Seems like 1680x1050 is the resolution to be going with. It's high enough to allow high-definition gaming and video viewing. It's not an overly demanding resolution for modern graphics cards, and it is of course, a 19:10 wide screen aspect ratio.

Seems like 20.1" LCDs, and 22" LCDs both use the same resolution. So which looks better? Does it look stretched on the 22" screen? Or does it look compressed on the 20" screen? I haven't had the chance to directly compare two LCD's, so I have no knowledge of how it looks. So, with price aside, what looks better? a 20.1" LCD, or the slightly bigger 22" LCD?
~Bryan~

It does not look stretched or compressed
20" looks sharper because the pixels are smaller and 22" is of course bigger physically.
I would say if your primary use is games and movies 22" is probably a better choice, but for other uses I would get the 20".

All 22" panels are TN and will be guaranteed to look like garbage (especially if you're used to a CRT). It is impossible to get an IPS panel (the only decent LCD panel type) in 22".

NEC is the only company I've seen that provides consistently high quality LCD *snicker* monitors in 20" (20W(M)GX2), 24" (LCD2490WUXi) and 25.5" (LCD2690WUXi), with no bait and switch panel swapping like Dell does. Prepare to pay a premium, though.

Quote from Forbin :

All 22" panels are TN and will be guaranteed to look like garbage (especially if you're used to a CRT). It is impossible to get an IPS panel (the only decent LCD panel type) in 22".

NEC is the only company I've seen that provides consistently high quality LCD *snicker* monitors in 20" (20W(M)GX2), 24" (LCD2490WUXi) and 25.5" (LCD2690WUXi), with no bait and switch panel swapping like Dell does. Prepare to pay a premium, though.

Or, you may not have Bionic eyes and don't know or care what panel your monitor uses as while it isn't as good as a better monitor it still looks great in your eyes.

Quote from Jakg :

Or, you may not have Bionic eyes and don't know or care what panel your monitor uses as while it isn't as good as a better monitor it still looks great in your eyes.

I have an 8bit VA screen sat next to a TN here, and I can definately tell the difference.

I will a) never buy a screen with a high dot pitch such as 22" or 27", as I work very close to the screen and need the clarity, and
b) never buy a TN panel after using better types, the difference to me can be pretty big.

I have a cheap-o Xerox 22" screen. Cost me £186 a year ago. To me it looks great.

Compared to a top-of-the-line Samsung (£300+ when i bought my screen) 22" it simply meant I would be stuck with a 19" of a good quality. I'm sure that the screen I *could* of bought would look better but if i've never seen somethin perfect then i'm happy to use an ok-looking (i say "ok" but i've seen a Samsung 226BW up close and while it made me think i shoulda bought it, it wasn't a £100 better looking image), big cheap screen.

What i'm saying is that I dont need VA-ubergood 16bit panel because I just play games and surf the internet. For me, the *exact* colour versus a second monitor is the comprimise i'd make. Not worth it...

thats plain and simply wrong jack
at ~30cm vertical you will see how rubbish a tn is all the time unless you place it 10 metres in front of you

Maybe the monitor I saw wasn't as good as i thought then.

When I was a kid, we always inherited my dad's old laptops (and he always got the top of the line models with the new high-res screens.) The result of that is that I'm spoiled with super-fine resolutions. I cannot bear anything low res. I was so glad when the week before I ordered my laptop, they made available a 1440x1050 screen.
If I were getting a 22" screen, I wouldn't settle for anything less than 1920x1200 - only because 1680x1050 would be too low resolution for me. I'm used to VERY sharp screens.

Quote from Jakg :

i've seen a Samsung 226BW up close and while it made me think i shoulda bought it

I sit infront of one every day and it's a piece of shit just like all the other TN panels. I don't have any dead pixel issues or backlight bleed or anything like that, I just have a ridiculous amount of darkening on some part of the screen regardless of the angle I'm viewing it from. It's unavoidable with a large TN panel.

It makes the monitor completely useless for working with graphics - the same colour at the top and bottom of this screen will look totally different.

I won't be buying another monitor using this tech.

Hmm, so stay away from the 22" screens because they use TN pannels? I have a beautiful CRT monitor at the moment, so I have a rather high demand for imagine quality. I was using a school computer on a 20" Acer, and it seemed well enough size, and on it's 'standard' setting I believe it looked rather well, of course not the same as the warmer CRTs.

PS, little off topic but I was figuring something out at school. Do I give off the impression that I'm a fairly well-spoken, mature teenager for a 15 year old? Seems like lately people have started commenting about it at school, and even over facebook and msn.
~Bryan~

OT: On the contrary, you should just keep taking the piss out of their poor spelling and grammar and say they'll never get a decent job talking/typing like they do. Better to learn it right young.

I have a 226CW and it's a great monitor

Glad to hear it as I've just ordered one. Read a ton of reviews online and everyone seems to like it, especially gamers.

I just bought a new monitor, and my choices were limited to exactly that, I took the 20", it looked better than the 22" at that resolution, and it was an Acer, and I really like their monitors.

Quote from DHRammstein :

and it was an Acer, and I really like their monitors.

I've got two 19" monitors from them. They got fantastic reviews and they really deserve it. Bright, vivid, good response times for a very low price. Would definitely buy from them again. I highly recommend you at least LOOK at Acer before you buy anything else.

I bought an Acer AL2216W and and can say that it´s a good TFT. I admit the colors change a bit to sides, but since I sit 1 meter in front of it, in games this isn´t too bad.

LFS on this 22" is awesome.

NikLaw - That avatar creeps the hell out of me... :scared:

I am beautiful, no matter what they say...

Btw. the 8800 GT´s image quality will blow you away! I got mine for 2 months now, never seen something like this before.

22" = TN = fail

My bad for going off topic, but I think this question is very applicable and I would really like to hear it from you guys, real gamers, not websites technical explanations.

What are the differences in LCD's, example, what the hell is TN? What is TFT, how come my old laptop had TFT, the reflection off it was so bad I sold it...

I know we got at least a few of you who can make me understand, I know a lot about CRT's, but only recently started paying attention to LCD's, because now days the ghosting is tolerable, and well, NO MORE HEADACHES, still overstimulation which doesn't let me sleep.... Anyways, someone paint a picture for me? danke sehr

First off, I'll give you some backround information just because I think it's rellavent in this situation.. just don't mind my spelling and grammer cuz I know its garbage.

I have built my own computers since the 486 was the best you could buy... I sold PC's for almost 4 years and worked in home theater sales for almost 7 years... I have descent knowledge of upper end LCD and Plasma's like Sony XBR5's and Pioneer Elites and work with them all day long.

That being said, what i'm offering you is nothing more than a personal opinion.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to buying an LCD monitor.. There are pro's and con's to TN panels... simple as that. They are not crap like some people will say.

Can they reproduce colour as well as SPV-A or MVA panel? No... Is their viewing angle as good? No.

BUT

They are cheap compared to other options and are great if your looking for a fast responce gaming monitor for a good price. If your eye is not trained well, or you do not have two monitors side by side to compare a lot of people cannot tell the difference between an upper end LCD monitor and a cheap one.

Go look at something like a Samsung 225BW or 226BW.. There's tonnes of people online who will tell you that they are amazing gaming monitors even though they are TN panels.

As for 20 vs 22... they are both the same resolution and the same aspect ratio so neither will look streched or compressed. One is just bigger than the other.. Also, don't go by all the numbers the manufacturers give you.. most of them are total BS... If you can, go look at some monitors and buy the one that looks the best to YOU that you can afford.

If you want a suggestion, look for a good deal on a Samsung 225BW or 226BW.. for the price they are a great gaming monitor. Are there better monitors out there? Sure.. but unless your playing on something like a 34 inch widescreen XBR CRT or a 60 inch Pioneer Elite plasma there will always be something bigger or better.. its just a matter of budget and priorities.

Here's some info for you:

http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lcd-panel-types.php

Hope I could help.

Quote from wtf im nameless :

They are not crap like some people will say.

yes they are

Quote :

If your eye is not trained well, or you do not have two monitors side by side to compare a lot of people cannot tell the difference between an upper end LCD monitor and a cheap one.

rubbish anyone who uses a uniform colour desktop background can see the full blown tn shittieness all the time unless he puts the monitor 10 metres away from him



as for the question... the different panel types (tn va ips) refer to the way the molecules inside the crystals are aranged
tn panels have a very simplistic helix structure which comes at the cost that even the sligtest deviation between the axis of the helix and the direction your looking at it will cause a percievable change in colour

Quote from Shotglass :

yes they are



rubbish anyone who uses a uniform colour desktop background can see the full blown tn shittieness all the time unless he puts the monitor 10 metres away from him



as for the question... the different panel types (tn va ips) refer to the way the molecules inside the crystals are aranged
tn panels have a very simplistic helix structure which comes at the cost that even the sligtest deviation between the axis of the helix and the direction your looking at it will cause a percievable change in colour

Who sits 10 meters away from their computer? Maybe a TV but... Well I know I spend my time within 1 meter of that...

Quote from NikLaw :

I am beautiful, no matter what they say...

Btw. the 8800 GT´s image quality will blow you away! I got mine for 2 months now, never seen something like this before.

lol.. I agree with the 8800gt comment though. Which drivers/settings (universal or game specific) are you using?

Its amazing at 1024x768, that full aa/af has less than .5fps advantage over no aa/af on my rig.
http://lfsbench.iron.eu.org/?c=completemax

Shot & Forbin: while you two may appreciate the advantages of the non-tn panels and 22" monitor offerings, there really is no need to bad-mouth them to those who own them quite happily.