Buying a monitor: 23-vs-24 inch...

[Ypoknons]

The best way to justify an IPS panel is to get a 30" monitor which are all still IPS panels anyway.

Actually some of the eIPS monitors are closer in price to their TN counterparts - e.g. Dell 2209WA and NEC EA231Wmi (the cPVA F2380 has not been well-received). I think the differences would be justified for photo editing and critical applications, even if done on a casual basis?

[Deniz]

However, my budget only allowed for a 24" monitor, and I was quite happy with it.

What's the approximate distance of the screen from your face right now (or was when you were using that 24")?[/quote]

At least 2 feet, on average, when I'm doing stuff. I can be 1 foot away from the monitor while gaming or whatever and it's still comfortable.

When I sit back on the couch and watch a TV, my face is at least 6 feet away and it's fine. I also watch TV shows from the other side of the living room with it (maybe 10 feet). Basically it's bigger than my old CRT TV so I'm fine with it.

Blacks could be a little blacker, but I really don't notice/mind. Viewing angles aren't great tho, and I wouldn't use my monitor for professional photo editing or graphics design.

[MagnusTheReD]

Well, I finally got my monitor - Samsung 2433BW it is (not exactly what I wanted, but that works just as well, apparently).
And it's fucking huge, too (24 inch), and considering that my previous monitor was a 17 inch tube screen, I still need to get used to that
Anyway, thanks for all your help, guys - appreciate it!

I have another question, though - this monitor has a DVI outlet, and it's the first time I encounter those.
What is it good for, practically? Does it have an impact on the quality of viewing?
'Cause I tried running an older game (2006) while with DVI, and it didn't work - had to switch back to analog....

[Stark]

Get decent drivers. You can change between VGA/DVI at random and it shouldn't affect anything. You can even convert between them. The Nvidia drivers get a bit clever about it (which is annoying as shit) but if it stops 'older' (ps DVI is way older than 2006) games working your computer is broken.

[MagnusTheReD]

Get decent drivers. You can change between VGA/DVI at random and it shouldn't affect anything. You can even convert between them. The Nvidia drivers get a bit clever about it (which is annoying as shit) but if it stops 'older' (ps DVI is way older than 2006) games working your computer is broken.

Well, naturally, it worked.
I really don't know how I keep overlooking the most obvious solutions, maybe I a special kind of retard...

Anyway, thanks again, mate.

[Stark]

I'm cross at Nvidia because their drivers now prevent you changing the scaling if it detects you're using a VGA plug; this means I get stuck with shit scaling when I use my TV as a monitor. So I actually prefer the older drivers.

[Uraniun235]

I'm cross at Nvidia because their drivers now prevent you changing the scaling if it detects you're using a VGA plug; this means I get stuck with shit scaling when I use my TV as a monitor. So I actually prefer the older drivers.

What?! Why would they do that?

[Executor32]

You should look into overriding the EDID flags in the registry, Stark. I had to do that because my 24" BenQ is connected to my PC with an HDMI-to-DVI cable and is detected as an HDTV by Nvidia's drivers. The only downside is that you have to do it again every time you update your drivers, but you can just create a .reg file so it's not such a pain in the ass.

[Stark]

Yeah I poked around in that direction but before I worked out how to do it I moved and switched back to my DVI-driven monitor. It was just hell annoying using a 42" TV and being stuck with 'imaged stretch to fit'.

Amusingly, even on my monitor it still doesn't work; the option is there but every time I press 'apply' it goes back to 'use device scaling'. Time to finally install Win7 retail I guess.

U235, I'm pretty sure some smart guy in Nvidia decided only CRTs use VGA plugs; it described my TV as a 'computer monitor' with a CRT icon. Not helpful.