Looking for: 1680x1050 16.7Mil NON DITHERED LCD monitor; best deal?

[soccerballtux]

Looking to buy an LCD monitor....had to move from dorms today and I'm sick of lugging around a 50lb brick up and down 4 flights of stairs.

Hardly any of the stuff on Newegg says how many colors the monitor displays. Of those, only one or two say whether this (if 16.7m) is with dithering. Per the LCD Buyer's Guide topic, Dithering is bad.

So I'm asking here; which of those monitors on newegg's site is the best bang for buck? I'd like to keep it <$240 before shipping. Would I even notice the difference between 16.2 and 16.7m colors (ie, should I just buy the cheap Sceptre XW20G)?

Thanks.

 

[xtknight]

You won't find a 20-21" widescreen that doesn't employ dithering that has a price point below these (that I'm aware of):

Cheapest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009105
Second cheapest: http://www.google.com/products?q=samsung+215tw&btnG=Search
Third cheapest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002319

Some refurbs you can give a try:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116381R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002319R

 

[soccerballtux]

Ouch.

How much worse will these cheaper monitors look?

$100 extra doesn't seem worth it in my opinion.

Something that may help you give advice on whether or not you think I'd hate it: I'm almost certain that my Compaq V2000Z laptop (standard screen size; 1280x768 resolution) is a 6-bit panel. Not sure which type (do you know?), but what tipped me off was viewing pictures with a slight gradient-- my background is a picture of saturn, and you can pretty much draw lines where the color changes. Heh. However this doesn't bother me. I only notice it in movies and those slow-gradient pictures.

What DOES bother me is something I saw on my friends' 1440x900 monitors; and that was colors that looked too red, too blue, etc (digital vibrance in the nvidia settings was not turned on) and text looked blurry, like it was bleeding into side pixels. Reading about 2x2 Dithering makes me wonder if this is what it looks like. Whatever it was, I want to avoid it. Do you think this would be an attribute of a 16.2M dithered screen, or more likely a 16.7m dithered screen? I'm mostly decided on picking up one of those Sceptre $180 screens, if it will look like my V2000z's monitor; but NOT if it's going to have this weird blur in the text-- it was still sharp text (not Cleartyped) but it kinda looked copied down and to the right, like it was shadowed or something. Does any of that make sense?

Thanks so much for the input.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
Ouch.

How much worse will these cheaper monitors look?

Anything ranging from "ugh" to "acceptable". If you want a cheaper TN I would recommend the LG L204WT and Samsung 205/206BW. But saving $50-70 getting the TNs is not worth it when you could have a P-MVA for the price of the Acer AL2051W.

$100 extra doesn't seem worth it in my opinion.

Would it be worth it if the $220 monitor looked like crap and the $320 was miles ahead of it? I'd tend to think so. I never set a defined limit on my money: I understand that you'd like to keep it around what you specified but sometimes the sacrifice just doesn't make sense. You should be aiming for best value, not lowest price IMO. And for that the Acer AL2051W (glossy) more than delivers.

Something that may help you give advice on whether or not you think I'd hate it: I'm almost certain that my Compaq V2000Z laptop (standard screen size; 1280x768 resolution) is a 6-bit panel. Not sure which type (do you know?)

Probably a TN although laptop LCDs are poor judges of a quality LCD.

, but what tipped me off was viewing pictures with a slight gradient-- my background is a picture of saturn, and you can pretty much draw lines where the color changes. Heh. However this doesn't bother me. I only notice it in movies and those slow-gradient pictures.

And even more likely a TN...

What DOES bother me is something I saw on my friends' 1440x900 monitors; and that was colors that looked too red, too blue, etc (digital vibrance in the nvidia settings was not turned on) and text looked blurry, like it was bleeding into side pixels. Reading about 2x2 Dithering makes me wonder if this is what it looks like. Whatever it was, I want to avoid it. Do you think this would be an attribute of a 16.2M dithered screen, or more likely a 16.7m dithered screen? I'm mostly decided on picking up one of those Sceptre $180 screens, if it will look like my V2000z's monitor; but NOT if it's going to have this weird blur in the text-- it was still sharp text (not Cleartyped) but it kinda looked copied down and to the right, like it was shadowed or something. Does any of that make sense?

I don't think you really understand what dithering is. It wouldn't make the text blurry; that is likely from a poor VGA connection. Most modernly-employed dithering algorithms such as FRC are practically indistinguishable from the 'true thing'. What you want is a quality LCD, not one that 'does dither' or 'doesn't dither'; it's rather irrelevant as that is no longer the key factor in an LCD's quality. It just so happens the AL2051W is true 8-bit anyway, but it is also much higher in contrast than the less-costly TNs.

Thanks so much for the input.

My pleasure. Go for the Acer AL2051W, beyond a doubt at least IMO.

 

[adnoto]

Originally posted by: xtknight

Go for the Acer AL2051W, beyond a doubt at least IMO.

I have been researching the same models and I agree with xtknight. In the 20" category the AL2051W is the best monitor out there for the price right now.

That said I probably won't be getting it. I will more than likely get the Samsung 206BW. I want the option of hanging the thing from an arm and, as near as I can tell, that wouldn't be possible with the Acer. The connection ports are routed through the base on the Acer. Bums me out sort of. I actually like the way they did it but it does limit options for hanging it.

Just thought I would throw that info in.

Good luck.

 

[Jeff7181]

I love my Samsung 205BW. If you can still find them (think they've been replaced by the 206BW) they should be under $250 now. I got mine for $280 about 9 months ago.

*EDIT* The 206 has a slighter better response time and higher contrast ratio. Other than that it's pretty much the same... pixel pitch, brightness, etc.

 

[soccerballtux]

I think I'm going to go ahead for the Acer. Either that or pay another $50 for the Dell 2007FPW for the input options. Would love to plug in my gamecube and play some widescreen F-zero GX. Gonna have to think about it a while.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
I think I'm going to go ahead for the Acer. Either that or pay another $50 for the Dell 2007FPW for the input options. Would love to plug in my gamecube and play some widescreen F-zero GX. Gonna have to think about it a while.

Yep... that's the only thing my 205BW doesn't have that I wish it did... component input.

 

[soccerballtux]

http://www.pcworld.com/product/specs/id,28539-c,monitors/specs.html

???

Says it's TN.

 

[FTemplar]

I have a LG L204WT for gaming and I love it. 20.1'' 1:2000 contrast.

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: FTemplar
I have a LG L204WT for gaming and I love it. 20.1'' 1:2000 contrast.

No it doesn't. It is a marketing ploy of using dynamic contrast ratio. Actual is probably 700:1 or less.

And it is TN.

 

[mercanucaribe]

The $100 is worth it when you consider how many hours you'll be using that screen. It's the main interface between your computer and you!

 

[mercanucaribe]

The $100 is worth it when you consider how many hours you'll be using that screen. It's the main interface between your computer and you!

 

[Stoneburner]

Something i dont understand, is the problem that the TN panels are 6 bit? Are all 8 bit panels good or are only the P-MVA screens decent?

 

[n7]

TN = poor viewing angles (my biggest issue with them) & inferior color reproduction/accuracy.
They are 6-bit, or 6-bit + features to mimic 8-bit color.

S-PVA/P-MVA or S-IPS/AS-IPS LCD don't have the aforementioned issues.

 

[Stoneburner]

are S-PVA/P-MVA or S-IPS/AS-IPS all 8 bit?

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
are S-PVA/P-MVA or S-IPS/AS-IPS all 8 bit?

AFAIK, yes.

But i'm no guru...so someone else would have to absolutely confirm that.

 

[agathodaimon]

ACER AL2051W.

BUY IT.

Newegg.com

 

[arcarsenal]

I would, if they were available in Australia, no question. But they aren't, which really bums me out. I have a 206bw though, and it's quite good.

 

[CP5670]

The AL2051W seems like an obvious choice. It's not only a 8-bit PVA, but has the same glossy coating seen on the much more expensive 20WMGX2.

Most modernly-employed dithering algorithms such as FRC are practically indistinguishable from the 'true thing'. What you want is a quality LCD, not one that 'does dither' or 'doesn't dither'; it's rather irrelevant as that is no longer the key factor in an LCD's quality.

I don't think this is quite true. Hi-FRC works well on still images, but the dithering effect is very apparent on my 90GX2 (which I believe uses that technique) in certain games. It only dithers when things are moving though; if I stop moving in the game, I don't see the dithering anymore.

are S-PVA/P-MVA or S-IPS/AS-IPS all 8 bit?

No, there are some 6-bit S-PVAs in the 19" range. I don't know about IPSs.

 

[Mem]

Shame you can't get a Belinea 10 20 35W LCD 20" WS in the USA,it's really a nice 8 bit P-MVA monitor.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: soccerballtux
I think I'm going to go ahead for the Acer. Either that or pay another $50 for the Dell 2007FPW for the input options. Would love to plug in my gamecube and play some widescreen F-zero GX. Gonna have to think about it a while.

The Gamecube supports widescreen??

 

[Modular]

The Acer seems like a good deal for a WS non-TN panel. One thing though: can anyone recommend it for games? I read through some of the Newegg reviews, but I don't really trust what people say on Egg reviews anyways.. Would the lower response time cause significant ghosting in FPS games? Thanks for any input. I'm ready to ditch the old 19" CRT

 

[Zebo]

check out the HP (Hewlett-Packard) w22 for $250 at sam's..it's very nice for the price. dihers a bit but minimized w/ opticlear & frc

 

[n7]

Agreed.

HP W2207 = best 22" TN out there right now

All you have to do is see it...it'll sell itself