help picking a good monitor(gaming)

I'm building a computer from scratch and need a decent monitor to go with it, something on the cheap side that is still pretty good, I've decided to go with an ASUS monitor as the have the most value for money IMO.

I've narrowed down the list to two monitors

The first has doesnt have inbuilt speakers whereas the second does.
First has a contrast of 50000:1 but the second has only 20000:1 - does this make much difference?
Other than those two points, the monitors are basically the same thing with different designs

first monitor: ASUS MS236H 23" Ultra Slim Widescreen LCD Monitor

second: ASUS VH236H 23" Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor

the thing that i don't like about the first one is that, due to its ring stand (which looks amazing) its very unstable and easily falls over, also, due to the design of the stand the screen is constantly tilted back at about a 10 degree angle.

So, which should i get?

Sorry, no need to help anymore, ive decided.
Thanks anyway

ashfaq said:

I'm building a computer from scratch and need a decent monitor to go with it, something on the cheap side that is still pretty good, I've decided to go with an ASUS monitor as the have the most value for money IMO.

I've narrowed down the list to two monitors

The first has doesnt have inbuilt speakers whereas the second does.
First has a contrast of 50000:1 but the second has only 20000:1 - does this make much difference?
Other than those two points, the monitors are basically the same thing with different designs

first monitor: ASUS MS236H 23" Ultra Slim Widescreen LCD Monitor

second: ASUS VH236H 23" Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor

the thing that i don't like about the first one is that, due to its ring stand (which looks amazing) its very unstable and easily falls over, also, due to the design of the stand the screen is constantly tilted back at about a 10 degree angle.

So, which should i get?

Firstly, don't read into the advertised contrast ratios of commercial monitors. These are just fancy numbers of dynamic contrast (that you will hardly see) which is just used to make them seem attractive. IMO there will not be a big difference in terms of contrast between monitors in the cheaper end of the scale, especially if you calibrate them properly.
My next piece of advice is to ignore any "extra" features. These include speakers, headphone jacks, etc. These are also cheap gimmicks that make them seem more attractive but really just make you spend more money. Only worthwhile extras would be USB ports (which is still unnecessary).
At the end of the day, there are two main things to consider when buying a low end monitor. Size and resolution. You have listed two monitors of the same size and resolution. Thus you must choose based on design features (such as stand, adjustability, button placement) and overall aesthetics of the monitor. Generally at this price range, the most popular (and IMO the best) monitor to get would be the Benq V2420H.

I've decided to get this monitor, its amazing looking and has good features:

ASUS MS238H 23" Widescreen Slim Ergo-fit LED Backlight HD Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 10000000:1 Dynamic, 2ms, VGA, HDMI

its one that wasn't mentioned in my first thread starting post, just an upgraded version of the first monitor choice.

One more thing that i forgot to mention, this and the first choice have LED backlighting whereas the second choice does not