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New PC monitor |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 280
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New PC monitor
Hi all,
I'm looking to buy a new 27" PC monitor. I'm looking to spend approx £150 ish give or take 20%. Any recommendations anyone? Am confused by refresh rates etc. Thx Pete |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,450
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The refresh rate is to do with how clearly the screen can display moving images. If you are in to PC games and have a graphics card that can render at higher refresh rates than the standard 60Hz then these things start to become important. If all you're doing though is a bit of web surfing, watching Youtube videos, and some graphic design and word processing then high refresh rates aren't such a big deal.
Unlike TVs that create extra frames of information between the source's frames a PC monitor relies on what it is being sent from the computer; so running a 60Hz monitor with graphics card outputting at 120Hz means that the monitor will miss out every other frame because it can only display 60 images per second. Similarly if you buy a monitor with a higher refresh rate and then use it with a graphics card that can't go higher than a 60Hz refresh then you won't get much of a benefit other than maybe from the better quality of the panel itself. 27" monitors range in price from a little under £130 to over £500. Your budget of £150 +/- 20% gives a price range of £120-£180. That's not exactly pushing the upper end of the envelope, if you get my drift. What to choose depends very much on your application. For a basic 60Hz monitor at the 'not much money' end of the 27" spectrum then maybe the Acer G276HL @ around £150. You'll have to do some digging on reviews for faster refresh rate screens. Maybe you'd be happy to trade-off some screen size to get more bells & whistles within your budget? Have a look at 24" monitors. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 280
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Hi Chris,
Thanks so much and comprehensive answer - I really appreciate it. Just looked at the Acer you mentioned and on amazon- many 5 stars but a few 3 stars etc - terrible colour / ghosting etc but as with everything you will always get good and bad reviews. There's also this one Acer G276HLI, slightly more expensive but in my price range (and I appreciate I'm going low end cheap and cheerful) and possibly this one BenQ GL2760H. I was interested by you comment re 24 inch with more bells and whistles. What do you mean by this as I could be persuaded. Thx again for your help Pete
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,450
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Quote:
Just looked at the Acer you mentioned and on amazon- many 5 stars but a few 3 stars etc - terrible colour / ghosting etc but as with everything you will always get good and bad reviews.
For example, most of the monitors in your price range will have a type of screen technology called Twisted Nematic (TN). The pros are that TN screens are lower cost and are capable of higher refresh rates than a similarly-priced screen using the alternative technology called In-Plane Switching (IPS). [Note: These aren't the only screen technologies, but they are two of the most common. Read more here]. The cons of TN screens are that their colour reproduction isn't as good as IPS screens (though there are some exceptions - see below), and that the viewing angle is more restricted. i.e. when viewed off-axis from the side the colour will change quite significantly. Those complaining of poor colour might not have realised they bought a screen with this characteristic, and similarly those complaining of ghosting might be expecting the screen to be the whole answer to image smear without realising that the graphics card is an important element too. I'm not saying this is absolutely the case with the poorer Amazon reviews because I haven't read them; I'm just giving examples of how a purchaser might post a negative review because they don't understand the product and its limitations. Quote:
I was interested by you comment re 24 inch with more bells and whistles. What do you mean by this as I could be persuaded.)
BTW, IPS screens aren't universally better than TNs. Although they have better colour those in your price range might have poorer contrast and will have far slower response times. For some applications those are acceptable trade-offs e.g. video editing and photo/graphics work don't need a 100,000:1 contrast ratio or <5ms response time. As I said in the first reply, what to short-list very much depends on your priorities. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 280
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Hi Chris,
Again I cannot thank you enough for your brilliant, informative and comprehensive reply. I'm tending to agree with you in respect that I might go for a better spec 24" like the Benq that you mentioned rather that a lower end 27". Just considering now whether to go for inbuilt monitor speakers (maybe tinny) or buy one without and use a sound system. Thx again for your superlative replies once again! Pete
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