Backlit Monitor

[Ginamarie]

My husband is an avid gamer. I wanted to buy him a new monitor for his computer - staying around $200 - what is the difference between these two...what does LED Backlit mean? Does it make a difference? Which is better??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=24-236-049&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=6#scrollFullInfo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236153

 

[PhilFrisbie]

Go with the LED backlit model. It will last longer (the other has a fluorescent tube which will eventually burn out), and it provides a dynamic contrast so dark scenes are darker.

 

[jaguarskx]

Generally speaking, LED backlight uses less electricity since these monitors are edge lit. That means the LEDs are arranged on the edges of the screen instead of directly behind. The light passes through an amorphous material which then reflects the light to the user/viewer. This allows the monitor to have a thin design.

There have been a very small minority of people who say the LED backlight looks slightly bluish. That is because the LED lights are actually blue LEDs with a yellow phosphorous coating to imitate white. Most people do not notice this and it is most likely due to the coating being slightly off during the manufacturing process.

The Asus VW246H uses a traditional CCFL (florescent) backlight. This is known as a full array backlight because the CCFL lamps are directly behind the LCD panel. This is why these types of monitors are thicker. CCFL backlight lifespan do not last as long as LED backlight from a technical point of view. My 1st LCD panel was a 19" Planar PX191 back in 2002. Last time I've checked the monitor it has been on for just over 11,000 hours over a span of 7 years. The backlight was still going strong meaning the backlight has not dimmed or at least not enough for me to notice. I gave away my Planar monitor to a friend back in 2009 and it still works fine. Generally speaking CCFL lamps can last between 20,000 to 50,000 hours depending on the quality of the CCFL lamps used. That means if left on 24/7 cheap backlight can last up to around 2 years and 4 months and well designed backlight can last up to 5 years and 9 months.

I actually bought the Asus VW246H's sister monitor back in Dec. 2008; called the Asus VK246H. The difference between the VW and VK model is simply the integrated camera in the VK246H otherwise they are exactly the same monitor. Below is a link to my detailed review of the monitor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/54250-3-asus-vk246h-review-final-update

 

[Ginamarie]

Thank you so much!!!