thoughts on the samsung 226bw and other similar gaming widescreens?

[rdlevine]

i've gone through pretty much the entire gamut of 20" widescreen monitors and there's always something with them.

the NEC 20wmgx2 is great but i actually dont like the reflective gloss and it's expensive for having features i dont even want (wish there was a non speaker non M version in the US that was less money).

the Dell 2007wfp would have been my next choice but with all the flickering, banding and lotto issues it has i wouldnt want to get into that.

then there's the rest, the samsung 226bw, the viewsonic 2025wm which may have been discontinued though and some others. oh and the samsung is now developing a lottery with "A" and "S" panels which people arent sure differ or not, plus it has various saturation and backlight bleed issues, and of course is a TN which doesnt excite me a ton.

seriously not sure what to do about it.

 

[Sora]

Umm...there is no such thing as a gaming widescreen. Even the ones with super low response time aren't. I mean come on it's not like you will notice any difference from 8ms to 2ms response time.

I say just pick a good brand like the viewsonic or sceptre and it'll be fine.

Samsung make excellent monitors but they are a bit expensive as well, you could get something cheaper and you wouldn't be any happier.

 

[rdlevine]

i figured you would grasp the basic principle that somone means when they say "gaming monitor" but from your "umm" i guess you do not.

"gaming widescreen" basically just means a "widescreen LCD that's good for gaming", although that doesnt necesarily mean i like TN all that much (which due to its response time is said to be good for gaming but i beleive other technologieis have caught up to the point where that is less important).

regardless lcd's are not all so very similar that it wouldnt matter which one i choose, and i wouldnt apply that logic to choosing one, so i if that's how you think of them i'm not sure you can help me in that regard.

 

[Sora]

I understand fine on what you mean when you say gaming widescreen but what I mean and I know not all monitors are made the same. Although there are some brands that are cheap and perform excellent such as Hanns G, Sceptre, and Viewsonic. Samsung is a more expensive monitor though while still being good at the same time.

I guess what it really comes down to is how much you are looking to spend. I payed 180 bucks for my 19 inch widescreen and it is amazing clarity and performance and only 5MS response time. If your not on a budget then the Samsung will be beautiful as they make awesome monitors but you can save money and go with a cheaper one and will still be just as happy.

 

[rdlevine]

it's not just brands or MS time i base it on, as a models performance can differ despite both those.

i'm looking more specifically at certain models and their actual performance.

 

[Pinscher]

Well you seem to be very picky about monitors just the way I was when I was looking for mine. I know how it is hearing all of the problems with every single monitor. It comes down to preference at the end and what just appeals to you most and then taking a chance on it. Trust me, you will never pick a monitor if you are looking for the perfect one. I will tell you, I got the Sceptre 22" widescreen 5ms 1200:1 contrast ratio. This thing is amazing on everything from movies to games to browsing. I am sure other monitors perform worse, just as good, and better than mine, but like I said it is all preference and chance.
Good Luck

 

[rdlevine]

i think the whole point of my first post was that i know there is no perfect monitor, but still i am considering several models and the fact that all have some implict issue is making it rather difficult (that even with a non perfect monitor i would rather do without).

and scepter was not amongst those models though.

some have not gotten any full reviews yet though, and roundups always help, but still, panel lotterys and certain panel flaws (banding, flickering) are issues i would rather not have to deal with even with an "imperfect" monitor..

 

[Pinscher]

Well I can only suggest the Sceptre 22" because I have an experience with it and I own it so I can vouch for its quality. I will not say anything about any other monitor because I don't own them and can't give you information other than the stuff you can read in the specs. So I say if you can afford it, get the Sceptre 22", read the reviews, they are all great.

 

[rdlevine]

again not really interested in the sceptre. i can appreciate that you own one and all, but as you said you have no real basis for comparison beyond that, which again is why i prefer performance roundups and comparisons since there are plenty of competitive models that i'm looking at. and while i'm more interested in other models anyway, i have actually not always heard positive things about the sceptre brand anyway (and if i indeed am going to buy a TN monitor on top of that i would be more likely to shoot a bit higher considering the technology is already rather cheap).

i also though dont simply look at specs though, since they can be rather deceiving and not always dictate how a monitor actually performs.