LCD monitor dilemma

[state 08]

Like the topic summary says, I'm having a hard time deciding. My price point for the LCD is about $200 (+/-25), and there are some hot deals floating around for these monitors, but just can't decide.

I'll mostly be at my desk, so is the better DPI with a 20" worth it or will I like a 22" better?

 

[mpilchfamily]

Do you primarly do office work or will ther be any gaming involved?

Personaly i just picked up a nice 22" widescreen Proview w/ 2ms responce timing from Cuircut City a couple of weeks ago. It was on sale at the time for about $100 less then its original price after a $20 MIR. Anyway i almost went with a 19" but i'm glad i got the larger monitor. Weather you are gaming or not a larger viewing area is always good.

 

[kapoww]

I opted for a 22" because 20" didn't seem like a justifiable upgrade from a 19 and I have no regrets. I guess as long as you're not extremely picky or doing anything that requires absolute color accuracy a 22" will work for you. I'm a casual user(net, game, movies) and I'm satisfied.

You'll have to browse around reviews to decide on a manufacturer. I went through a Sceptre, which was pretty bad, to a Viewsonic, which I would've kept if it had HDCP support, to the Samsung. The Samsung is definitely nicer than both but the Viewsonic wasn't bad at all and had less back light bleed than my Sammy. I'm picky but reasonable

I paid 320+tax for mine so I'm not sure what kind of quality to expect from your price range. Like I said if you're not extremely picky you'll probably be satisfied with most of them.

 

[Synomenon]

Well 20" and 22" LCDs both have the same native res., but the 20" would be sharper (not noticeably more, but still) wouldn't it? I guess the best thing to do would be to go to a local store and compare a 20" wide with a 22" wide.

 

[state 08]

Currently, I have a Samsung Syncmaster 172x which is a 17" LCD @ 1280x1024. When I look at 19" LCD's at 1280x1024, I can definitely notice a little difference in sharpness, so I'm leaning more towards the 20" since I'll primarily be at desk.

But dammit, everytime I look at 22", I change my mind.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: state 08
.... I have a Samsung Syncmaster 172x which is a 17" LCD @ 1280x1024. When I look at 19" LCD's at 1280x1024, I can definitely notice a little difference in sharpness.....

Please consider that when comparing a 17" LCD to a 19" LCD (non widescreen, as you stated) you are stretching 1.3 Million pixels over a 2" bigger surface (which equates to almost a %12 larger area). That can be a big difference when compared to a larger number of pixels to a smaller percent gain.

When I was shopping for my LCD, I definately recognized the difference between a 17" and 19" using the same resolution. But, there was a much smaller difference when comparing a 20" LCD and a 21" LCD using the same resolution (1600x1200 (about 1.9 Million pixels)). I hope I came off clear. I am not disagreeing with you, just saying be sure to compare apples to apples.

 

[pcslookout]

20" because a lot of 22" are TN panels, if not all. I rather have a really good quality 20" LCD to look at all day rather than a ok or pretty good 22" lcd.