My first LCD monitor: 1680x1080 or 1920x1080?

[TRWOV]

As a small number of you might know, I'm using a rather bulky 20" CRT monitor. My local PC vendor of choice is having a monitor sale and I'm thinking about taking advantage of it.

I've read somewhere that 16:10 is better for older games because the first wide LCD monitors came in that format and would play them without distorted graphics. Is that the case?


I'm basically debating with myself about these two models:
AOC E2243FW Black / White 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LC...
+ LED
- 16:9 (1920x1080)

Acer V223WEJbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monit...
+ 16:10 (1680x1050)
- cold-cathode, although power consumption is rated at 21w. Farily low.

I'm not too concerned about looks so that wouldn't be a factor.

 

[micropage7]

i would go for higher resolution. it looks AOC little bit better

 

[BrooksyX]

I would go with a 16:9. Older games supported 16:9 and 16:10 but in my opinion most newer games will work on 16:10 but will look better on 16:9.

Also go with 1080p as thats the industry standard right now.

 

[chr0nos]

depends on what you need, I suggest you go for the Acer, because well, if you go for the AOC to have higher resolution you will have to lower graphics quality in games to mantain a decent framerate.

depende de las necesidades y gustos que tengas para jugar, yo te sugiero que te vayas por el Acer, porque tambien, si te vas por el AOC al tener mayor resolucion le tendrias que bajar a la calidad en los juegos para tener un desempeño decente

 

[TRWOV]

depends on what you need, I suggest you go for the Acer, because well, if you go for the AOC to have higher resolution you will have to lower graphics quality in games to mantain a decent framerate.

depende de las necesidades y gustos que tengas para jugar, yo te sugiero que te vayas por el Acer, porque tambien, si te vas por el AOC al tener mayor resolucion le tendrias que bajar a la calidad en los juegos para tener un desempeño decente

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. The sale will last this weekend so I've still got some time to think.

 

[Athlon2K15]

with your current video card 1680 x 1050

 

[TRWOV]

This one is going to have a discount too

AOC e2343F Black & White 23" 5ms LED BackLigh...

 

[John Doe]

Going to be bad after a 20' tube. The 20 inch CRT should be halfway high-end with higher refresh rates (for smoother FPS), %100 viewing angles, accurate colors and such. Those cheap TN panels on the other hand have washed out, purplish colors. Darkened viewing angles, backlight bleeding and so. Also, the 20' CRT has more vertical screen estate with a better, square FOV and higher res (4:3 up to 1920x1440).

I wouldn't be looking into less than quality, $350 24 in. IPS panels...

 

[TRWOV]

Going to be bad after a 20' tube. The 20 inch CRT should be halfway high-end with higher refresh rates (for smoother FPS), %100 viewing angles, accurate colors and such. Those cheap TN panels on the other hand have washed out, purplish colors. Darkened viewing angles, backlight bleeding and so. Also, the 20' CRT has more vertical screen estate with a better, square FOV and higher res (4:3 up to 1920x1440).

I wouldn't be looking into less than quality, $350 24 in. IPS panels...

Would it be that bad? I've been turning up my CRT's brightness over the years because the screen gets dimmer and I'm at max now; I don't think it has much life left. Still, I'm thinking about using it for a MAME machine.

 

[Jstn7477]

The problem with CRTs though is that they can go out of focus, brightness diminishes (flyback problems), develop geometry problems, electron guns degrade or one goes out, etc. so I would say it depends on how far gone your CRT is. A measly TN panel can easily be better than a CRT that is in rough shape. I have an old Sony GDM-500PS that has degraded over the years and is basically unusable at anything resolution over 60Hz or 1280*1024 because the monitor is noticeably darker over 60Hz, it's out of focus, and it has color combination issues that differ between the top and bottom half of the viewing area. Plus, it's not like you can get a super duper refresh rate at higher resolutions anyway unless you have a really late model that can do greater than 1600*1200 at 85Hz.

I will agree with IPS panels for sure, although the $200-300 models are just cheap e-IPS anyway, so whatever.

 

[John Doe]

Would it be that bad? I've been turning up my CRT's brightness over the years because the screen gets dimmer and I'm at max now; I don't think it has much life left. Still, I'm thinking about using it for a MAME machine.

Yeah, went on that route myself. Had a 19 incher with a flickering tube, got a 27 inch (yes) 120 HZ panel from an unknown company. I bought it off eBay and it came out with a crap panel. Held up for it for a few months till I got this 22 inch Diamontron professional badboy tube

If you can't afford such monitor, you might look into this one. Not an IPS, but still superior to those.

HP LA2405wg Black / Silver 24" 5ms Height/Pivot/S...

http://www.overclock.net/t/1127919/1920x1200-monitors#post_15107991

 

[TRWOV]

My issues are that...

1) I don't have access to newegg.
2) the shop running the promo doesn't have anything but Acer, Samsung, LG and AOC monitors and a limited selection at that.


I guess it'll depend on how deep the discounts are.

 

[John Doe]

FYI, if you can find an E-IPS, it'd be better than TN.

 

[TRWOV]

Nah, all they have are TNs

The "best" one they have is the 23" LED backlit AOC

 

[TRWOV]

Got the Acer along with an HD6850 w/Just Cause 2 STEAM code

The cold-cathode monitors got a 30% while the LED monitors got a 10%; that sealed the deal.

 

[TRWOV]

Reporting back. I've been using the Acer LCD monitor for about a week and I'm very satisfied. I got no stuck pixels *knocks wood* and even the lowest brightness setting is brighter than my old CRT. The viewing area is as tall and, of course, wider.

There are a couple of drawbacks however: low res videos look way more pixelated and there are some instances were 60Hz doesn't seem to be enough but such is the nature of fixed res monitors. I guess that the next upgrade will be a 120Hz IPS monitor but that'll have to wait for now. Maybe in a couple of years. Thank you for all your replies.