Samsung F2380MX vs S24A850DW and S27A850DS for Reading/Coding?

[mtbvfr]

Hi NCX et al,

I have specifically mentioned NCX in the salutation of this post because I believe he has, or had, the F2380MX.

Which of these monitors would cause the least eye strain for reading text and coding?

Is the Anti-Glare Coating the same or different?

Is the F2380MX Flicker-Free?

What about Screen Door effect?

Thank you,

 

[albovin]

Which of these monitors would cause the least eye strain for reading text and coding?

Is the Anti-Glare Coating the same or different?

Is the F2380MX Flicker-Free?

What about Screen Door effect?

Thank you,

I have tested both.
S24A850DW (see review) would cause the least eye strain for reading text and coding.
F2380 (see review) is not as good.
It's smaller (1920x1080 is inconvenient for anything but games and movies), it's not flicker free, AG coating is more visible. Also PVA technology introduces slight silverish shimmering (AKA False 3D Effect).
27" is less comfortable for reading due to super fine dot pitch.
No screen door effect on any of them.

S24A850DW is a clear winner here.

 

[NCX]

.

Modern displays don't suffer from the Screen door effect.

The MX has light AG coating, if you own a Samsung TN or any of the older PVA panels the AG coating is even lighter. There is no flicker either unless you hate PVA panels for no reason.

The F2380MX was only avaliable from Best Buy in Canada and in Asia as far as I know. It has been discontinued in Canada but I have seen 1 or 2 left over in a few Best Buys.

The Samsung S24850D has 0 value @ around 500$ (Canadian) when you can get 2x 23-24" 1080p displays for the same price. The Samsung 2333t is the only C-PVA panel going around now from Samsung, it costs under 170$ in the States. You can be far more productive with 2 displays.

I own the 27A850D as well and it displays text very well, but it is small. If you are reading on the interwebz you can just ctrl+ the text for bigger fonts.

You should see if the Samsung s24A650 is avaliable where you live, they use semi-glossy coating (just like the 850s) and use A-MVA panels=high contrast which is better for reading IMO. In Canada you can get 2 24650's for slightly more than 1 24850. Semi-glossy is a bit clearer than light AG, espeically with black text on white backgrounds.

Another solution would be to buy 2x Dell ST2220T's which are glossy IPS displays.

 

[NM156]

The Samsung S24850D has 0 value @ around 500$ (Canadian) when you can get 2x 23-24" 1080p displays for the same price.

Who cares how many 1080p panels you can get for the same price? You are mixing apples and oranges.

I can't recommend 1080p for text. The S24A850D is a great choice.

 

[NCX]

2>1 for productivity and we are talking about an inch of real estate which is not worth twice the price when you could have twice the real estate and better image quality without exchanging your display (s24a850) multiple times for an equivalent value. Now the size difference between a 1600p display and 1440p display is something to worry about.

 

[NM156]

Two monitors = bezel in the middle, and the extra rows of pixels with the S24A850DW are great for coding. Exchanging monitors may not be fun, but a) it may not be necessary, b) this may happen even with NEC, and c) that was not OP's question.

Now, three 24" monitors would be great, although I would still opt for 16:10.

All of this being said, my choice would be the S27A850D. As NCX mentioned, you can zoom when needed (or increase PPI settings , which will work for many apps).

 

[Peat Moss]

How is the S27A850D for watching movies and for doing photo editing? Does the blacklight bleed affect dark movie scenes?

 

[mtbvfr]

Firstly, sorry for the late response but the Internet service, here, wasn't functioning since about 9:00AM yesterday.

Secondly, my reason for starting this thread was because I have SEVERE eyestrain in my one good eye. It has elevated pressure and is severely myopic. Yet to be confirmed if I have Glaucoma. I have had various prescriptions of glasses none of which have provided a permanent solution to my problems. I am thinking that looking at a light source could be the main problem and that maybe a Projector is the way to go for which I may start another thread depending on what I find or can't find in this forum.

I only have space for 1 monitor.

I already have a Dell ST2220T and it is positioned correctly in relation to windows and lighting but the room has white walls. It has less screen door effect than my old TN 17" 5:4 1280 x 1024 monitor. I can only imagine that a 27" 2560 x 1440 would have even less screen door effect.

Is it correct to say that the higher the resolution for a given screen size the less there is of a screen door effect?

I had read on the forum, http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1651594 - Post 11, that "cPVA have perfect pixel structure for text - no screen door effect can be seen at all at distance normally monitors are used!". To those of you who have used the F2380/F2380MX, would you concur?

I would like to see further comment about "slight silverish shimmering (AKA False 3D Effect)" and how it could affect me.

If High Resolution, such as 2560 x 1440, can provide sharper text then the Font Size can be increased either at the OS or Application Level to make it more comfortable for reading. I have noticed that even though I have the Font Size increased at the OS level that Firefox displays at 100% which can be overridden by using Ctrl+ or Ctrl-.

@NCX - Can you please explain further why you say that "Modern displays don't suffer from the Screen door effect."?

@NCX - With regards to Flicker (Pulse Width Modulation), I recently read on this forum that the S27A850DS and HP ZR2740w are Flicker free. Are you talking about the same Flicker with regards to the F2380MX?

The F2380MX can be had for $US374.79 including Expedited International Shipping. Is this a good deal?

The review of the F2380, on PRAD.de (http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2009/review-samsung-f2380-part3.html), mentions noise level problems. Does the F2380MX suffer from the same problems?

I have tried to find reviews of the F2380MX but without luck except for that posted by NCX on this forum.

Thanks,

 

[albovin]

Sorry about that.
In this case no one can tell you what particular quality causes eye strain (brightness, distance, height, angle, pixel structure, screen door effect, crystalline effect, reflection, flickering, contrast, sharpness, font size, font structure, color shift, hygiene of work...).

General approach - proper ergonomics, largest dot pitch, minimal AG coating, good range of brightness regulation, setting OS to higher dpi even for large dot pitch screens.

It's easy to name the most suitable from those three monitors.
SA850 24".

c-PVA used to be the best choice for text until PLS was released.

Some info.
Screen door effect - visible interpixel structure. Can be seen on large TN screens or older S-IPS screens.
False 3D Effect on PVA. It's like reading from slightly silver colored paper vs plain white paper .
Samsung F2380 definitely has different flickering pattern vs PLS screens (tested).