U2311H vs AW2310

[Atranox]

Hey guys - I've been reading these forums for quite some time, but never registered/posted before. I could really use some helping picking out a new monitor. I've done a ton of reading...so I think I understand the technologies fairly well, but I'm still really stuck deciding what to get between the Dell U2311H and the Alienware AW2310. I understand that the Alienware is perhaps a bit overpriced, but I do like it the best out of the 120hz monitors based on what I've read at DigitalVersus and TFT Central.

The use of the PC will be mostly for basic usage (office, internet) and a lot of gaming. The games that I play vary quite a bit - Bad Company 2, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Heroes of Newerth, Company of Heroes, etc. Because I do play some FPS, response time and ghosting (particularly ghosting/motion blur) are rather important. I'm using a Hannspree LCD right now that's specced at 5ms GTG, and I do notice some ghosting in my games - though not enough to distract me. I also have a feeling that Hannspree/HannsG probably overrated it a little bit, which wouldn't be too surprising.

Anyways, my thoughts on the subject are:

- Minimizing motion blur is important. Obviously the Alienware has a huge edge here, but as long as the Dell isn't actually any worse that a typical 5ms TN, then it really wouldn't bother me any.

- Image quality is important as well. Now, I won't be doing graphics design or any form of multimedia, but I still want a great picture for gaming. Would the IPS panel really be noticeably better in games in terms of picture quality?

- I'll be directly in front of the monitor, so the viewing angles don't matter to me. I understand that this is typically one of the major pro's to IPS over TN's. Though the washing & darkening of colors on the top/bottom of a TN panel does annoy me a but, it's not a huge factor.

With that said, do you guys have any suggestions? I know that the typical response would be "well, if you want no ghosting then get the Alienware, otherwise get the Dell" - but I am still really undecided. I guess my questions would be how the two would stack up for gaming, in terms of image quality & motion blur compared to each other as well as compared to a pretty typical 5ms TN panel (my current model is an HF229H, if that helps any).

 

[limitedaccess]

In terms of response the u2311h is fine compared to a 5ms TN, I felt it was slightly faster and basically between a 2ms with overdrive and a 5ms. Overall though I didn't feel the practical difference between those 3 in actual gaming is really significant though.

Just picked a 5ms TN off hand btw to compare -

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=88&mo1=752&p1=8953&ma2=35&mo2=702&p2=8025&ph=1

The alienware (or 120hz displays in general) aren't just better for motion performance due to the faster response though, they also display at 120hz and are capable of displaying more frames. For instance people with 60hz that are able to tweak them to accept say 75hz find an improvement in motion performance even though the response time likely hasn't changed.

I can't say whether or not its worth it, since I haven't used a 120hz though. I decided against buying a 120hz screen though for several reasons

- much higher priced for something that arguably isn't better
- reports saying the image quality is not even as good as 60hz TNs even
- unsure future 3D compatibility (ATIs Open3D may not work with current 120hz screens for instance)
- currently did not plan on upgrading main system to run consistently above 60fps anyway

I'm generally not much of an early adopter personality so keep that in mind, and would rather wait for later generations.

I went with the u2311h because it is fine for gaming/multimedia. While being a large improvement in other stuff due to the colors/viewing angles. And it was priced very close (or lower) then TNs that I would have considered anyways.

 

[ElektroDragon]

U2311h no question. TN sucks, end of story, and when fools stop buying them, we'll all be much better off.

 

[Atranox]

In terms of response the u2311h is fine compared to a 5ms TN, I felt it was slightly faster and basically between a 2ms with overdrive and a 5ms. Overall though I didn't feel the practical difference between those 3 in actual gaming is really significant though.

That's, that's actually good to know. I guess my main concern was that the U2311H would give a small boost to image quality with a noticeable hit to response time. If it's actually the same or better than what I currently use, then there's really no reason to go with the Alienware.

TN sucks, end of story, and when fools stop buying them, we'll all be much better off.

That's all a matter of perspective. I'm sure that people with 120hz monitors say the same about people purchasing 60hz.