved faster with less hand movement, the screen was a lot easier on the eyes and I had less glitches while in game.

Now I have 7 questions wich I was hoping you guys & girls could answer me.

1) Is 27" realy the best choice or is it more like 26" or 28"? I can't tell for sure, but I want the change with the size I have now to be significant (and as I stated before, not too big to carry).

2) Would you advice LCD or LED?

3) I read something about 1920x1080p being the best res for HD quality but at the same time I read that eventhough 1920x1080p is better then 1920x1200p, having a screen with 120Hz refresh rate would actualy make 1920x1200p better. Is this true?

4) I read that you can actualy start to notice ghosting more easily if your monitor is 5ms and up when you are using high resolutions as if the monitor lags because it can't follow up on the frames, is this true?

5) I read a lot about 3D monitors these days but I don't want to have to buy and wear 3D glasses and worry about not losing them... and almost every monitor sais 3D these days. So how can I know wether you need shutter glasses or no glasses at all?

6) From what I can tell IPS and TN panels don't have much advantage over one another since IPS has a better vieuwing angle "BUT" is expensive and slows down reaction of the screen, is this true?

7) Would you be able to mention as much monitors as you can that fit my description or come close to what I want?

It took me hours to find 2 released monitors (3 others weren't released yet) but I forgot to store the links and can't find them in my history (too much hours of googling to find the links)..
So I was hoping you could help me retrieve them or possible make me aware of other monitors (I only know about 1/3rd of the manufacturers)

Sorry for spelling errors in advance (didn't have time to double check).
 
The choices for LCDs with true 120Hz input are very limited - there are about 7 or 8. All of them are TN panels. All of them are 24" or less. ASUS has been talking about releasing a 27" for a long time but it has not been released yet. When (and if) it happens, there will be a megathread in this forum about it.

In my opinion, the true 120Hz LCD market remains in a precarious position and could go poof at any time.

This thread holds most of the info about 120Hz monitors:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1496801
 
Negative decibel....what exactly does eyefinity mean?
is it something similar to refresh rate? Because the reason why I ask for 120Hz is mainly based on the fact that 60Hz is killing my eyes.
(btw I read earlier that someone had eyefinity, but that it was broken (not working))

I know what you mean evilsofa, but there are a few 27" 120Hz monitors out there (about 2 as far as I know) but as I said.. I lost the links and haven't been able to find the monitors so far... it's though to find them knowing that there are over 30 brands and I forgot what manufacturer had made those monitors I saw earlier :(

About those 7 or 8 LCD's with 120Hz, mind sending me in the right direction? I would be very gratefull if you did.
 
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SXTC said:
1) Is 27" realy the best choice or is it more like 26" or 28"? I can't tell for sure, but I want the change with the size I have now to be significant (and as I stated before, not too big to carry).

2) Would you advice LCD or LED?

3) I read something about 1920x1080p being the best res for HD quality but at the same time I read that eventhough 1920x1080p is better then 1920x1200p, having a screen with 120Hz refresh rate would actualy make 1920x1200p better. Is this true?

4) I read that you can actualy start to notice ghosting more easily if your monitor is 5ms and up when you are using high resolutions as if the monitor lags because it can't follow up on the frames, is this true?

5) I read a lot about 3D monitors these days but I don't want to have to buy and wear 3D glasses and worry about not losing them... and almost every monitor sais 3D these days. So how can I know wether you need shutter glasses or no glasses at all?

6) From what I can tell IPS and TN panels don't have much advantage over one another since IPS has a better vieuwing angle "BUT" is expensive and slows down reaction of the screen, is this true?

7) Would you be able to mention as much monitors as you can that fit my description or come close to what I want?
Click to expand...

1) it's a subjective thing, but typically the answer is to go with as big of a screen as you can afford.
2) LED is a form of back lighting. i believe you are asking if you should go with an LED-lit LCD or a CCFL-lit LCD. LED will consume less power and have a longer shelf life, but i personally wouldn't stray away from one or the other.
3) i would decide which aspect ratio you prefer; 16:9 or 16:10. for general office productivity 16:10 is usually preferred (more vertical real estate). i actually prefer 16:9 because i primarily game and watch movies on my computer. i'm in the minority on this.
4) ghosting is a legitimate phenomenon, but pay little attention to the advertised response times (usually it's marketing BS based on non-standardized testing criteria). a more accurate way to determine if a screen suffers from ghosting is to read reviews. if none can be found, you may have to bite the bullet and see for yourself.
5) i believe all 3D monitors require the glasses. if it's something you're not interested in then avoid paying for that feature.
6) IPS are considered the best of the best when it comes to panel tech. they are typically 'good' at everything; excellent color reproduction, good viewing angles, more than adequate response time. if you're willing to pay the premium go for it, i doubt you'll be unhappy with an IPS screen. i'm very content with my TN panel, but i also only paid $300 for it and realize that i'm sacrificing some quality for the sake of saving money.

all that being said, i second Negative Decibel's recommendation of the ASUS VE276Q. i have one and i absolutely love it. it's a very nice TN panel, and can be found for quite cheap. you may also want to consider the LED version VE278Q (the 6Q is CCFL lit). the only hesitation i have in recommending it to you is the dot-pitch; at 1920x1080 stretched across 27" you get a dot-pitch of .311 mm. this will more than likely be a down-grade from your current 22" monitor's dot-pitch. some would find this too pixelated, it's just fine to me.

i'm not sure i understand your hesitation for a 60Hz screen. LCD's don't suffer from 'flicker' like CRT's do. does your current 60Hz LCD annoy you? if so i'd be willing to bet it's something other than the refresh rate.
 
Porter I am uncertain about the ASUS VE276Q due to the review here http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/asus-ve276q/4505-3174_7-34139489.html

I like a monitor to perform, but not when it uses too much power.

Anyhow what would you suggest what I do to not lose to much quality? (thanks for your long reply so far, you allready cleared up some things I needed to know)

Porter_ said:
i'm not sure i understand your hesitation for a 60Hz screen. LCD's don't suffer from 'flicker' like CRT's do. does your current 60Hz LCD annoy you? if so i'd be willing to bet it's something other than the refresh rate.
Click to expand...

http://forums.cgsociety.org/archive/index.php/t-125192.html
Lets just say this applies to me too...
I've owned 4 monitors so far and the ones around 60Hz always gave me headaches (spend hours behind my monitor)
 
yeah that's not a very favorable review. all i can say is that the monitor looks great to my eyes, and my particular panel exhibits no green tint that i can see. you may want to play it safe though and find a monitor that fares better in reviews. regarding the headaches, i'm not sure what is causing them but they're probably not due to flicker caused by low refresh rate. who knows maybe a 120 Hz penel will alleviate the problem, but it would be a shame to pay for that feature and not have it solve your problem. i'm limited in my understanding of LCD technology but here's a quote from wiki (source):

Since activated LCD pixels do not flash on/off between frames, LCD monitors exhibit no refresh-induced flicker, no matter how low the refresh rate.
Click to expand...
 
SXTC said:
I know what you mean evilsofa, but there are a few 27" 120Hz monitors out there (about 2 as far as I know) but as I said.. I lost the links and haven't been able to find the monitors so far... it's though to find them knowing that there are over 30 brands and I forgot what manufacturer had made those monitors I saw earlier :(

About those 7 or 8 LCD's with 120Hz, mind sending me in the right direction? I would be very gratefull if you did.
Click to expand...

What you probably saw is that there are several monitors that have 60Hz input with 120Hz display (achieved with the same inserted frames as 120Hz LCD TVs). The manufacturers are not helping the situation by confusing consumers about what 120Hz means. There are currently no 27" LCD monitors with 120Hz input.

Which of the current 120Hz monitors are best are a big debate in this forum that I have not been following lately.
 
monitors can have a diffirent refresh rate for input and display?
Back in the old days with the CRT's they didn't used to mention 2 diffirent refresh rates...

I'm uncertain about them lying about everything though, a while ago I was on a test site and I did indeed find it odd that they mentioned 2 refresh rates but I didn't understand why, I figured it would have to be the minimum and max output depending on how high the resolution stands, just like it was with CRT's.
But some of the monitors they mentioned only had 1 refresh rate mentioned.. is it possible that some DO speak the truth, or is it because the manufacturer failed to mention the second one...?

Anyhow what is easier on the eyes? 120Hz input or 120Hz diplay? (what is the diffirence)

I've got another question... My current screen has about 8100 pixels per square but eventhough the colors look great, my eyes are still annoyed after being behind my screen 3-4 hours (most people don't do that so it might be why they do not experience the problem I'm having).
If what you say is true and 60Hz is not responsible for my headache, could it be possible that perhaps too much pixels give the same effect? I do recall I used to play 1600x1200 on a 17" CRT in the past and I must say that hurt my eyes too.. (and it were 85Hz).

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/reviews/Monitors/LG_L226WTQ_LCD/

I currently own this monitor and it scores high, but I think the colors are a tad too bright, or is it just me?...
 
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