Reply to: 24 incher

[voodooflux]

This Dell S2409W looks to be a bit of a bargain at the moment @ £179.28.

[Platypus]

The Dell 2408WFP is highly regarded I believe, although it is a premium monitor at ~£370.

Seconded. My Dell 24" is superb!

[voodooflux]

I find myself wondering why there's no mainstream LCDs without a bezzle, so we can use those mounting stands to get an almost seamless display. It's not like they're plasma screens where they need a surround to stop the goo escaping!

Someone give me a link to them, they must exist at a reasonable price somewhere. Those video walls you see aren't custom manufactured jobs are they?

I'm pretty sure I've googled for (and found) such items in the past - in particular I was looking for a very small panel (7" or so) without a bezel for a home-brew automotive project.

[PAH]

I find myself wondering why there's no mainstream LCDs without a bezzle, so we can use those mounting stands to get an almost seamless display. It's not like they're plasma screens where they need a surround to stop the goo escaping!

Someone give me a link to them, they must exist at a reasonable price somewhere. Those video walls you see aren't custom manufactured jobs are they?

[voodooflux]

Or £275 + vat (you're all vat registered aren't you so can claim it back!?)!

Very, very good point sir.

Seriously thinking of getting a 2408WFP off them for a dual screen setup, as you can never have too much screen real-estate! Shame those 30 inchers are so damn expensive

I've been mulling over the same thing - very tempted to pick up a couple of 2408's but will probably wait for the A01. I did look at the 3008WFP but the initial model had some issues I believe, and I think Dell were going to pull the model line but ended up putting a new revision out? I think the 24" pair is much better value though.

EDIT: there now looks to be an A02 revision of the 3008WFP.

[PAH]

The Dell 2408WFP is highly regarded I believe, although it is a premium monitor at ~£370.

Or £275 + vat (you're all vat registered aren't you so can claim it back!?) if you're not bothered about 'refurbished':

http://www.mcscom.co.uk/product.php?xProd=5784&xSec=4

I got the previous Dell 24" model (2407WFP) off them last year, so far no problems. Seriously thinking of getting a 2408WFP off them for a dual screen setup, as you can never have too much screen real-estate! Shame those 30 inchers are so damn expensive, nothing else between the two sizes that offer more pixels from what I can see. The 27" are usually the same resolution as the 24", so only really worth the extra if you're going blind.

Currently got mine in portrait mode. Trying to decide if two of them in portrait will be better than landscape. There'd certainly be more desk space left over!

Another feature that sounded interesting until looked deeper into is the PIP functions, which turn out not to be able to handle two digital sources, so severely limited in their usefulness.

Only major downside I've heard about the 2408 is there's a bit of lag due to the panel type, possibly only on the HDMI input IIRC, and may be fixed in a now (or soon to be released) A01 revision. If you're going to use it for games or anything that may be lag sensitive, worth reading some of the threads on various other forums to assess the situation. Or just buy a different monitor!

[scooterscot]

Get a Mac

Dam it you beat me too it...


I had an 24" HP monitor on a Mac mini - bought from John Lewis of all places.

[DaveB]

As much as I want to say "Damn right, get a Mac" I nonetheless feel that I ought to point out that the original question was about buying a monitor, not a Difference Engine.

Yes I know, I wasn't being entirely serious. Since pretty much every thread on the forums that is asking for advice on hadrware contains at least one "Get a Mac" responce I thought it was time I did my bit for the cause

And yes, the Apple Cinema Screens are damned impressive.

[NickFitz]

Get a Mac

As much as I want to say "Damn right, get a Mac" I nonetheless feel that I ought to point out that the original question was about buying a monitor, not a Difference Engine.

However, I do remember reading a review where somebody bought an "Apple Cinema Display" and also bought a cheaper display from Dell that used exactly the same display panel, sourced from the same manufacturer, and tested them attached to both Macs and PCs.

Their conclusion was that, despite the fact that both were OEM packaging of the same display panel hardware, the Apple version offered noticeably better quality, whatever system it was attached to. This was attributed to the fact that, although the display itself may have come from the same production line, much still relies on the supporting hardware providing the interfaces within the finished monitor - the Apple one was better even when attached to a Dell box, and the Dell one was inferior even when attached to an Apple box.

The lesson is that knowing what the core hardware is doesn't obviate the fact that you get what you pay for.

I can't be bothered to hunt down the link at this time of night (and this was a while back so it would be out of date), but I believe it was on Tom's Hardware, which is the definitive online resource for all hardware-related questions.

[gingerjedi]

Get a Mac

I had a play on a 24 inch mac for the first time and I've got to say I was impressed, I just think I'm too old to start again.

I'm thinking of buying a cheap macmini or macbook just to see if I'm able to get on with it before I join the rebel alliance.


.

[DaveB]

Get a Mac

[voodooflux]

The Dell 2408WFP is highly regarded I believe, although it is a premium monitor at ~£370.

[Clippy]

Is this any good?

[gingerjedi]

I've been reading up on 24 inchers recently, from what I can gather on the review sites and forums:

TN panels are cheap crap with poor colour and restrictive viewing angles but have fast responce times so they are favoured by gamers.

PVA panels are good with great colour depth and better viewing angles but are more expensive.

I've heard good things about this one at about £450 and this one at about £400 though their is a cheaper one W240D-PVA?? which doesn't have a USB hub (£300) be warned that the PVA bit is important as the same monitor is being sold with a cheaper TN panel inside.

[Ardesco]

I'm using a benq one I think it's an fpw241z and is lovely

It's an FP241W Z Same as the FP241W but newer. Would recommend it very highly I think it is a wonderful monitor and have two here at home. Would definitely buy it again.