IPS Display for gaming and photo editing?

[gryffinwings]

Hi guys, I know this might be asking a lot but I've got the budget for just one monitor and my needs are for both gaming and photo editing, I think the smallest I'd be willing to go is 21.5", I'm not very knowledgeable about monitors except that I know that IPS has more accurate colors and you want the response rate to be as low as you can get it, other than that, not sure what I want to buy, I see plenty of monitors in my price range, but there are too many choices. I think I'd be willing to spend around up to maybe 150 USD. Also 4k isn't really a priority, I'd be fine with a 1080p display. What do you guys think?

 

[tamz_msc]

Do you need high refresh rates and/or adaptive sync(limited to freesync for your budget)? If not, there are plenty of good IPS monitors at that price point. It's just a matter of reading up on reviews and finding one that suits you the best according to the features you want.

 

[mnewsham]

Realistically speaking, there simply aren't any good quality IPS panels in that price range.

Anything under $200 is going to make sacrifices somewhere, either slow response time for gaming, or inaccurate colors for photo editing.

You simply wont get both without spending more.

The decent quality dell IPS panels generally start at $200-250. And go up from there.

 

[gryffinwings]

Realistically speaking, there simply aren't any good quality IPS panels in that price range.

Anything under $200 is going to make sacrifices somewhere, either slow response time for gaming, or inaccurate colors for photo editing.

You simply wont get both without spending more.

The decent quality dell IPS panels generally start at $200-250. And go up from there.

After I had done some looking around, it really does seem that my expectations were unrealistic, now I have to figure out what I can live with, I think I'd prefer to have something I can game on, I can probably get a second screen later for IPS. So far what I'm seeing in my price range is TN panels and to be really honest, almost anything is better than what I am currently using, it was a Salvation Army special for less than 10 dollars when I was getting back into computers and I needed something cheap to work on before I decided to plunge back into working on computers. So what would you recommend for a decent budget gaming monitor?

Dell E173FPf
Display Type: LCD display / TFT active matrix
Width: 14.9 in
Depth: 5.6 in
Height: 15.9 in
Weight: 11.7 lbs
Enclosure Color: Midnight gray
Diagonal Size: 17"
Viewable Size: 17"
Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch: 0.264 mm
Max Resolution: 1280 x 1024 / 75 Hz
Color Support: Up to 16.2 million colors
Max Sync Rate (V x H): 76 Hz x 80 kHz
Response Time: 16 ms
Display Screen Coating: Anti-glare, hard coating
Signal Input: VGA
Image Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Image Contrast Ratio: 450:1
Image Max H-View Angle: 140
Image Max V-View Angle: 120
Analog Video Signal: RGB
Interfaces: 1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)

 

[mnewsham]

AOC G2260VWQ6
22" 1080p 75hz

ASUS VP247QG
24" 1080p 75hz

LG 24MP59G
24" 1080p 75hz

AOC G2460VQ6
24" 1080p 75hz


75hz is well within you $150 budget, whereas 144hz start at around $180-200 example being the MSI Optix G24C.

 

[tamz_msc]

So far what I'm seeing in my price range is TN panels and to be really honest

Where are you looking at that you cannot find IPS monitors at the 150$ range? Here are four of them on Amazon:
HP VH240a 110$
Viewsonic VA2459 130$
Acer R240HY 130$
Dell P2417H 177$

Like I said before, if 60Hz is not an issue, then you have plenty of options at 150$ for an IPS monitor.

 

[mnewsham]

Where are you looking at that you cannot find IPS monitors at the 150$ range? Here are four of them on Amazon:
HP VH240a 110$
Viewsonic VA2459 130$
Acer R240HY 130$
Dell P2417H 177$

Like I said before, if 60Hz is not an issue, then you have plenty of options at 150$ for an IPS monitor.

The only decent IPS panel on that list is the dell, and it's not particularly color accurate compared to their actual photo editing IPS panels from the ultrasharp line.
If he wants color accuracy AND low response time for gaming, $150 just won't cut it.

 

[gryffinwings]

The only decent IPS panel on that list is the dell, and it's not particularly color accurate compared to their actual photo editing IPS panels from the ultrasharp line.
If he wants color accuracy AND low response time for gaming, $150 just won't cut it.

Hence why I needed to have my expectations adjusted, I'll probably have to have a dedicated screen for photo editing as you said color accuracy and low response time will be much more expensive. At the moment, I'm edging toward the Asus monitors. The good thing at this level, there isn't much to be worried about between HDMI and Display Port, unless I am mistaken.

 

[mnewsham]

The good thing at this level, there isn't much to be worried about between HDMI and Display Port, unless I am mistaken

That's correct, at 1080p 75hz even VGA would work. HDMI and displayport are equally viable as well.

 

[tamz_msc]

The only decent IPS panel on that list is the dell, and it's not particularly color accurate compared to their actual photo editing IPS panels from the ultrasharp line.
If he wants color accuracy AND low response time for gaming, $150 just won't cut it.

Hence why I needed to have my expectations adjusted, I'll probably have to have a dedicated screen for photo editing as you said color accuracy and low response time will be much more expensive. At the moment, I'm edging toward the Asus monitors. The good thing at this level, there isn't much to be worried about between HDMI and Display Port, unless I am mistaken.

It really depends on the extent to which one would care about color accuracy when editing photos. If you are a professional, then sure, you would not compromise on anything less than a Dell Ultrasharp. But for personal home use? A decently priced IPS would do the job fine.

 

[mnewsham]

It really depends on the extent to which one would care about color accuracy when editing photos. If you are a professional, then sure, you would not compromise on anything less than a Dell Ultrasharp. But for personal home use? A decently priced IPS would do the job fine.

It can also be personal taste, I personally would rather have a highly color accurate IPS for editing and media use, AND a gaming monitor for when I game. Over just a single panel that's only mediocre at either task.

 

[tamz_msc]

It can also be personal taste, I personally would rather have a highly color accurate IPS for editing and media use, AND a gaming monitor for when I game. Over just a single panel that's only mediocre at either task.

There is no reason that the two requirements must be met with mutually exclusive products, especially when on a budget and finding only one monitor to do both jobs adequately is a priority. The right entry-level IPS monitor is fine for both photo-editing and gaming, as long as high refresh-rates aren't a requirement.

Besides, the gaming monitors in this price range are all supporting Freesync, and we don't even know if the OP has a NVIDIA or AMD card. If the OP can't make use of Freesync, then 75Hz is barely an improvement over 60Hz, and in that case it is better to look for an IPS display right from the start.

To the OP, how far are you willing to extend your budget past 150$? Dell has a U2414H on sale for 220$, which would serve your needs in both gaming and photo editing, unless, of course if you're convinced that you absolutely need to have two different kinds of monitors for two different needs.

 

[mnewsham]

There is no reason that the two requirements must be met with mutually exclusive products

It's almost like my previous post said there are personal preferences that can be the deciding factor.

Oh wait, it did.

It can also be personal taste, I personally would rather have

 

[tamz_msc]

It's almost like my previous post said there are personal preferences that can be the deciding factor.

Oh wait, it did.

You're not the one asking for buying advice, the last time I checked.

 

[gryffinwings]

Anyways, good advice here, fortunately I haven't bought a new graphics card yet, and it looks like I might pick up a Radeon R9 290 or 290x used for my needs which has freesync. Honestly, I think I'd prefer to have dedicated screens for what the different task, one for gaming and another for photo editing and possibly video editing. For now I will settle on a monitor that can handle gaming.

 

[Z15CAM]

I have this IPS AUO AHVA Display and very impressed with it's over all versatility.

Mbest MB279QR144 QHD 2560x1440 144Hz AMD FreeSync 27" $300 USD

 

[Micrornd]

If you don't mind used? NEC 2490WUXi (and not NEC 2490WUXi2) fits your original request and is still better than anything produced later IMO.
Look the monitor up and you'll understand why.
BTW the ccfl elements are replaceable and readily available, so if the panel itself is not wonky, they live forever.
I have 5 that I use every day, ZERO backlight bleed.
And when you research the monitor, check the original price.

 

[dlerious]

AOC G2260VWQ6
22" 1080p 75hz

ASUS VP247QG
24" 1080p 75hz

LG 24MP59G
24" 1080p 75hz

AOC G2460VQ6
24" 1080p 75hz


75hz is well within you $150 budget, whereas 144hz start at around $180-200 example being the MSI Optix G24C.

I bought that LG last year. Looked OK to me, but I didn't spend a lot of time with it. I picked it up for a friend that had a 17" TN panel.

 

[John Carmack]

$150 can definitely get you one of the entry level LG or Dell IPS screens but they may compromise on things like VESA mounts. LG has an entry level 29 inch UW IPS that does 75Hz and gets discounted to $175 often.