Best Price/Performance 24" LCD on the market?

[PLaYaHaTeD]

I purchased a Dell 2405FPW close to 2 years ago, and it has been a truly superb lcd. However, my pc is getting ridiculously old, and so I am doing a massive overhaul to everything about my workstation.

The only component that is completely exempt from replacement is my new G9 mouse. On the other hand, the only other component that has a flying chance of staying is my 2405FPW. The main goal I have with this new workstation is to move to a pair of 24 inch lcds, rather than just one.

So the first option (and most simple) is to buy a new/used 2405 on ebay for ~$400 - $450. The other option is to get rid of the 2405 in favor of a new set of 24" twins.

So the issue becomes, is there anything out there yet that provides a large enough jump in visual quality to justify scrapping my 2405? Or would it be better to just plunk down the cost for a second one, and wait a year or two for a more significant jump in lcd technology?

It should be noted that my primary activities on my computer are programming, trading stocks, and gaming. For me, the 2405 only falls short with some ghosting (12ms) in certain games, and the white levels / colors could be a bit more vibrant.

 

[Insomniator]

Never saw the Dell in action but I bought the cheap soyo 24 and it looks great... no ghosting or tearing.

I guess if you have the money a better model with hdmi might be the way to go; but for 300 bucks the
soyo is a bargin.

 

[pm]

Yeah, I agree with Insomiator. I bought the Soyo 24" for $300 from Office Max and it's big, bright and beautiful. Works well in games.

 

[aka1nas]

I'll be setting up my Soyo tonight. Hard to beat $300 for a non-TN 24-inch.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
I'll be setting up my Soyo tonight. Hard to beat $300 for a non-TN 24-inch.

Wasn't it found to be a TN panel? I thought they were discussing that in one of the Soyo monitor threads.

Or was that the Samsung?

 

[aka1nas]

AFAIK, It's an 8-bit M-PVA(or is it P-MVA?) panel.

 

[Insomniator]

The Westinghouse was the one with the controversy.. I would say there is no way the soyo is a tn based on the viewing angles. At worst it gets a little
darker if you are looking at it almost completely from the side..

 

[thilanliyan]

Try looking from the top or preferably bottom...my old LG looked fine at very high angles from the top and sides but looked like crap from the bottom.

Try it out from the top bottom and post back if it's okay. And by bottom I mean you're probably gonna have to lift up or tilt the monitor (yes I know, it's probably huge so be careful).

 

[dj2004]

Originally posted by: thilan29
Try looking from the top or preferably bottom...my old LG looked fine at very high angles from the top and sides but looked like crap from the bottom.

Try it out from the top bottom and post back if it's okay. And by bottom I mean you're probably gonna have to lift up or tilt the monitor (yes I know, it's probably huge so be careful).

The Soyo uses a P-MVA panel. It makes my Westinghouse 22" TN look like shit. And I agree with the rest, it is hard to beat this monitor for the price. I was able to use a $50 off printable coupon as well.

 

[toslat]

I would also go with the Soyo 24". Based on user feedback I have read, its quite a big bang for the small bucks. Only downside is that people advise that u extend the warranty as the default warranty is said not to be so good.

If you are interested in the Soyo 24", its going to be on sale for $249.99 on black friday

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...ht_key=y&keyword1=soyo

Adscan http://www.blackfday.com/blackfday.com-officemax.pdf

 

[pm]

As others have said, it's a P-MVA panel made by AU Optronics. Just looking at it at any angle (top included), it's definitely not a TN panel since there's virtually no darkening to speak of until you get near the point you are looking at it edge on.

 

[kmmatney]

I've been very happy with my $300 Soyo. A friend saw it and promptly went out and bought one for himself. Great deal for $300 - a big difference over my old 22" TN LCD.

 

[secretanchitman]

everyone says the soyo is great. i bought my dell way back in the summer for like $600 at costco.com, so i have a peace of mind with the unlimited/lifetime warranty (doesnt affect sole monitor purchases!). the only problem i have with it, is that there is no hdmi and the component looks like crap and cant display at 1080p.

 

[essential]

Based on the Black Friday add for Office Max, the Soyo DYLM24D6 will be the one on sale. I looked on Soyo's site, there are two 24" monitors:

24? Wide TFT LCD Monitor - DYLM24D4 (black)
http://www.soyousa.com/products/proddesc.php?id=428
24? Wide TFT LCD Monitor - DYLM24D6 (black)
http://www.soyousa.com/products/proddesc.php?id=431

I can't tell the difference, but can anyone confirm that the DYLM24D6 (the one that will be on sale at Office Max) is the model with the P-MVA panel?

Also, the description of the monitor says it's "SXGA (Super Extended Graphics Array)" but since the rez is 1920x1200, doesn't that make it UXGA?

Thanks.

 

[dj2004]

The D6 is the one with P-MVA, not sure about the D4. The resolution is WUXGA (1920x1200).

 

[OMON]

The D6 has 500 brightness vs 300 in the D4, brighter is better.

 

[brencat]

Will these do 1:1 pixel mapping and 4:3 aspect ratio scaling? Usually not an issue w/Nvidia cards but just wondering, since this has never been ATI's strong suit if I go with the new 3870 when they come out.

 

[essential]

Secondary question for those who own this monitor ... how does it look on resolutions lower than it's native?

I plan on buying two of these monitors, one for myself and one for my father. My fathers eyes aren't as good as they once were, and i'm sure at 1920x1200 text is going to be way to small for him, even with his glasses. How sharp will this screen look on lower resolutions? Does it stay sharp/crisp, or look stretched/blurry?

It will be running off of a nvidia geforce 6200.

Thanks.