Which 20" monitor?

Ashok_2

I'm looking for a 20" monitor for my new computer highly customized for gaming and movies..

I posted on another forum, and have been left with a choice of 4:
Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP
Samsung SM206BW
LG L204WT
Dell E207WFP

I did want something that looked good as well.. so my preferences were the first two.. but I wasn't sure which one was better from all four. They all vary in response time and the ratios.. whereas the first Dell which is the most expensive has a contrast ratio of 800:1 the cheaper Samsung has a contrast ratio of 3000:1..

Please could someone advise me on which to go for.. and if possible also explain to me the importance of the contrast ratio and the response time as they all vary in the monitors, and wanted to understand what differences it makes to have higher/lower..

Thanks!

BertieLutton

Hi,

This is a good article based on gaming monitors, it explains response time and contrast ration in terms of gaming experience:

http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=249


Hope this helps

Bertie


edit: Looking at the monitors the Samsung has a 2ms response time which is incredible!

Ashok_2

But the Dell has 16ms!

Cerro

For TFT monitors you want a high contrast (3000:1 is good) and a low response time - lower the better as it leads to less "ghosting" but that only really becomes apparent when you use it for games. Something like 12ms or less is near perfect.

The other thing to watch for is the connector. TFTs on an old D-Sub VGA connector are poor for on screen text - tends to be blurry, thats why the DVI connector is much better. Other than that, check sites for reviews of each specific model, they will go into more detail with regards to colour fidelity and viewing angles as well as the monitors best uses (gaming, movies, office work, etc.).

Ashok_2

For response time.. is higher better or lower?!

I've seen the Dell which has 16ms and the Samsung has 2ms. Which is better :S

Cerro

"12ms or less" so 2ms is excellent (although I always take their claims with a pinch of salt). 16ms is fine but you may get some ghosting... anything higher tends to be quite noticeable.

superscaper

Ashok wrote: »

For response time.. is higher better or lower?!

I've seen the Dell which has 16ms and the Samsung has 2ms. Which is better :S

As cerro says, I think 16 ms (milliseconds) is pretty carp. It is the time it takes to refresh, if it takes less time it can refresh (the screen/picture) quicker, hence a smaller number is better. In the specific numbers mentioned, I'd never even consider 16 ms even if I wasn't a gamer. 2 ms is extremely excellent.

Ashok_2

superscaper wrote: »

As cerro says, I think 16 ms (milliseconds) is pretty carp. It is the time it takes to refresh, if it takes less time it can refresh (the screen/picture) quicker, hence a smaller number is better. In the specific numbers mentioned, I'd never even consider 16 ms even if I wasn't a gamer. 2 ms is extremely excellent.

I'll probably go for the Samsung, I wish I could find one review site that had both the Dell and the Samsung so I can compare better.

Although apparantly the Dell is still good (Better than the Samsung) from what I've heard.. but samsung is cheaper and looks good so will probably go for that.