Right. Building a PC thread.

[Wolfram23]

The HP ZR2740W can be had for as low as $680 which isn't bad.

I've been dreaming of getting a Dell U2711, though... mmm... 27" 2560x1440 goodness...

I'm very happy with my current monitor, honestly I've never seen a better non-IPS display. Actually for all I know it is IPS, all I can find is that it's "TFT Active Matrix" which according to wikipedia includes TN, IPS, S-IPS, etc.

It does list that it can display 16.7 million colours though with 5ms GTG and 170° viewing angle.

 

[Wolfram23]

The HP ZR2740W can be had for as low as $680 which isn't bad.

I've been dreaming of getting a Dell U2711, though... mmm... 27" 2560x1440 goodness...

I'm very happy with my current monitor, honestly I've never seen a better non-IPS display. Actually for all I know it is IPS, all I can find is that it's "TFT Active Matrix" which according to wikipedia includes TN, IPS, S-IPS, etc.

It does list that it can display 16.7 million colours though with 5ms GTG and 170° viewing angle.

8 bit and 6 bit both show 16.7 million but the 6 bit panels (TN monitors) use dithering to achieve that figure and from what I have read it's actually closer to 16.2 though they rarely list that.

Do you know what model yours is?


I know 10 bit panels have about 1.07 billion colours. :/ Makes the rest seem a bit inferior...

Samsung 2494SW

And yeah, 6 bit is only 16.2 or so million so I'm not sure why they list 16.7. But it also has very good view angles, I know from experience it is great side to side, it's only vertical that it loses some brightness so I actually have it tilted forward a bit.

 

[Wolfram23]

From what I see on newegg [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001338&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo] it is indeed a TN. That being said it had a 5 star rating here (and in other places) so it must have been a quality monitor (as you said).

You were right about the viewing angles too.

Viewing Angle
170°(H) / 160°(V)

It's 10 degrees less vertically than horizontally.

Werd. I seem to get lucky that way sometimes. I bought it without doing much research, it was just on sale like $20 off and seemed good on display lol. Phew!

I've learned a fair bit about monitors since then, though. Won't be doing that again.

 

[Palfreyfish]

Hmmm, I'd have a rough estimate after the build, but that won't be for some months now, and as I already have a monitor it's not going to be urgent, so can you point me towards something that you would recommend, preferably in the 25-27 inch size area? Thanks

You can gamble with this guy's monitor. I have described above why I think it is too good to be true but if it wasn't legit you could get your money back. If it was legitimate it's a hell of a bargain.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Yamakasi-Catleap-Q270-27-LED-2560x1440-WQHD-S-IPS-Widescreen-Monitor-/150788045871?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item231baafc2f

This Dell 27" [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003A4H17S/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0AY6GT84VEFQG1XZKFSA&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294] is what I would recommend with a huge budget. It has a large 2560x1440 resolution with a gorgeous S-IPS panel which will make the colours on your monitor look amazing.

Are more realistic monitor would be this one. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-G2750-inch-Monitor-DVI-D/dp/B005OPLG6I/ref=sr_1_15?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1339663446&sr=1-15]

It is 1080P and is just a normal panel and it's still 27", it will still have a quality image on it too. Benq are good value which is how they can afford the lower prices.

From what I have seen you cannot get 25" or 26" monitors. It seems to go 23-24-27-30 in sizes.

Well that Dell monitor looks good, and to be honest, I can wait however long it'll take me to save up for it, it seems it'll be worth it.

The Catleap ones from Korea I've seen before somewhere, and I've also seen very mixed reviews for them, in that they can be perfect on arrival, or have clumps of dead pixels, and I'd rather not use what is essentially a lottery to get my monitor