- BenQ XL2410T (~ £410)
- Alienware OPTX AW2310 (~ £463)
The Asus is indeed a lot cheaper, but from my understanding it's one of the better 120hz monitors out at the moment. The BenQ is probably the one with the least input lag, but will I notice any difference from for example the Asus? The BenQ just does not seem to have a lot of "great reviews", but was this because of an early bad batch?
I am not sure if there are some new 120hz monitors around the corner that more then likely will blow these out of the water?
Didn't know the LG monitor was discontinued. I wonder if they'll bring another one out. For figuring out which 120hz monitor you want to get, you need to figure out if you like a matte screen or glossy screen. I dislike glossy screens because if you have a light on behind you or the sun is shining into the room you can get some bad glare. However, glossy makes colors a lot more vibrant. This is all user preference of course.
From my understanding Asus has the best color reproduction, but a glossy screen. It also has a little more blur compared to the LG or Benq. The Samsung T23A750 is expensive and I have no idea why. The other Samsung I also have no clue about. Think it came out very recently, so have read very little about it and I don't think enough people have it yet to discuss it. I have had the Acer 120hz and that one was actually pretty good, though it had quirks with its settings, so I'd get something else.
Down to the Benq and Alienware, both matte screens. I believe the Alienware had much better color reproduction, but is a 23" and more input lag. The Benq has had issues with earlier firmware and their default settings are really bad, which are the two biggest reasons for complaints. I would also say that Benq is not the greatest at RMAs (incase you needed to get the monitor fixed). Though the Benq is 24", LED, very low input lag, and when setup correctly is decent with color reproduction although it still has black crush (oh well, can't have it all).
If you wanted a glossy screen, then I'd wait to see if any reviews pop up that compare the Asus and the Samsung. If you wanted a matte screen you have to weigh out the Alienware and Benq. I went with the Benq mainly because I wanted 24" and was more concerned with monitor speed/input lag vs color reproduction. I was able to snag a refurb for ~$260 shipped IIRC, although it wasn't until the 3rd refurb that I got a working screen.
So really, just pick what is most important to you. If you do pick the Benq, make sure the manufacturing date is atleast feb 2011, but I think they have some new ones now that are june 2011. The reason is you want the V005 Firmware. To setup the monitor, first set it to Standard, Instant On, AMA On, Brightness 30-40, Contrast 50, and there were a couple other settings, but this should make the monitor much better.
May I ask what the reason for a 120hz screen is? is there something special about them that i'm not aware of? (apart from it has twice the refresh rate of a standard 60hz monitor) because i'm sure you won't see much if any difference, not to mention If you use Vertical sync your graphics card will be working twice as hard to produce a flat framerate (than, like before a 60h screen).
120hz is really only for FPS games and 3D. The reason it helps in FPS games is that it will display information twice as often to the player (120hz input). Meaning you will actually spot someone a split second faster or see when they change direction quicker, there will be a lot less blur when spinning around, and enemies will move smoother so leading shots should be easier. Has to be a 120hz monitor though as the TVs aren't 120hz input. V-sync induces mouse lag (I don't use it), but 120hz does reduce tearing. If he does play with v-sync it should reduce lag compared to a 60hz monitor since the monitor is updating faster. The graphics card won't work any harder to have v-sync on as it is a cap. Hopefully you know why it is used for 3D. The reason it is not really beneficial for other games/applications is most have static images, while FPS is constantly changing the whole screen. It is also because most other games wouldn't give you an advantage for displaying 120fps.
