SyncMaster 22" vs 24" battle

[jesterb84]

I'm finally making the switch from my aging 17" CRT to a 22-24" LCD monitor. I'm pretty much on a tight budget here looking to spend $400 or less, meaning I'm probably restricted to TN screens - which is okay for me. I primarily play games, surf the web, and do some coding here and there. As my CRT quality is going down the drain, I'm okay with TN as I'm sure any widescreen LCD is going to offer a major step-up from what I have currently.

Here's my question:

My local computer stores carry the following two:

- Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW 22" - $269.99
- Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24" - $389.99

Which would be the better buy in your opinion? (NewEgg is not an option as I'm in Canada - kind of restricted to Canada Computers and Future Shop)

I'm aware one is 22" and the other 24" but here's my question. Since they are both TN-based, I've read some people saying that the limitations of TN (i.e. poor viewing angles, black levels, etc.) are more apparent on a 24" than a 22". Should I save myself the $120 and get the 2253BW or go ahead with the 245BW?

I'm sort of leaning towards the 24" but just wanted to make sure there aren't any major drawbacks with a TN @ 24". I've done a lot of reading in the stickied LCD thread and all over the net and it's giving me a major headache with loads of conflicting opinions.

 

[Goldfish4209]

Well, I have a syncmaster 226bw (which is a 22 in) and it looks fine. I don't know if it's a TN or not, but it works perfectly, no defects, and I don't notice any viewing angle issues. Black level isn't a real issue for me.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'm assuming the 22" is 1680x1050.

The 24" will be 1920x1600, which may be pushing the limits of your 9600GT for games. SLI would probably help greatly, but multi-GPU performance in games isn't always guarenteed.

I would do a search for reviews of each monitor and see if either have any common problems or defects. Let that be your deciding factor.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

CurseTheSky is right; 1920x1200 is going to be a bitch on a 9600 GT. You better be prepared to play everything at non-native res or turn all the graphics options down. If you're keeping that card, you might as well just get the 22". Plus, viewing angle will actually be less of a problem on the 22" because the panel is not as big. Black levels will be fine on either.

 

[Mwing]

True, im using a samsung 245b, my 8800gt coundnt handle 1920x1200 in some higher demanded games with setting all max, so i upgraded it to gtx260, the monitor itself has no problem, viewing angle is fine if you just sit right in front of your monitor, which i guess you do.

 

[Qbah]

I am using two 245B's next to each other. It looks perfectly fine. As for the 9600GT... just play at 1680x1050? or Windowed? Nobody forces you to play at 1920x1200. Everything still looks decent at 1680x1050. Ohh, I have a 226BW too, unused. Was a wicked monitor when I bought it, but the 245B's have so much more space it's not even a contest

So, go for the 245B! That's what I would do.

 

[jesterb84]

Great suggestions here. Regarding the 9600GT issue, I did give some thought into this and here's what I concluded:

Usually, monitors last me about 3 upgrade cycles (actually, I'm getting this one only because my older 17" CRT crapped out and I'm using a spare I found) so whichever I get will (hopefully) last me about 2-3+ video card upgrades. With the NVIDIA/ATI war raging like it is, I might look into selling my 9600GT and upgrading as early as this coming Boxing Day (yeah we're still in summer here, I know...). I'm thinking in about 4 months, cards will see a further decrease of -$50 or even more with rebates.

I also read that NVIDIA drivers have this setting whereby it does some 1:1 pixel mapping filling in black space on lower resolution full-screen games - I'll have to check that out. Does anyone here use this? And how well does this option work?

 

[s44]

Why the 245B? As it doesn't do 1:1 pixel mapping, you lose a big advantage of a 24": free HDTV monitor.

NCIX has the BenQ G2400W (24", 1:1) for $350 Canadian through tomorrow.

 

[jesterb84]

Originally posted by: s44
Why the 245B? As it doesn't do 1:1 pixel mapping, you lose a big advantage of a 24": free HDTV monitor.

NCIX has the BenQ G2400W (24", 1:1) for $350 Canadian through tomorrow.

Hmm, nice deal s44. I did read up on the G2400W and heard some great things about it. Unfortunately, NCIX is in BC I think and I'm in ON (in Mississauga) and if anything, I feel more safe being able to walk into a store in case I have some dead pixel or DOA issues. I might ask Canada Computers if they can ship one over from one of their other locations.

245B vs G2400W, this is getting interesting. Is BenQ a good brand in general for LCDs? - As I haven't any experience with them before.

 

[s44]

For just $17.50 more you can get NCIX's "Express Coverage" which guarantees zero dead pixels for the first month, RMA through them for a year, free shipping both ways, and cross-shipping (!).

Unless there's a massive catch somewhere, this sounds like the way to go.

I've never owned BenQ, but they've got a pretty good reputation... For what it's worth, this particular monitor is on xtknight's recommendation list.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

Originally posted by: Qbah
I am using two 245B's next to each other. It looks perfectly fine. As for the 9600GT... just play at 1680x1050? or Windowed? Nobody forces you to play at 1920x1200. Everything still looks decent at 1680x1050. Ohh, I have a 226BW too, unused. Was a wicked monitor when I bought it, but the 245B's have so much more space it's not even a contest

So, go for the 245B! That's what I would do.

Playing at less than native res negates the whole point of having an LCD. Everything gets soft and blurry and looks worse than a CRT. When you choose an LCD, one of the most important cosiderations is whether or not you can use the native res. If you can't, you need to pick another LCD with native res your card can handle...or just get the monitor you want, and then upgrade your video card accordingly.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

Originally posted by: jesterb84
I also read that NVIDIA drivers have this setting whereby it does some 1:1 pixel mapping filling in black space on lower resolution full-screen games - I'll have to check that out. Does anyone here use this? And how well does this option work?

It depends on your monitor. Even if the card presents you with the options, many monitors won't allow you to use anything other than their internal scaling options. Luckily, most monitors include 1:1. As for how it works, it works perfect, and looks just as sharp as your native res...although, since it doesn't fill your screen, you're right back to wondering why you purchased larger panel just so you could play at a smaller res.

Pick an LCD with a native res your card can drive, or upgrade your card. Everything else is a less than ideal compromise.

 

[Qbah]

Well, I usually play windowed anyway, at 1920x1080, and have browsers, messengers etc on the other screen. I chat alot when I play, old habit that stuck after WoW I guess. Having a 22" monitor wouldn't allow me that. Could use it as secondary (which I did) but dual-24-inchers look better visually. Obviously you need the muscle for such a setup, as windowed is always more demanding. But I don't find playing at 1680x1050 windowed something bad or distracting. Did it a few times too. You can do alot of things while playing, which I do. And with one 24" he could play at 1680x1050 and still have a nice organization on the desktop for other things.

EDIT: Not to mention he will upgrade eventually. And I'm sure a 24" at 1920x1200 will last him alot longer than a 22" at 1680x1050.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

Sure, when you put it that way, it makes perfect sense. If you play windowed anyway, 1:1 will work great as you'll get the same sharp, crisp "native res" look and have room for your other stuff.

I like having the option to play 1:1 at a lesser res, because I'm still sort of stuck in the CRT days when you could switch resolutions at will with no effect on image quality. But I almost never use it, because I want as close to total immersion as I can get, so I generally play everything full-screen at native res.

 

[Tempered81]

24" unless they both do 1920 res