Which monitor - HP LP2465 or NEC EA231WMI

[terry107]

I'm looking to upgrade my old 19" 1280x1024 monitor. It will mostly be used for gaming (Borderlands, Fallout 3, Dragon Age, etc.) and I've narrowed it down to the following two choices:

HP LP2465 (Recertified)

Pros:
24"
1920x1200 resolution
Price

Cons:
Recertified
VA panel

NEC EA231WMI

Pros:
IPS Panel
Brand new (factory warranty)

Cons:
23"
1920x1080 resoltion
Price

Which would you guys choose?

 

[CurseTheSky]

The NEC gets my vote. I just bought one for $315 shipped ( Buy.com through Amazon) and it got here within 3 days. No dead pixels, no glaring defects. Great colors (E-IPS), decent features (4 USB ports, VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, tilt, swivel, rotate).

My only gripe is the odd size (23") and the 16:9 aspect ratio. If it was 24" and 1920x1200, this would be the perfect monitor for this price. Even so, just over $300 for a monitor this good is a steal.

 

[Hey Zeus]

The NEC gets my vote. I just bought one for $315 shipped ( Buy.com through Amazon) and it got here within 3 days. No dead pixels, no glaring defects. Great colors (E-IPS), decent features (4 USB ports, VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, tilt, swivel, rotate).

My only gripe is the odd size (23") and the 16:9 aspect ratio. If it was 24" and 1920x1200, this would be the perfect monitor for this price. Even so, just over $300 for a monitor this good is a steal.

300 dollars for a monitor a steal? WTF bro? Haha. I won't pay over 200 for a 24" monitor. Got mine for 179.99 and thought it was a steal

 

[NoQuarter]

$180 vs $300 is difference between a TN and a good deal on IPS though. I'm ok with TN and having $120 in my pocket but IPS would be nice.

 

[xboxist]

300 dollars for a monitor a steal? WTF bro? Haha. I won't pay over 200 for a 24" monitor. Got mine for 179.99 and thought it was a steal

That's like saying "DUDE I got a KIA for $9K!" Lovely, grats.

That specific NEC fits a hole in the current LCD market: something that is obviously of better quality than the flood of TNs, but isn't quite at the $500+ tier of monitors.

 

[T2k]

I'm looking to upgrade my old 19" 1280x1024 monitor. It will mostly be used for gaming (Borderlands, Fallout 3, Dragon Age, etc.) and I've narrowed it down to the following two choices:

HP LP2465 (Recertified)

Pros:
24"
1920x1200 resolution
Price

Cons:
Recertified
VA panel

NEC EA231WMI

Pros:
IPS Panel
Brand new (factory warranty)

Cons:
23"
1920x1080 resoltion
Price

Which would you guys choose?

Though I hate this new 23" 1080p trend and this is e-IPS, not H-IPS but it's new and the HP is a rather old PVA panel so I'd buy the NEC, no question about it.

 

[T2k]

300 dollars for a monitor a steal? WTF bro? Haha. I won't pay over 200 for a 24" monitor. Got mine for 179.99 and thought it was a steal

Well, you got yourself a Gateway, famous for quality issues and bad CS and you monitor has the lowest-grade panel of all types (TN)... go figure.

FYI I remember when I bought my 2405FPW when it came out for $1k...

 

[xboxist]

FYI: here is a very large discussion on the EA231WMI over at Hardforum, a majority of the posts seem extremely positive, at a glance

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1436160&page=47

 

[T2k]

UPDATE on Dell U2410 issues: a Dell China-originated but UNOFFICIAL firmware updater, along with full PDF etc was posted online here - users in Dell's support forum report that IT FIXES ALL DITHERING PROBLEMS.

Here: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19307543/19633933.aspx#19633933

It goes without saying that if you brick your monitor your warranty could be gone so the choice is yours...

 

[Udgnim]

can use this website to compare LCD panels but unfortunately the LCDs you listed aren't included in the sites available LCD list

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6

 

[CurseTheSky]

300 dollars for a monitor a steal? WTF bro? Haha. I won't pay over 200 for a 24" monitor. Got mine for 179.99 and thought it was a steal

Oh yeah it's a steal. If you haven't used an IPS (or even MVA / PVA) monitor and compared it to a cheap TN panel, you don't know what your missing.

Panel (which is the biggest selling point) aside, higher quality monitors generally come with better features as well. Does you $180 monitor tilt more than 25 degrees, swivel from side to side, and rotate into portrait mode? Does it have a four-port USB hub, and more than just VGA / DVI connections? What about the OSD... does it allow you to select various preset modes, including sRGB?

It's sort of like buying a Toyota vs. a Lexus. Both will get you where you need to go no questions asked, but they serve different crowds and thus different purposes.