Hi everyone,
So I'm about to buy a new monitor for my computer. My budget is $200 USD max. I've been looking at lots of reviews but can't seem to find reviews written by people who make art or deal with color on a day to day basis.
Can you suggest me a couple of models or at least what to look out for. I mean, besides looking for a higher contrast ratio, what else should I look for?
thanks,
-David J
Replies
209 dollars, S-PVA panel, 1920x1200, good colour reproduction
It's definitely worth the extra 9 dollars, probably the best monitor you can find in that price range
Tbh though for that cheap you can't really get a monitor suitable for serious graphics work.
Ps. don't look at reported specs when buying monitors. They are usually bullshit and every company measures them differently (contrast ratios seem to improve all the time, but what is happening is that companies are looking for better and better ways to test their monitors so they would look good on paper.) I don't think any monitor has a static contrast ratio higher than 1500:1 and many monitors have similar static contrast ratios (closer to truth) even though reported ratios vary a LOT. 5 million to one? As if :poly142:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-9271
Don't trust the price on that page, its actually $40 off right now, so its $240
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&oc=U2211H
Buddy of mine has that monitor nice color reproduction. Work has the U2410's and I want one, hoping it goes on sale tommorow.
TN= Shity color, shity view angles, very fast response, low-end
M/P VA = Great colors, Great view angles, moderate response, Mid-range
S/H IPS = Best Colors, Best view angle, slow-moderate response, high-end
E-IPS = This is a newer, cheaper IPS, Great colors, Great view ange, slow-moderate response, mid-range.
Basically the thing you want to avoid is a TN panel. All the rest are pretty good, if you're worried about games just try not get a slower one(some IPS and E-IPS have response rates as low as 20ms). Something like 8-5ms should be fine for games provided you're not a "hardcore professional tournament" gamer or something.
A lot of the times panel type is not listed. A quick way to see is look at the view angles listed, if it says 160,165 or 170, its a TN panel. if it says 176x176 or 178x178, its a VA/IPS/Etc panel, most likely.
Google "Monitor model" + "panel type" or "tn panel" and you should come up with a variety of information about every monitor out there.
If you DO end up cheaping out and getting a TN panel, the most absolutely 100% critical important thing you can do is:
VIEW IT IN A STORE. Go there, look at it, bob up and down, look at it from a variety of angles and decide for yourself if you think the color shifting and poor view angles will be an annoyance. Many people do not mind, and the quality of TN panels varies HUGELY.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047
It's no IPS but it's not terrible either. If you get a TN panel you'll need to do some serious adjusting.
its pretty bright next to my cintiq, but my cintiq was pretty dim to begin with. I managed to somewhat match the dell by boosting the gama on each rgb channel through my card drivers. the color reproduction is really good.
as they go on sale for 399-499 like ive seen before Im snagging one for home, maybe 2. 699 cnd is a lil steep for a monitor for me.
So has anyone on here use an LED-lit panels for color accurate work? How would an LED-lit IPS compare to a flourescent lit one?
fluorescent tubes cause uneven lighting and typically aren't as bright as LEDs, So I'd like to think all Dell IPS are LED, but I don't know for sure.
"Contacted Asus support and they told me unless there are 8 or more dead pixels they will do nothing."
Also monitors are expensive to ship, about $17.
Thought they would go to 499 today went to 549 Gonna wait for a 100$ off coupon to show up..449 = win price