A new monitor

[ICIT2LOL]

Now I was watching my laptop through the TV yesterday and well the graphics just blew me away. So I have gone looking for a 27" monitor that will better my current one - BenQ GL 2440 24" GL2440HM - LCD Monitors - Products | BenQ Australia and am looking at this
BenQ GW2760HS 27in Widescreen LED Monitor [GW2760HS] - $299.00 : PC Case Gear
or
Dell S2740L 27in IPS LED Monitor [S2740L] - $334.00 : PC Case Gear
or
BenQ EW2730V 27in Widescreen LED Monitor [EW2730V] - $299.00 : PC Case Gear
keep in mind I am not a great gamer but I do like quality graphics and I cannot break the bank I am under no illusion that these are not going to be top end performers.
Also I have not got a clue as what the numbers and figures mean so could someone kindly let me know what the main specs are I should be looking for and in view of my price range about $350 max taking into account that prices elsewhere are going to be lower than out here

 

[Ranger4]

Hi ICit2lol. Not sure what numbers you are referring to & I am sure you understand the aspect ratio of 1920 x 1080, which is 1920 pixels across times 1080 pixels down, which is 16:9. A quick check of the websites you listed I assume one of the numbers you are asking about is the contrast ratio. A high contrast ratio gives very good dark or black areas in a contrasting scene where other areas are fairly well lit. A dynamic ratio of contrast is I think what the monitor uses to create a better ratio so is probably electronically enhanced to look better.
Someone else may be able to help you with more info as well.
Regards. Bligh.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks Bligh yes mate I just look at those figures and they mean absolutely zip to me I know roughly what the res and brightness mean but the rest of it look like you need a degree to work it out.

I did compare some of the figures with BenQ that was over twice the price but I could not see that much difference. Plus I cannot see the justification in buying a monitor that is as much as a reasonable machine build.

What I would like is to get rid of some of that "canvas" look that the pixels give on large areas of blank colour the greys are particularly noticeable as in this post area.

 

[Ranger4]

I will try to explain some of the numbers for you. The aspect ratio is the width of the screen in relation to the height, which in most cases these days is 16 wide & 9 high. The 1920 is the number of pixels across the screen & the 1080 is the number down the screen. If you multiply 1080 x 1920 you get 2,073,600 pixels on the screen. If you divide 1080 by 9 & then multiply it by 16 you get 1920. If the ratio of pixels across the screen remains at 1920 & the number down is 1080 then the ratio will be 16 to 9 irrespective of the screen size.

Pixel pitch I think means the distance between each pixel. As the number of pixels is fixed by the 1920 x 1080 ratio, then the bigger the screen the further apart each pixel will be & the picture will seem coarser when viewed closely.

Native Contrast is the ratio between a lit area & a dark one on the screen. The higher contrast ratio the better. Most LCD & LED screen cannot match the contrast ratios of a Plasma screen. But as far as I know there are not many if any Plasma computer monitors. The native contrast ratio is probably the one to compare as the Dynamic one is probably electronically enhanced to look better.

The Viewing Angle is how the picture looks from different viewing angles, this is not really important if you sit directly in front of the monitor, but might be relevant if it was in a bank of monitors & viewed from a sharp angle.

Response time is how long it takes the screen to change a scene, so a fast response time may be important in fast moving scenes.

Colour Gamut is out of my league.

Hopefully reasonably easy to follow & understand.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks Bligh well mate while you were of doing that I checked out two tabs side by side of the current monitor I have (BenQ GL 2440) and the 27" models and to be honest it knocks spots of the new one. I had just finished reading about pixel pitch when I heard your post come though and again going larger isn't going to be much good as tey are 0.311 and this monitor 0.275. Response time on this one is 2ms whereas the others were at minimum 4ms so again what I have is better though smaller - not to mention older?.
All your other info confirmed what I had an idea they were for and that gamut thing I found this

Colour Gamut - in layman’s terms

So I might save my bickies until I can get one of those super HD ones but it won't be for a while yet
But thanks so much for the help mate I really appreciated it.

 

[Ranger4]

Thanks ICit2lol. I use 2, 21.5" monitors which I find suits my viewing very well. A lot of people seem to go for large monitors, but if you sit fairly close to the screen then a smaller monitor gives much better resolution as the pixels are closer together, which is easier on the eyes & the picture is clearer.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks ICit2lol. I use 2, 21.5" monitors which I find suits my viewing very well. A lot of people seem to go for large monitors, but if you sit fairly close to the screen then a smaller monitor gives much better resolution as the pixels are closer together, which is easier on the eyes & the picture is clearer.

Yep I know what you mean mate I had cataract surgery just recently and before then I had to have something reasonably large to see properly. But I reckon I can get on of the 24" to have dual monitors eh?

 

[mjf]

My 2 cents - It depends on your purpose. I need glasses when viewing my monitors which are typically ~0.5-0.6 meters (~20") from my eyes. I find 23" monitors perfect for a wide range of things (Web, word processing, spreadsheets but most demanding photography). One thing is I would always buy an IPS monitor when possible.

I have a Dell Ultrasharp U2312H and just bought a Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM (LED back lit) to replace a dead after 4 years Samsung. The Dell Sxx40L series are a bit cheaper but they have more limited monitor physical adjustments and a glass gloss screen. I think the gloss screens may look good in store but ambient light reflections may drive you mad. Give me matt.

If you go for Dell through Dell then you can get a 15% discount if a member of an auto club (eg. RAA).

 

[Ranger4]

I would definitely agree on having 2 monitors when doing certain jobs on the computer, although for reading posts on 7 Forum I usually only have one on & turn the other off.
Having 2 monitors the same size & specs or preferably both identical is the best way to go. I find that my 2 Philips monitors do have a very slight variation in colour, but certainly not enough to worry about. This is I think probably due to one being connected to the DVI output & the other to the VGA output. I use the NVIDIA control panel to set them.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Well after doing some reading it looks like it comes down to dynamic response and the contrast figures.

Now my current BenQ GL 2440 has 12:1ratio and 5 m/s response whereas the Asus ASUS VS248H 24in Widescreen LED Monitor [VS248H] - $185.00 : PC Case Gear
has 50:1 ratio and 2 m/s
the next comparable BenQ for 2 m/s only has the 12:1 ratio BenQ GL2460HM 24in Widescreen LED Monitor [GL2460HM] - $179.00 : PC Case Gear
so I might try the Asus unless someone thinks I should stay with the BenQ as the pixel pitch is just about the same for any given monitor size I found during the scouring around which seems to me the feature that is the deciding factor when viewing the screen close .
If I could I would get one of the really expensive ones but at the moment am just not able to.

 

[mjf]

LED is just the back light technology (ok - good) but an IPS screen makes a big difference unless you want your head in a precise position. I suggest you go into a store and look at a standard TN vs IPS panel moving your head up/down - side to side.