Samsung T260HD v. 240 v. Asus 242 -- Thoughts?

[Ghostwheel]

Hi all, I'm agonizing over my choice of monitor and was wondering if some of you could give me a little feedback. This is the component I tend to be most picky about, especially because it's such a pain to return.

I've been using a "ViewSonic VX2025WM 20.1" (1680x1050) for a few years now and have been quite happy with it, but now I'd like to splurge on a little larger size and resolution. I do a lot of gaming (PC, not console), and a lot of writing, web surfing and some Photoshopping. The Viewsonic was pretty good across the board.

I popped into BJ's the other day and picked up the SAMSUNG TOC T260HD Rose Black 25.5" (let's just call it 26") which they had in stock at a good price (and I like buying it locally where I can return it easily if I don't like it or there are any dead pixels, unlike with Newegg):http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824001281

Here are my thoughts: I sit fairly close to the monitor, and 26" is...I can't believe I'm saying this...almost too big. I've played some games and opened some photos and the like and the results are stellar. All looks good and the size is terrific. The trouble is with regular desktop stuff. I find the cast of the whites to be a little "blue" unless you have the brightness turned up so high the colors wash out and your eyes can't handle it. And if you're only a couple of feet, max, from the screen, the letters aren't quite as sharp as one would hope (yes, I've messed with all the settings, and messed, and messed...). [Update: I'll say I think it depends on how much ambient light there is. It's not that bad right now as I type this.]

[I'm using an EVGA 8800GTS through the DVi port, BTW.]

I'm thinking that a 26" screen really deserves more than a 1920x1200 screen resolution to do it justice, and that's what I'm seeing the effects of with the text sharpness. I'm also wondering if the inability to get a good brightness without without eye burn might be the difference between the 10000:1 contrast ratio of the T260HD and the 20000:1 of the plain T260 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824001276 ). Might that be the case?

Samsung has a 24" version, the T240 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/...2E16824001275&Tpk=t240 ) and I'm thinking that might work out a little better -- same pixels, 1920 x 1200 -- but at a slightly smaller size, so maybe the text will be tighter, and it's not the HD version (I really don't need a TV tuner) so it has the higher contrast ratio.

I am also looking at the ASUS VH242H ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824236052 ) which seems to be very well received. (Not sure what the difference between this and the 246 is.)

Sadly, neither the Samsung nor the Asus are available at any retailers around here (Boston area), so I'd probably be getting it from Buy .com (good price, returnable, though at a fee) and I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. The only thing holding me back from the Asus is that it's 1920 x 1080, and golly, I'd like those extra 120 pixels for a little extra window space.

So I'd be interested in people's impressions. Am I likely to be happier with the 24" Samsung than the 26", given what I've written, or should I go Asus and give up those extra pixels I won't notice the loss of, or...something else... (I hear the Dell 2408 is the resolution I want and very highly regarded, but I really don't want to got over $400.)

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[TemjinGold]

Originally posted by: Ghostwheel
Hi all, I'm agonizing over my choice of monitor and was wondering if some of you could give me a little feedback. This is the component I tend to be most picky about, especially because it's such a pain to return.

I've been using a "ViewSonic VX2025WM 20.1" (1680x1050) for a few years now and have been quite happy with it, but now I'd like to splurge on a little larger size and resolution. I do a lot of gaming (PC, not console), and a lot of writing, web surfing and some Photoshopping. The Viewsonic was pretty good across the board.

I popped into BJ's the other day and picked up the SAMSUNG TOC T260HD Rose Black 25.5" (let's just call it 26") which they had in stock at a good price (and I like buying it locally where I can return it easily if I don't like it or there are any dead pixels, unlike with Newegg): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001281

Here are my thoughts: I sit fairly close to the monitor, and 26" is...I can't believe I'm saying this...almost too big. I've played some games and opened some photos and the like and the results are stellar. All looks good and the size is terrific. The trouble is with regular desktop stuff. I find the cast of the whites to be a little "blue" unless you have the brightness turned up so high the colors wash out and your eyes can't handle it. And if you're only a couple of feet, max, from the screen, the letters aren't quite as sharp as one would hope (yes, I've messed with all the settings, and messed, and messed...). [Update: I'll say I think it depends on how much ambient light there is. It's not that bad right now as I type this.]

[I'm using an EVGA 8800GTS through the DVi port, BTW.]

I'm thinking that a 26" screen really deserves more than a 1920x1200 screen resolution to do it justice, and that's what I'm seeing the effects of with the text sharpness. I'm also wondering if the inability to get a good brightness without without eye burn might be the difference between the 10000:1 contrast ratio of the T260HD and the 20000:1 of the plain T260 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001276 ). Might that be the case?

Samsung has a 24" version, the T240 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...01275&Tpk=t240 ) and I'm thinking that might work out a little better -- same pixels, 1920 x 1200 -- but at a slightly smaller size, so maybe the text will be tighter, and it's not the HD version (I really don't need a TV tuner) so it has the higher contrast ratio.

I am also looking at the ASUS VH242H ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236052 ) which seems to be very well received. (Not sure what the difference between this and the 246 is.)

Sadly, neither the Samsung nor the Asus are available at any retailers around here (Boston area), so I'd probably be getting it from Buy .com (good price, returnable, though at a fee) and I'm hesitant to pull the trigger. The only thing holding me back from the Asus is that it's 1920 x 1080, and golly, I'd like those extra 120 pixels for a little extra window space.

So I'd be interested in people's impressions. Am I likely to be happier with the 24" Samsung than the 26", given what I've written, or should I go Asus and give up those extra pixels I won't notice the loss of, or...something else... (I hear the Dell 2408 is the resolution I want and very highly regarded, but I really don't want to got over $400.)

Thanks for any feedback.

The Dell is currently on sale for $395.10 + tax. If you can swing it, that should be a much better monitor than the ones you've listed.

 

[brblx]

that s-pva dell is definately going to be the best looking 24" monitor for <$400, unless there's an IPS somewhere for that price. if you're going to game, the 12ms response could be an issue, but i'm using a 16ms s-pva and have not had any ghosting problems. probably a little user dependent. links are broken for the monitors above, but they're TN's and i would assume they have 4-6ms (2-3 g2g advertised) response times.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Doh! Fixed the links.

Yes, they're TN monitors with about 5ms response times. The Dell shows 6 ms (gray to gray) which I'm sure is fine. I'm also showing it at $439 on theor site unless I'm missing something which is just a tad rich for me -- like buying a high-end stereo for a guy who's only listened to a portable boom-box his whole life.

Maybe if I used a more expensive monitor for awhile I'd know the difference and never want to go back.

Thanks for the responses so far.