HD Monitor - is it necessary?

[0829430]

Hi guys,

Looking to buy a 24" monitor, deciding whether I need to get a HD one or not, because I would rather save money if I could.

I'm currently doing a 3D modeling game art course, which obviously requires Maya and photoshop. That and a games is all I use the PC for. Let's say 70% of videos I watch go through the projector, same with consoles. Would I benefit in anyway from a HD monitor, are they overall just great picture quality, or just for certain things?

Thanks heaps in advance.
Tim.

 

[Noya]

A 24" 1900x1200 monitor is great for Maya, Photoshop or any other app that has many windows/tool boxes in it.

The downside to a high-res monitor is that if you play modern PC games you need a decent-to-great video card if you want to play with graphics set on med-to-high settings and get acceptable frame rates. The minimum would be a 4870 1gb ($160+ on sale) or gtx260 core 216 ($180+ sale). Both of these cards are going to need a quality 500w PSU like a Corsair vx550.

On another note, there are about 3 different types of 24" displays, TN, IPS / S-IPS, MVA / PVA. TN are the cheapest and therefore the most abundant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LCD_matrices

 

[mrcheesle]

What do you mean by HD monitor? If you mean a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 then I don't think you could find a 24" with a resolution lower than that. Now if you're talking about other specs on the monitor (response time, contrast ration, etc) I would say that it would be beneficial to you to get one with decent specs if you are doing any rendering so that you can see the detail more clearly (I personally recommend the Samsung T240 or 2443BWX if you're looking for something a little cheaper). If resolution is what you're looking for, then I would recommend comparing side by side some monitors with different resolutions so that you can compare and see what would be appropriate for what you want. Good luck!

 

[0829430]

By HD monitor, I mean 1920x1080, instead of the usual 1900x1200 24" screens. Which would be better for PC games long term and for what I mentioned above?

 

[mrcheesle]

First, what video card do you currently have or do you plan on getting?

Next, there is nothing a 1920x1080 can do that a 1920x1200 can't; it's just how many pixels a monitor can display at a given time. Because of this, most people will recommend the higher resolution because you can pick them up for close to the same price and you get a bit more bang for your buck. But as stated previously, you need to have the horse power to crank out all those images.

 

[0829430]

I've got a 320MB 8800GTS, thanks a lot for your help.

 

[mrcheesle]

I would have a hard time recommending a 24" monitor for you unless you plan to upgrade your video card too. Instead I would suggest a nice 22" monitor with a 1680x1050 resolution. You wouldn't be losing out on a whole lot but you'd make better usage of your video card. Besides, you can pick up a good 22" cheaper than a cheap 24". But that is just my opinion and is up to your preferences.

 

[jaguarskx]

Generally speaking 1920 x 1080 monitors are generally less expensive than 1920 x 1200 monitors. Basically the only difference is 120 rows of pixels.

As for "great picture quality" that is subjective and changes based on the type of LCD panel tech used. Low end 24" monitors (less than $550) uses TN panels and so do all 23.6" 1920 x 1080 as well. All 22" LCD monitors uses TN panels as well with the exception of the Lenovo ThinkVision L220x, HP LP2275w and all 22" LCD monitors made my Eizo.

Click the following link regarding panel techs (a bit dated, but still applies):

http://www.hardware.info/en-US/articles/am5naWpxZA/TFT_monitors_buyers_guide/4


Note: The use of the phrase "response time" in the article seems incorrect. In the TN section replace "high" with "fast". When you see "low" replace it with the word "slow".

 

[jaguarskx]

As for gaming with a 8800GTS 320MB...

If you don't mind setting medium graphics quality in current games then it should be fine for playing games @ 1920 x 1200 / 1920 x 1080.

Still gaming with a X1900XT on my 26" NEC LCD monitor.

 

[meodowla]

Right way to go for HD now would be adopting a cheap and good HD monitor like BenQ E2200HD.

 

[bustapr]

Samsung 2433BW 24" LCD Monitor - 5ms, 1920x1200, 20000:1 DC, VGA, DVI, Glossy Black.
This monitor is great for all that stuff, high contrast, high resolution great for gaming and photoshop.
only $270.