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Looking to buy first new monitor in 6 years, looking for advice/suggestions

N

nedney

Member
Hey all, as per this thread, I'm currently planning out the parts with which to build my first new PC since April 2007, and it has occurred to me that my current monitor, a Dell E228FP also purchased in April '07, just isn't going to cut it in a world of HDMI and multi-gb GPUs. Some points/questions:

First, what are the absolute must-have specs? I'm assuming the aforementioned HDMI is a given these days, but I could be wrong. The GPU I have already purchased and will be using in this rig is the XFX FX-785A-CNL4 Radeon HD 7850, which has an HDMI input, so I figure I'll need a monitor that can use it.

I'm probably going to want LCD, although if there's some fancy new tech out there that I've missed I'll certainly be interested.

Lastly, because of my desk setup, I am limited in the size of monitor that I can fit in. The Dell linked above is only 22" for the display, with a physical width of 22.7" that leaves less than half an inch on each side, so I can't go any larger than that.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
The big problem is that even if a monitor has HDMI often the sound does not go through the HDMI.

Isnt a Monitor a peripheral device?

Playing Games?
Full Motion Video?
3D?
Resolution?
Hrtz?
 
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piasabird said:
The big problem is that even if a monitor has HDMI often the sound does not go through the HDMI.

Isnt a Monitor a peripheral device?

Playing Games?
Full Motion Video?
3D?
Resolution?
Hrtz?
Click to expand...

Taking these in order..

Would I need the sound to go through the HDMI? I would assume it would go through my onboard sound to my speakers, not through HDMI to monitor speakers.

I dunno, I would have thought it would have its own category ("Displays"?) or would have been in the video section, but I wasn't sure to GH seemed like the best bet.

Playing games (Bioshock Inf to start), and probably watching video too.
Not interested in 3D.
Assuming I'll need 1920x1080 res but not really sure.
No idea about the hertz.

ALSO: Biggest thing for me is the price-to-performance ratio. I would love to keep this under $150, but I could go to $200 if I would get a huge boost in quality from it.
 
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There's nothing wrong with your monitor - it has a DVI input, which will give you the same picture quality as HDMI. If you really want to jump up in resolution, that's understandable, but don't get a new monitor just because your current one doesn't have HDMI.

It just so happens that Newegg has the following LG 23" IPS LCD monitor on sale for $144 shipped right now (use code on site): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824005364

IPS will provide a definite bump up in image quality over the typical $150 monitor. You have to be careful - your Dell is good enough that many sub-$150 monitors will likely look worse.
 
Termie said:
There's nothing wrong with your monitor - it has a DVI input, which will give you the same picture quality as HDMI. If you really want to jump up in resolution, that's understandable, but don't get a new monitor just because your current one doesn't have HDMI.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh, then this is the kicker. I felt for some reason that maybe since HDMI was such a newer input than DVI that I might as well make the switch, and that it might be worth the marginal jump from 1680x1050 (my current native res) to 1920x1080. But if Bioshock Inf et al still look fine on the one I have, then I'm definitely just gonna stick with that one.

Termie, man, as always, can't thank you enough for your knowledge and insight. You alone have made this process probably a tenth as painful as it would be otherwise.
 
nedney said:
Ahhhhh, then this is the kicker. I felt for some reason that maybe since HDMI was such a newer input than DVI that I might as well make the switch, and that it might be worth the marginal jump from 1680x1050 (my current native res) to 1920x1080. But if Bioshock Inf et al still look fine on the one I have, then I'm definitely just gonna stick with that one.

Termie, man, as always, can't thank you enough for your knowledge and insight. You alone have made this process probably a tenth as painful as it would be otherwise.
Click to expand...

Happy to help!
 
i think this weekend newegg is selling an asus 23" 1900x1080 for 100 or 119. its in the email ad they send. i wouldnt spend much on a monitor, theyre all that resolution
 
OBLAMA2009 said:
i think this weekend newegg is selling an asus 23" 1900x1080 for 100 or 119. its in the email ad they send. i wouldnt spend much on a monitor, theyre all that resolution
Click to expand...

Those monitors have higher resolution than his monitor, but won't be higher quality. If he really wants an upgrade, I'd also look at getting an IPS panel.
 
OP, HDMI is honestly the bottom of the barrel for PC monitors. Electrically, it's a more limited (read: cheaper) form of DVI that can also handle audio. High-end monitors use DVI and increasingly DisplayPort. DVI and DisplayPort are very different interfaces from a technical point of view, but they both provide the same image quality, so there is not really a reason to upgrade from one to the other.
 
mfenn said:
OP, HDMI is honestly the bottom of the barrel for PC monitors. Electrically, it's a more limited (read: cheaper) form of DVI that can also handle audio. High-end monitors use DVI and increasingly DisplayPort. DVI and DisplayPort are very different interfaces from a technical point of view, but they both provide the same image quality, so there is not really a reason to upgrade from one to the other.
Click to expand...

Got it, glad to see DVI is still pulling its weight. Guess I can just stick with my current model.
 
nedney said:
Got it, glad to see DVI is still pulling its weight. Guess I can just stick with my current model.
Click to expand...

Agreed. My wife is using our "old" Dell 2005FPW which was purchased in 2005 (almost 10 years ago), to this day it still works just fine.

For your situation if you ever decide to pursue an upgrade, I would look for:

LED
1920x1080 resolution
DisplayPort

My next monitor will probably be the Dell U2412M or U2713HM, the hard part is waiting for a hot deal to come along.
 
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