Z Owners - What external monitor do you use?

Z Owners - wondering what external monitor do you use, if any?

I am looking for one around 22" to 27"and looked around and couldnt decide which one might be optimal, so decided to "ask the audience". Since the Z users know what a quality screen looks like, wanted to see which one they preferred for their external display.

 

Quality screen for 220$ - Dell UltraSharp U2311H. I use this 23" 16:9 for 2 months now and I am very happy with it.

Some facts:
- eIPS panel (matte), fullHD, DVI-D/VGA/DP connectors (I have hooked up HDMI through a 3$ HDMI/DVI-D adaptor), 4x USB2.0 hub built-in, dell soundbar available. 25W power consumption.
- Nice professional looking, solid case. Great ergonomic stand with pivot (!), tilt, swivel, and height adjustment.
- 3 Yr Dell wtty on bright stuck pixels.
- Nice natural colors, good out-of-the-box color calibration, after very slight adjustment, matches Vaio Z's colors very accurately and has much greater viewing angles. Good contrast and deep blacks, which is nice for image processing and cimemascope movies.
- Good response time and no noticeable input-lag, good for enthusiast gaming (I played through crysis 2 on that screen and the image was sharp and crisp at any time).

Cons:
- Not as flat as a LED screen.
- Some screens are reported to have some slight backlight bleeding in the corners and backlight evenness is not perfect on every screen, but this you'll get in the 600$+ class with factory calibration only. Anyways, this monitor is far superior than any TN screen in this price segment and does not have so much backlight bleeding as the Z.
- amber/violet IPS glow is present on that screen when viewed from the side, but does not bother me at all. I'd rather have that than absolutely washed out colors and no contrast on a TN screen.
- Another con is that the screen does have CCFL backlighting (two tubes) and so does buzz a little when not running on high brightness, anyhow, the Z's fan noise drowns that out.

Test:
Dell U2311H review - FlatpanelsHD

Video review:
YouTube - ‪Review: Dell U2311H LCD Monitor‬‏

Video comparison between TN and this eIPS viewing angles (Try that with your Z as well!):
YouTube - ‪DELL UltraSharp U2311H vs LG W2253TQ

Go with a seller that has a return policy in order to be safe if not satisfied. I was looking for about 3 months for a new monitor and after dozens of reviews and forum threads I finally decided to take this one for home and I did not regret that purchase.

Good luck.

 

pyr0 - any idea where the u2311 can be had for 220? It is listed as being on sale at Dell.com, but still the sale price is $280.

Thanks for the detailed info. Exactly what I was looking for. Repped.

 

I'm currently running a HP 2310i screen via DVI (on docking station). Cannot complain actually
Though I have to admit that the Dell is looking really interesting...

 

Like pyr0, I also use the Dell U2311H monitor. I would love to have gotten the Dell U2410 monitor instead because of its 16:10 aspect ratio instead of the U2311H's 16:9 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, I'm a cheapskate but I also simply couldn't afford the U2410 monitor despite preferring it over the U2311H monitor.

By the way, I was lucky enough to get in on Dell's wonderful eBay deal of $199 for the U2311H monitor (brand new, not refurb) back in early Jan of this year.

 

I am located in the EU and bought that marvel off amazon for 202€ which was a steal - dell lists it for 270€. It's selling for ~200€ here for a couple of weeks now. I checked the us site again and you're right, it sales there for ~280$ which is the official dell price. Earlier this year they sold at 220$. The U2211H (same monitor, just 21.5") retails starting at 220$+ship.

Sorry for the confusion, crossing fingers you find a better deal, but even for 280$ (this is what I actually payed) this is a great deal. Best price/performace monitor currently available for sure.

 

Be sure to check out the BenQ Eco series of LED monitors. Full HD 1080p. If you can browse your local showrooms/shops and see one in action, I'm sure you'll like it.

 

Haha you do realize you can just ask what's a good display... and they all come in this order: TN, LED, IPS... so... yeah. I'm using a cheap 25" Hannspree that has a built in TV tuner because it's cheaper. But yeah, if you want a good display, go IPS either Dell or HP

 

I indeed wanted to ask what was a good display, however given that in the last few days admins have deleted a few of my threads (possibly for some strange violations or whatever without giving any reasons), i didnt want to get them a reason to delete this saying "hey post it in the desktop forum". So I had to tweak my question a little bit.

I got what I was looking for though from all your replies. The U2311 seems to be very well received and in my price range, might just go for it. I plan to use it only for coding and browsing, no videos, games or TV (yes.... a nerd indeed, who is very paranoid about eye strain, i stare at this monitor for 4-6hours a day).

 

I use a Sony BRAVIA KDL-40EX400, it is a 40" 1080P HDTV. I run it off of the dock with a DVI to HDMI cable and sound over analog from my VAIO USB dock.

I like it but I am thinking of upgrading to a ViDock with 2 or 3 of the top end UltraSharp U3011 (2560x1600). Then I'd also like to add a 32" Sony 3D HDTV for output of my 3D editing and such. I have already found a GeForce card that can do all that and confirmed with the ViDock people it will all work.

 

This may be a ridiculous answer but I use a Sony VW100 projector to watch my movies, but it's the truth!