Recommend 2nd LCD in dual-monitor setup?

[richarnd]

I'm upgrading my dual CRT setup to LCD, and am leaning towards getting two different monitors. This doesn't bother me, aesthetically, as my current CRTs don't match either. The desk is going to look better with LCDs, and it isn't a big deal to me.

That being said, I'm thinking that one LCD for gaming and one for web and business apps would be a good idea. I divide my time at my PC about evenly between the two, and currently use one CRT for each, most of the time. Obviously the primary monitor needs to be the "gaming" one, since most games want to be in fullscreen mode on the primary monitor. I can resize any other applications and put them wherever I want.

I've settled on the Vx922 as the gaming monitor, after doing some research. I'm leaning toward the VP930 as the other monitor, but it is quite pricey - more than the Vx922, which doesn't seem like a good use of my money. I'm hoping someone can recommend a good 2nd monitor for my situation. Here's what I'm looking for:

1) 19", has to play nice with the 922 on the desk (so no widescreen, I'd think)
2) Has to have a VGA input - I'll be using that until I upgrade video cards since I don't have dual DVI.
3) Prefer 8-bit color - I'll do some photo and video editing.
4) Needs to be fast enough to run games occasionally - I like running strategy games and RPGs across both desktops.
5) Preferrably has a pivot feature for working on documents vertically
6) Costs less than the vx922.

Does anyone have or know about a monitor that fits the above criteria?

 

[lifeblood]

You don't actually need a LCD with a VGA input, you can get a converter. I would even go so far as to recomend you go the converter route, or get an LCD with both DVI & VGA, so that when you do upgrade you can then go DVI throughout. We have a number of Gateway LCD's here at work that have both VGA and DVI. Unfortunitly none pivot.

We had a viewsonic that met your requirements but unfortunitly I don't remember the model number.

 

[richarnd]

Thanks - I didn't mean to imply that I need an LCD with ONLY VGA input, just one that has a VGA input (this may be all models). Mostly I'm just signaling that I will be using VGA in case there are any issues with particular monitors I need to know about.

I see Newegg has the Viewsonic VP920 for a good price, almost $100 less than the VP930. It must be a new product, though, as I can find no reviews. Anyone know what the story is there? If it's just a slower version of the VP930, it could be perfect for me, but I doubt it's that simple.

 

[Zebo]

Good luck with that. I bought the Vx922 and it had worst picture quality of any LCD I ever tried. Grey blacks and heavy back light bleeding all around and horrible color. Seriously I don't know how they even sell them.

I'd look into the new DELL - UltraSharp 2001FP which is on sale right now for $420

 

[richarnd]

I initially looked at some of the Dell monitors since we (not surprisingly) have a ton of them at work and, at least for business apps, I really like them. Some of the reviews of the newest ones (1907 series in particular) have been pretty neagtive, though. It looks like the 1907 is on sale for $271 - great price, but I don't want to get a monitor I'm not happy with. I'll pay another $50 for the vx922 IF it will be a significantly better monitor. You're the first person that seems to think that won't be true. Can you tell me more about your experience with the 922? What problems with picture quality did you have?

 

[Zebo]

The Dell 1907 is low end just like the 922. They use same type of panel technology called TN. Maybe even same panel. PM Xknight. It's 6 bits meaning only 256K color and has poor blacks and poor viewing angles. I dont know what else to say - it's totally inferior tech. My 922 had horrible screen door effect (back light bleed in all four corners), a couple stuck red on pixels right in middle of screen, and all the usual faults of TN tech making it just worthless to me so I returned it next day to frys.

OTOH- The Dell's I recommend all use the highest end dispaly technology, S-IPS (Dell 2005, 2007 2001, 3007).

 

[richarnd]

What do you think about MVA panels like the VP930 in comparison? Do you play FPS games on the S-IPS panels you use? If so, do you find response time issues (ghosting) to be a concern?

 

[Zebo]

930 is a much better choice. IPS>VA>TN. I have no problem with ghosting but then I'm using the fastest LCD out, overdriven AS-IPS, but it's $800 for only 20". The IPS inside dell 2005 and 2001 is still faster than most VA's but I won't say you won't notice some motion blur, depends how particular you are. It's a trade off really o you want way superior image quality or a little faster with 922 and inferior picture.