Trying to decide on the best monitor

[Dave_s]

In a recent thread I asked for opinions on my draft parts list for a new build. Got a shed load of help and very useful advice and I am 99.9% decided on what is going to be in it. So thanks to all who pitched in and helped.

 

My next decision is which monitor to go for, which is probably as important as the choice in parts as it is no use having a great build only for it to be let down by a rubbish monitor.

 

Ok, after a bit of research it appears I have a choice between TN or IPS monitors. TN being the 'older' technology and IPS being the new kid on the block. And also a choice between 59/60hz and the newer 120hz monitors.

 

I have googled my fingers to the bone and to be honest I just seem to be confusing myself more than is necessary. So I was wondering if there is a monitor which gamers swear by, I appreciate this can be mostly subjective but usually there are one or two models which get talked about more than others.

 

Two that seem to be coming up a lot are the Dell and the Acer.

 

Any thoughts or any recommendations based on monitors you are using.

 

Cheers

Dave :thumbup:

[EtherealN]

Bit tight on schedule atm, so I'll be brief and just add a caution against BenQ. The one I use (see sig) is horrible with lots of horizontal bleed. It is the only BenQ monitor I have first-hand experience of though, so this may be a fluke, but make sure to doublecheck reviews if you end up tempted by a BenQ.

[topdog]

I have a 27" (2707WFP - note the 07 indicates the fiscal year of this model's release) and 24" (2407WFP) model Dell panels, both are fantastic, but..

 

.. I might have been lucky, the criticism levelled at Dell's monitors seems to be that they use good parts/builds with a release whilst they're trying to get favourable tech reviews, then in later revisions (e.g. from A00 to A01, A02, etc.) they start to cut some corners with the quality whilst keeping it sold as the original product.

 

How true this actually is I can't say, and I tended to buy near the next model's release timeframe (e.g. 2408's and 2709's were arriving on the horizon when I got mine) but still got 'early' revision panels for my models, so maybe I was smart, maybe I was lucky, maybe some other people are just unlucky.. really hard to say except I personally think mine are great.

 

I think actually my 2407 might have been an 'A04' revision, which for its line was the favoured one, for some reason or other (firmware / fixes), but other than that the generalism I mention was a common theme I'd read about.

 

Some people even feared having to send theirs back for warranty repair in case it got replaced with a 'newer' (inferior) revision, that's how widespread the information got. Since you might be looking at a 2410 there (with the 10 being this fiscal year's model) you should be ok, but scour around for any recent reports of this type of complaint being levelled at it.

Edited March 16, 2010 by topdog