Value for money monitor recommendations

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dclegg

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#82164 22-Apr-2011 14:51

My external monitor (old Dell 19" LCD) has started flickering annoyingly today, giving me the distinct impression that it may need replacing soon. I'm looking for advice for a good monitor to get as a replacement. The monitor will be connected to a 15" Macbook Pro, and used as a secondary monitor. It will primarily be used for software development duties, so it will be used mainly for displaying text and browsing the occasional website. IOW, excellent playback of HD video content is NOT a requirement :-)

I don't know too much about what sort of specs I should be looking for in a monitor, so I'm hoping someone here may be able to offer some advice. Cost is definitely a factor, so I'm looking for good bang for my buck. I saw a few likely candidates on MightyApe (such as this Asus and this Viewsonic), but am at a loss as to how to interpret the specs to ensure I get one that will be up to the task.

cyril7

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#461609 22-Apr-2011 15:40

I have two 23" monitors around here, one a LG as linked below that I am most pleased with, its not a LED but the last few PBTech have seem a very keen price.

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=MONLGL2343&name=LG-W2343T-PF-23-Full-HD-Lcd-Monitor-1920X108...-

Cyril

tung

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#461904 24-Apr-2011 02:47

dclegg: My external monitor (old Dell 19" LCD) has started flickering annoyingly today, giving me the distinct impression that it may need replacing soon. I'm looking for advice for a good monitor to get as a replacement. The monitor will be connected to a 15" Macbook Pro, and used as a secondary monitor. It will primarily be used for software development duties, so it will be used mainly for displaying text and browsing the occasional website. IOW, excellent playback of HD video content is NOT a requirement :-)

I don't know too much about what sort of specs I should be looking for in a monitor, so I'm hoping someone here may be able to offer some advice. Cost is definitely a factor, so I'm looking for good bang for my buck. I saw a few likely candidates on MightyApe (such as this Asus and this Viewsonic), but am at a loss as to how to interpret the specs to ensure I get one that will be up to the task.

I am currently using ASUS VE228H (21.5" viewable LED screen @ FullHD resolution) with my Macbook Pro laptop and I totally love its price/performance

You can chek it out here: http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=506/ID=15305/SID=511007091/productdetails.html

Here is also another option AOC screen http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=506/ID=15444/SID=94997166/productdetails.html

The quality is as good as the ASUS within its price range.

lchiu7

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#461922 24-Apr-2011 09:49

Slightly OT but I have been considering the longest time using a 32" HD TV (full HD of course with 1920x1080 resolution) as a monitor for my PC. They are now down to about $600 or so. The only holding me off is placement - I would have to rearrange my desk to fit it.

But it would be way cool on the desk...

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

dontpanic42

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#461945 24-Apr-2011 12:30

lchiu7: Slightly OT but I have been considering the longest time using a 32" HD TV (full HD of course with 1920x1080 resolution) as a monitor for my PC. They are now down to about $600 or so. The only holding me off is placement - I would have to rearrange my desk to fit it.

But it would be way cool on the desk...

Two words...
Input lag

Not saying that all TVs would suffer from input lag, but for that sort of price it would be likely.
Even my 40" X-series Sony suffers from about 114ms input lag. I know this because that is the amount of lip sync audio offset I have to put on it through my AV receiver.
Just something to take into consideration.

1080p

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#461954 24-Apr-2011 13:52

I picked up two AOC 23" monitors the other day.

I got the http://aocmonitor-anz.com/lcd_monitor/e2343f.php

But have seen the http://aocmonitor-anz.com/lcd_monitor/e2343f2k.php in stores recently.

Both monitors look great and if you have somewhere you want it permanently they have VESA compatible wall mounts on thee base.

After spending a few hours setting them up with my new Arch box they look stunning and would be perfect for development.

lchiu7

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#462044 24-Apr-2011 22:19

dontpanic42:
lchiu7: Slightly OT but I have been considering the longest time using a 32" HD TV (full HD of course with 1920x1080 resolution) as a monitor for my PC. They are now down to about $600 or so. The only holding me off is placement - I would have to rearrange my desk to fit it.

But it would be way cool on the desk...

Two words...
Input lag

Not saying that all TVs would suffer from input lag, but for that sort of price it would be likely.
Even my 40" X-series Sony suffers from about 114ms input lag. I know this because that is the amount of lip sync audio offset I have to put on it through my AV receiver.
Just something to take into consideration.

Input lag or lip sync problems only really manifest themselves when you are using the monitor as a HDTV and playing something like a BluRay movie. The additional processing a video signal has to have to be presented on the screen occasionally causes the video to lag behind the audio so some receivers have lip sync adjustments to handle this.

I am only thinking of the 36" TV as a PC monitor and would not be passing audio to it nor really watching movies or any other videos. The only issue might be response time which for a TV is perhaps not so important as a monitor and I might see artifacts for fast moving images but that's something that can be easily tested prior to purchase.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.