Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've had a quick run through a couple of manufacturers' sites, and there are 4 screens I came up with:

The Philips 240S1CS
Looks pretty nice, but I can't find out the panel type and it seems to be playing hard-to-get. No idea what it would cost me. The 178º viewing angle does suggest IPS though. As for availability, a local office supply shop might just be able to get it for me. They're not cheap though (but a good shop).

Eizo S2433W
One of four displays that came out of Eizo's product selector. This one's the least ridiculously priced of those - Alternate sells it for €899. Rather expensive still, but then, it's an Eizo. Has a PVA panel. Better than IPS? Same? Avoid?

NEC MultiSync® LCD2490WUXi²
An IPS with less gamut (75% AdobeRGB), which might save me some trouble on that part. Will probably run me €800-900 though, so it's still very expensive. Can't seem to find it for sale quickly either.

Dell Ultrasharp U2410
It just has it all, doesn't it? IPS, huge gamut, vast array of connectors, USB, ergonomics, good (discrete) looks and a good price to boot: should have this for less than €700.


So... is there actually a reason why I should not get the Dell Ultrasharp U2410?
Did I forget important displays in my consideration?

Just go with the Dell. IF it has the tint issue, return it and try again.

Tint issue?

Edit: oh, this looks bad...
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19297120/19586199.aspx?PageIndex=8

I'd really rather pay a bit more than enter a lottery... colour issues are not acceptable.

And after a day of consideration I have decided the following for the time being:

If I'm going to be spending large amounts of money anyway, I should be getting what I've really wanted for a longer time and not save €100-200 and get something that leaves me wanting in one way or another. I know I will never truly accept looking at the Dell logo in front of me, good as the screen may turn out to be. It just won't give me the 'feel' I want, much like the way I prefer Ati over nVidia. One isn't particularly better than the other, but there's something untouchable that makes my preference.
So the question is, what do I really want? What have I been wanting for years now? My very own Eizo, that's what. I've been drooling at those things ever since I knew about them.

I hope that explains myself a bit.
So out of the above, that would bring me to the Eizo S2433W. A real Eizo, and really only a few hundred € more than the Dell (I have this nasty habit of thinking relatively, i.e. €150 - €200 is a greater difference than €700 - €900). It lacks hardware calibration, but panels that do have this feature are really pushing it too far with the price; we're talking >€1500 here.


The only thing that worries me is the wide gamut. Will it be a hindrance? Or can it easily be overcome, by for example keeping my current display for web colour proofing? Or can the display itself handle this, hmm... I'll have to check on that. I'd prefer to save some desk space and keep it single screen. Plus my mom and dad have their eyes set on my current one it seems... :roll:


Edit: Another thing that worries me somewhat, does anyone know whether the following will be a problem:
The S2433 is 1920x1200 natively. 1920x1080 (1080p) is not explicitly mentioned in the supported resolutions list. Will this cause any problems? Or will the playback software simply run in 1920x1200 and display the black bars?

Change of plans!
I figure a true 1080p capable screen would be favourable. In addition, the following model has a few extras which may be beneficial:
Eizo FX2431

It is made specifically for BluRay and gaming, and has pretty much the same panel as the previous choice, so I shouldn't be going wrong there.
It has component connectors, which would allow me to put my Wii on the thing (with some proper 480p upscaling as well apparently) so I don't have to buy a TV just for the Wii if I ever move out into my own house. That would indeed be cost-efficient, not to mention room-efficient ;).

The main downside here would be the limited height adjustment (26mm). It doesn't have DisplayPort either, but I can live with the good ol' DVI if I have to. Also, I'm not particularly fond of the exterior design, but I could live with that as well.
And the cost... ~€1050 is hardly cheap, and reaching quite a bit over the initial budget.


If I run through the Eizo product advisor, using Photography as a base, I get this result: click. The FlexScan SX2462W is a screen I already had my eye on as an alternative. An H-IPS panel, ridiculous colour reproduction, 1080p support, DisplayPort, good height adjustment (82mm), sRGB mode and even more ridiculously priced than the FX2431, going at ~€1250. That last bit would be a downside. But the only one if you disregard console connectivity.
There's another display recommended you say? Erm yes, but that's a ColorEdge. I'd love to have one, but I'd also like to stay out of debt...


Actually, those prices do scare me :P
Perhaps I should wait a few months until I get my next extra from work (holiday cash most likely, maybe a bonus, we'll see, but that one's rather unpredictable). It'll be much easier to spend if the money just came in as an extra ;). The BluRay discs can wait... it's not like they'll be decaying over a short time. But one of them will be unavailable before long, so it's not bad to have jumped on the offer still.
Then again, I'm planning my birthday in less than two weeks. What better reason to treat myself to something awesome?
Oh, choices, choices... just a few more months... a few months of drooling at what I may soon call my own. Yes, perhaps that's the best route.


PS: I've linked to the english sites this time, for your convenience.

HP ZR24W

24", 1920x1200, IPS, and upgrade from 2475 (depending how you look at it)

Even though I'm not particularly fond of HP, that there is a very interesting option. Let's see now...

My requirements:

- (S)IPS panel or better - check
- Large viewing angle (if it's IPS that shouldn't be an issue) - check
- 1920x1200, 23 or 24". Specifically not 1920x1080 because it's a wrong aspect for pc gaming. However, I do realise that my choice would be very limited by this, so if there's a very good screen which just so happens to be 1920x1080, do recommend it. - check
- HDCP compliant (well obviously, since that's the very reason I need a new display) - check
- DVI, HDMI and/or DP. Does DP come with HDCP? I suppose it'll have to, being a modern connection type. DP is preferred, just because it's new and cool, but DVI will do just fine. - check
- Height adjustable. - check

Would be nice features:

- Hardware calibration. This will probably bring it to a rather high price tag though. It may however be a decisive feature if the price is good. I'd love to get rid of extra software running just to have the right colours. - fail
- Wide gamut. Although I've also read a lot about it being more trouble than it's worth. Only if it doesn't drive up the price too much please. - fail
- USB hub. - check

All requirements met for less than €500. That's less half the price of the other options I've come up with so far. It's good looking as well. The pessimist in me is dying to ask: what's the catch?

Thanks for this one, it's definately up for serious consideration now.

I've just been to the local shop and requested a quote on the ZR24w. The specialist in this area wasn't available right now, so I'll be getting a call today or Tuesday. Perhaps he'll also know of other available options I haven't seen yet.
Should have an exact price and delivery time estimate soon :)

the catch is that it is the latest tech, that is cheaper than the old.

doesn't have the U2410 green tint.

I can't see anything wrong with it apart from the gamut.

I ordered the ZR24w.

Got a call today from the local shop for the price and delivery estimate.
€399.
10 days.

Delivery time is not bad at all, since there seems to be quite some demand for this display.
But the price... man, that's cheaper than what I found on the internet! And I don't get shipping costs either. And warranty close by, no mail.

Happy :)

Now let's hope the thing delivers.


Might put up a review, if I can be bothered at the time of course ;). This display needs one, as they're scarce.

10 days do pass quickly don't they?


Check out what I just picked up today:



And what was inside that rather generic box?

An HP monitor, just like it says :D


Additional content on top - unpacked in the second pic.


Included are: D-Sub cable, DVI cable, DisplayPort cable, USB cable, Power cable, Driver disc. Strangely, the HP website won't offer the drivers for download. But it'll do.
That stand is huge. I mean really big. A bad omen...


Made room on my desk. It'll need lots of it after all. - The bottom of the stand looks like a nice heavy metal.


There it stands on the desk. As far back as possible. - Monitor mounted.


It doesn't look half as big as it actually is on this pic. Really, the stand was an indication, and the monitor delivered. My goodness, that thing is h-u-g-e.


Everything set up, cables through the management hole. Note the nice spot I found for my cardreader. Just a little bonus :)



It's alive!


That's the 1680x1050 wallpaper. Windows automatically set it to 1920x1200, and wallpapers were set to centered. A nice indication of the desktop space I've gained ;)


First impressions:

It's huuuuuuuge. But you knew that already.

Very good ergonomics. Impressive height adjustability, although it took a while to figure out what to do before being able to press the button. Actually, I still don't know, but at some point it gave in and I could adjust the height to my desire. Now it won't lock anymore, whether that's supposed to be like that I don't know. What I do know is that it sticks to its position without user intervention, so all is well. You can effortlessly rotate and change angle, quite a difference from my previous display. It's also easy to rotate 90º, which is fun to do for once, but I doubt I'll actually use it. I noticed software included for quickly setting it to portrait mode, but I'm not installing it.
What I also like is the room it leaves for my speakers and other bits. It's basically placed higher, but I like the way it is now (well actually, not so much higher, it just lacks a voluminous speaker bar, yay for that). Check the pictures to see what I mean. Speakers slide nicely underneath.

One of the first things I did was the pixel check. Dead pixels: 0. Stuck pixels: 0. As far as I've seen. Nothing noticable at the very least :D. I also checked the background light. Although I'll have to do that again when it's darker in the room, I happily haven't found any discrepancies here either.

Image quality. Not bad, not bad at all. I've checked out a dark picture (my best lightning shot) where my previous monitor would lose details in the darkness. I'm happy to say that this monitor seems to display quite a bit more.
Bluray playback: well it works indeed. Impressive is the best way to describe the experience, and that's from an old movie.
Viewing angle: Great as long as you're in front of the screen. Actively checking by looking from the side I notice a slight but apparent loss of saturation and further on also contrast. Will have to check again when there's less environmental light though.

The OSD is impressive, filled with lots of options. You can even turn off the power LED if it bothers you! It's also nicely located at the bottom right.

Seems to lack the usual host of stickers shouting at you at every moment. I like that.

Overall, I'm impressed. Everything seems just right about this thing, especially the little things. And that means I'm happy. Well worth the €399 :D


I will calibrate when it gets dark outside.

Edit: it's dark and it's calibrated. No issues I've noticed.

Nice screen!

How is the anti-glare coating? Aggressive/noticeable?

I am happy with my U2410 overall, other than the anti-glare, which I find quite aggressive. I'm wondering how the ZR24w stacks up in this regard?

I'm not sure how I would recognise an aggressive anti-glare?

It works well enough at least. Of course, it does reflect the image of white walls somewhat (plenty of those here), or light sources, but nothing to really worry about. And my image quality is just fine.


On a side note: illumination is not as perfect as it seemed at first. To the right there's an apparent loss of brightness, while at the left there's a bit too much. The corner backlights are visible in a darker room, especially bottom left one. Ah, but if I want a large screen that doesn't even get that wrong I'd be back in the €1000+ regions...

Funny detail: I found that I can check out the backlight hours in the OSD. 13 hours and counting :D

I'm not sure how I would recognise an aggressive anti-glare?

A very "matte" looking screen, rather than a glossy one. :)

Well, as I said: nothing specific I noticed about it. Doesn't look particularly 'matte'. Shiny enough :)


On a side note, I believe I have finally completed my system build by adding the latest component: a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional series soundcard.
They really need to shorten those names one of these days...
Ordered it for my birthday last Monday.

Then came the installation woes.

I opened up my computer and checked the PCI-e slots. 3 total.
1 is unusable due to the video card obstructing it. Pretty much standard procedure these days.
1 is unusable due to the motherboard's own [insert your favourite strong language here] cooler. A rather serious design flaw by Gigabyte I'd say...
1 is usable, yay!

So I didn't have a hard time picking my favourite slot.
I put it in, and while the case was open, I took some time to clean the filters. That's where Antec made their design flaw. Takes way too much effort, but for once a month (or more probably, knowing myself), I'll live.

Aaanyway, back to the sound card: the white light went on with the pc. I turned the onboard codec off in the BIOS. Booted Windows. It detected the new hardware, installed its own drivers and presto! I had sound through the card. That was just too easy.
Wait a minute... won't I be needing Creative drivers? Probably if I want to enjoy all (or most) benefits. So I installed them anyway. After installing the drivers and rebooting: presto! Sound gone. Oh great, what is it now? So I installed the Windows 7 card detection problem fixer I had found earlier. Rebooted. No sound. Grrrrr. So I went to the Creative Configuration screen to see whether a standard setting was wrong for me. And there it was under the 'SPDIF output' tab: play stereo mix through SPDIF output. Which was unchecked. I checked it, and I could hear things again. Yay.

One of the reasons I bought this card was the support for Dolby Digital Live. With that I could finally regain the 5.1 sound in games I lost when I bought the pc before this one (for movies I never lost it, because they have real DD output). So I installed the DDL pack I downloaded earlier. And rebooted. And then... nothing. I checked out some games, like Dirt 2 (which started acting funny by going into Windowed mode, but eventually I fixed that with an alt-enter). But no 5.1 sound. Easy to see, since a led will light up on my decoder if there's a DD source. Searching the internet for something like 'use dolby digital live' doesn't really lead to any problem solving. Now what? Hmmm... let's check the Creative support. Seek, seek, *ping*. While searching I thought I might as well check out the Creative Configuration screen again, maybe something popped up there. And indeed, I quickly found an entire tab named 'Encoder'. I checked Dolby Digital Live and instantly the indicator led on my decoder lit up. Dirt 2 test: 5.1, oh yeah :D

So after a lot of fumbling around everything seems perfectly fine now. Some proper microphone input again as well, the onboard one was appalling.

Now let's just hope I don't run into the delay issues with DDL I've read about somewhere. But I'll see that soon enough.

How is the new screen doing? I want one really badly :P

Still great.
After installing my previous screen at my mom's pc, I do get the impression that the image is better there. Of course, the light in that room is entirely different, and it's not calibrated over there either, so that might be what makes that difference. Viewing angle definately is better on the old screen though. No deformation of colour or contrast all the way to the point where you can't see the image at all. 180º, like a painting. Wish this one were that good, but I suppose I'm just spoiled :P

...

Okay, I take that back now. In a bright moment I just decided to rotate the panel instead of moving myself to look from an angle. And now I don't see quite as much difference as I did before. In fact, I dare say it looks like a proper IPS when I check it this way. Maybe the backlight gets off a bit at >45º, but that's it. Apparently environmental light has a huge impact on this.
Great, now there's almost nothing left to put in the list of bad things about this screen. :(

Other than that, nothing special to mention. The screen does the job well, and outperforms my other screen in many other respects.

Let's see if I can make up another summary for this thread...

+ Big, 1920x1200, 1080p.
+ Ergonomic.
+ IPS panel.
+ Display Port.
+ Lots of menu options.
+ Discrete and practical design.
+ 2 USB ports.
+ Price.

- Backlight not perfect, but sufficient.
- Takes relatively long for switching resolutions.
- Long backlight warmup time. Takes a few minutes to get to full brightness.




On a side note, the pc build is doing pretty well, aside from some quirks:
- Occasionally when I boot it'll turn off after a few seconds and on again, only to boot as if nothing ever happens. Last time it even made it past the memory check, but stopped before IDE device detection. Very strange... seems to not happen on the first time a day I turn it on. Weird, slightly worrying maybe, but in the end only extends the boot time by 10 seconds or so. I've read somewhere that Gigabyte motherboards are rather picky with their USB devices. Plenty to pick on over here. Though usually that would lead to infinite boot loops, and I have no such thing (except when I turned HT off before the BIOS flash, see earlier in the thread). It seems to happen more regularly since I put the Sound Blaster in. IRQ conflict with the adjacent video card maybe?
- Keyboard. This G15 v2 sometimes doesn't load all of its functionality. Usually this involves disabled macro buttons (G1-6). To solve this I can either: a) unplug/reinstert the keyboard, or b) exit and restart the profiler software. Every now and then the entire keyboard is disabled and only option a will solve it. Very strange. Something doesn't like the G15 apparently.
- Sound card. Well, the card is fine actually. Just the drivers aren't. In particular Dolby Digital Live, which is making a mess with Windows boot and shutdown. Once up it's working perfectly though. I just can't shut Windows down before manually turning off DDL first. Usually. I have forgotten at times and it just shut down without a twitch. Anyway, when I reboot after properly turning off DDL, normal stereo through digital is messed up. I don't get a Windows welcome tune, or at best a choppy one. Sometimes it works though, particularly if DDL hasn't been on the previous boot. Also, I thought it would stay messed, but when watching a video it was just fine, while at Windows boot it would give nothing. So it's no biggie on that part. On the bright side, everyone seems to be having this problem on Windows 7, and a solution is in the works. There seems to be a beta fix around somewhere already. Next driver update will probably enable permanent DDL :)

All minors, some with hope of repair, some I'll just live with. Just weird, that's what it is. Once running, everything's perfect. I haven't had any unreasonable crashes or any such thing.

The screen sound very good, if the backlight is just uneven, maybe the old Dell 2005 fix where you open it up and pack the screen off with a layer of PVC tape will work? Sony LCD TV above 40" still have massive issues with this, I don't think we will get away from that without going to LED backlit, or sidelit screen completely.

Glad you like it :D

Sorry to hear about the PC problems, I just use the SPDIF out on my card, sounds good, running WASAPI plugin and Foobar2000, although I must get on building my headphone amp and DAC :) Stereo is enough for me, at the moment. Hope to run a second HDMI audio + picture feed to an AV Amp soon, and then circumvent DDL altogether.