Best gaming monitors...

[Vcize]

Ok, here's the deal...I have a 17" monitor atm, I'm looking to upgrade...

I'd use it primarily for gaming, so I'm not interested in an LCD. I've narrowed it down to 4 monitors:

22"

another 22"

yet another 22"


What's the difference in those, aside from the fact that 1 is $100 cheaper?

Also, I could get this one, which has gotten rave reviews, for about $250

19"

though it's only 19 inches...

I can't find any reviews on the first 3, anyone have any first-hand experience with any of these monitors?

Basically, I'm looking for best value here in terms of gaming.

Of course, any suggestions on what you think the best gaming monitor is are welcome as well.

EDIT: Fixed the links

 

[sandorski]

I'd go with one of the 22", all 3 look like excellent choices though I'm not sure whether there are major differences between them. The cheaper one does have a lower resolution 1920/1440 vs 2048x1536 for the other 2. The most expensive 1 has the U-NX electron gun which they claim improves focus and convergance, it also counter-acts the Earth's magnetic field possibly dooming us all. Choose wisely, choose life!

Edit: Just wanted to add that though I don't have 1 of these 3 monitors, I do have a 19" Diamondtron AG monitor(Mitsubishi Diamontron Plus 91) and it is absolutely awesome!

 

[Vcize]

Yeah, I've heard that the cheapest of the three has those two lines that show up across it.

I probably wouldn't be running resolutions quite that high.

No one else plays games?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Vcize
Yeah, I've heard that the cheapest of the three has those two lines that show up across it.

I probably wouldn't be running resolutions quite that high.

No one else plays games?

They are all Aperture Grille monitors, they should all have the 2 lines. The lines are very faint though(mine also has the lines and I have to look for them to notice them).

 

[Vcize]

bump

 

[TourGuide]

I tried the 2141SB-BK actually I had 3 of them and all were defective in one way or another that I could not live with. Some of the good things I've seen with them are high refresh rates (probably some of the highest I've seen in the upper resolutions), and good reviews.

Like I said, I tried this monitor three times and I had defects with geometry, color purity, and text clarity that could not be corrected by any means I tried, even when I called NEC/Mitsubishi support. Therefore I returned them and bought a Sony. To this day I am happy I did. The specs are a little inferior on the refresh side, but other than that, I am happy.

Good luck with your choice. Of the ones you have selected there, I'd say the 2141, or the 2070 are good ways to go depending on your sensitivity level, and hey, you might get lucky and get a perfect (or near to it) tube.

P.S. - And a caution about ordering monitors from NewEgg. Look very carefully at their return policy and make SURE you are cool with it.

 

[Blooz1]

The "two lines" y'all refer to are wires which stabilize the apeture grill in position when the monitor heats up. The grill is extremely thin, and would warp when heated, causing a loss of focus without the wires......

 

[Vcize]

Originally posted by: Blooz1
The "two lines" y'all refer to are wires which stabilize the apeture grill in position when the monitor heats up. The grill is extremely thin, and would warp when heated, causing a loss of focus without the wires......

So does that mean that all 21/22" monitors use these?

 

[Vcize]

Originally posted by: TourGuide
Therefore I returned them and bought a Sony. To this day I am happy I did. The specs are a little inferior on the refresh side, but other than that, I am happy.

Which sony model did you go with?

 

[FacelessNobody]

Vcize, TourGuide and myself both went through the same ordeal (so did another guy). Each of us went through a bunch of NEC/Mitsubisihi FP2141SB-BKs (I think it was 7 between the three of us here on AT). The FP2141SB-BK is identical in every way to the Mitsubishi DP2070, so get whatever's cheaper if you want one. I, unlike TourGuide, did end up with a good FP2141SB, and I don't like Sony these days P). By now, I'd expect NEC/Mitsu would have their quality control figured out (this CRT was brand new when the three of us bought it) so I'd recommend you give the FP2141/DP2070 a shot. I use it primarily for gaming and word processing and it whoops ass all over both. It's better for colorful stuff, in my opinion, but is plenty good for text.

 

[PLaYaHaTeD]

I have the Sony G420. And as anyone who has owned one knows, it is the baddest f*cking monitor on the planet. I just can't seem to find a 19" monitor that is better...

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Vcize

Originally posted by: Blooz1
The "two lines" y'all refer to are wires which stabilize the apeture grill in position when the monitor heats up. The grill is extremely thin, and would warp when heated, causing a loss of focus without the wires......

So does that mean that all 21/22" monitors use these?

All Aperture Grille monitors use these from 15" --> 22" +. Really sounds like you are leery of them, don't be, go to a store and see for yourself the difference between an Aperture Grille(wires) monitor and a Shadow Mask(no wires) monitor.

 

[TourGuide]

[/quote]Which sony model did you go with?[/quote]
I ended up with the G520P. If I could have gotten an NEC with the text crispness that this Sony has I would have gone with the NEC in spite of some of the defects it had. The text problem was the last straw for me. I really did like the monitor if I could have gotten one that was acceptable. Unfortunately for NEC, I just ran into what was probably a bad run of monitors when I was buying.

You really do want to look at the terms of sale from where ever you buy. Shipping one of those beasts cross country is like $80 unless you can get a deal somewhere.

 

[Vcize]

Yeah, I was looking at dell, which has free shipping atm .

This has all been a huge help so far, thanks guys, lets keep it going.

Hmm, I can't find the 2070 on their site anymore, but when I click the link I made up top to it it still works...

Anyhow, one major question that remains what's the difference between the FE2111SB and the other two that makes it $100 cheaper?

And I've heard good things about diamond pros, should I go with that over the FP2141SB and narrow it down to that and the other 3?

I'll also look into those sony's that were mentioned above.

 

[bigshot]

i picked up a 19" samsung 900NF about 3 years ago and it still looks great. Very clear, text is crisp, refresh rates are very high...when i bought it, i compared it to viewsonic and sony and it was better than both of them even though sony was a lot more. The only monitor that came close was the mitsu.

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

My current monitor is a MAG 19" PureFlat 972PF-s ... 0.25mm, 85hz max, 1600x1200 max ... very crisp, clear, good colors, very nice OSD for changing settings, and was $179 shipped from BestBuy when they had a coupon special (now it's $199 shipped from BestBuy, and maybe cheaper if you shop around).

To put it simply, this is a great monitor for the price, IMO.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: sandorski

Originally posted by: Vcize
Yeah, I've heard that the cheapest of the three has those two lines that show up across it.

I probably wouldn't be running resolutions quite that high.

No one else plays games?

They are all Aperture Grille monitors, they should all have the 2 lines. The lines are very faint though(mine also has the lines and I have to look for them to notice them).

In the games, you will not see the lines, unless you play games often that display bright white continuously. I had a Nokia 447XPro - 17" monitor, aperature grille, and I loved it. Very sharp, and very good colors. The lines were visible, but really not noticable. Now I have another Nokia - a 445XPro, 21". The wires are almost invisible. The 445XPro uses a Trinitron tube; don't know if the 447 did too.
Aperature grill monitors really look nice; anything else just looks blurry now, except the LCD on my monitor. I don't like the "slow" response time of it though; scrolling in IE leaves a streak behind each letter.

 

[The_Lurker]

You probably won't ever notice the aperature grill stabilizing lines. Only time I ever notice is when the screen first starts up and when the screen is all white. Definately not very visible and the Aperatuere grill is very much worth the 2 little lines over a Shadow mask. Colour and text is so much clearer.

 

[Wag]

I can see the lines but I don't pay them much attention.

I picked up the Philip 202p4 from Newegg for $455 shipped. Nice monitor, excellent price.
Newegg 202p4

What I find particularly cool about this monitor is that it takes up even less space than my 19" Princeton did.

 

[Vcize]

Ok, I'm looking to buy today since dell has that glitch thing again where I'm getting an instant 30% off...

So, I need to know why the FE2111SB-BK is almost $100 cheaper than the other two...

I was looking at the diamond pro 2070SB-BK.

Also, is the 15% off SB coupon still stackable for a total of 45% off?? If so, does anyone have one they're not using because none ever came to me even though I subscibed to dell's newsletter.

 

[Vcize]

Also, what do you guys know about the viewsonic 21" G220fb?link here

It's cheaper than the others.

So yeah...basically those are the last two questions...what do you know about the g220fb and why is that first NEC $100 cheaper than the other two?

EDIT: Oh yeah, and if anyone has those 15% stackables they're not using so I could get combined 40% or so...

 

[TourGuide]

I've owned Viewsonic monitors before and they make a decent monitor.

That said, the one you've highlighted there brings up one concern I'd have in looking at the specs. I see the video bandwidth is 250mhz and that tells me that it lacks for refresh rates (most likely) at the upper resolutions. I look for monitors that have 300mhz and higher, or I don't even consider them, ESPECIALLY when we're talking CRT here.

Refresh rates are important to me. My eyes have gotten used to 100hz+ now and I notice it when I am not getting that.

 

[NicColt]

Originally posted by: PLaYaHaTeD
I have the Sony G420. And as anyone who has owned one knows, it is the baddest f*cking monitor on the planet. I just can't seem to find a 19" monitor that is better...

You got that right. I thought my NEC FE950 was a good monitor until I saw my FD Trinitron 21 inch. however mine came in a HP P1110 so it's the same monitor just different boxes.

no matter what box the monitor comes in nothing and I mean nothing beats an FD Trinitron CRT.

 

[Highland76]

I've got an Eizo T965B, 21in Sony tube with Eizo electronics.....150hz refresh@1024x768, 100hz refresh@1600x1200. BEAUTIFUL!

Anyone else here use Eizo?

 

[pcmax]

Originally posted by: PLaYaHaTeD
I have the Sony G420. And as anyone who has owned one knows, it is the baddest f*cking monitor on the planet. I just can't seem to find a 19" monitor that is better...

I beg to differ.....

I'll put my G400 up against it any day of the year.