Hey there,

Just trying to work out weather I would want to go for one of these two
monitors, the price difference is little (under $30) and the spec is
the same apart from the following:

Monitor A:
Contrast Ratio 500:1
Response Time 12ms
Brightness 300 cd/m2
Display Colours 16.2m

Monitor B:
Contrast Ratio 1000:1
Response Time 25ms
Brightness 280cd/m2
Display Colours 16.7m

Both are 17 in monitors

As well as general home office use they would also be used for games
and occasionally watching movies.

Any advice would be much appreciated,

Yours

Village

Village wrote:
> Hey there,
>
> Just trying to work out weather I would want to go for one of these
> two monitors, the price difference is little (under $30) and the spec
> is the same apart from the following:
>
> Monitor A:
> Contrast Ratio 500:1
> Response Time 12ms
> Brightness 300 cd/m2
> Display Colours 16.2m
>
> Monitor B:
> Contrast Ratio 1000:1
> Response Time 25ms
> Brightness 280cd/m2
> Display Colours 16.7m
>
> Both are 17 in monitors
>
> As well as general home office use they would also be used for games
> and occasionally watching movies.


For games and movies option B will likely ghost, with a 25ms response time.

So Option A would be best, will the other factors make much of a
differeance?

Thanks,

Village

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
"Village" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> So Option A would be best, will the other factors make much of a
> differeance?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Village

Visual quality is not reflected by specs. You have to see the
monitors side by side, to be able to choose. For example, some
LCD monitors have what looks like an outer glass plate added to
the monitor. That glass plate makes the image look much better,
and makes working on text documents bearable. (Note - not recommended
for florescent lighting, or if there is bright light behind you.)
It also allows the surface of the monitor to be cleaned with
ordinary cleaners, so if you like to sneeze on your monitor,
no problemo. (And one company that makes those kind of LCD
monitors, doesn't even list the glass plate as a feature. It
may be termed "crystal" display, but I'm not 100% sure that
is a common terminology.)

Also, be aware that the response time spec is bogus. The
response time measurement technique has been changed, and
the new method is worthless for determining if ghosting will
be a problem. Go to the store and test it.

As for any brightness specs, a certain minimum will be needed
for you to see the screen in a brightly lit room. If you are
working at home, you may have more control over the lighting,
so not as much brilliance is needed. One danger with picking
a monitor with a high brilliance, is not being able to turn
down the backlight far enough. My monitor has that problem,
and it bugs the hell out of me (it is rated at 225 cd/m2 and
cannot be turned down far enough). That is one thing you can
test while reviewing monitors at the store. Use the on-screen
menus, try to turn down the screen brightness, and see if the
control has a decent range.

First choice - go to the store (test, test, test)
- ask the sales staff to take the movie off the
screen, so you can see text on the Windows desktop.
All monitors look good with a movie on them.
Second choice - read a detailed review of the monitor
- check for subjective comments like "no ghosting"
- read customer reviews of the product on Newegg
Third choice - read the deceitful specs, then gamble.

Paul

On 30 Nov 2005 08:02:25 -0800, "Village" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>Hey there,
>
>Just trying to work out weather I would want to go for one of these two
>monitors, the price difference is little (under $30) and the spec is
>the same apart from the following:
>
>Monitor A:
>Contrast Ratio 500:1
>Response Time 12ms
>Brightness 300 cd/m2
>Display Colours 16.2m
>
>Monitor B:
>Contrast Ratio 1000:1
>Response Time 25ms
>Brightness 280cd/m2
>Display Colours 16.7m
>
>Both are 17 in monitors
>
>As well as general home office use they would also be used for games
>and occasionally watching movies.
>
>Any advice would be much appreciated,
>
>Yours
>
>Village

Without actually seeing the two, this is what I would recommend.

Monitor A: Best for 3d games or anything with rapidly moving images.

Monitor B: Best for photo editing or anything that requires high
resolution still images. It will clip in with 3d games but should be
ok for slower paced strategy/sim type games.

Of course, view them side by side and see which you like best. The
specs only tell half the picture.

The B monitor you showed will NOT work well for games. With its 25 msec
Response Time you will see fast moving objects in games as blurs.
I would definitely choose A.

--
DaveW

----------------
"Village" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hey there,
>
> Just trying to work out weather I would want to go for one of these two
> monitors, the price difference is little (under $30) and the spec is
> the same apart from the following:
>
> Monitor A:
> Contrast Ratio 500:1
> Response Time 12ms
> Brightness 300 cd/m2
> Display Colours 16.2m
>
> Monitor B:
> Contrast Ratio 1000:1
> Response Time 25ms
> Brightness 280cd/m2
> Display Colours 16.7m
>
> Both are 17 in monitors
>
> As well as general home office use they would also be used for games
> and occasionally watching movies.
>
> Any advice would be much appreciated,
>
> Yours
>
> Village
>

"Village" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Just trying to work out weather I would want to go for one of these two
>monitors, the price difference is little (under $30) and the spec is
>the same apart from the following:
>
>Monitor A:
>Contrast Ratio 500:1
>Response Time 12ms
>Brightness 300 cd/m2
>Display Colours 16.2m
>
>Monitor B:
>Contrast Ratio 1000:1
>Response Time 25ms
>Brightness 280cd/m2
>Display Colours 16.7m
>
>Both are 17 in monitors
>
>As well as general home office use they would also be used for games
>and occasionally watching movies.

I would personally avoid both. First one's 6 bits/color channel (18
bits interpolated) so you'll notice banding on gradients and such (sky
images, fi), second one will ghost too much with moving images.

Ignore the brightness. Practically all LCDs are bright enough under
normal conditions (ie not with the sun behind you).

Quoted contrast ratios are also not dependable.

Make sure it has DVI input.

Other than that, you have to see for yourself, and not just in the
store. Buy several if you can, compare side by side and return ones
you don't like.

Google for a utility called Pixel Persistence Analyzer.

Thanks for all of that, I should have mentioned that both monitors came
as part of a deal (ordered though Dell). What was interesting was the
number of different view points, and the number of times that I read
here and on other websites that the specs are a little dubious. I
guess its a bit like 0-60 times for a new car, the times given by the
manufactuer are achived though useing the best conditions, for example
racing slick tires and hardly any extra weight in it.

In the end I chose monitor A as with the much higher response time it
should be able to cope in all situations, that and my current monitor
has a contrast ratio which is about 450:1 and I don't see much of a
problem with that, so a 1,000:1 would just be over doing it.

Thanks for explaning the different meanings behind the stats, I know
that its best to actually see them for yourself but these days when
ordering off the internet it can be a little difficult.

Thanks

Village

On 1 Dec 2005 03:00:49 -0800, "Village" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I know that its best to actually see them for yourself but these days when
>ordering off the internet it can be a little difficult.

Dell has brick and mortar stores in the major cities.

--

"One must realize that the world is a network of real and virtual
combat zones where the stakes are high, struggle is the primary
mode of being and only total victory is acceptable.
-- Sun Tzu, "The Art Of War"

As yet not in the UK to my knowledge, one day maybe,

Thanks for the advice!

Village