LCD Monitor Help - Not Sure Which To Buy

Hi All - I need some help on a purchase I'll be making in the next day. I'm in the market for an LCD monitor and I'm using a Dell Gift Card so I'm stuck deciding between what they have availabe.

I plan on use this as an external monitor with my Asus W3j (first generation) - do you think it has enough power to effectively take advantage of this screen with games (mostly Everquest 2 right now).

Between the following monitors, please let me know what you would suggest.

- Originally I was just going to settle on the first one (Dell) below, but the response time is 16ms - isn't that terrible?
The last one - the Samsung 215TW looks like the tech champ with a 1000:1 contract ratio, but I've read some user reviews that it fails often (yellow and blue bars?)

2007WFP Wide-Screen Black Flat Panel Monitor, LCD with Height Adjustable Stand :

Features Display Type
100 mm VESA® Mounting, Antiglare with Hard-coating 3H, Includes Height Adjustable Stand Flat Panel Display / Active Matrix TFT - Desktop
Diagonal Size Viewable Size
20.1" 20.1"
Image Max H-View Angle Image Max V-View Angle
±89° ±89°
Color Support Compliant Standards
16.7 Million VESA®
Dot Pitch Environmental Parameters
0.258 mm (Pixel Pitch)
Image Brightness Image Contrast Ratio
300 cd/m² 800:1
Max Resolution Max Sync Rate (V x H)
1680x1050 Pixels 76 Hz x 81 kHz
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type Power Consumption Operational
USB/15-pin D-Sub/DVI-D/S-Video/Composite Connectors 75 W (maximum), 55 W (typical)
Response Time: 16ms

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Samsung 204BW 20IN LCD .258MM-16X10 600:1 SLV/BLK
Features
MagicBright 2, MagicTune, MagicSpeed, MagicColor Wall mountable
Display Type Interface
Flat panel display / TFT active matrix DVI, VGA (HD-15)
Diagonal Size Viewable Size
20" - widescreen 20.0"
Interfaces Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch
1 x VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ¦ 1 x DVI-D - 24 pin digital DVI 0.285 mm
Analog Video Signal Color Support
RGB Up to 16.2 million colors
Compliant Standards Device Type
TCO '03, Energy 2000, EPA Energy Star, VESA DPMS Flat panel display / TFT active matrix
Enclosure Color Image Aspect Ratio
Black 16:10
Image Brightness Image Contrast Ratio
300 cd/m2 700:1
Response Time: 6 ms

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215TW Syncmaster 21-inch Wide Digital/Analog Multimedia LCD Monitor
Tech Specs

Features Diagonal Size
MagicTune™, MagicBright™, MagicRotation™, Built in Speaker, VESA® Compliant 21" (Wide)
Image Max H-View Angle Image Max V-View Angle
178° 178°
Color Support Connectivity Technology
16.7 Million Cable
Dot Pitch Enclosure Color
0.27 mm Pixel Pitch Black
Image Brightness Image Contrast Ratio
300 cd/m² 1000:1
Max Resolution Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type
1680x1050 Pixels 15-pin D-Sub / DVI-D CVBS Connectors
Response Time: 8 ms (G to G)

Thanks for the help!!!

 

How much do u intend to spend?

Asus produce 1 22inch model, it's quite cool and the response time aint that bad. Check it out.

 

$300-450...problem is I'm doing so with a Dell gift card so I'm locked into to what they sell.

I wish the Asus was an option

 

The Dell is a great option, I have the lower end model of that 20" (The 'E' one), and its such a great purchase, the VGA isn't as bad as it sounds. Though check if that one is the 'Ultra Sharp' one, as that has the S-IPS screen IIRC.

 

Don't worry overly much about the response time for the 2007WFP, Dell severely understates the speed of this monitor... testing indicates times closer to 8ms, which is more than adequate for movies and most gaming.

Pixel response times are to monitors what pixel counts are to digital cameras; a great way for manufactuers to pimp their product. Considering there's no standardised way this is measured, PRTs are at best not terribly useful and at worst downright misleading.

What will your main uses be for the monitor? Gaming? Video? Graphic design?

 

Gaming and all purpose mostly...working with home pics and videos a little. Not sure what I'll be doing in a year down the road.

More than anything, I just want to make the best decision one this purchase and i think I've narrowed it down to the 3 with the Dell and 21" Samsung the favorites.

 

It doesn't say that on the Dell site, but i think i saw it either on PC World or CNET user reviews stating that.

My only pause is that in comparisons with some comparable monitors, it wasn't amongst the brightest or best performing...ultimately they did give it a great score though.

I tend to be skeptical of that type of stuff (ie...Dell pressured to raise score)...etc., but maybe I"m being crazy.