Best LCD monitor ~$200-250?

[Platypus]

Personally for your needs that Dell is probably the best bet. In the past people used to just pick size, only recently did this whole tn/pva/ips, hz, 720/1080p/i crap come up in the consumer market.

I am a very picky about my displays once I actually have them in front of me at times and other times not so.

My bedroom TV is decent, but nothing great. I am still running a circa 1997 Toshiba Cinema Series CRT in my main room (probably going flat panel next year) and just trashed my Trinitron 21" uber display for an NEC 2490WUXi LCD.

I need to go somewhere and look at them. I'm sure the TN is perfectly fine, but if I can get that eIPS 22inch panel instead and it's a lot nicer, then I feel like that is a better choice. Unfortunately, I'm giving up 30% screen real estate between the two. It's like a trap either way heh.

Then there's the question of, is 1920x1200 too big? Will it have the opposite problem in that I wont be able to focus on what I'm doing because of how tiny everything is. I wish I could just plug my laptop into both monitors back and forth, I guarantee it'd be like a 3 second decision after that.

 

[alkemyst]

personally the more real estate the better for me...my eyes probably aren't the best anymore...I am close to 40, but I was running 1600x1200 on my 19", 1900x1600 on my 21" CRT and now 1920x1600 on my 24" LCD.

text is fine. If your monitor is too close it that can be a problem. I have seen idiots with 30" displays on just a 20" or so deep desk. My desk is 3' across...the monitor sits about 6" from the wall due to the stand. I wouldn't change it.

 

[Platypus]

Yeah I hear what you're saying but I feel like maybe I won't notice that much. I'll just have to go check them out.

Here's a snap of logic in 1600x1200 that I found on google:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/images/Logic-studio.jpg

and a 1920x1200:
http://image.wangchao.net.cn/bt/1252177705669.jpg

seems to be pretty sweet... but then there's this:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb05/images/applelogicresolutions.l.jpg

which shows just how much real estate you'll be missing with the 22 versus 24 dells in my case. I feel like my gut is telling me to go with the nicer 22inch panel because a screen that size will be way better than what I have now.. but the extra size is good too.

 

[Platypus]

Just wanted to follow up saying I ended up with the 24inch Dell (st2410), it took fucking forever to ship from Dell but it fits the bill very nicely. The colors aren't super great and the viewing angle def has to be right on and it doesn't adjust up or down, but I'm really glad I went with the bigger size. I can see an entire song now and its very vibrant.

Thanks again for the recommendations, I'd recommend the monitor to anyone who wants bare bones price with mediocre quality. It's perfect for what I need it for.

 

[Hyperlite]

Just wanted to follow up saying I ended up with the 24inch Dell (st2410), it took fucking forever to ship from Dell but it fits the bill very nicely. The colors aren't super great and the viewing angle def has to be right on and it doesn't adjust up or down, but I'm really glad I went with the bigger size. I can see an entire song now and its very vibrant.

Thanks again for the recommendations, I'd recommend the monitor to anyone who wants bare bones price with mediocre quality. It's perfect for what I need it for.

thanks for the info!!