16:9 vs 16:10 PC monitor price ratio

Post by **Ryom** » 13 Apr 2009, 21:54

I had stated in another topic that the flood of less expensive 16:9 format monitors onto the marketplace could push the format up a bit on the forum here. I did some checking to make sure that they were as inexpensive as they appeared.

Looks like I was right, I compared the retail prices of two like sized (square footage) HP monitors and here is the result:

16:9 format - $157.90 per sqft. (total size was 1.58 sqft)
16:10 format - $169.32 per sqft.(total size was 1.53 sqft)

Post by **Abram** » 14 Apr 2009, 02:32

I'm moving to 16:9 before too long becaseu i've found 22" and 23" displays that run at a higher res than my current displays..... But i guess it helps that i could be saving $0.03 per square foot. OF course being priced as tehy are, theyr'e still TN displays.. but I'm poor and have to stick with what i can get. One I'm looking at has the odd resolution of 2048x1152 (i think)

Plus 16:9 looks much nicer, being wider.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 14 Apr 2009, 07:46

Apple has a 23" 1920x1080 e-IPS coming out, though I haven't seen any prices yet. Dell's 22" e-IPS debuted at TN range prices as promised though, and has received rave reviews. The Dell is 1680x1050 though.

anthonylei · Post by **anthonylei** » 15 Apr 2009, 01:08

16:9 ratio monitor is always cheaper than 16:10 mainly due to the manufacture method produces less waste

PapaLes · Post by **PapaLes** » 15 Apr 2009, 03:46

I've wondered about this myself. Aside from cost, which is the better format? I myself have three 28" I-INC (16:10, 1920x1200 native.) monitors on a DTH2Go and they look great. By the time you figure in the bezel management I really don't know what it is on the side monitors. Probably somewhere around 4:3 I suspect.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 15 Apr 2009, 06:10

I feel 16:9 is definitely better, esp for a multipurpose display that you watch movies on. There are more game resolutions in 16:10 aspect ratio, but LCDs are usually only used for two resolutions primarily anyway, the native one and one below it for more demanding games.

The only slight trade off I see is you would have to go a bit smaller in res for the secondary res option with a 16:9. For instance with a 1920x1200 you can use 1680x1050 as your secondary res, but with a 1920x1080 it would be 1280x720, quite a bit lower.

anthonylei · Post by **anthonylei** » 15 Apr 2009, 14:18

that is why you should get one 16:10 for work and 16:9 for multimedia

hehe

skeeder · Post by **skeeder** » 15 Apr 2009, 17:08

I don't even notice to be honest. 16:10 offers more than 16:9. Depending on your use. If your gaming, 16:10 might be better cause it is a generally more accepted.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 16 Apr 2009, 02:27

that is why you should get one 16:10 for work and 16:9 for multimedia...

LOL, I'm so done with having two displays it's not even funny. It's also important to note that just like when 16:10 resolutions became common for PC gaming, more game resolutions for 16:9 will no doubt come as they catch on for PC gaming. In fact they're already coming, including 2048x1152.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020+1109946725&Configurator=&Subcategory=20&description=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

If your gaming, 16:10 might be better cause it is a generally more accepted.

It's just more common (so far), and much of the reason it came about in the first place was for office convenience, not gaming, such as perfectly fitting two 8.5"x11" documents side by side on the screen. I would argue whether they're more accepted. There are numerous players whom have been asking for 16:9 monitors for some time now.

Me, I'd like a 2048x1152 26" e-IPS before Xmas '09 please. The main thing 16:9 currently lacks is a resolution somewhere between 1366x768 and 1920x1080, it's quite a gap. Perhaps something like 1680x946 or 1706x960. Many games will adapt to setting custom resolutions like that anyway, esp well made PC games, so it's not that big a deal really.

DaFox · Post by **DaFox** » 16 Apr 2009, 02:59

Many games will adapt to setting custom resolutions like that anyway, esp well made PC games, so it's not that big a deal really.

Games that dont adapt to new resolutions well are not well made imo. Its actually easier to work with everything under the sun, Basically just checking the registry to see what resolutions are supported by the desktop and working dynamically with them.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 16 Apr 2009, 03:09

I've been doing some reading on 16:9 monitors and you'd be surprised how many naive 16:10 users believe those buying 16:9 ones will be stuck not able to play many of the games. LOL

I just did some dot pitch calculating and a 2048x1152 25.5" would be very close in pitch to a 24" 1920x1200. I really hope 16:9 monitors catch on quick, esp in larger sizes and e-IPS.

Mesh · Post by **Mesh** » 17 Apr 2009, 08:01

About the only issue with 16:9 vs 16:10 is that for the typical 1920x1080 res. you lose the largest common 4:3 res, aka 1600x1200 which for things that don't have wide res. fixes can be annoying when stuck with 1280x960 instead.

Of course that can be fixed with a custom 1440x1080 res. but not entirely since things that can't be fixed for wide res. typically can't use that custom res. either.

Sweetz · Post by **Sweetz** » 18 Apr 2009, 09:38

Of course that can be fixed with a custom 1440x1080 res. but not entirely since things that can't be fixed for wide res. typically can't use that custom res. either.

The exceptions are some games that do support custom resolutions, but stretch in widescreen aspects. Monolith's older games for example (NOLF 1-2 & Tron 2.0).

I setup 1440x1080 so I could play Tron 2.0 (one of my favoritate games of all time) without stretching on my new screen.

Nifty · Post by **Nifty** » 18 Jun 2009, 12:32

Apple has a 23" 1920x1080 e-IPS coming out, though I haven't seen any prices yet. Dell's 22" e-IPS debuted at TN range prices as promised though, and has received rave reviews. The Dell is 1680x1050 though.

How does the Dell 2209WA (e-IPS) compare to the Samsung P2270 (c-PVA)? I guess my google-fu is broken because I can't seem to find any decent reviews of the Samsung or information on c-PVA.

All I know is that the prices are similar (Samsung is cheaper), but the Samsung offers a better resolution. My guess is that e-IPS is better than c-PVA purely on resolution vs price.

EDIT: Nevermind, I'm getting confused with the Samsung F2380 and F2080 which are out end of June apparently. Think the P2270 is TN.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 18 Jun 2009, 23:31

I would say e-IPS is going to blow away c PVA. PVA based panels don't use two transistors per pixel like IPS does and have color shifting at wider angles. So they're having the same 178 degree viewing angle is a bit misleading because it comes with a serious draw back. both are 8 bit color depth, but other than that, it's apples to oranges.

I can agree only slightly that the res on the 2209WA is a bit of a trade-off, but at that size, 1680x1050 still has an acceptably tight pitch.

Frag Maniac · Post by **Frag Maniac** » 18 Jun 2009, 23:32

I would say e-IPS is going to blow away c PVA. PVA based panels don't use two transistors per pixel like IPS does and have color shifting at wider angles. So they're having the same 178 degree viewing angle is a bit misleading because it comes with a serious draw back.

Both PVA and IPS are 8 bit color depth, but other than that, it's apples to oranges. I can agree only slightly that the res on the 2209WA is a bit of a trade-off. At that size, 1680x1050 still has an acceptably tight pitch.

Samsung has yet to jump on e-IPS tech, and I doubt they will this year. They seem to be too busy dumping money into LED lit TVs and trying to hype TN monitors with high DCR gimmicks to be interested in e-IPS yet.

What Samsung is doing in the TN monitor market lately has me much less than impressed with them, and I am a Samsung customer. I've had one of their CRT HDTVs for about 3.5 yrs.

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