Maximum PC

dont know alot about monitors, doing research now. have a 22 wide dell, would like to go to a 27. whats the most important thing to look for? tft vs isp? hdmi vs dvi. it will be hooked up to a gtx570. whats your recomendation? looks like asus, samsung, dell. although doesnt samsung make most of the panels anyway? discuss....

If you want 27", you can take your chances on the Korean cheap IPS panels off eBay for $300, or pony up at least $650 for someone else. If you're cool with that, then Dell or HP are held high in this category. But don't get a 27" 1080p display, you may as well buy yourself an HDTV.

Also HDMI and DVI for video are the exact same thing.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod ... e_irrank=0


looks interesting, sub 300 barely and its IPS.

It's also 1080p. There's no point in getting something a much cheaper 20" monitor can do. Anyway, when it comes to computer monitors, you're not looking for screen size, you're looking for resolution.

I've heard the guys over at PC Perspective rave about the cheap Korean monitors and grew over the last 6 months or so, but I still haven't had one in front of me to view myself. I just find it too risky when it comes to reliability and an actual warranty. I spent money on an Asus VS278Q-P.

A note on that Asus is that I feel the colors were off and couldn't be calibrated to what I've used on prior Asus models (23.6" and below). Compared to the Dell in the S2740L flavor and it's possibly low-binned LG IPS screen (vs. LCD/LED) however, it fared far worse IMO and not correctable in the washed blues tones. I've never been able to correct a blue screen and just sent it back for another Asus.

So like Laxios states (but in my own words), if you go IPS you go big or stick with LCD technology at half the price IMO. It's so hard to gauge video quality by reviews or buyer feedback as we just don't know if they're video geeks or not. It's much like judging sound cards or A/V receivers as we all have our own tastes and mental benchmarks. I'm more of an audio geek than video and can tolerate the Asus and it's dated LCD just fine for general computing and gaming.

Gotta keep in mind that 27" is a huge size upgrade and your gaming may suffer for a bit as you adjust. I remember saying that way back when while changing from 19" to a 22" CRT, then again with just a minor jump from 22" to 23.6" LCD's. The jump from 22" -> 27" is massive.

(Oh, and no DVI input on the VS278Q-P but it does come with a DVI-to-HDMI DHCP capable cord.)

I am also in the market for a monitor I am thinking around 24". I am hearing 120hz refresh rate is much nicer for gaming. I do not find many that are affordable though. I am thinking of getting the ASUS PA248Q, although I hear its not perfect. For around $300 plus tax. It may be a good bet.

Not sure what is meant by "cheap Korean monitors off ebay for $300"?

I have 2 x 27inch Samsung SynchMaster SA550's which I bought at BestBuy over a year ago. I paid less than $300 each new. They are back lit LED's and they are great. I also just read an article in a popular PC mag where they blind tested 60hz monitors against 144hz. The result was that the faster refresh rates where better slightly if you are a gamer. FYI I am not running them at their full resolution due to the graphics card resolution limits (something to watch out for if buying graphics cards on a small budget). I have 2 x GTS250's in SLi. I plan to upgrade them to a couple of GTX570's at some point?