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You essentially have two major components to worry about in a typical LCD monitor:
- The thin-film transistor (TFT) film used. This is where the panel type comes into play and the difference between the types of TFT technologies will be explained later.
- The backlight used. For the typical user, you will only find two types of backlighting: CCFL tubes or edge-lit LEDs.
There is no real performance difference between a good CCFL backlit monitor and a good LED backlit monitor. If a LED monitor is better than a CCFL monitor, this has to do with the thin-film transistor used: a LED backlit monitor probably has a new years of technological advances over an old CCFL backlit monitor.
So the only real indisputable benefits of LED backlighting are:
- Generally much lower power draw. This also means they generate less heat.
- They don’t seem to dim with age, unlike CCFL backlit monitors.
- Monitors can be thinner because LEDs are thinner than CCFL tubes.
If you don't get a LED monitor, its not the end of the world provided its a good CCFL monitor.
- The thin-film transistor (TFT) film used. This is where the panel type comes into play and the difference between the types of TFT technologies will be explained later.
- The backlight used. For the typical user, you will only find two types of backlighting: CCFL tubes or edge-lit LEDs.
There is no real performance difference between a good CCFL backlit monitor and a good LED backlit monitor. If a LED monitor is better than a CCFL monitor, this has to do with the thin-film transistor used: a LED backlit monitor probably has a new years of technological advances over an old CCFL backlit monitor.
So the only real indisputable benefits of LED backlighting are:
- Generally much lower power draw. This also means they generate less heat.
- They don’t seem to dim with age, unlike CCFL backlit monitors.
- Monitors can be thinner because LEDs are thinner than CCFL tubes.
If you don't get a LED monitor, its not the end of the world provided its a good CCFL monitor.
+ Show Spoiler [Panel types and brief comments about t…] +
There are three commonly used panel types in the wild:
- Twisted Nematic (TN). Benefits are low price and good panel response. Negatives are bad viewing angles, weak colour stability, and perhaps poor colour reproduction.
Some TN monitors are capable of running at 120hz native. These monitors are good for games with lots of motion and can present games in 3D.
Side note: 120hz TVs are not the same as 120hz monitors. 120hz TVs do post processing to smooth out motion; 120hz monitors do not do this.
- Inplane Switching (IPS) or Plane to Line Switching (PLS). Typical benefits are good colour reproduction and good viewing angles. They are typically more expensive than TN monitors but this isn’t so much the case anymore.
Most IPS/PLS monitors are adequate for gaming. Check reviews for details but most are around as responsive as a 5ms TN monitor.
Side note: PLS is essentially the same as IPS.
- Vertical Alignment (VA). The strengths of this technology is strong black reproduction; blacks are blacker than what IPS and TN monitors can reproduce. The weaknesses of this technology would be motion performance and viewing angles.
How to tell panel technology if not specified?
Generally not a difficult task:
- Look at static contrast ratios. VA monitors will state a contrast of 3000:1 or greater; IPS and TN monitors will only state a contrast of 1000:1. Any numbers in the realm of 15,000:1 should be ignored because they refer to dynamic contrast ratio.
- Look at viewing angles. TN monitors will specify 170°(H) / 170°(V) viewing angles. IPS and VA will claim to have 178°(H) / 178°(V) viewing angles.
+ Show Spoiler [Monitor specs and what they mean] +
First things first: specsheets are fairly useless.
Most companies are downright dishonest about their specsheets. What is mentioned on the specsheet does not relate to the real world.
Contrast Ratio:
The contrast ratio is the difference between the whitest whites (referred to as white luminance) and darkest blacks (referred to as black depth).
Most monitors claim to do 1000:1 yet very few actually get close to this claim. Most IPS and TN monitors will hover around the 800:1 mark out of the box.
Dynamic Contrast Ratio:
Dynamic contrast features are when monitors decrease their brightness to improve black depth when needed. The provided values are often nowhere close to reality.
Most people turn off dynamic contrast because it is an annoying feature implemented badly.
Response Times:
Response time generally doesn’t mean a single thing - the fact most of those numbers only concern themselves with grey to grey says enough. For LCDs to reach extremely fast response speeds (let’s say 2ms GTG), they have to use overdrive (overclocking the TFT film essentially). You cannot encapsulate the quality of overdrive with a single number:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/BDK8G.jpg)
(Thanks TFT Central)
Input lag:
Input lag refers to the delay between keyboard/mouse/gamepad input and monitor output. If a monitor has high input lag, the monitor will trail behind your movements, making fast paced gaming difficult.
A rule of thumb is that that less features = less input lag. A barebones monitor will have much less input lag than a monitor with advanced processing features. Some advanced monitors have a game mode to bypass these processing features, however you must check reviews to see how well it has been implemented.
At the end of the day, your mileage may vary. Plenty of people play seriously on monitors with 30ms of input lag and don’t really mind it; a large number of people cannot stand monitors with 20ms of input lag and refuse to play on them. Anyway, to give the input lag figures you may find in reviews some frame of reference, I will borrow this classification from TFT Central:
Bit Depth:
Bit depth determines how many colours your monitor can actually produce. If you remember old Windows games, you will surely remember how unsmooth many colours were: this is what we call colour banding and it is a result of insufficient bit depth.
To put it simply, you want a monitor that can display 16.7 million colours (referred as "true colour"). This requires an 8 bit or a 6 bit + FRC monitor. FRC, also known as frame rate control or dithering, helps extend the bit depth of monitors by quickly flashing two different shades to approximate unobtainable colours.
Dithering was hit or miss in the past but in this day and age, it is very difficult to tell the difference between an 8 bit panel and a 6 bit + FRC panel. For most people its not a major problem and it is quite difficult to find banding issues outside of colour gradient benchmarks.
Gamut:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/P4AL3.png)
(Thanks Wikipedia)
The grey parabolic shape represents the total range of chromaticity, the quality of colour determined by hue and saturation, of the CIE 1931 colour space. The CIE 1931 colour space is essentially a mathematical representation of a wide range of colours and the basis of most colour spaces. The three most commonly used colour spaces are sRGB, which covers 35% of these colours, Adobe RGB, which covers 50%, and wide gamut monitors, which can cover up to 77%.
The rainbow triangle is the gamut of a CRT, which is pretty much covering the entire sRGB colour space. So this is a representation of the colours that can be accurately output by the CRT. The CRT's gamut is simply a subspace of the CIE 1931 colour space.
Wide gamut monitors tend to extend the colour coverage further around the greens and reds. So you gain access to very powerful and saturated light and dark shades. This sounds pretty cool since you’ve got more colours to play with but this is not always a good thing.
Most content in the world, including the internet, follows the sRGB colour space. So what happens if you use a wide gamut monitor? The result will generally be oversaturation: colours will be too saturated, lifeless, and artificial.
Wide gamut’s purpose is for printing. If you do not need to do professional printing, there is little reason to get a wide gamut monitor.
Most companies are downright dishonest about their specsheets. What is mentioned on the specsheet does not relate to the real world.
Contrast Ratio:
The contrast ratio is the difference between the whitest whites (referred to as white luminance) and darkest blacks (referred to as black depth).
Most monitors claim to do 1000:1 yet very few actually get close to this claim. Most IPS and TN monitors will hover around the 800:1 mark out of the box.
Dynamic Contrast Ratio:
Dynamic contrast features are when monitors decrease their brightness to improve black depth when needed. The provided values are often nowhere close to reality.
Most people turn off dynamic contrast because it is an annoying feature implemented badly.
Response Times:
Response time generally doesn’t mean a single thing - the fact most of those numbers only concern themselves with grey to grey says enough. For LCDs to reach extremely fast response speeds (let’s say 2ms GTG), they have to use overdrive (overclocking the TFT film essentially). You cannot encapsulate the quality of overdrive with a single number:
(Thanks TFT Central)
Input lag:
Input lag refers to the delay between keyboard/mouse/gamepad input and monitor output. If a monitor has high input lag, the monitor will trail behind your movements, making fast paced gaming difficult.
A rule of thumb is that that less features = less input lag. A barebones monitor will have much less input lag than a monitor with advanced processing features. Some advanced monitors have a game mode to bypass these processing features, however you must check reviews to see how well it has been implemented.
At the end of the day, your mileage may vary. Plenty of people play seriously on monitors with 30ms of input lag and don’t really mind it; a large number of people cannot stand monitors with 20ms of input lag and refuse to play on them. Anyway, to give the input lag figures you may find in reviews some frame of reference, I will borrow this classification from TFT Central:
TFT Central says:
Class 1) Less than 16ms / 1 frame lag - should be fine for gamers, even at high levels
Class 2) A lag of 16 - 32ms / One to two frames - moderate lag but should be fine for many gamers. Caution advised for serious gaming and FPS .
Class 3) A lag of more than 32ms / more than 2 frames - Some noticeable lag in daily usage, not suitable for high end gaming
Class 1) Less than 16ms / 1 frame lag - should be fine for gamers, even at high levels
Class 2) A lag of 16 - 32ms / One to two frames - moderate lag but should be fine for many gamers. Caution advised for serious gaming and FPS .
Class 3) A lag of more than 32ms / more than 2 frames - Some noticeable lag in daily usage, not suitable for high end gaming
Bit Depth:
Bit depth determines how many colours your monitor can actually produce. If you remember old Windows games, you will surely remember how unsmooth many colours were: this is what we call colour banding and it is a result of insufficient bit depth.
To put it simply, you want a monitor that can display 16.7 million colours (referred as "true colour"). This requires an 8 bit or a 6 bit + FRC monitor. FRC, also known as frame rate control or dithering, helps extend the bit depth of monitors by quickly flashing two different shades to approximate unobtainable colours.
Dithering was hit or miss in the past but in this day and age, it is very difficult to tell the difference between an 8 bit panel and a 6 bit + FRC panel. For most people its not a major problem and it is quite difficult to find banding issues outside of colour gradient benchmarks.
Gamut:
(Thanks Wikipedia)
The grey parabolic shape represents the total range of chromaticity, the quality of colour determined by hue and saturation, of the CIE 1931 colour space. The CIE 1931 colour space is essentially a mathematical representation of a wide range of colours and the basis of most colour spaces. The three most commonly used colour spaces are sRGB, which covers 35% of these colours, Adobe RGB, which covers 50%, and wide gamut monitors, which can cover up to 77%.
The rainbow triangle is the gamut of a CRT, which is pretty much covering the entire sRGB colour space. So this is a representation of the colours that can be accurately output by the CRT. The CRT's gamut is simply a subspace of the CIE 1931 colour space.
Wide gamut monitors tend to extend the colour coverage further around the greens and reds. So you gain access to very powerful and saturated light and dark shades. This sounds pretty cool since you’ve got more colours to play with but this is not always a good thing.
Most content in the world, including the internet, follows the sRGB colour space. So what happens if you use a wide gamut monitor? The result will generally be oversaturation: colours will be too saturated, lifeless, and artificial.
Wide gamut’s purpose is for printing. If you do not need to do professional printing, there is little reason to get a wide gamut monitor.
+ Show Spoiler [Interface types and cables] +
(images borrowed from Wikipedia)
VGA
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0GCpU.png)
VGA is completely analogue. VGA has worse video quality than DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort. No reason to use it.
DVI-I shares pinouts with VGA so you can use adapters if you must.. You can tell the difference between VGA and DVI by the triangular pin arrangement as well as the blue port and cable heads.
DVI:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/T7klF.png)
Dual-link is required to run 2560x1440 resolution or 1920x1080@120hz. Single-link lacks the bandwidth to do so.
DVI-I has pinouts for VGA; DVI-D lacks pinouts for VGA. Besides this, there is no difference between DVI-I and DVI-D
HDMI:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/FcgYB.png)
HDMI can carry audio and video along the same cable. I don’t believe DVI can do this.
Depending on the revision and monitor HDMI implementation, HDMI can work like a dual-link DVI or a single-link DVI cable. The only real way to find out would be to read reviews and impressions.
It is completely digital so it is not backwards compatible with VGA.
DisplayPort
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/WJSlR.jpg)
DisplayPort has the most bandwidth of all interface types. It can run anything dual-link DVI can do.
It can also transmit audio and video, just like HDMI.
Where do I get cables and adapters?
Monoprice, eBay, Daiso, Amazon, Jaycar, etc. Anywhere cheap is fine. There isn't any secret to making a good digital cable as its just some copper wire, some metal connectors, and some cable sleeving.
General rule of thumb is: don't pay more than ~$10 per meter of cable.
Calibrating Monitors:
Monitor calibration can be done through eye, although results will be fairly poor. Test images from Lagom should help you out with some basic calibration although its unlikely that you will ever achieve anything close to being good or perfect.
An alternative option is to use the settings used in monitor reviews from sites like TFT Central. These will generally produce an acceptable result but keep in mind that all panels are made differently so don't be too surprised if the results are perfect.
The real way to properly calibrate a monitor is via hardware offered by X-rite. If you want to go cheap, the Colormunki will provide solid results. A few things to keep in mind when calibrating:
- Monitors change over time. This is called drift and it is most common when the monitor is new.
- Monitors behave differently depending on temperature. Therefore it is recommended to use your monitor for an hour or so to have it warm up.
- Most people generally calibrate desktop monitors to a white point of 6500k (also known as D65) and a gamma of 2.2. All calibration software will ask for these two quantities.
X-rite's software is very simple and will automate most of the process. All you have to do is follow the instructions. If you want more control over the quality of your calibration, dispcalGUI is an extremely good open source software suite. It is an extremely good method of check and adjusting brightness and colour temperature quickly. I will write more on how to use it at a later date.
No matter your software preference, all calibration software will produce a ICC profile when it is finished calibrating. I recommend loading these profiles with Color Sustainer as it will "force" them within many games which may otherwise override the calibration settings.
When you first load the program, you will be asked to specify some settings. I recommend setting the Color Profile Association mode to Global. If you own a AMD GPU, definitely set the LUT bit depth clamp to 10-bit to eliminate a lot of banding. If you own a NVIDIA GPU, you are limited to 8-bit.
Monitor Recommendations:
I want a very cheap monitor. What should I look for?
Your best option would be a cheap IPS or 60hz TN monitor. I suggest going into a store and buying what suits your needs and looks best. Performances between cheaper monitors are all very similar.
I am thinking about 120hz/3D gaming monitors. What do I need for 120hz monitors?
The cheapest and safest option would be to use dual-link DVI or DisplayPort.
To get anything about of 120hz monitors, you need a very powerful computer. If you cannot well above 60 fps, then you will not see any real benefit from a 120hz monitor.
I am thinking about getting an IPS monitor. What do I need to look out for?
- Screen coating. Matte IPS monitors have fairly thick anti-glare coatings that can “sparkle” at you. Check instore to see if you are bothered by it.
- Actual motion performance. Refer to reviews.
- Input lag. Most have low input lag but some perform badly in this area for some reason.
Glossy vs matte? What's the difference?
Matte coatings eliminate reflections. The coating, however, decreases colour vibrancy and may decrease image sharpness.
Glossy coatings do not have a negative effect on vibrancy and sharpness. However many people cannot stand the reflections you often get if you cannot control the light in your room.
Your mileage may vary and I strongly recommend that you try and see which one you prefer. The last thing you want is buyer's remorse. Keep in mind big box stores are generally awful for glossy monitors thanks to do the extremely bright lighting.
How do I clean my monitor?
A diluted mix of water and isopropyl alcohol is what most manufacturer recommend. Use a microfiber or paper towel (think coffee filters) to apply the cleaning mixture. For stubborn marks, rub hard.
This is important: Absolutely do not use anything with ammonia or is especially acidic or abrasive, like Windex or polishing agents, on your monitor because you are going to ruin the protective coating. This especially important if you have an antiglare coating since that stuff will literally melt right off when faced with good old Windex.
What are some good monitor review websites?
TFT Central.
Prad.
What is this list?
This list deals with specialty monitors. This means 120hz TN, good IPS models, 2560x1440 monitors, etc.
If you want to state problems with a specific manufacturer, please put some effort into it. Post images of the monitor in question, the problems you have with it, and then the quality of support you have received. Saying "so and so is shit DONT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM" is not good enough.
What are these Korean monitors people keep talking about?
You can find a series of cheap 2560x1440 IPS monitors on eBay. They're priced at like $300-400. Is there a catch? Yes and no:
- They're real IPS monitors so you're not being cheated.
- The multiple input models are extremely bad compared to upmarket brand-name models. If you adjust the brightness to 120 lux, the contrast dips to around 300:1 or 400:1. This, combined with IPS glow, gives you pathetic blacks. The single input models do not have this problem.
- Expect stuck/dead pixels even with the no dead pixel warranty. Don't expect anywhere near the same warranty service you might get from a brand-name company.
- They may honour warranty but will either refund a small amount of money or ask you to send the monitor back to them.
+ Show Spoiler [Here is a good user summary about thes…] +
On August 13 2013 08:07 Aylear wrote:
Doesn't yet warrant its own thread, but I'll share some experiences with buying a Korean IPS monitor. I might compile a bunch of information into a thread, but I haven't yet tried to overclock mine and I want that experience under my belt before I do so (simply put, the new models sold post-2012 are supposedly impossible to really OC, and I want to verify this). There is a lot of information available if you intend to take the plunge into the murky waters of foreign eBay vendors.
For the uninitiated: There is a Korean marketplace for extremely cheap ($250-$400) but high quality ($700-$1000+) IPS monitors. This eBay market is getting more and more attention and is getting quite large, with more sellers joining the scene all the time. These are high quality, low-lag, high-response-time, sometimes-possible-to-overclock 27" 1440p IPS monitors that come in 60hz and (more expensive) 120hz variants, great for gaming as well as graphics design.
So what's the catch?
You're ordering from Some Guy In Korea, with all the "warranty" that entails, and you're restricted to single-input models (dual-link DVI), especially for gaming. The multi-input models have terrible scalers and awful color contrast at high brightness settings. Getting a multi-input model is definitely buyer beware.
There are various models that are popular right now -- the Qnix QX2710, the Achieva QH270, the Crossover 27Q, and the fan favorite the Yamakasi Catleap Q270. All of these have a Monitor Club thread on Overclock.net -- here's the one for the Catleap as an example.
It's generally considered that all sellers on eBay are reputable in terms of shipping and general build quality. They use the same panels and sell the same types of monitors, and at that point it comes down to who will give you the better deals or (for what it's worth) warranty. Still, there are some sellers that are considered top notch (even if they are a bit more expensive), so if you're worried about quality, get a monitor from green-sum or dream-seller. They're highly respected, top sellers on eBay with tens of thousands of sales that also offer free worldwide shipping. Things are looking very good.
And then you read stats like these, which show that 6% of people who buy a Catleap get a faulty panel or dead pixels, and you start asking yourself if you're feeling lucky, punk.
The problem is, depending on the vendor, you can have as many as 10 dead pixels and you will still not be eligible for a return or refund. This is simply the law in South Korea, and the eBay sellers can't really do anything about this. They buy the monitors and then sell them on eBay, and a lot of them do not open the box to check the monitor before shipping (dream-seller); only a few of them do (green-sum) and even then they usually have very relaxed rules regarding dead pixels. There are no guarantees.
This is where buying a Perfect Pixel monitor comes in handy. Most sellers sell two "types" of the same monitor, with the only real difference being the warranty. If you buy a "regular" "version", you can have several dead pixels in the center and/or 10+ around the edges and you won't be able to get a replacement, whereas if you buy a Perfect Pixel "version", more than 1 dead pixel in the center area and ~5 around the edges equals a guaranteed refund.
Knowing this, I decided my first buy would be a "Pixel Perfect" Yamakasi Catleap Q270 from green-sum. Specifically, I bought this one. At $397 it's a bit more expensive than the cheapest ones you can find (a quick eBay search for Yamakasi Catleap found hits as low as $320 on the first page alone), but the Perfect Pixel warranty gave me some peace of mind.
Depending on where you live, there may also be an extra bill to front in the form of an import tax. This will come later -- mine came almost two weeks later, in fact, and asked for a pretty hefty $100 -- but that's Norway for you. Electronics above a certain price gets taxed pretty hard, and if you live somewhere more sane you might not get one at all.
All told, my monitor I bought from Some Guy In Korea came in at about $500, and was delivered incredibly quickly to my doorstep by a smiling delivery man. It was a risky purchase, and I was apprehensive.
And I was rewarded with the best monitor I have ever owned in my life. Score!
No dead pixels, it doesn't radiate much heat compared to other monitors I've owned, the input lag is insignificant (numbers on these monitors range from 8-16ms according to rigorous tests), and the picture quality is superb.
But, the stand.
Oh, god, the stand.
Sweet merciful christ on an electric bicycle the stand.
Buy a new stand.
For the love of Cthulhu's Mangled Penis, buy a new stand.
It's the fucking Yamakasi Catleap Bobble-Head 2000.
That aside, this is an all-around gorgeous monitor. Ever see a 27" iMac? Same panel, basically the same monitor. If it came with a better warranty, I would recommend it to everyone. Hell, as it is, I still recommend it to everyone as long as they know what they're getting into, and as long as they feel they could bear the disappointment should they end up being one of the unlucky 6%, and if you're worried about excessive dead pixels or quality, get a Perfect Pixel from one of the bigger and more reputable sellers. You probably won't need to, but it's your call.
There are definitely other monitors to consider. The Catleap has been a fan favorite for a long time because of the solid panel and the fact that fewer Catleaps have problems compared to some other models. However, there are some new contenders on the market.
I were to get a monitor now, I would seriously consider the Qnix QX2710 Evolution II. This is a beast -- the input lag is the same as the Catleap from what I can tell, the refresh rate is great, and as a PLS monitor it can easily overclock to 100+hz with no problems, usually to 110hz and some times to 120hz. The new Catleaps can't do this, and getting a 120hz Catleap is very expensive these days because of high demand. You can read up on it @ Overclock.net, but the OP has zero information so far and it's hard to find stats for it (270 page thread with no summary, haha), so if you want you can just wait for me to get around to it.
Uh, shit. This kind of became a wall-o-text. Sorry.
Like I said, this is more my thoughts and experiences rather than an actual primer on the different monitors, sellers, panels etc., so I don't think it really warrants its own OP yet. Hopefully it can be useful to some people, though. Might add more info later, might not, might make an OP, might not, depends on the interest and if I end up getting the QX2710 I guess.
Doesn't yet warrant its own thread, but I'll share some experiences with buying a Korean IPS monitor. I might compile a bunch of information into a thread, but I haven't yet tried to overclock mine and I want that experience under my belt before I do so (simply put, the new models sold post-2012 are supposedly impossible to really OC, and I want to verify this). There is a lot of information available if you intend to take the plunge into the murky waters of foreign eBay vendors.
For the uninitiated: There is a Korean marketplace for extremely cheap ($250-$400) but high quality ($700-$1000+) IPS monitors. This eBay market is getting more and more attention and is getting quite large, with more sellers joining the scene all the time. These are high quality, low-lag, high-response-time, sometimes-possible-to-overclock 27" 1440p IPS monitors that come in 60hz and (more expensive) 120hz variants, great for gaming as well as graphics design.
So what's the catch?
You're ordering from Some Guy In Korea, with all the "warranty" that entails, and you're restricted to single-input models (dual-link DVI), especially for gaming. The multi-input models have terrible scalers and awful color contrast at high brightness settings. Getting a multi-input model is definitely buyer beware.
There are various models that are popular right now -- the Qnix QX2710, the Achieva QH270, the Crossover 27Q, and the fan favorite the Yamakasi Catleap Q270. All of these have a Monitor Club thread on Overclock.net -- here's the one for the Catleap as an example.
It's generally considered that all sellers on eBay are reputable in terms of shipping and general build quality. They use the same panels and sell the same types of monitors, and at that point it comes down to who will give you the better deals or (for what it's worth) warranty. Still, there are some sellers that are considered top notch (even if they are a bit more expensive), so if you're worried about quality, get a monitor from green-sum or dream-seller. They're highly respected, top sellers on eBay with tens of thousands of sales that also offer free worldwide shipping. Things are looking very good.
And then you read stats like these, which show that 6% of people who buy a Catleap get a faulty panel or dead pixels, and you start asking yourself if you're feeling lucky, punk.
The problem is, depending on the vendor, you can have as many as 10 dead pixels and you will still not be eligible for a return or refund. This is simply the law in South Korea, and the eBay sellers can't really do anything about this. They buy the monitors and then sell them on eBay, and a lot of them do not open the box to check the monitor before shipping (dream-seller); only a few of them do (green-sum) and even then they usually have very relaxed rules regarding dead pixels. There are no guarantees.
This is where buying a Perfect Pixel monitor comes in handy. Most sellers sell two "types" of the same monitor, with the only real difference being the warranty. If you buy a "regular" "version", you can have several dead pixels in the center and/or 10+ around the edges and you won't be able to get a replacement, whereas if you buy a Perfect Pixel "version", more than 1 dead pixel in the center area and ~5 around the edges equals a guaranteed refund.
Knowing this, I decided my first buy would be a "Pixel Perfect" Yamakasi Catleap Q270 from green-sum. Specifically, I bought this one. At $397 it's a bit more expensive than the cheapest ones you can find (a quick eBay search for Yamakasi Catleap found hits as low as $320 on the first page alone), but the Perfect Pixel warranty gave me some peace of mind.
Depending on where you live, there may also be an extra bill to front in the form of an import tax. This will come later -- mine came almost two weeks later, in fact, and asked for a pretty hefty $100 -- but that's Norway for you. Electronics above a certain price gets taxed pretty hard, and if you live somewhere more sane you might not get one at all.
All told, my monitor I bought from Some Guy In Korea came in at about $500, and was delivered incredibly quickly to my doorstep by a smiling delivery man. It was a risky purchase, and I was apprehensive.
And I was rewarded with the best monitor I have ever owned in my life. Score!
No dead pixels, it doesn't radiate much heat compared to other monitors I've owned, the input lag is insignificant (numbers on these monitors range from 8-16ms according to rigorous tests), and the picture quality is superb.
But, the stand.
Oh, god, the stand.
Sweet merciful christ on an electric bicycle the stand.
Buy a new stand.
For the love of Cthulhu's Mangled Penis, buy a new stand.
It's the fucking Yamakasi Catleap Bobble-Head 2000.
That aside, this is an all-around gorgeous monitor. Ever see a 27" iMac? Same panel, basically the same monitor. If it came with a better warranty, I would recommend it to everyone. Hell, as it is, I still recommend it to everyone as long as they know what they're getting into, and as long as they feel they could bear the disappointment should they end up being one of the unlucky 6%, and if you're worried about excessive dead pixels or quality, get a Perfect Pixel from one of the bigger and more reputable sellers. You probably won't need to, but it's your call.
There are definitely other monitors to consider. The Catleap has been a fan favorite for a long time because of the solid panel and the fact that fewer Catleaps have problems compared to some other models. However, there are some new contenders on the market.
I were to get a monitor now, I would seriously consider the Qnix QX2710 Evolution II. This is a beast -- the input lag is the same as the Catleap from what I can tell, the refresh rate is great, and as a PLS monitor it can easily overclock to 100+hz with no problems, usually to 110hz and some times to 120hz. The new Catleaps can't do this, and getting a 120hz Catleap is very expensive these days because of high demand. You can read up on it @ Overclock.net, but the OP has zero information so far and it's hard to find stats for it (270 page thread with no summary, haha), so if you want you can just wait for me to get around to it.
Uh, shit. This kind of became a wall-o-text. Sorry.
Like I said, this is more my thoughts and experiences rather than an actual primer on the different monitors, sellers, panels etc., so I don't think it really warrants its own OP yet. Hopefully it can be useful to some people, though. Might add more info later, might not, might make an OP, might not, depends on the interest and if I end up getting the QX2710 I guess.
To boil it down:
- Any model with HDMI or DisplayPort are anywhere near as good as brand-name models.
- Any model with only DVI is as good as a typical IPS monitor.
- Expect panel defects. Don't expect to return the model if you get defects.
- Don't expect good warranty support. The seller is some random guy in Korea after all.
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21”-24” 60hz monitors
Best options include:
- Dell P2314H (best matte monitor)
- HP Envy 23 (best glossy monitor)
- Eizo EV2336 (best 23" monitor)
The Dell P2314H can be commonly found for ~$200 when on special on Amazon, Newegg, or Dell directly. It is a matte IPS monitor with a wide range of ergonomic features such as height adjustment. Be aware that some models use panels with BGR sub-pixel order which cannot be rendered properly if you are a Mac user. So try and buy from a retailer with easy return policies if you intend to use it with your Apple computer.
The HP Envy 23 monitor (not all-in-one computer) is a glossy 23" IPS monitor that is commonly found for ~$200 on Amazon, Newegg, or wherever. Its one of the few decent IPS glossy monitors on the market that are pretty affordable so that by itself makes this a unique monitor. Be aware that it has no VESA mounts.
The Eizo EV2336 is the best IPS based monitors in this size range. It is a business monitor and has everything you expect from one including height adjustment. It uses a semi-gloss panel so it retains most of the vibrancy of glossy panels while cutting down on the glare. Strangely enough, it is actually a better gaming monitor than the Eizo Foris FS2332 or FS2333. The only catch with this monitor is that it is likely the most expensive option by a wide margin.
23/34” 120hz/144hz monitors
There's only a few good players in town:
- Eizo Foris FG2421 (VA based)
- BenQ XL2411Z (TN based)
The BenQ XL2411Z is probably the best performing 144hz monitor on the market as its strobing can be adjusted with this utility from BlurBusters.
Eizo Foris FG2421 is the most expensive 120hz monitor but will also have the best black depth and image quality of any high refresh rate monitor as its VA based. The only real catch is that the quality of the panels can vary greatly, as many suspect the panels are merely rejects that were intended for Eizo's Duravision monitors.
24” 16:10 monitors
They're basically dead. Those that are still sold are either using old panels or are more expensive than most 16: 9 monitors of the same size since they're business monitors. If you must have one, these are some options:
- HP Z24i Gen 2
- BenQ BL2411PT
Because of reports of cross-hatching marks on the BenQ's antiglare coating, I'd probably recommend the HP Z24i Gen 2 as it appears to use a Samsung PLS panel.
27”+ 2560x1440 monitors
There's lots of them. All, unless specified, will have one frame of input lag. This is due to the scaler. To summarize:
Really, really cheap (~$300-400):
- QNIX QX2710 Evolution 2 from Amazon or eBay.
This is a single DVI input monitor and it has very few adjustable settings so it has very low input lag. But don't worry, the default calibration is pretty solid. The main draw of these monitors is the ability to manually adjust the refresh rate to up to 120hz although, like overclocking, the results vary from monitor to monitor.
Cheap (~$500):
- AOC q2770Pqu
- BenQ BL2710PT
Both basically the same with some slight differences:
- It is easier to calibrate the BenQ BL2710PT since changing the gamma mode to 2 is enough to get an "accurate" image. The AOC q2770Pqu base settings are not as accurate.
- AOC q2770Pqu doesn't have 1:1 pixel scaling (only 16: 9 and 4:3 support) while the BenQ BL2710PT does.
- The AOC q2770Pqu is likely cheaper and is classified as a Pixel fault class I display. This means one bright or dead pixel is enough for a valid warranty claim.
Moderately priced (~$700)
- BenQ BL3200PT
This is a multi-input 32" VA monitor. The main draws are the extremely good contrast and black depth; the main drawbacks are higher than average ghosting and gamma shift (so not great for professional photography). Depending on the person, you may or may not like the size and pixel pitch: images aren't as sharp as a 27" monitor but it has the pixel pitch of a 24" monitor which a lot of people find scale text and user interface elements perfectly.
Expensive (~$800+)
- Asus ROG Swift PG278Q (144hz TN)
- Eizo EV2736W
The Eizo EV2736W is the most expensive but has the best image quality. It has a great semi-gloss panel and reportedly uses one that has little to none IPS glow so its perceived black depth is better than the majority of IPS monitors on the market.
The Asus ROG Swift PG278Q is a 144hz 2560x1440 TN monitor with G-Sync and strobing (ULMB) support. Its close to being the perfect gaming monitor but there's a few catches to this monitor:
- The panel is TN so viewing angles are garbage.
- Its only port is DisplayPort and has no scaling options so don't plan on using this with anything but your desktop.
- G-Sync only works with NVIDIA (obviously) and ULMB starts at 85hz so you most definitely want your system to maintain at least 85 FPS constant if you want to take advantage of ULMB.
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