HP ZR24w or ???

W

webdev50

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Jul 16, 2010
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Hi,

I'm shopping for a big monitor for a new computer build and the HP ZR24w and Dell U2410 kept popping up as ones I should consider. I'm about to pull the trigger on the HP, but I would like to know if there's another monitor I should consider instead.

I eliminated the Dell based on what I learned in the HP ZR24w thread ( http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1491561&page=102 ) about wide gamut monitors and why I wouldn't want one if I'm just doing normal, non-graphic design work.

I'll use it mostly for "office work", lots of text, writing, e-mail, lots of web surfing, web development, some photo work, some video, and I'd like to start checking out some games, in that priority order. Games are definitely a very low priority. Although I'm not into color correction and calibration now, it's something I might spend more time with in a couple of years.

Sharp text is a high priority, if anything, and colors that are consistent and sharp across the screen. Backlight bleed might be annoying, but I don't think I'll have black screens that often.

I'm not very picky about monitor quality, but if you put a good one next to a bad one and point out the flaws, I'll want the good one -- unless it's too expensive. The 17" very old 4:3 backup monitor I'm using now isn't even too bad, except I can sometimes see colors around black text on white background and the white is more of a cream color even though I tried to adjust the color temperature. I actually compared this "KDS" brand monitor to a 3-year-old 17" 16:9 Viewsonic and the Viewsonic seemed worse, with red shadows around bold black text in Firefox's tab titles.

I think that being able to see the monitor from different angles isn't too important to me because I look at it straight on, but I would like uniform color across the screen.

I'm looking for a monitor that will last 10+ years and I'll use it 12-14+ hours a day, so I figure I should invest in a good one.

I've never used a monitor larger than 17", and I think I might even like one larger than 24", but I'd like to keep the price around $500 or less.

Because my work is primarily web-based, I think I'd want the images on my monitor to look as crappy as on everyone else's monitors. But just with a larger screen -- that will last a long time.

It sounds like 1920x1200 is the way to go, at least the minimum. Not x1080.

Anti-glare is a must. No glossy.

An LED monitor would be nice, but it doesn't seem like there's that much electricity cost savings and there don't seem to be too many of them right now.

I came across these monitors that seem to also kinda fit what I'm looking for:
HP Compaq LA2405wg - Might as well just get the HP ZR24w for a little bit more because it seems to be built better.
Viewsonic VG2427wm - $250, but "only" x1080. The extra 120 pixels might add up over the long-term. The reviewers on tigerdirect don't seem to be too happy with Viewsonic, and support is important to me. I'm willing to pay more for it.
SAMSUNG 2443BWT - I might as well get an IPS display for the same price.

Refurbished is okay too with the same warranty as a new monitor.

I'd like to buy the monitor locally in case there are problems with it; it'll be easier to exchange. But I haven't seen any place locally (San Francisco) that sells the HP. I've read some of the posts about issues with the HP and dead pixels, so I guess I'll just take my chances. One or two dead pixels isn't going to bother me I think. I'll probably get it very soon from tigerdirect.com with bing cashback. I just noticed the price increased $10 there.

Because I'm not that picky with monitors, should I consider something larger and/or cheaper? The overall build quality of some of the cheaper monitors concerns me, such as weak stands and therefore their lifespan, so maybe it's best that I invest in the HP for the long term.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

-- Ed
 
I would choose the ZR24w. If you want to do more with your monitor, then IPS is the best choice.

Ten years isn't realistic. If a monitor is designed well, and is used with a low brightness setting, then it should last for about 5-6 years.
 
I've been battling with a similar decision. I originally bought the U2311H but it developed some corruption after a few days so I returned it. I also didn't really like the 16:9 ratio and it had some tinting.

The remaining options were:
HPZR24W
Dell U2410
Dell U2711 (if i was willing to up a price notch or two which I was)
NEC 2490wuxi
NEC ea231wmi (basically the u2311h)

I was going to go for the U2711 but the Tigerdirect BCB brought the ZR24W down to $347 which is a good price for a 24" IPS. Are the black levels poor? Yea. But the colors are good, it has a 16:10 ratio, and for $347 I don't think it can be beat. The U2410 would be ok to and sRGB mode is decent so the wide gamut isn't really a problem. The U2711 is what I really wanted but at less than half the price the ZR24W seemed like the most reasonable option.
 
Missed the part about 10+ years. I don't think it's reasonable to keep a monitor for that long especially in the sub-$500 range. Over time the backlight will lose brightness and the image will change. More expensive monitors actually have compensation for aging but hey are definitely $500+. If you want a really good monitor that will last I'd increase your budget.

I bought My 2005FPW in 05 or 06 and I'm just replacing it now because the backlight is not bright enough at 100%. 5 years is pretty good for $300...
 
The problem with the ZR24w is that in order to get maximum contrast, you have to use the OSD contrast setting of 100, which is further away than the setting of 80 from the calibration target. Essentially this means more shades are going to be lost during calibration than what may have been necessary.

The problem with recommending these monitors (in fact most monitors) is that they do not guarantee anything, and regularly come with a compromise. You can read examples, whether it is simply bad quality control, incorrect scaling, the suboptimal OSD controls of the ZR24w, or the 'Custom' colour mode of the U2410 which turned out to be broken.
 
After recieving my ZR24w this week I would reccomend it. I came over from a high end CRT, and it was about what I was expecting. Given the possible issues with the Dell equivalent (pink/green tinting), I think it is the best bang for the buck. The colors are vivid compared to the TN panels that I have seen, and the black levels aren't _that_ bad. The only thing that dissapointed me was the viewing angle, when they advertised 178deg I expected it to maintain it's image quality to that angle, which it does not. But for $400, I think it is very much worth the price (apparently some say you can get it for $350?).
 
Whoisthisreally said:
The problem with recommending these monitors (in fact most monitors) is that they do not guarantee anything, and regularly come with a compromise. You can read examples, whether it is simply bad quality control, incorrect scaling, the suboptimal OSD controls of the ZR24w, or the 'Custom' colour mode of the U2410 which turned out to be broken.
Click to expand...

QFT. I think most forum members have ridiculous standards. In the sub $500 range you should expect to deal with at least some uniformity issues, input lag, trailing/ghosting, or sub par blacks. EVERY IPS monitor that costs less than $500 has at least one of the above issues. If you want perfection get a 2490wuxi or something similar. It will cost $800 but the quality will match the price tag.

OldSchool said:
After recieving my ZR24w this week I would reccomend it. I came over from a high end CRT, and it was about what I was expecting. Given the possible issues with the Dell equivalent (pink/green tinting), I think it is the best bang for the buck. The colors are vivid compared to the TN panels that I have seen, and the black levels aren't _that_ bad. The only thing that dissapointed me was the viewing angle, when they advertised 178deg I expected it to maintain it's image quality to that angle, which it does not. But for $400, I think it is very much worth the price (apparently some say you can get it for $350?).
Click to expand...

This is why I ordered the ZR24W. While the other monitors may have better calibration results the calibrator is usually placed in the center of the screen. I don't know about you guys but I like to use the whole screen not just the center. The Dell monitors all have tinting and uniformity issues. So you yea you get good blacks but the left side of the screen is tinted blue and the right is tinted pink. Win? or Fail?

The only real complaint about the HP is the blacks. Tinting and uniformity issues are still there but they don't seem as prevalent as on Dell monitors. Add to that that black levels on IPS screens are poor to begin with and it seems like the ZR may be the winner from the current crop of IPS screens.
 
webdev50 said:
Hi,

I'm shopping for a big monitor for a new computer build and the HP ZR24w and Dell U2410 kept popping up as ones I should consider. I'm about to pull the trigger on the HP, but I would like to know if there's another monitor I should consider instead.

I eliminated the Dell based on what I learned in the HP ZR24w thread ( http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1491561&page=102 ) about wide gamut monitors and why I wouldn't want one if I'm just doing normal, non-graphic design work.

I'll use it mostly for "office work", lots of text, writing, e-mail, lots of web surfing, web development, some photo work, some video, and I'd like to start checking out some games, in that priority order. Games are definitely a very low priority. Although I'm not into color correction and calibration now, it's something I might spend more time with in a couple of years.

Sharp text is a high priority, if anything, and colors that are consistent and sharp across the screen. Backlight bleed might be annoying, but I don't think I'll have black screens that often.

I'm not very picky about monitor quality, but if you put a good one next to a bad one and point out the flaws, I'll want the good one -- unless it's too expensive. The 17" very old 4:3 backup monitor I'm using now isn't even too bad, except I can sometimes see colors around black text on white background and the white is more of a cream color even though I tried to adjust the color temperature. I actually compared this "KDS" brand monitor to a 3-year-old 17" 16:9 Viewsonic and the Viewsonic seemed worse, with red shadows around bold black text in Firefox's tab titles.

I think that being able to see the monitor from different angles isn't too important to me because I look at it straight on, but I would like uniform color across the screen.

I'm looking for a monitor that will last 10+ years and I'll use it 12-14+ hours a day, so I figure I should invest in a good one.

I've never used a monitor larger than 17", and I think I might even like one larger than 24", but I'd like to keep the price around $500 or less.

Because my work is primarily web-based, I think I'd want the images on my monitor to look as crappy as on everyone else's monitors. But just with a larger screen -- that will last a long time.

It sounds like 1920x1200 is the way to go, at least the minimum. Not x1080.

Anti-glare is a must. No glossy.

An LED monitor would be nice, but it doesn't seem like there's that much electricity cost savings and there don't seem to be too many of them right now.

I came across these monitors that seem to also kinda fit what I'm looking for:
HP Compaq LA2405wg - Might as well just get the HP ZR24w for a little bit more because it seems to be built better.
Viewsonic VG2427wm - $250, but "only" x1080. The extra 120 pixels might add up over the long-term. The reviewers on tigerdirect don't seem to be too happy with Viewsonic, and support is important to me. I'm willing to pay more for it.
SAMSUNG 2443BWT - I might as well get an IPS display for the same price.

Refurbished is okay too with the same warranty as a new monitor.

I'd like to buy the monitor locally in case there are problems with it; it'll be easier to exchange. But I haven't seen any place locally (San Francisco) that sells the HP. I've read some of the posts about issues with the HP and dead pixels, so I guess I'll just take my chances. One or two dead pixels isn't going to bother me I think. I'll probably get it very soon from tigerdirect.com with bing cashback. I just noticed the price increased $10 there.

Because I'm not that picky with monitors, should I consider something larger and/or cheaper? The overall build quality of some of the cheaper monitors concerns me, such as weak stands and therefore their lifespan, so maybe it's best that I invest in the HP for the long term.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks!

-- Ed
Click to expand...

one thing to keep in mind is to be wary of wide gamut monitors such as the HP above that have poor sRGB emulation modes if you are a web designer! uness maybe that hp is standard? some makers use w for wide screen and some for wide gamut, gets confusing

either go for a fancy NEC or forget it (or at worst a Dell U2711) and go with sRGB monitors
 
Last edited:
Fenix793 said:
QFT. I think most forum members have ridiculous standards. In the sub $500 range you should expect to deal with at least some uniformity issues, input lag, trailing/ghosting, or sub par blacks. EVERY IPS monitor that costs less than $500 has at least one of the above issues. If you want perfection get a 2490wuxi or something similar. It will cost $800 but the quality will match the price tag.
Click to expand...

does the 2490 make sense for $800 if the PA is $900? the 2490 has no wide gamut either, although the original non ^2 version does have the polarize that makes blacks not get the white glow at the corners but that original is hard to find these days
 
monitorrat said:
one thing to keep in mind is to be wary of wide gamut monitors such as the HP above that have poor sRGB emulation modes if you are a web designer! uness maybe that hp is standard? some makers use w for wide screen and some for wide gamut, gets confusing

either go for a fancy NEC or forget it (or at worst a Dell U2711) and go with sRGB monitors
Click to expand...

The HP ZR24W is standard sRGB.

monitorrat said:
does the 2490 make sense for $800 if the PA is $900? the 2490 has no wide gamut either, although the original non ^2 version does have the polarize that makes blacks not get the white glow at the corners but that original is hard to find these days
Click to expand...

I rounded on the 2490wuxi2 I think you can actually get it for less than $800. If you can get your hands on an original go for it! The PA241W is closer to $1000 and is wide gamut though I think it's sRGB emulation is pretty good.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I ordered the ZR24w. Crossing my fingers for a perfect unit.

Yeah, having a monitor last 10+ years would be nice, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it either. It was more of an example of the longevity and quality I was shooting for. On the other hand, this KDS LCD monitor is approaching 10 years and an Apple Studio Display 17" LCD I have is 7 years old and still going strong, but showing its age due to its relatively small size. You're probably right about brightness and accuracy fading. I haven't noticed them as much as other issues; as long as there's something that looks like red, something that looks like green, and something that looks like blue, I'm okay. :) I'd bet that in 5-6 years there'd be new monitor technology that I'd be interested in anyway, even if these monitors are still working. Old monitors are good backups.

Thanks to "Drfox" at http://forums.webrats.com/f35/hp_zr24w_ips_panel_24_monitor_347_67_after_bcb_free_shipping-477288/ for the huge tip on how to get the monitor for $347.67 after 15% bing cashback. You need to go to bing.com first, search on "tigerdirect", then search on "zr24w" on the tigerdirect site. If you go to bing then search on zr24w, the monitor will be $360.79 after only 12% bing cashback. I found this tip by setting up a google alert for zr24w.
 
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