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My first LCD for gaming and image editing: 22'', 1680x1050, fast AND good color

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MiSP

Registered
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Location
Bergen, Norway
I'm considering upgrading from my 21'' CRT to an LCD. It will be used for both gaming and graphics editing. I'm looking for opinions on which monitor to buy, as well as gaming experiences on the two monitors listed below. Here's the limitations:
  • Resolution: 1680x1050. Don't want less, and more will make my gaming rig struggle with the newest games out there.
  • Size: 22''. Larger and the resolution goes up, smaller and the screen will actually be smaller than the one I have now.
  • Response time: Low enough for more-than-occasional gaming. I'm not a "pro gamer", but I play a lot of action and FPS games.
  • Input lag: Unsure about this one - I don't know how much I would notice, neither whether I could get used to it and not notice it in the end.
  • Color reproduction: Good. I'm a hobby photographer, and while I don't have professional needs, I need at least somewhat correct colors. Good colors out of the box is a plus, but I am able to rent a colorimeter for cheap to calibrate my screen, so it's not vital.
  • Viewing angle, backlight uniformity, backlight bleed: Perhaps they aren't the most important ones for picture quality itself, but I think "errors" here would be a great source of irritation in the long run, so they are important to me.

I do hope there's some monitors out there that meets my needs to a certain extent (the resolution is perhaps the only thing I want exactly as stated here; everything else becomes a compromise between quality and speed - I could even go for less than 22'' if there's a 21'' or 20'' that's otherwise perfect).

I've looked at two monitors which both excel in image quality - the HP LP2275w and the Eizo FlexScan S2231WSE. Any experience on gaming with these (including input lag) would be greatly appreciated.

Price is secondary at this stage, but below 600 USD would be great (I think - I'm in Norway, and prices don't convert directly; there's a lot of additional costs of import and such). Not that I've seen 22'' selling for much more than that anyway.

Thanks in advance for all answers, I'm not able to do this without some forum help!
 
Welcome to O/C Forums :welcome:

Both those LCD's are really nice, but the trick here is to get the one with the lease response time. So given that, from the 2 you've selected, I would go with the HP LP2275w as the response time is 6ms. I haven't had any expieriences with either, just from what the specs show on them.

The Eizo Flexscan S2231WSE has a response time of 8ms. Tho 2ms is barely noticeable, in rare cases you might see the difference (lag).

I have the Samsung Syncmaster 225BW (22" widescreen) and it's response time is 5ms :D. Great gaming monitor, i'm happy with it.
 
i am currently in the same situation as you... looking for a 22incher... i have come up with the samsung 2253BW and the T220 ... and am leaning more twords the T220.
 
Welcome to O/C Forums :welcome:

Both those LCD's are really nice, but the trick here is to get the one with the lease response time. So given that, from the 2 you've selected, I would go with the HP LP2275w as the response time is 6ms. I haven't had any expieriences with either, just from what the specs show on them.

The Eizo Flexscan S2231WSE has a response time of 8ms. Tho 2ms is barely noticeable, in rare cases you might see the difference (lag).

I have the Samsung Syncmaster 225BW (22" widescreen) and it's response time is 5ms :D. Great gaming monitor, i'm happy with it.
Thanks! :) As far as the responstime goes - the number of milliseconds isn't the whole story. The panel type also has to be considered into the equation. As far as I've understood, the response time of PVA panels can't be directly compared to the response time of TN panels. That's why I appreciate anyone with first-hand experience with gaming on these monitors. :)

i am currently in the same situation as you... looking for a 22incher... i have come up with the samsung 2253BW and the T220 ... and am leaning more twords the T220.
Hm... The 2253BW doesn't seem to have good colors or viewing angle, so I don't think that's the right one for me. As far as the T220 goes, I couldn't find any helpful reviews, only ones saying "great design, mediocre feature set", which isn't too appealing that either.
 
is this serious graphic editing where colors are very important, if so keep your CRT as a 2nd monitor. :)
 
is this serious graphic editing where colors are very important, if so keep your CRT as a 2nd monitor. :)
As said, I don't have professional needs, I just require that the colors are somewhat correct to the eye (not necessarily scientifically 100 % correct in every synthetic test), and that the monitor is free of obvious annoying aspects such as bleeding or uneven backlight. Besides, part of the reason I'm switching is because the CRT takes up too much space. :)
 
I recently moved from a 17" CRT to a 22" LCD. I couldnt be happeir with my Asus VW224U, if it didnt have one messed up pixel that shows up after its been on a while. Other than that teenie defect, the screen is awesome. No input lag, tested it with clone mode with it right next to my CRT playing NFSMW. It plays games great at native res, no ghosting, and plays great at lower than native res. I play alot of my old games at 1024x768 letterboxed with the nice 4:3 aspect ratio feature with this monitor and it is awesome. I play fps letterboxed and no ghosting or tearing. Im an fps player myself and i was so worried about input lag/ghosting/tearing, and there isnt any on this monitor.

As for colors, they were good, panel was a bit bright, had to tone it down, and adjust the gamma on my vid card to get it looking like my CRT. Viewing angles arent bad, just be sure you get something to put that screen on so that it is up off your desk so that your eyes hit like middle of the screen. CRTs you wanted to be staring at the top of the screen when looking straight ahead for best viewing, with an LCD you want to be looking as close to dead center as you can be, maybe a lil up. It produces good colors once the brightness and contrast are set right. Depending on your vid card you might want to adjust the gamma down a since you are coming off of a CRT. Im using the DVI connection as well. It is a cheap buy at newegg and very nice.

Edit:
almost forgot about the uniformity. It is great, a black screen is black and white is white, though near the edges it is a lil washed out(my brightness and contrast might be to high?), not very noticable, minimal backlight bleed.
 
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DragoXT: Thanks, I'll read some reviews. :)

I've come across some new monitors - the NEC LCD20WGX2, for example. Great response times, great color, however it's only 20'', so I don't think I'm choosing that unless all else fails. I've also come across the HP LP2475w, which seems like the best choice right now (except that I can't find much about gaming with this monitor - experiences or links are greatly appreciated).
 
ecost.com has the samsung T220 for $188. Comes to about $209 shipped. great deal IMO. I was trying to hold off on buying one but I could not pass it up.
 
I just got my Samsung 2253BW a few weeks ago and LOVE it. I was also debating between the T220, but I think the 2253BW looks better. IMO
 
I ordered the HP LP2475w. :) Will get back later with thoughts, feelings and perhaps some measured results. Thanks for the help!
 
I believe that's a PVA panel - provides better viewing angles and better color reproduction. Response times in the past weren't so good, but they are coming along. You will not see ghosting at 6ms gray-to-gray.
You came down to great choices all the way around. You picked a pricier monitor, but if you're happy with it for 2-3 years, then money well spent.
 
It's been some time now, but here's my mini-review:

Gaming: Fulfils all my needs here. Some slight RTC overshoot sometimes, but this happens rarely and is barely noticeable.

Input lag: Not noticeable. I noticed it when running my old CRT along with it, but during normal use, I don't experience any lag.

Image quality: Out of the box, quite horrible. Everything's way too red. A colorimeter is a must here. Make sure it supports wide gamut screens! I bought an Eye-One Display 2, very happy with it. Calibrated, it's almost perfect (deltaE<1 for all colours). However, due to the screen being wide-gamut, everything that's not colour managed (including icons, buttons and almost all user interfaces) appear more red. (You get used to this, however.) Prepare to spend some time reading about colour managing. However, once it's calibrated and everything's set up, it's a delight to work with.

Other: It's got all the inputs and cables you'd want, including DisplayPort. However, when turning the screen on, it takes 15 seconds for it to pick up the signal (it actually goes briefly into sleep mode during this time). Quite annoying.

Bottom line: If you require good colors and responsiveness and little lag, this screen might be for you. However, prepare to spend time and money on colorimeteres and reading about colour managing. I really can't wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone (especially not as a first LCD screen), but I'm very happy with it myself.
 
You can set the default input to whichever you use under 'Video Input Control' in the OSD and it shouldn't take 15 seconds to pick up an input.
 
You can set the default input to whichever you use under 'Video Input Control' in the OSD and it shouldn't take 15 seconds to pick up an input.
I've already tried this, with no luck. Can you specify the exact settings you use? My default input is DVI-1.
 
Main Menu -> Video Input Control -> Default Video Input -> select default input.

I also have Auto-Detect Input and Auto-Switch Input on the Video Input Control menu both turned off.
 
Main Menu -> Video Input Control -> Default Video Input -> select default input.

I also have Auto-Detect Input and Auto-Switch Input on the Video Input Control menu both turned off.

I'm using the exact same settings, but the problem still persists.
 
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