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Monitor (and speakers) advice/opinions needed.Follow

#1 Sep 27 2010 at 4:50 PM Rating: Good
My main point of this thread is to get some valid opinions and advice for which monitor (and speakers, but more on that later) I should pick up.

I have been looking around at different monitors and since I finally have a price point I can narrow it down a little.

What I am interested in is response time (2ms, 5ms, etc), v-sync rate (120Hz ideally), screen size, LED vs. normal LCD, speakers, the stand and its positions, and pure awesomeness. Speakers and tuners are not HUGE items I am considering but I am thinking I will only have about $500 total to spend so if I spend $400 on a monitor with no speakers I'll have $100 or so to spend on speakers.

After measuring my desk it seems that 27" is the largest I can probably get away with while having the monitor still in its "cubby". I will have a GTX 480 video card.

These three monitors have built-in speakers:

$380 - SAMSUNG P2770HD Rose Black 27" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 50,000:1(1000:1) Built-in HDTV Tuner & Speakers http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001392 Sister monitor of one below in the "No speakers" section. Please look at that one too. No clue if either is 60Hz or 120Hz.

$370 - Asus VK278Q Black 27" 1920x1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Webcam 300 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236101

$330 - ASUS VE276Q Black 27" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 100,000 :1 (ASCR) w/Display Port & Speakers http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236091

No speakers: (I would have to buy some speakers)

$299 - Dell Professional P2411H 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with LED and 3-Year Warranty http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=P2411H3

$350 - SAMSUNG P2770H Rose Black 27" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 70,000:1(1,000:1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001379&Tpk=P2770H This monitor is almost exactly like the one for $380 except this one is 2ms, no tuner, and no speakers. 60Hz? 120Hz?

My favorite (monitor)... except THE SIZE... really.

$500 - Asus VG236H 23" 2ms 1920x1080 Full HD 120Hz 3D multimedia Height & Swivel Adjustbale WideScreen LCD Monitor w/nVidia 3D Vision Kit hard bundle 400 cd/m2 100,000:1 (ASCR) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=24-236-092

What's holding me back on this one is the screen size and no speakers, but the 120Hz and 2ms is really nice. (along with the 3D stuff) I might be able to swing about $50 extra for some speakers, but I have no clue what "good" speakers would be worth $50.

HDTV (TV not a "monitor") - tuner - Speakers:

$377 (free shipping + 10% discount) - Vizio 26" Razor LED-LCD 1080p 60Hz HDTV, M260VP http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vizio-M260VP/14711124


I wanted to get another Dell monitor, but most of them that I would even consider were way too expensive.

I am seriously in a situation where I have no clue what to get. The two Samsung monitors (P2770H and P2770HD) are really good looking, Also, the two Asus (non-3D ones) look good too.

But then you have the Asus 23" 3D 120Hz that actually says 120Hz, but only has a 23" screen...

I am going to be using a GTX 480 and I read somewhere that if a monitor is 120Hz but the video card only puts out 60Hz the video card has to work harder in order to give the monitor what it needs... is this true? Should I even be worried about this?

It would be nice to be connected to the internet on one input while playing a console (PS3, XBox 360, etc) on another, but that isn't a major problem because of the 47" 120Hz Vizio behind me.

I know I mentioned it earlier, but can you also maybe... inform me who makes good quality speakers for PCs nowadays and maybe some links to some good packages? I am going to have to pick up some if you help me decide on a monitor without speakers.

Thanks, (again)
Pent

#2 Sep 27 2010 at 9:05 PM Rating: Excellent
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When it comes to monitors, there are tons of variables to consider. Some of the key ones you already have identified: respoonse time, etc. Then there are other key indicators like color depth, and "stuck pixle" warranty which are possibly even more important.

My primary gaming machine has a 24 inch Dell widescreen. The secondary computer has 2 19" Samsung flatscreens. The downstais computer has a 46" TV for a monitor. They all work, and they all work well. I tend to like the Dell monitors since they have better stands. Samsung stands tend to be non adjustable. Samsung and dell both use the same video cores, so the monitor itself really is essentially the same thing.

For gaming, I'd stear away from the TV's. They should work, but some of them have nonstandard quirks when it come to acting as computer displays. Chances are you'll still be ok, but why risk it? If you are putting in a TV with an attached media PC, and the TV experiance is the primary concern, thats one thing, but a monitor for a gaming computer is a perephrial to provide the best gaming computer experiance you can, not really to be an all around device.

I'd grab that Dell 24 incher if I were going to grab one.

That dell 24" unit you list should fit this speaker bar if you want speakers attached to the monitor:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Accessories/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=313-6413

I have an old creative surround sound 7.1 channel speaker set attached to the primary computer, it works great. Downstairs that one ties into the ome theater amp. The secondary PC up here has just a pair of dinky speakers attached.

I wouldn't get anyhting particularily fancy in terms of speakers unless you want to throw a ton of money at them and get a really good set. Otherwise a standard 5.1 audio amp and a home theater pack tied intot he fiber optic SPDIF port on your motherboard would be the way to go.
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