Please recommend a monitor

Currently, I have two working laptops: T410i and X220i. I am planning to get an external monitor for setup in my dorm room, so I'm looking for recommendations. Here are my requirements:

Size: around 24 inch
Texture: MATTE screen is a must
Uses: Schoolwork, reading, browsing, gaming
Quality: I don't know much about how screen qualities are measure but I really enjoyed the IPS (premium HD) screen on my X220i and it'd be great to have a monitor of that caliber
I would very much want a 16:10 aspect ratio too.

Another question I have is whether I need to get a dock to connect to a monitor? I know that the dock has the advantages of being able to connect to many peripherals (keyboard, mice, audio etc) but is it necessary, i.e. the thinkpads cannot output video on their own?

I have done some research and found out that the Port Replica and Mini Dock Series 3 are compatible with both of my thinkpads. Lenovo sells them at around $200 but I managed to find some sites that sell it for ~130-150. Is that a reasonable price, incidentally?

Thanks!

 

See Dell UltraSharp? U2410 Monitor with PremierColor technology

Worth every penny.

 

I'm not really a monitor expert, but someone who knows a bit about them recommended this IPS monitor to me:

Dell U2311H:
Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23inch Monitor Details

I got mine from the dell.ca site. It was regularly $339CN and I got it when it was on sale for $229. So far I am loving it

No, you don't need a dock. There is a VGA and a display port on the X220. The U2311H monitor will work with the VGA port.

I have the Ultrabase 3, which I purchased for $190 at directdial.com, before realizing that I could spend less money for the Mini Dock. I personally love the docking for convenience when grabbing my X220 to go mobile, but you don't need it for attaching an external monitory.

Good luck!



Thanks![/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]

Thanks guys! Can someone explain why there is a $300 price difference between the two?

Waynenumm, can you compare the monitor you got with the one on the x220?

 

Thor's recommendation is a good one.

I still have my Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP (no longer made), and love it.

 

FYI,

Those monitors go on sale frequently. Wait until it does.

 

Actually, I'm able to get one at about $400 in where I live (Hong Kong)!!!

May I know how it compares with monitors from other brands? I don't mind paying more but I'd like to make sure that I got what I wanted. I've seen 24 inch monitors from samsung, phillips etc selling at $200-250.

 

The 24 inch U2410 uses IPS technology, those $200 to $250 dollars LCD from Samsung and Phillips are TN based, and they are pretty bad in terms of viewing angle and colour accuracy (while some of the more expensive TN panel is slightly better).

 

I see, Thanks! Do both the U2410 and U2311H use the same technology, and are the only differences 1) the 16:10 vs 16:9 ratio and 2) 1' size ?

That's what was said on the dell website but how would that justify the huge price difference?...

 

16:10 aspect ratio monitors are getting rarer, and will probably not be around forever; they will slowly be replaced by 16:9 models. It may explain the price difference.

Personally, I think the 16:10 is worth it as well as having IPS display technology as lead_org mentioned. They can pry my 24" 1920x1200 LCD (mine is S-PVA instead of IPS, but still pretty cool) from my cold, dead fingers.

 

I didn't know about the U2410 before reading about it in this thread. It is $599CN on the Dell Canada site, versus $319CN for the U2311H. Again, I got the U2311H for $239 when it was on sale. For me, that was an amount that I was happy to pay. But I would have to psyche myself up quite a bit before spending $599 (or, let's say $499 when on sale) for a monitor! If that extra $250 is truly just for the 16:10 & 24" versus 16:9 & 23" difference, it wouldn't be worth it for me, as I find 16:9/23" to be great. The most important thing for me was the quality of the display, and the U2311H is everything I want.

As to your previous question about the U2311H compared to the X220 display, they are actually quite comparable - I love them both

 

The Dell U2311H at Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23inch Monitor Details is certainly a sweet deal. Especially for a student on a budget. No doubt a great buy.

As you can see, each inch in screen size will drive the price. Look at the price difference between the U2410 and the U2711. $600 versus $1000.

Or the difference in the U2711 and the U3011.

 

the U2410 (H-IPS) gives a more vivid colour compared to the U2311h (e-IPS).

But unless you do a lot of photography work or work with CT or MRI scans, then the differences are not really that important. Unless you put the screen side by side, you are most likely not going to much differences if you look at the screen straight on at 50% brightness.

 

Dunno about 24" displays, but if you can find one the IBM L200p is an excellent 20" UXGA panel.

Given the choice of a "full HD" 24" panel (1920x1080) or an "old school" 20" UXGA panel, I'd take the latter without hesitation -- *especially* if you're planning on doing work on it.

The L200p is my second favorite monitor choice though. My all time favorite is the T120, but they're rare as hen's teeth (at least on eBay/CL they are)...

 

I use both the Dell UltraSharp U2410 and U2311H. They are two of the better ISP panels on the market at this time. They both support dual-link DVI-D. (Forget VGA.) Unless you are a real hardcore media professional, you won't be able to recognize much visual difference between the two models. In addition, the U2410 requires skillful calibration to be "truly beautiful."

I personally prefer the U2410 because of the 16:10 aspect ratio. Realistically, though, the less expensive U2311H is quite nice and useful already.

A recent "special deal" put the U2410 at around $450 and the U2311H at below $200, which was incredible.

(It's okay to get excited about the X220 IPS, but these two panels put things in proper perspective.)

 

WAIT UP. If you choose the u2410, that is an extended gamut monitor! If you don't use color managed applications for everything you do, you will not be seeing what the artists intended!!!

I highly suggest you get a standard gamut monitor. Take a look a the NEC EA232wmi. NEC EA232WMi Review

Get the standard gamut monitor, and forget about color management issues. As someone who deals with these issues regularly, I'm trying to give you some good advice. If you go with the high gamut monitor, yes, everything that is not color managed will look more colorful and vivid, but that is NOT the way the artists intended the art to look.

Here's the review for the u2410
Dell U2410 Review

and the u2311h
Dell U2311H Review

Also, having an extended gamut will not be fixed by "calibrating." Calibrating only bring your gamma levels into the proper range, it will not make your actual monitor primary colors less saturated. You will need to use programs that understand you have an extended gamut monitor, in able for your color to be correct.

 

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm still debating between the two and I may go to a reseller to compare the two models. Personally all the colour-calibrating stuff are probably too advanced and unnecessary for me, but the 16:10 aspect ratio is important, especially when i'm doing a lot of work on it (opening multiple windows, browsing while typing, etc)

Are other other monitors of comparable quality that you can recommend that have the 16:10 aspect ratio? How are Lenovo's thinkvision monitors, are they good? (my concern is that other monitors would have a glossy screen which i detest)

 

Hi Kaso, please explain. Thanks.

 

The NEC monitor would be slightly more expensive, but their monitor with IPS panel are generally at the top end of the market in terms of quality.

Dell U2410 and U2311h are cheaper, which can be readily purchased on discount if you look for various discount coupons and such.

Also, @Kaso, why would the U2410 and U2311h need Dual link DVI-D?

Finally, the IBM L200p are fine LCD but they are showing their age already, you may get lucky with a Dell 2007WFP or 2007FP (both of which i have), which can be used as standard TV monitor if you are so inclined, and they can be purchased for around 100 dollars on the second hand market.

 

The Dell U2311H supports VGA and dual-link DVI-D connections. The Dell U2410 supports VGA, dual-link DVI-D and HDMI connections. VGA is available for backward compatibility with "traditional" computers. Obviously, if your graphics card supports DVI output (and practically all of the current ones do), or if your GPU/chipset/mobo support DVI output, you should take advantage of the digital capability.

I guess that's what I wanted to say originally.

PS. The U2311 is definitely a steal if you can get one between $190 to $240. It is awesome for most uses by ordinary souls. Oh and it supports a four-port USB 2.0 hub. BTW, our team tried a few samples of the NEC but could not overcome the uneven LED backlight and the "leaks" at the two lower corners.

 

U2410 uses H-IPS panel (LM240WU4) which is premium, professional IPS line.
Additionally, they do factory calibration before shipping it.

U2311 uses e-IPS panel. Bit worse color accuracy, worse white uniformity, ect, ect, but better yield rate (which means less dead pixel possibility), cheaper cost, lower temperature. Still beats TN monitors really hard.

I recommend U2311 because U2410 costs far much for serious color related works not for regular user.

And U2212HM, U2312HM, U2412HM will be released soon (I guess in 2-3months)

Alternatively, LG's IPS226V and IPS236V are good choice.

 

the U2410 and U2311 uses single link DVI-D when i last checked.

 

A lot of good recommendations in this thread for sure.

My system is in my Sig:

At the office, my main monitor is a Dell U2711; I also have an older 20" 1600x1200 Dell professional monitor from about 4-5 years ago. This is a nice monitor, but the 2711 absolutely KILLS all. The form and size are pretty much perfect and I managed to get it on sale - all taxes and shipping included for around $750 late last year. You just have to wait for the right time with Dell.

That being said, at home I have a cheap Samsung 24" LED FHD monitor that I bought at Costco for about $240: a Samsung BX2450. Is it awesome? No, not at all. Colours are off compared to my W520's FHD display and my U2711 at work and it feels "grainy". BUT IT WAS $240!!! And damn, it's good enough for everything I use it for at home, including serious CAD work (Solidworks) which is with what I earn my living. And it's absolutely fine for browsing the web, playing games (including the latest, greatest Crysis 2, SC2, Dragon Age, etc...) , typing documents, doing spreadsheets (though the 2560 x 1440 resolution of the U2711 is AWESOME here), etc...

My point is that for 98% of the work that any student is going to be doing (unless you're in a graphics arts / photography program), a cheap 24" monitor should be fine. Plus, you should be able to buy pretty much any adapter cable that you need at either Amazon or newegg, so you should be good to go compatibility wise. Spend the rest of the $250-500 that you saved on beer, dating or buying books for next term or what ever else you should be doing in college

 

​

I second that.

 

when i say they use single link dvi-d, i meant they only need single link dvi-d for their operation. They don't support resolutions or refresh rates that would require them to use a dual link dvi-d.

@Kaso, yes you are correct that the U2410 DVI-D port is the dual link type.

 

so are there no cheap matte, ips 24' monitors that have the 16:10?

and how are IBM/lenovo's monitors anyway?

thanks for everyone's suggestions!

 

Suppose you're building your own PC. A great CPU would cost $250. A great graphics card would cost $150. A great mobo would cost $130. A great power supply would cost $100. And SSD? $250 easily. Even a great wireless, backlit keyboard wouḷd be $90 on special.

Those two laptops would cost at least $1000 each.

A great matte, IPS, 24", 1900x1200, 16:10 monitor that you look at every day (regardless whether you're using a 2.8GHz dual-core or a 3.3GHz quad-core, or whether you're using a SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm HDD or a SATA 3Gbp/s SDD) should not come cheap.

While we're always on the watch-out for specials, I don't think $500+ for such a monitor is expensive.

 

I perfectly understand and agree with your logic, but as a student buying something that costs $500 really takes a lot of thought (and savings). I understand that 16:10 has unfortunately become some sort of 'legacy' standard in monitors so I was thinking if it would be possible to find some good deals with that.

By the way, I got my X220i at $700 and T410i at $500 (second handed) so it's not as expensive as you think!

 

I think LCD's are reasonable cost these days. If you want a cheap one, you can easily find 22 to 24" TN panels for <$150 pretty easily. If you want a good quality one like S-PVA or IPS, $500+ is fair. Besides getting what you paid for, you have to keep in mind what the usefull life of a monitor will be. It's one of the rare pieces of a computer system that will retain it's full usefullness for many many years. Splurging the extra money for a quality monitor up front will give you the same great picture quality for many years as various computer systems you own come and go, so divided out it is a small price to pay. It's not like splurging on that better processor or better graphics card who's usefullness diminishes pretty quickly.

What I would recomend if you want a quality display and are trying to stay as cheap as possible....get familiar with past model numbers of good quality monitors then keep an eye on ebay and craigslist and the like. While older models will still command a premium vs similar age lower quality panels, especially from people who know what they have and know to advertise it being IPS and such, every now and then you will run across someone selling one who doesnt know the difference thus exactly what they have or just has it poorly listed, and you can scoop one up for cheap. This is particularly true for 4:3 models as many people see those as outdated and not good just based on aspect ratio alone. For example I have seen 20" 4:3 Dell ultrasharps with IPS panels go for about $50 quite a bit which is a steal! Even if you really really wanted wide, it would worth picking up 2 4:3's cheap like that. Like with the 20" example....if you could manage 2 for around $50ea, you would have more display area then a 24" wide for not much over $100.

 

you can always get a second hand monitor, it doesn't have to be new. In Australia when Dell puts out special for the U2410 the price should drop to 450 AUD, which means the US residents should have this monitor even cheaper.

If you are really tight on budget get a U2311H when it is on special, which costs only 200 odd dollars. Even a cheap TN based 23 inch monitor would retail for around 90 to 130 USD mark, surely those people whom can afford couple of laptops, would able to justify the 100 extra odd dollars for a higher quality monitor.

Alternatively, get the Dell 2007FP or the 2007WFP they are really good monitors, both of them go for under 100 dollars in the second hand market.

 

I've thought about upgrading to a single 24+" panel, but given that I can get two second-hand MVA/PVA 19"/20" 4:3 monitors for less than the cost of a decent 24+" 16:10 TN monitor, I'm sticking with a multi-monitor setup. Of course that may not be an option, depending on your GPU...

 

multiple monitors are a cheap way of getting more monitor real estate. But for many people they can only fit 2 LCD on their desks, without making it feel cluttered. So for these people they may prefer to have just one large LCD to work from.