Need some monitor shopping!

[jmc]

Ok, I have some money saved up.... So I'm finally gonna upgrade my video card (from 8600 GT to dual 4870's)

Now.... I would like to purchase 2 new 20-22" LCD monitors, and quite frankly I have no idea what to look for in a monitor. The of is used for movies, and gaming (ffxi, lots of shooters etc....)

So any advice on what should I be looking for? (looking to spend $250 Max for each one)

Thanks

[Cephius]

I'm partial to Samsung monitors, I've owned a bunch of them and they've never disappointed. A couple of these side by side would look super.

If you don't go with that one, try to get a monitor that has a lower response time (2ms is great, 5ms is good, anything higher is meh) so you don't get any ghosting while gaming.

[zoobernut]

I have a dell and a samsung at home and dual samsungs at work and both brands are great and I really like my monitors. I have dual 20" widescreens at home and work.

[Amastacia]

Samsung cheapo TN panels are no better than anyone else's (they don't make the panel anyway).

BenQ is hardly thought of as a top-tier brand, but they do make some rather nice, rather cheap monitors. Certainly worth a look. Some of the Acers are surprisingly decent too.

Dual 4870s seems a bit overkill for 20-22" monitors, if I'm honest. Very few graphically demanding applications even make use of more than one monitor (the only one that comes to mind is Supreme Commander), and a single 4870 (or better yet, 4890) will make mincemeat of just about anything at 1680x1050, and run SuppComm well enough with dual-head support that you won't walk away wanting.

CrossFire'd 4870s are for pushing high resolutions (like 30" panels) at max settings and waving your e-dick around on the games that are more analogous to tech demos with a little plot sprinkled on top.

I'd recommend using a single card and dumping the money you would've spent on the second card into the price premium on a 4890 or to pad your monitor budget in case you find a panel right at the top end of your price range.

[Boyiee]

http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/72642...r-reviews.html

lots of good monitors mentioned in this thread, check it out.

[Jaffar]

I recently got a 26" Vizio monitor:
Sam's Club - 26" Vizio LCD Glass Monitor

Its huge, great picture - 1080p, lots of inputs. Its probably too big to run in a dual monitor set up, but would be a nice alternative to 2 smaller monitors imo.

[zoobernut]

Samsung cheapo TN panels are no better than anyone else's (they don't make the panel anyway).

BenQ is hardly thought of as a top-tier brand, but they do make some rather nice, rather cheap monitors. Certainly worth a look. Some of the Acers are surprisingly decent too.

Dual 4870s seems a bit overkill for 20-22" monitors, if I'm honest. Very few graphically demanding applications even make use of more than one monitor (the only one that comes to mind is Supreme Commander), and a single 4870 (or better yet, 4890) will make mincemeat of just about anything at 1680x1050, and run SuppComm well enough with dual-head support that you won't walk away wanting.

CrossFire'd 4870s are for pushing high resolutions (like 30" panels) at max settings and waving your e-dick around on the games that are more analogous to tech demos with a little plot sprinkled on top.

I'd recommend using a single card and dumping the money you would've spent on the second card into the price premium on a 4890 or to pad your monitor budget in case you find a panel right at the top end of your price range.

It really does depend on what you are doing. If you are just playing games then yes you are better off getting one large monitor and running the two cards in crossfire mode. If you do graphics like I do and run multiple programs at the same time then dual monitors are a must have.

[Amastacia]

No, no, you miss my point.

I run dual monitors and wouldn't trade it for the world.

However...CrossFire is not necessary to run dual monitors. Not even remotely.

I have a single 8800GTX that powers a 25.5" Planar at 1920x1200 and a 20" ViewSonic at 1680x1050. I can play pretty much any game at native on the big monitor with at least 4xAA/8xAF (and I don't notice extreme differences past that, so while I'll turn it on if I can, I don't feel like my eyes are going to bleed if I can't).

CrossFire is a nice thing to have when you're trying to drive games on a 30" but otherwise single cards are powerful enough to do just about anything.

Unless, of course, you measure your worth on your framerate in Crysis Warhead.

Edit: Can even dual-head Supreme Commander fairly well, though that's not a game I play often, so I don't build my system around optimizing for the only game I know of that can use 2 monitors effectively.

[izembo]

Samsung 2343BWX 23'' Widescreen LCD Monitor - 20000:1 (DC), 5ms, 2048 x 1152, DVI - 2343BWX - Buy.com

[jurjur]

I'd suggest two of these:

Dell Ultrasharp 2209wa

PLEASE do not confuse it with the Dell E2209w.

[Clynt]

This.

Acer X223Wbd 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 2500:1, 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+), VGA, DVI (HDCP), Black ET EX3WP 001 at TigerDirect.com

Pretty damn cheap and I've had no problems with it, no dead pixels or anything. Great monitor imo, especially for the price~

[Pun]

I'm going to be buying two 24" 1080p monitors to set up some dual action for my PC. I plan to also use the second monitor as an HDTV when I move and transfer my comcast service.

This monitor seems to have the best deal and ratings for a 24" that I've found. Opinions?

Also, my graphics card has one HDMI and one DVI port. I can just buy one HDMI to HDMI and one DVI to HDMI cable and be all set, right?

[Mabubeezareel]

I'm going to be buying two 24" 1080p monitors to set up some dual action for my PC. I plan to also use the second monitor as an HDTV when I move and transfer my comcast service.

This monitor seems to have the best deal and ratings for a 24" that I've found. Opinions?

Also, my graphics card has one HDMI and one DVI port. I can just buy one HDMI to HDMI and one DVI to HDMI cable and be all set, right?

You CAN do that, but since the monitor has only 1 HDMI input, you'd be left with having to use either VGA or DVI input from your HD cable box. Depending on the model of the cable box, those outputs may not be available. My cable box has outputs for component and HDMI, but neither VGA nor DVI.

I'd recommend connecting your PC to monitor 1 via HDMI, and monitor 2 via DVI from your PC and HDMI from your cable box.

[Pun]

You CAN do that, but since the monitor has only 1 HDMI input, you'd be left with having to use either VGA or DVI input from your HD cable box. Depending on the model of the cable box, those outputs may not be available. My cable box has outputs for component and HDMI, but neither VGA nor DVI.

I'd recommend connecting your PC to monitor 1 via HDMI, and monitor 2 via DVI from your PC and HDMI from your cable box.

For some reason I was thinking the monitor had 2 HDMI inputs, but yeah, what you stated is what I would do in that case.

[izembo]

or just use a hdmi switch cable

[sekaran]

Newegg.com - Acer X233Hbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 40000:1 (ACM) - LCD Monitors $180 for a 23" 1080P.

[Melena]

I just ended up buying the LG W2453v Monitor, and so far enjoying it. My new computer won't be ready for another 7-10 days so can't see my games in 1920x1080 glory yet, but so far, i've been happy.

[Olo401]

The best 24" monitor out there right now is the Dell 2408WFP. It's a bit pricey for a 24" at $519 (goes on sale sometimes at $499), but that's because it's a S-PVA screen and IMO that's completely worth it. Does 1920x1200, can handle full HD 1080P if you need it, and rotates up to 90" if you need it.

For the record I have two Samsungs - a 920NW and a 2233BW. Both are just fine for me even though they're TN displays, but if I had the money I'd consider grabbing one of those Dell displays.