Shear Size or Best Res? What's More Important?!

[Dr. V]

I personally am quite perplexed. Particularly about 20" vs 22" (and indirectly 22" vs 24") and am also curious about the HL-ers here.

Off the bat I'd like to say the best quality is more important than shear size. However, having a HUGE monitor is really really nice. I may just get a 37" 1080p TV (for around the same price I could get a [REALLY GOOD] BENQ 24" monitor), but haven't decided yet.

SO POST UP BOYS!

(And any females as well)

[gvblake22]

I would like to think having a higher resolution is always going to yield a better picture. But the truth is, you can't really have (much) higher resolution without increasing the physical size of the screen as well. So it's really a balancing act with all the factors. You just have to decide how much you want to spend and how far away you will be sitting. And if you are using it for a computer monitor, you won't want a 720P screen (only 1280x720).

[Hitman]

Blake is right, but if your trying to decide between 2 monitors and the smaller one has a better resolution then the bigger one, then go with the smaller one.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Hitman

...if your trying to decide between 2 monitors and the smaller one has a better resolution then the bigger one, then go with the smaller one.

That holds true for computer monitors, but for a living room TV the opposite might be true. The larger pixel pitch of the larger screens with the same resolution as the smaller screens (like a 37" 720P screen vs. a 37" 1080P screen) makes the picture appear bigger and easier to view from a distance. But if you are too close to a screen with a large pixel pitch the picture will not be very sharp (compared to a higher resolution screen of the same size). That's why it is about impossible to get an HDTV and use it as a computer monitor too. The opposite is also true, buying a larger sized computer monitor does not make a very good living room HDTV. The moral of the story here is you can't buy something and easily make it great at everything, it will only be great at one thing (the task for which it was intended) or very average at everything. A 24" computer monitor will make a very average HDTV and a 37" 720P HDTV would be a very average computer monitor (unless you are watching movies on your computer as a Home Theater PC).

[Dr. V]

Yea the balance issue is there, but I'm more specifically saying two different sizes both with same res. Like 17 vs 19, 20 vs 22, 24 vs 27, 37 vs 42 (lets say both are 1080p), etc.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by ST!X

Yea the balance issue is there, but I'm more specifically saying two different sizes both with same res. Like 17 vs 19, 20 vs 22, 24 vs 27, 37 vs 42 (lets say both are 1080p), etc.

Again, it will depend on what you want to use the screen for!

[Dr. V]

Crap I should have mentioned that.

This is strictly for computer use, but what if on my computer I wish to watch TV?

Ahhh now we have to find a compromise.

[Quakindude]

Neither resolution or size. The thing is, you've already made a size decision based on your budget. As was previously mentioned, most decent monitors today have the same res for a given size. Like 20" LCD might be 1600x1200. What it really comes down to is pixel refresh rate, scalability, color rendering ability and features. I wouldn't even consider a monitor without HDCP support.

Also, there's a new video interface called DisplayPort. I'm not sure if any monitors are using it yet, much less video cards, but it's a new interface that was supposed to be out 1st Qtr 2007.

Do your research boy!

Narrow your picks down to three and then post the model numbers here. Between all of us, you'll get the low down on them.

Better yet, post your budget and I can give you a recommendation.

One more thing to consider. With your video card, you'll have to be careful about over-purchasing on size unless you have plans of playing at a reduced resolution (Scalability enters here) or of replacing your video card with a newer, 8800 xxx, one.

[Dr. V]

I'm grabbing a 8800GTS 640 (or GTX) getting ready for 24". That's what I'm going for for sure - but which model?

I'm looking CLOSELY at the BENQ FP241 line. AMAZING.

[Quakindude]

At that price point, I'd be looking very hard at the Dell 2407WFP. Here's a review of it.

The prices for them here in the States are the same right now. Going to a 8800 series card at 24", which is usually 1920x1200 for wide screen models, is pretty much a requirement if you do any gaming at all and wish to use the native resolution.