Upgrading From NEC 20WMGX2s for CS:GO And Video/Photo Work

[The King of Pants]

So waaaay back in 2005 I went in for the best 20" IPS on the market, the NEC 20WMGX2. Blacks like a pool of India ink, viewing angles as close as I've ever seen to 180 degrees, zero input lag, glossy 1680x1050 display, all for a mere $580 each.

I will say though, I totally have gotten my money's worth. The problem is that I've started producing videos and doing other screen real estate intensive stuff. I've been putting it off, but I really need to upgrade to 1080/1200 24 inch displays.

I know that 24" glossy, IPS panels, that can run over 60hz, and can be VESA mounted are basically hens teeth. But it seems like most of the people that I see posting are asking for the moon and stars for under $300.

Fuck that.

I'm willing to budget up to $700 each. If there are literally zero 120-144hz IPS options out there, I'd be willing to consider running 2 different monitors, one for video, one for gaming. But 24-25 inches is the absolute max that I can fit in my desk space at this time, and I REALLY don't want to compromise on IQ by going with an anti-glare, TN "gaming" monitor with crap viewing angles.

With all of that in mind, what are my options?

 

[skeeder]

I'm coming from the same screen.

My budget is a little more constrained than yours, but before you go crazy on a 1080p/1200p screen size, did you want to investigate 4K or Ultrawides? Do you need 10bit display for your productivity work?
If I take your budget and your "fuck that" on two 1920x1200 monitors, (which makes me assume $700 x 2 is your budget) I'd suggest this: Asus ROG PG348Q Black 34” 3440x1440 , 100 Hz Curved IPS G-Sync (NVIDIA Adaptive Sync) 21:9 WQHD Gaming Monitor with speakers , High and Swift Adjustable-Newegg.com

Ultrawide, tones of real estate, 100hz, and the curve (here it appears to be a good thing).

If the "fuck that" was $700 for two screens then, I messed that up.

I'm not really investigating 1080p screens, but back before I was really looking into new tech, the Dell Ultrasharp 24" 1200 screen was my wishlist item it is 60hz. Dell does make a 25" 1440P screen that has the AH-IPS panel (like the AS-IPS of NEC20WMGX2, but newer) which I've heard nice things about--again--60hz.

The issue is, most people spending the cash on 100hz+ gaming are looking at TN panels, as soon as I plug in IPS--your list refreshes with 27" panels.


Good luck!

 

[TerraPhantm]

No chance you can reconfigure your desk for some more space? If you're willing to go up to 27 inch, you'll get 1440p monitors in your price range that can do 120+ hz

I myself am running 3 20WMGX2s and understand how hard it's been to move on. Pretty much nothing in the last 10 years has been a perfect replacement.

 

[ashmud]

I'm in the same boat. I have two 20WMGX2s. So far I've only tried one bigger screen, the Dell U2415. It's matte, though, which I found out I'm not a big fan of. And it's only a 60hz model.

Compared to the NEC, it's full of compromise. Not surprising its price point I guess.

With the 6-bit panel, even though it has FRC, highlights and shadows had a loss of color detail in comparison.
It has pretty bad glow. I wasn't sure if it was due to backlight or the polarizer. It felt like someone was shining a light in the corner of my eye the whole time I was looking at it.
In game mode, response time was about the same as the NEC, but mid-brightness colors (greys) had bad trailing (overshoot?).
In non-game mode, response time was worse than the NEC. I didn't spend enough time to figure out how much of the lag was processing time or pixel response time.

I've thought about trying a noname 27in glossy IPS (LG panel), but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.