20" LCD

[darksidedragon]

A couple of weeks ago I was fairly set on what monitor I was going to get. However, that particular Samsung model now seems to have been discontinued, and so I'm having to look again. Two monitors have taken my fancy, and I was hoping you people could help me out.
The first is the LG L204WT. The main draw to this was it's low price. However, I've read reviews that say the claimed 2000:1 contrast ratio relies on some rubbish software, so the actual contrast ratio is much less than this. It's 1680x1050, with a response time of 5ms.
The second monitor is the Samsung 206BW. Although it's a bit more expensive than the LG, it has a higher contrast ratio of 3000:1 (which probably doesn't rely on software but rather some hardware trick, I imagine), and a response time of 2ms.

I'm drawn more towards the Samsung, as I've always known them to make good monitors. However, if the colour quality of the LG is good enough, then I see no reason not to buy it. Oh, and I'm mainly going to running high end games on the monitor. Also, I really don't want to spend more than £200 on a monitor.

 

[trex_2010]

actually i think both of these monitors' contrast ratios are based on a 'trick' kind of like gray to gray response time. it's called dynamic versus static contrast. the samsung is 1000:1 'static' ("real") contrast, the other is probably somewhere along the lines of 700:1. if you are running games, this should be fine anyway though. read some reviews on both, good reviews will measure their own response time, and their own contrast ratios.

the 5ms response time is almost certainly GTG. black to black is probably something like 12ms. which is still pretty great. there are monitors now with 2ms GTG reponse times (though im not sure they are available in 20"), thats where i would look, since you said you will use it for gaming. i think an extra 40 - 50 dollars would be worthwhile to get a little faster monitor.

Unless its absolutely urgent (like your old monitor burned out), i would wait out for a few weeks. I am looking for a monitor with a fast response time too, and there doesnt seem to be anything truly outstanding out now. this seems to be an exciting time for monitor technology. who knows what will come out soon, and how much the price on the ones you picked out will drop as a result.

 

[darksidedragon]

Cheers for the advice. I've been waiting a while to build this, though, so I don't really want to wait much longer. If I do, then I may as well wait until the end of July for when the new Nvidia cards come out.

 

[realzeus]

Do not be foolled by manufacturers' marketing tricks; in both cases, these high contrast ratio numbers are dynamic and not static. I have got a Philips (LG-Philips panel) that has 3500:1 dynamic and 800:1 constant (which is the true contrast). In any case, you should not put too much faith on what manufacturers claim. I have seen (and there are tests to support that) theoretically inferior monitors (i.e. higher latency times, lower contrast ratios) that perform much better than highly advertised ones. The difference is that when highly acclaimed marques such as NEC or Eizo state some numbers, these are closer to reality. Just go to a high street shop and see these monitors in operation. You will notice that the most expensives have much superior image quality, even if they have theoretically lower specs.

 

[darksidedragon]

Yeah, thanks for that. I was looking at some review, and I now know that the Samsung has a true contrast raito of 800:1, and the LG 700:1. I'm a bit disappointed that neither of them have height adjustment, but I can live without that. I'll probably go with the Samsung, as it's reponse time of 2ms GTG should be pretty good for games.