3 19" LCDs to choose from

[Vallybally]

I can't decide what's the best value between these 3 mostly positively rated 19" LCDs:

$375 AR Princeton LCD19D (25ms)

$422 BenQ FP931 (16ms)

$476 BenQ FP937s (12ms)


Btw, the Princeton is rated as the #2 best selling monitor (lcd and crt, any size) on pricegrabber.com (cause the cheap price).


I wish I knew if the images were all good with minimal game ghosting, or if the BenQs really are noticeably better....

 

[Vallybally]

bump

can anyone comment to the BenQ FP931 in particular I'm leaning that way...

can't find any reviews or anything on google, suprising how little reviews on LCDs there are in general...

 

[Balt]

I've been looking at the FP931 a lot recently. It looks pretty solid from every review I've been able to dig up. My biggest complaint, however, is that it doesn't come with a DVI cable. :|

While refresh timings aren't always the best judge, 25ms on that Princeton will probably give you too much ghosting for games.

I haven't had much luck finding info on the FP937s, but what I have found seems pretty good. May not be worth the extra $50, but it does come with a DVI cable at least.

Best deals I found on the FP391 were at amazon and at monitorsdirect.com. Not the cheapest prices, but amazon has a 30-day hassle-free return policy (which I think also applies to LCD) and MD has a good return policy too if you get one or more dead pixels. Many other etailers will only replace for 6/7/8 or more, unfortunately.

Whichever way you go, let us know how you like it.

 

[Vallybally]

How come the 25ms FP951 is $50 or more in most places than the 16ms FP931? Is it simply that the 16ms one is newer and few ppl have heard about it?

As for not having a DVI cable, one user review I read somewhere that it did come with it. Besides, isn't it only $10? It would close the gap between the 12ms model tho to around $40....

 

[Balt]

The FP937s does come with a cable, but everything I've seen about the FP931 (including BenQ's page) says it doesn't. As for the price differences, I think the FP951 is more office/work-oriented. It has a higher contrast ratio (700:1 compared to 450:1) and a better viewing angle. It's also 24-bit rather than 16.

DVI cables can be found pretty cheaply, yes, but as you pointed out it does make the 937s look more tempting since it lessens the price difference.

 

[Vallybally]

Is there a noticeable difference between 16-bit and 24-bit? Isn't it similar at 16.2 million vs. 16.7 million colors, or is one like 'faking it'

I like how you put that, the FP951 is more 'office-oriented'. Would that make the FP931 with lower 16ms more game-oriented? Basically, I'd hate to lose out on picture quality just cause a marketting bullet tells me 16 vs. 25, when who knows which one ghosts more...these standards seem too lose...

 

[PING]

Vallybally, I have the BenQ FP951, if you are planning to play games I highly suggest you don't buy this monitor. There is major ghosting when playing FPS games or watching certain dvd movies with high contrast. I mostly play Dawn of War now, so ghosting does not affect my enjoyment of the game.