Monitors, or: please, please help me

[sesselpupser]

Hi guys,

So I'm in the market for a new monitor for my Mac, and I'm just looking for some advice. I'm upgrading from a 22" 1680x1050 monitor and would like to move to a 24" 1920x1200 (i.e. not 1080p).

The trouble is, finding such a monitor is difficult as the majority are now 1080p. This 24" Dell UltraSharp looks pretty good for the price, but I have no knowledge of any monitor makes other than Apple and Samsung, so I don't know if it will actually suck. I will of course read reviews on it but I'd also like your opinions as I really don't trust reviews unless they're being heavily critical, you know?

Can anyone else kindly recommend anything for me to consider, please? My budget is right around the £225 mark, so this monitor fits that perfectly, but you might know some better, cheaper alternatives.

Thanks in advance, guys, I appreciate it and all the other help I get around here!

 

[Azuremen]

First, why are you so hung up on 1920x1200 versus 1920x1080?

Secondly, the Dell Ultrasharps are generally quality monitors. I am using two at the moment. The big thing to look for now is IPS, as it provides superior color quality.

 

[bergauk]

IPS. Get it. Especially if you do any sort of Photo/Video editing.

Assuming you have the connectors/adapters for Displayport or DVI[Not expensive really],It'll be a good monitor. The only other monitor on that site thats also 1920x1200 is this one. http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Moni...405wg+Widescreen+LCD+Monitor+?productId=49277

It boasts a faster response time by 3ms, but lacks IPS. So it won't look nearly as nice.

For reference on what IPS means. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPS_panel That's a good place to start.

 

[sesselpupser]

First, why are you so hung up on 1920x1200 versus 1920x1080?

I'd like the extra room, it's as simple as that to be honest. I'm struggling to say more on the subject but I really can't!

Thank you both for your responses, I was thinking that it would be hard to beat that monitor for the resolution at that price. I have no idea what IPS is just yet, I'm off to read the link bergauk posted, though, but it sounds like you both agree that it's A Very Good Thing... I may have decided already but that is, as always, subject to change right up until I've paid for it, so I'll check back here and see if anyone else has any other recommendations.

Thanks guys!

 

[Submerged]

IPS is basically a far better screen quality. I have a TP monitor here and it was cheap, 24 inch and I can tell that it was cheap as anything. It was only 160 quid when the same size for a IPS was around 400 quid.

However, IPS is coming down in price by a large amount due to it becoming more common and they are still far better quality than my cheapy quality screen.

You can tell the different immediately, due to viewing angles, colour reproduction and just general usability.

 

[nick09]

Best thing to do is go to a store that sells many types of monitors and see for yourself since the internet can't show you the image quality.

 

[Azuremen]

Best thing to do is go to a store that sells many types of monitors and see for yourself since the internet can't show you the image quality.

Have fun calibrating all those demo monitors to get proper comparisons, seeing as how the contrast and levels are always insane on those to make them more eye catching.

The Ultrasharp series is respected, and IPS is the super technology for color quality and viewing angle.

 

[nick09]

It's still one of those things that you have to see in real life to get an idea on what to get(guess after the worker lets you change the settings that is!) if you don't know what's the difference is.

 

[bergauk]

It's still one of those things that you have to see in real life to get an idea on what to get(guess after the worker lets you change the settings that is!) if you don't know what's the difference is.

You really don't. Dell is known for high quality IPS panels.

 

[Crash]

The big screen Dell Ultrasharp series monitors are almost all IPS and are well respected. I don't think you'll go wrong getting one of those.

With higher end monitors, they tend to be used by picky professionals, so you'll likely find a lot of people who've done comparisons online between color calibrated screens. Read those and you should get a good idea of how good different monitors are. Going to a store to look at the screen probably won't be very helpful at all.

 

[Casio]

Skip the 24 and go for the 27