Monitor review sites?

[swinchen]

Hi All!

So here is what I am going through.

I ordered a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro through techonweb.com. The big CRT showed up damaged in shipping. I sent it back for a refund because I was afraid the same thing would happen again.

I went to Best Buy and picked up an LG1920P. Not a bad little monitor, although it lacks some adjustability. I noticed a visual defect of about 6 - 10 incorrectly lit pixels so I went to best buy and exchanged it for a Samsung SyncMaster 193P. It had good reviews and everyone seemed to like it really well.

...... but, I use linux. The 193P basically has zero, zip zilch support for linux and quite honestly I think the whol single button/OS dependent monitor thing is a bit wacko. So needless to say I took it back to best buy for full refund. Now I have no monitor and am forced to use my girlfriends computer. The question boils down to this:

Where are all the good monitor review sites? Toms hardware is getting dated and lacks many odf the more popular monitors I think. Anandtech has a very limited review selection for monitors. And other than that I have had a really hard time googling for reviews.

Here is what my monitor MUST have:

• 19" or larger. I don't really care about response time.
• Must be ordered from a place with a good return policy (www.monitorsdirect.com has no restocking fee and 100% customer satisfaction)
• Support both Analog and DVI and be able to switch between the two with a button.
• Good color, limited screen door effect, just an overall well built monitor - not a cheapo.

Things that would be really handy

• Pivot/tilt functionality
• Ok, maybe a decent response time... I casually play BF or Halo every now and then. Not in a clan or anything serious though.

So far I am looking at the Viewsonic VP201B, or the Samsung 213T... if you can offer any other help or help me out at all it would appreciated.

 

[cstafs]

Yeah it's a shame that there isn't a review site dedicated to displays and that they take a back seat to just about every other piece of hardware.I personally think the display you use is just as important as the video card you get,maybe even more so since once you get a nice display you're comfortable with it lasts for a long time and your always looking at it also.

I would get the Samsung 213T,it uses the same panel as the 193P but still has the buttons for adjustment.

Chris

 

[swinchen]

I would get the Samsung 213T,it uses the same panel as the 193P but still has the buttons for adjustment.
Chris

It must be (at the very least) a larger version?

I have heard that it is an outstanding monitor in terms of color/screen uniformity. Perhaps I will consider spilling the extra cash for it. Ouch!

 

[cstafs]

Yeah,pretty much I think.

It's about $170 more then the viewsonic @ Newegg,that isn't chump change for sure.I almost bought a Viewsonic,they're nice and the one you were looking at has 16ms response time although that probably means it has 6 bit color instead 8.


Chris

 

[swinchen]

Ahhh I see. Well if it is 6-bit color that would be a huge disadvantage.

Seeing that the 213T is 25ms suggests that it is an 8-bit panel?

(2^6)^3 = 64^3 = 262,144 colors per pixel

(2^8)^3 = 256^3 = 16,777,216 colors per pixel

 

[cstafs]

Hehe,I'm not that knowledgable about that technical stuff.I just know I've read on the forums that most LCD's with a response time of 16ms or less will only display about 16.2 million colors and while I know mine does about 16.8 which is true color I believe so it's not that bad.There's people on here that know more about it then me though so I'd get their opinion also.

Chris

 

[swinchen]

So which one do you own? The 213T?

I am not sure I am quite willing to make a $1000+ dollar investment. Man, I hate choices so much

I don't need a review site dedicated to monitors (although it would be pretty sweet) but one that just keeps up with it more. I am sick of tomshardware putting more focus on games instead of hardware. We have IGN for games. And I don't know what is up with Anandtech... they seem slow to review.

 

[firey-eyez]

ive been having teh same problem as you, man. ive currently got a 19" viewsonic crt but im looking to get an upgrade to either of the monitors you listed (vp201b or 213T). from what i understand the samsung has better picture quality but doesnt have as good response time which can be an issue for gaming. but since i play RTS/RPG and an ocassional shooter (nothing serious) im thinking the lower response time but larger screen size and quality of the samsung would be enough for me. yes it would end up being about 100-200 dollars more but im willing to make a slight sacrifice for the better screen and the only real thing im losing is the adjustability since the ms doesnt really matter to me so long as its reasonable..25 i believe it is

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Ahhh I see. Well if it is 6-bit color that would be a huge disadvantage.

Seeing that the 213T is 25ms suggests that it is an 8-bit panel?

(2^6)^3 = 64^3 = 262,144 colors per pixel

(2^8)^3 = 256^3 = 16,777,216 colors per pixel

Nice breakdown of the math- though I think 16ms 8bit LCD's are fairly common; ie VP201B & 2001FP. The whole, 'it can only actually display 250k colors, but we really think it displays 16.2m colors,' thing is bullshit. Dithering is like using 16bit color in games; would you do it?

 

[magic168]

If anyone is interested in helping start up a monitor site, I'd be happy to do so....I have experience in setting up forums, content management, etc. I have the webspace and can get a domain going, if there's enough interest.

Send me an emil or a PM.

 

[swinchen]

Nice breakdown of the math

Thanks! I should probably have said what I was doing there

a 6-bit subpixel (Red Green or Blue) would have 2^6 = 64 shades of that color. Seeing that each pixel is made up of three subpixels (RGB) there are 64*64*64 = 64^3 = 262,144 possible color combinations for the entire pixel.

a 8-bit subpixel (Red Green or Blue) would have 2^8 = 256 shades of that color. Seeing that each pixel is made up of three subpixels (RGB) there are 256*256*256 = 256^3 = 16,777,216 possible color combinations for the entire pixel.

I wonder how I can make sure that the viewsonic VP201B has an 8-bit panel!? To me a 6-bit panel sounds awful!

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Thanks! I should probably have said what I was doing there

a 6-bit subpixel (Red Green or Blue) would have 2^6 = 64 shades of that color. Seeing that each pixel is made up of three subpixels (RGB) there are 64*64*64 = 64^3 = 262,144 possible color combinations for the entire pixel.

a 8-bit subpixel (Red Green or Blue) would have 2^8 = 256 shades of that color. Seeing that each pixel is made up of three subpixels (RGB) there are 256*256*256 = 256^3 = 16,777,216 possible color combinations for the entire pixel.

I wonder how I can make sure that the viewsonic VP201B has an 8-bit panel!? To me a 6-bit panel sounds awful!

That's where those interested (in this case, you) get to go googling and manufacturer site digging to find the answers for all of us. Happy hunting!

 

[ashbourn12]

PCworld.com does a monitor roundups.

 

[glorious100]

PCworld.com does a monitor roundups.

Hmm, they have writen a (very short) review of the Benq and HP 23" lcd's. HP gets 4.5/5 and Benq 2.5/5 and thats because of a 'bad' looking image!? Since they are both using the same panel the image quality should be the same, not?
What is here not correct?

I hope their lcd roundup will be of better quality.