22" single or dual LCD monitors vs 24"

[Grup]

I am wondering whether I should go for dual 22" LCD or whether I'm able to go for a single 24" LCD. My main purpose for my PC is gaming, but also will be editing HD footage once I upgrade my hard drive to something bigger. Two screens would be better for this, but its secondary. I will need a good performance since I'm looking to buy GTA IV, COD Modern Warfare2, AvP3 , Empire Total War and will also be playing a bit of online FPS' like TFC2. Will my PC be able to run 24" smoothly without issues? What is my best option?

Not sure on the category being correct but noticed that similar posts are also in this one. Also its for display...

I have briefly looked into brands, but would be thankful for any recommendations as I'm not really clued up to know what exactly to look for other than low ms. The Benq E2420HD 24" didn't look too bad and is at a decent price. For the 22" monitors I liked the ViewSonic VX2260WM which is at a nice price also. Both of these have good reviews. I'm not overly worried about price jumps going from 22" to 24" (as long as it's not ridiculously expensive) but am more concerned about what will run best on my PC, and be the most satisfying.

Here are the specs of my PC (still finishing buying all components, so not built yet):

CPU- Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz 8MB Cache 130W TDP Hyper-threading LGA1366
Graphics- HighTech Sapphire Radeon HD5870 PCI-E 1GB GDDR5 256-bit 850 4.8GHz HD1080p/2xDVI/Display Port DX11
Hard drive- Western Digital 640GB SATA 7200rpm 16MB hard drive
Motherboard- DFI LANPARTY DK P45-T2RS PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel
Memory- Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 6GB (3x XMS3 2GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz) XMS DDR3
Power- Corsair 750W TX-750 ATX Power Supply 140mm fan 8xSATA Connectors
Case- Thermaltake CASE-VJ40001W2Z V9 Black Gaming Case
DVD- LiteOn iHAS324 Super AllWrite 24x DVD Writer DVD+-24X8X8/8X4 DV

In the future I will upgrade the cooling from the built-in case cooling to something better and add another 5870 to CrossFire. If I did decide 24" would adding another 24" then on be out of the question?

Any advice or recommendations you can give is definitely appreciated!

 

[ridic23]

I see ur planning a pretty good rig....But i doubt if the dual monitor stuff is necessary....with this kind of config forget the 22 inch option....Go for 24 inch....Anything below 1920x1200 resolution for that card will be wasted investment....If at all u want dual display go for another 24".....

A better option now would be to save the money on dual monitor and get an 24" 3d ready monitor with 120hz refresh rate....The nvidia 3d vision will not support ati card but it surely change for there is no other direction for the technology to develop....At least for now the game will be hell of a lot smoother....

 

[Grup]

I see ur planning a pretty good rig....But i doubt if the dual monitor stuff is necessary....with this kind of config forget the 22 inch option....Go for 24 inch....Anything below 1920x1200 resolution for that card will be wasted investment....If at all u want dual display go for another 24".....

A better option now would be to save the money on dual monitor and get an 24" 3d ready monitor with 120hz refresh rate....The nvidia 3d vision will not support ati card but it surely change for there is no other direction for the technology to develop....At least for now the game will be hell of a lot smoother....

Not so sure on the whole 3D thing... I imagine the quality would be halved if done in 3D. If I did consider buying a 24" 3D ready monitor what would I be looking at exactly in terms of price and the actual product? Are they even available yet? Also wouldn't it be a better idea to wait until the whole 3d develops before investing money into it...? With a non-3d monitor do I need to worry about the refresh rate at all?

Thanks

 

[ridic23]

Even if u want to play 3D u will need 120hz monitor.....a non-3d monitor will have only 60hz refresh rate....The difference is that when playing games in a normal monitor there will be lines appearing when things get moving faster on screen...with graphics intensive games like RE5 it will be a big distraction....with a 120hz monitor u wont have any issues like this....the pricing is a bit high....as far as availability is concerned almost all major players have atleast one model in the market....investing now will be both advantageous and disadvantageous....the good thing is that u wont have to buy a new monitor when 3D gets mainstream and the bad is the pricing for a just boost in refresh rate....well its ur decision finally....

 

[chunkymonster]

My vote is for a single monitor instead of dual monitors. And, instead of the BenQ or the ViewSonic, I highly recommend the Hanns-G 281DPB.

With the games you want to play and with the gpu you've spec'd out, gaming at 1920x1200 with the eye candy turned up will not be an issue.

There is a reason why the Hanns-G 281DPB is a six time Customer Choice winner on Newegg. It is a great monitor at a great price!

 

[Grup]

Even if u want to play 3D u will need 120hz monitor.....a non-3d monitor will have only 60hz refresh rate....The difference is that when playing games in a normal monitor there will be lines appearing when things get moving faster on screen...with graphics intensive games like RE5 it will be a big distraction....with a 120hz monitor u wont have any issues like this....the pricing is a bit high....as far as availability is concerned almost all major players have atleast one model in the market....investing now will be both advantageous and disadvantageous....the good thing is that u wont have to buy a new monitor when 3D gets mainstream and the bad is the pricing for a just boost in refresh rate....well its ur decision finally....

Does having a 60hz LCD really have a large negative impact in games?

It does look pretty tempting though New Zealand (where I'm from) is so bad when it comes to even stocking this item in major stores. Haven't found a 24" 3D monitor, only the 22", which may also be another option.

Although the price of this was up at $920 NZD, it isn't too bad since it comes as a package with the 3D glasses etc. I'm guessing that this monitor has no problem with playing games in normal 2D using the Radeon of course...

One thing to think about though is if I do spend the extra and get a 3D ready monitor at 22" (since that is all that's available) then is the sacrifice in size going to make up for the double refresh rate? I could probably get a decent 26"-28" in that price range, or just a really decent 24" even. Hmm I think I'd prefer the bigger size unless there is a big impact when going to 120hz which would possibly make it worth it.

 

[Grup]

My vote is for a single monitor instead of dual monitors. And, instead of the BenQ or the ViewSonic, I highly recommend the Hanns-G 281DPB.

With the games you want to play and with the gpu you've spec'd out, gaming at 1920x1200 with the eye candy turned up will not be an issue.

There is a reason why the Hanns-G 281DPB is a six time Customer Choice winner on Newegg. It is a great monitor at a great price!

I think single the monitor is the way I'll go then.

28" aye? I like the sound of that as long as it runs smoothly whilst playing in high settings, which I wasn't so sure it could. Though looking into it the Hanns-G 281DPB doesn't seem to exist in New Zealand.

The BenQ I'm looking at is about $480 (NZD) which is very decent. The Hanns is even better at around $420 NZD but then this is a US store I'm looking at. Finding a model in NZ seems impossible, which means a lot of money for shipping etc, which possibly isn't worth it. The specs seem similar although the contrast ratio is better for the BenQ (probably not too important) and the BenQ also looses the 4" or whatever the true distance is. I'd say the Hanns is a better deal if it weren't for the hassle of having to ship.

Maybe it's a new model and NZ just don't have it yet. I'm not in the biggest rush to get one, but within the next couple of months I wish to buy. There is a chance we get some in...

As for the 28" monitors in NZ, there doesn't seem to be a lot, and what I'm looking at for the cheap 26" is about $1000 NZD which is just a ridiculous jump in price, let alone a 28" which I'm yet to find...

If the Hanns did hit the NZ market it'll probably be around the $900 at least I'm guessing.

All these options arrg... both great suggestions but not sure which one I'm liking best at this stage.

 

[xbonez]

I've been using the Hanns-G 281DPB for a while now, with a lot of gaming at 1920x1200, and lots of 720p movie watching. Works like a charm. Very bright screen, great color reproduction, viewing angles, no ghosting and no dead / stuck pixels. All this, at an unbeatable price. Its hard to find another 28" full HD monitor at the same price

 

[Grup]

I've had a good look in NZ sites but it doesn't look like we have the Hanns-G 281DPB yet. I've even had a look at some US sites to get a rough estimate on how much shipping will be but I'm having trouble finding one that'll even ship to NZ... Besides that, I'm certain shipping will be ridiculously expensive and take up about half the price. This is pretty annoying because I'm in favour of this option now.