any advice on cheap flat-screen monitors?

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Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#89036 25-Aug-2011 16:31

finally needing to upgrade from my old 17" CRT, and I suspect 22" or less should be improvement enough, I'm just looking for any tips or advice on what to get and where to buy from

I got my last PC upgrade from Computer Lounge (after it was recommended on this forum), so I'll probably get a monitor from them unless, someone tells me there is a much better deal somewhere else, or that I should go second-hand, or that the ones (the type, the brand, whatever) they have available should be avoided.
[Edit: corrected link]
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentlist.asp?parttypeid=533&t=15

- I don't game, at all.
- I might occasionally watch DVDs on the PC.
- I don't need it to have speakers/mic/camera.
- I don't know whether LCD or LED matters, but I definitely don't want some stale yellowish tint to the white display, but other than that I'm not fussed about performance. (I forget where I read about the color issue with flat-screens).
- the main reason I'm upgrading is for the extra inches.--I'd like to be able to fit more icons along my desktop, and more files displayed in a window, and I've already done as much tweaking as possible to make things as small as possible without being too hard to read.

any advice to help narrow down my choices would be greatly appreciated.

robbyp

1199 posts

Uber Geek

#511962 25-Aug-2011 17:05

Lykho: finally needing to upgrade from my old 17" CRT, and I suspect 22" or less should be improvement enough, I'm just looking for any tips or advice on what to get and where to buy from

I got my last PC upgrade from Computer Lounge (after it was recommended on this forum), so I'll probably get a monitor from them unless, someone tells me there is a much better deal somewhere else, or that I should go second-hand, or that the ones (the type, the brand, whatever) they have available should be avoided.
[Edit: corrected link]
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentlist.asp?parttypeid=533&t=15

- I don't game, at all.
- I might occasionally watch DVDs on the PC.
- I don't need it to have speakers/mic/camera.
- I don't know whether LCD or LED matters, but I definitely don't want some stale yellowish tint to the white display, but other than that I'm not fussed about performance. (I forget where I read about the color issue with flat-screens).
- the main reason I'm upgrading is for the extra inches.--I'd like to be able to fit more icons along my desktop, and more files displayed in a window, and I've already done as much tweaking as possible to make things as small as possible without being too hard to read.

any advice to help narrow down my choices would be greatly appreciated.

If you can get a dell ultrasharp 24 inch one, even second hand, they have a great quality picture. The cheap LCD/LEDs tend to use the cheaper TN panels, which can have colour and viewing angle problems. The cheaper it is, often the poorer the quality, and the higher the risk of dead pixels.

vexxxboy

4245 posts

Uber Geek

#512012 25-Aug-2011 18:35

mighty ape are selling a nice ViewSonic monitor. i have my eye on it .

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/ViewSonic-24-LED-Full-HD-VX2453MH-with-Dual-HDMI/10432849/

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#512033 25-Aug-2011 19:13

vexxxboy: mighty ape are selling a nice ViewSonic monitor. i have my eye on it .

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/ViewSonic-24-LED-Full-HD-VX2453MH-with-Dual-HDMI/10432849/

same model slightly cheaper at CL:
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14872&ref=pricespy

I don't understand why it's only $20 more than an LED of the same brand 2" smaller...
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14807

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#512036 25-Aug-2011 19:19

robbyp:
If you can get a dell ultrasharp 24 inch one, even second hand, they have a great quality picture. The cheap LCD/LEDs tend to use the cheaper TN panels, which can have colour and viewing angle problems. The cheaper it is, often the poorer the quality, and the higher the risk of dead pixels.

...did I google the wrong thing or do these cost 3-times more than normal flat-screens?! (I'm really not looking to pay more for a monitor than I paid for my computer itself ;)

mattwnz

20173 posts

Uber Geek

#512038 25-Aug-2011 19:35

If you are looking for a cheap LED one, ASUS do several now, which are very thin, but the colour and image quality is nowhere near as good as the more expensive ones. But they perform well for the price. Asus are also a good brand. I got an older version for my parents and they are happy with it.

Something like this http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=397122

Niel

3267 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#512111 25-Aug-2011 21:13

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14872
In May I got the ViewSonic 24" people referred to from CL just at they got the first stock (and paid about $310). I love it. Only thing to be aware of is the wide screen means you tend to view 2 pages of a document side by side, or you fir it to width and scroll lots. Also this model does not have an adjustable stand, but I find the viewing angle is more than sufficient.

LED backlit LCDs (as opposed to CCFL backlit LCDs) generally looks much better. At work I got a brand new model Samsung CCFL backlit LCD and you can literally see it warm up in the morning, takes about a minute. And then it will change with age where as LEDs do not. Power consumption/heat is also much less.

I was surprised by the performance v.s. price of the ViewSonic, and it looks great.

EDIT: Correction, it has tilt but not up/down which makes it more stable and is not a problem at all.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#512654 26-Aug-2011 19:25

Only thing to be aware of is the wide screen means you tend to view 2 pages of a document side by side, or you fir it to width and scroll lots.

how d'you mean? (maybe a screen-cap would help?)

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richms

28198 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#512669 26-Aug-2011 19:42

Buy a cheap one and you will be looking at a constantly moving dithered image which is REALLY annoying, and other cheap ones will have a permanant gradient and be impossible to get a decent greyscale on them, you either lose the upper or the lower end, and its only a few degree of tilt to go from one extreme to the other. Look at some of the junk $700 laptops for a really bad example of that.

Also, backlight bleed at the edges is a problem with many. You cant see that in a shop typically as they have them running a brigh gharish slideshow of hyperintense colours which basically just compares how saturated they are.

Richard rich.ms

Niel

3267 posts

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Trusted

#512716 26-Aug-2011 21:33

Whatever fits your budget, read multiple reviews (not just one or two).

You can never have enough Volvos!

Lykho

253 posts

Ultimate Geek

#519496 11-Sep-2011 10:59

Also, backlight bleed at the edges is a problem with many.

well, I ended up getting the Viewsonic VA2448M.

...only problem I have with the edges is that the little ledge around the screen is so shiny that I get a little reflection off the screen if a window is fully maximized ...I might have to minimize the H/V positions if I don't get used to it :P