New monitor

[ewx]

I'm thinking of buying a new monitor, specifically a 1920x1200 one (which seems to mean 24" or 23"). Does anyone have any recommendations for/against?

My monitor buying so far has either been based on seeing something in the flesh and concluding it's OK, or buying something second hand and therefore happy to risk it being no good, and neither of these approaches have yet led to disaster. I'm not expecting 2nd-hand to be an option here however.

I've had a (so far rather brief) look at a HP W2408H and looked OK. The L-2442WD (which seems to go under various brands) is much cheaper and doesn't seem to have attracted bad reviews (though it's hard to find any not on a vendor website, which seriously undermines their credibility), and I've not yet had the chance to see one for myself. The Acer AL2416WB is also pretty cheap but has some fairly bad press. The Apple one may well be lovely but is also significantly more expensive than the alternatives.

Comments

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Dell's 2408WFP got an amazing review in Custom PC this month. I've been reasonably happy with my 2405 over the years. They also do a 26" one in the same (1920x1200) resolution.

[davefish.livejournal.com]

Similarly I'm very happy with my Dell 2405, but I have no other point of reference for this size of monitor.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yes, other reviews of that seem very positive too.

As it happens the screen I'll be replacing (or at least displacing) is the 19" CRT I bought from you many years ago. It's served me very well and is only now beginning to show its age (occasional yellow casts).

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

I always rated NEC for CRTs. That was a damn fine monitor.

NEC monitor

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Its new owner just carried it out the door - it's got some life in it yet...

[james-r.livejournal.com]

My dell 2405FPW has been fine.

If you wanted to buy it, I could upgrade to a 30" :-)

[gjm11.livejournal.com]

Although Dell aren't currently selling the 3008WFP in the UK. Supposedly they had some technical problems in February and are devoting all their production now to fulfilling back orders. I dare say you can buy them from not-Dell, though.

[james-r.livejournal.com]

I usually buy from www.pcbuyit.co.uk

I've already got one 3007WFP, so would get another the same
to match I think...

[gjm11.livejournal.com]

'Cos 2560x1600 + 1920x1200 just isn't enough...

[aardvark179.livejournal.com]

And by technical problems they mean, "The panel manufacturing plant burnt down." It has meant 30" panels have been in very short supply recently.

[truecatachresis.livejournal.com]

I concur with the other positive comments on the Dell; I have an older model 24" Dell, and it's lovely. The new model (which also got a good review in PC Pro) looks both better and cheaper than mine was.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

The 3 year warranty on the Dell 2405 was very useful for us, as our pair both went pop this year, thus requiring replacement in the third year of that warranty.

So we now have a pair of 2407s. And I have one at work, and I love them.

[(Anonymous)]

I'll just note in passing that Staples had some very impressive LCDs for competitive prices last time I was in there. Can't remember any details, but easy enough to go there and eyeball them.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Nothing at the resolution I want (or indeed above) today, unfortunately.

[gerald_duck]

I hate buying monitors.

Plasma screens burn in; LCD has poor black levels; CRTs are heavy and bulky and inefficient and not digital; DLP works best when projected and isn't useful with bright ambient light.

*sigh*

For the moment, I'm sticking with CRTs because poor black levels really get to me, and for some perplexing reason you can't get a lot of pixels in a small area on a TFT… unless you buy a laptop. Why can't they put laptop displays in desktop enclosures? You can get a CRT that fits 1920x1440 onto an 18"-diagonal visible area — that's getting on for twice as many pixels per square inch as the kind of TFT you're considering!

[gjm11.livejournal.com]

I concur. I suspect that part of the reason is that Bigger Is Better is burned into lots of people's brains. My own opinion is more or less the reverse, and it sounds like yours is too, but monitors get sold on the basis of physical size and I have a nasty suspicion that a lot of buyers don't even ask how many pixels they have. Alas.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Dell and Dabs both categorize monitors by physical size before number of pixels, which in the Dabs case made it quite inconvenient for me to get a suitable list, so I think you're right at least to the extent that they tend to be sold that way.

Why can't they put laptop displays in desktop enclosures?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

That would be nice.