Monitor Help

Hello, this is my first post. My apologies if this belongs in the hardware section, I couldn't decide between that one or this.

To the point then, I have completed building a gaming PC that I predominately play GW on. I am now in need of a new monitor but I'm not sure which specs I should be paying attention to the most. Contrast ratio, recommended resolution, refresh rate, which one is best for gaming? I was hoping someone out there who has a decent knowledge on monitors could help me out. Guide me in the right direction or even give me some examples of a good gaming monitor. I would like to stay under $300, so that rules out the new cool 3D monitors (even tho the new Alienware monitor looks awesome.)

I was looking at the Acer B233HUbmidhz.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009173
It has a high screen resolution and everything else looks decent on it. However it doesn't seem to be very popular. For its price I thought it would be. Am I missing something? How would you rank this monitor for gaming purposes only?

Remember I will only be doing gaming on this PC. No movies or graphic editing, only gaming. The video card I have will support 2048 X 1152 resolution that the monitor goes up to, but is it worth having that high of a resolution on a 23" monitor? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the lengthy post. I can post my PC specs if needed. Thank you.

Nothing wrong with that monitor spec wise, but if I had $300 to spend on a monitor I'd certainly go for a better brand than Acer. I'd look for a Samsung, an Asus even, LG makes some good ones too. I've purchased a couple Acers for clients and my personal opinion is that the picture and color quality is nowhere near as good as similarly priced Asus products, let alone Samsung.

I think that 2048 x 1152 is a little too much for a 23" monitor, but I imagine you would get used to it quickly enough... depend son your personal taste and how good your eyes are (ie, can you even read the text at the res.???). Also, if GW is the most graphics intense game you play, I would say $300 on a monitor is waaay overkill.

FOr example. I have the 22" brother of the following monitor and I love it very much - all games look great as do movies etc... I got mine on sale for well under $200, and for that price you can't beat it...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236049

Elder, thanks for the reply. Your input is appreciated. So my best bet is to look for a Samsung, Acer, or LG, as they are the leading manufacturers? Also I have thought of another question. How are the LED monitors for gaming? Are there issues with them?

Guild Wars is the game I'm playing the most right now so your right about the graphic intensity. However I do plan on playing the new Star Wars Online game coming out later this year (I think). And of course GW2. I don't know how graphic demanding these two games will be tho.

I figured that a 2048 X 1152 resolution would be a bit to much for a 23" monitor, thanks for confirming.

If I can find a cheap enough quality monitor I may buy two and set up a dual display. Thanks for posting the Asus, its seems popular and I'll consider it.

Anyone else have any input please feel free to post.

From what I've seen, most people who think they want gaming monitors do not actually want gaming monitors; they would actually be better off with "movie" monitors most of the time. A "gaming" monitor focuses on speed at the cost of everything else - the goal is to get as close to real-time response as possible, and it doesn't matter one bit if the image quality is less than stellar. If you play shooters, fighting games, or other games where fast response is absolutely critical, this makes a lot of sense. If you play RPGs, not so much.

In short, the reality is that most "gamers" actually want a good viewing experience, even if that means accepting some delay. They also tend to appreciate lots of connectivity options. Both are hallmarks of multimedia monitors, rather than pure gaming panels.

Resolution is something most people want more of, and is one of the most noticeable ways to upgrade. Unfortunately, there's a trade-off between resolution and framerate, and running a high-resolution panel for modern games requires a beefy video card for playable framerates (>30fps for non-competitive games).

The best bang-for-buck monitors (particularly the U2410) are about double your current budget, but there's also the excellent 2209WA that can be found for less than $300 right now.

There is a lot of hype going around about LED monitors - and most of it is just that - hype. The LEDs are used for back-lighting behind the LCD panels instead of the small flourescent bulbs normally used. You can read all sorts of reviews and articles about it, but the bottom line for most users is that LED monitors can be thinner than flourescent monitors. Woohoo!

I would agree that 2048x1152 is a bit high of a rez. Not only does it take a more powerful graphics card to drive it, but text may be too small to read comfortably. 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 (HDTV) would be a better fit for that size monitor.

As far as most of the other specs for LCD monitors go - there's really no standards for measurement. You can find all sorts of ways to measure Dynamic Contrast Ratio and pixel Response Time. There are only a few companies that actually make the LCD panels and newer models all have reasonably good specs. You could spend a lot of time trying to determine what Brand/Model is the "best", but reading reviews from places like Tom's Hardware is a good idea. I'd go along with the others and recommend Samsung.

I have the 23" samsung 2048x1152 monitor. 2, actually.
I LOVE it....don't regret my decision at all.

You dont have a problem reading text? How does your games look?

Burst your are correct. I guess I dont want a gaming monitor in the literal sense. I would like to have a nice picture, and I dont think I would sacrifice picture quality for a little more speed.

I have been keeping my eye on this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001341

Thanks to all who have given input, it is most appreciated.

Here is a screenshot of it in windowed mode. And some text. Strange thing -- on guildwars, and only guildwars, when i maximize the window (not fullscreen) all test in game becomes slightly blurred....almost like someone swiped their finger through the ink. Very odd. Resize it down by even 1 pixel, and everything works fine. Fullscreen is fine too.

This is the only thing I have seen it in...no other games or anything.

The monitors are SUPER bright...unless you are in a bright room, you will wind up turning them down. My only gripe...no HDMI-in. Its just a simple adapter, but still.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...ntitled-34.jpg

Your screenshot looks good. Do you have those set at 2048 X 1152? And do you mind telling me the model of your monitor. The egg only has an Acer listed at that resolution.
Thanks for the screenie.

I ownone of these, and I couldn't imagine having such a wide screen without the 16:10 (1920x1200) ratio. You pay a fair amount more for it, but it helps gaming and productivity while doing work a lot.

Definitely buy either an ASUS or a Samsung.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001317

And yes, the monitors are set at 2048x1152

To quote one of the customer reviews:
An HDMI port is "fluff?"

Fool.

For a gaming PC, yes, you could say that an HDMI port is "fluff". An HDMI port is only useful if you want to connect your PC to a TV or your monitor has speakers. Other than that it has no advantage over DVI plus audio - especially if you use separate speakers not built into the monitor (not to mention that HDMI cables are usually more expensive.)
Keep in mind that the main purpose for HDMI is to preserve the HDCP (copy protection) with the small added benefit of no separate audio cables. This is only a benefit to "content providers" wanting to restrict your access.