Gaming Help me pick out a new monitor!

[War]

Hey guys. I was recently browsing through the forums and saw Sephi's blog where he talked about him getting a new computer. I was looking at all the stuff he was getting and saw that he was getting a really nice looking monitor for like 170 bucks! I always thought monitors like that cost somewhere in the 400-500 range... so now that I know I can get a good monitor for around 100-200, I really wanna save up for one!

What I want:
- Must be between 100-200 USD. Absolutely no more than 200, I will have a hard enough time getting 200 as it is.
- Must be at LEAST 19". My current monitor is 17" (or 15"...not sure) and it feels really small. Also, I am planning to play my 360 on this monitor, so it has to be a decent size.
- Must be high def. I don't really know anything about high def (720i? 1080i? I have no idea what that stuff means) I just need a monitor that will make my 360 games look really good! I have a SDTV right now, and they do look really nice, but I just want them to look at their best. Also, some games like Dead Rising don't really work too well with SDTVs.

That's about it... the two I've seen so far that look like they meet these criteria are:

Sephi's Monitor
Joe88's Recommendation

Those look astounding compared to my shitty monitor. So yeah, I'm looking for tips, advice, good places to get monitors from, etc. Just don't go over 200 bucks!

Edit: I have a PC

 

[science]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

 

[noONE]

Those screens look ok, don't know how the prices are over in USA, but for me that's great prices.
Also, as you're going to play games on that screen, you'll want to have as low response time as possible, I recommend 2ms as above that you'll start to notice the delay.

 

[War]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

I'd appreciate it if you actually took the time to read the thread before you post. You'd realize I don't have 1800 dollars to blow off.

 

[Banger]

I second Joe88's recommendation as it was the one I was just about to recommend.

Reason for saying go with the ASUS VH226H is because of the hdmi, full 1080p although iirc the 360 does not output anything higher then 720p but it is still a nice choice. Decent sized... Although I would recommend an external sound source.

 

[science]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

I'd appreciate it if you actually took the time to read the thread before you post. You'd realize I don't have 1800 dollars to blow off.

Ah come on War, I was just joking. I know nothing about monitors, and not even the biggest Apple fan would buy that monitor. I actually read the post but couldn't contribute anything worthwhile, so I posted that. Sorry!

For a real suggestion, buy an old Apple monitor off eBay, but they are used. And only if you like the look of them. See I suck at suggesting real things.

 

[sgand]

I have the Acer, and it is sex in a box. It is such an improvement over my 19" Dell. I am running dual monitors now, and you can tell a huge difference in quality.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16824009145

 

[Santee]

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...mp;sku=320-7438 dunno if it can play 360 though but I'm guessing it can

 

[War]

Hm okay, so far the Acer (Sephi's) sounds really good. Can someone explain that 720p and 1080p stuff to me?

 

[sgand]

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/product...mp;sku=320-7438 dunno if it can play 360 though but I'm guessing it can

Plays Xbox via VGA, or VGA to DVI adapter, or HDMI to DVI adapter.

 

[Minox]

Hm okay, so far the Acer (Sephi's) sounds really good. Can someone explain that 720p and 1080p stuff to me?

720p and 1080p are just two different resolutions available for monitors/TVs. 720p represents 1280x720 while 1080p represents 1920x1080.

The monitor that Sephi suggested has a resolution of 1680x1050 and would be the equivalent of 1050p although no such 1050p standard for TVs exist.

 

[War]

I was reading the bad reviews for Sephi's monitor and a lot of people are complaining about dead pixels, DOAs, etc... I really hope that wouldn't happen to me...

 

[xcalibur]

Get a samsung monitor. They're all great.
I might sound vague but thats the truth of it. Any samsung monitor will do exactly what you want it to at any price.

 

[juggernaut911]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

I heard that they suck. Sure they have a big contrast ratio, but I wouldn't play any game on that!

 

[sgand]

I was reading the bad reviews for Sephi's monitor and a lot of people are complaining about dead pixels, DOAs, etc... I really hope that wouldn't happen to me...

I was a bit iffy about that too. Me and a buddy both took chances and came out winners.

 

[Salamantis]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

I heard that they suck. Sure they have a big contrast ratio, but I wouldn't play any game on that!

Yeah, and the specs say 16ms response, which is huge for gaming (in the bad way).

 

[BurlyEd]

I just got my ASUS VH226H for $179.99 at NewEgg a few weeks ago.
The price changes every few days. Keep checking back.
You can connect your HD cable or satellite box with HDMI and use it as a 1080P HDTV too!
You will want better speakers if you do that.

 

[Joe88]

tl;dr

http://store.apple.com/us/product/M9179LL/...;mco=MjE0NTg4OA

I heard that they suck. Sure they have a big contrast ratio, but I wouldn't play any game on that!

Yeah, and the specs say 16ms response, which is huge for gaming (in the bad way).

who would actually buy that ...

(looks at apple fanboys)
you can get a pretty good 32" LCD 1080p LCD TV for like $800 or and use it as a comp screen if you like

anyway I myself will most likely getting the ASUS 21.5" model (if prices stay that way in the coming weeks)
was looking at the 23.6" also, but was $50 more and 5ms instead of 2, probably not worth it

 

[pEpz]

take a look at some reviews on the web too.
just an example:
http://www.testfreaks.com/monitors/

 

[juggernaut911]

take a look at some reviews on the web too.
just an example:
http://www.testfreaks.com/monitors/

ooooooh! Great site, thank you very much!


just a general question, what is the minimum contrast ratio to get on a good monitor. I know it helps and sometimes isn't noticeable at the same time but I'm curious because I see 1000:1, 700:1, 10000:1, etc