Need a new monitor

PacketCollision

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My 7-year-old Samsung SyncMaster 213T (21", 1600x1200) monitor's backlight is finally dying, so it's time to look at replacements.

I basically want a 21-24" monitor that is 1920 by either 1080 or 1200 (fuck 1080p for causing the resolution on most big monitors to be lowered), and has good color reproduction. I don't play games on my desktop, and I don't watch many movies, so having the fastest pixel change isn't important, but I don't want it to be noticeably bad either. It needs to have either HDMI or DVI, but I don't care what other connections it has. I won't be using built-in speakers, so not having them would be a plus (less plastic around the edges of the monitor), but it's not a big deal either way.

I would really love it if I could get a good monitor for under $250, or even better, under $200, because then I could afford to get two and replace my little 19" Hanns-G secondary monitor, but if a good monitor costs $500, then I want to know that too.

I'm currently looking at the ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED, which is 21.5", 1920x1080, LED backlight, with 5ms response time or the LG E2250T-PN, which has almost the exact same specs. Both are essentially $160 after Newegg sale discounts.

Thoughts/recommendations?
 
I'd go for whatever Dell's premium 24" monitor is.

This.

When I bought my current 27" Dell I almost bought its 24" counterpart, it was basically the same thing with smaller pixels. Luckily I noticed a deal on the 27" one for 25? more than the 24" one :D color reproduction and angular image stability are awesome on mine. Both were 1920x1200.
 
Can also vouch for Dell, my laptop monitor (not really relevant, I know) is amazing as far as colour, resolution (1920x1200 on a 17" monitor!), etc goes- I'll often choose towatch movies on it over the 32" LCD in the living room. And my dad's Dell 15" monitor that is a bog standrad one included with the PC (and is 6-ish years old) is yet to show a single fault and is better than comparable sized new monitors IMO. Honestly, monitors seem to be the only decent thing Dell can make nowadays!
 
Yeah, both my old and new Dell laptops have great screens, and since my old monitor is a high-end 21" IPS display (cost ~ over $1000 in 2003 when I bought it), I guess going to a TN film display might be a noticeable downgrade. The only unfortunate thing about the Dell is that it costs $400 for a refurbished monitor, which pretty much rules out getting two. I haven't decided yet. More thoughts?
 
ASUS MS228H

Ultra thin, LED backlit, no built-in speakers, HDMI, 21.5". :)

I had a MS226H (which is essentially the same, but doesn't have the LED backlight) since January and it's been brilliant! :D

Edit: Newegg has the 23" version (with built-in speakers) for the same price as the 21.5"...:blink:
 
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TN panels really aren't that bad, well they can be, but not by definition. With monitors I tend to just shop around and buy cheap, but not as cheap as possible. There's a large middle ground where spending a little more money won't make much difference, though spending a lot more might.
 
My impression is that if the money is available, I could not do better than a pair of Dell 24" monitors. 1920x1200, IPS, huge numbers of inputs, picture-in-picture, and god-knows what else. On the other hand, one refurbished one costs the same as two mid-range 1920x1080 TN monitors, and I would really like to have matching ones finally. I think I will probably go with two of the less expensive ones, test them out, and if the quality isn't what I expect, return them and get one Dell, then save up and get another one at some later date.
 
TN's are utter shit. I'll never buy another again.
 
95% sure I'm going to go with two of the LGs. I am going to drive out to Fry's and see what it looks like in person before I commit though, since newegg offers only replacement, not return, with these monitors. With the discount and a price drop today, I can get two of them for $330, and that's including the absurdly-high $25 in CA taxes.
 
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