The 22" (and larger) LCD Thread

ADV4NCED · Post by **ADV4NCED** » 10 Jun 2007, 16:08

@Fused - dont let anyone put you off the Samsung 226BW's. I have a C panel and I've got nothing to complain about...

I'm just loving 22 inches of goodness

Minoss · Post by **Minoss** » 10 Jun 2007, 17:36

Hi Everyone

What do u guys think off the LG L226WT-BF.Is it any good or should i rather buy something els?

viceroy · Post by **viceroy** » 10 Jun 2007, 19:59

ADV4NCED wrote:@Fused - dont let anyone put you off the Samsung 226BW's. I have a C panel and I've got nothing to complain about...

I'm just loving 22 inches of goodness

Agreed. I also have a C panel and its a real beaut!

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 10 Jun 2007, 20:33

Moses wrote:
AlphA wrote:Anybody here using a 22" on Linux? Specifically on the Intel 915 GM VGA?
I am. But not with that VGA. What is the problem?

Thanks Moses.....Just asking as I was thinking of investing in a 22" LCD, but once bought a 20" widescreen. It was hell getting it to work at its native res on this VGA, as it would'nt give me its native res as an option. I had to patch the VGA BIOS using "915Res" and eventually got it to work, but there were black bars on either side of the screen. I eventually returned the 22" wide and bought a 19", but 1280X1024 on that screen sucked. I gave it to my wife and am using her 17"' now. 1280X1024 on a 17" is much better than on a 19"!

Anyway, I'm afraid to buy a 22" cos it might not work at its native res using the Intel 915 under Linux.....

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 10 Jun 2007, 21:47

AlphA

Alpha which Linux do you use?

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 10 Jun 2007, 22:16

Nomadic2Duo wrote:AlphA

Alpha which Linux do you use?

I'm running Kubuntu 6.06 LTS

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 10 Jun 2007, 22:21

AlphA

Alpha Kubuntu 6.06 does support that screen.

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 10 Jun 2007, 23:17

Thanks Normadic2Duo, but will it run at its native resolution, using the Intel GMA 915 onboard VGA?

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 10 Jun 2007, 23:56

Alpha am I right when I say that this card is a mobile card on Laptops?

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:01

Nomadic2Duo wrote:Alpha am I right when I say that this card is a mobile card on Laptops?

I'm not sure.....I also have an Intel-based Thinkpad, it has ATI graphics.

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:05

Alpha quickly send me the product code of your Thinkpad

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:13

Nomadic2Duo wrote:Alpha quickly send me the product code of your Thinkpad

I dont want to use the 22" on my Thinkpad, but on my Desktop. This is the motherboard I am using.

MSI Website wrote:• Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900, which supports widescreen LCD displays and accelerated DirectX 9

The board is about 2 years old now. I bought it when LGA775 first came out.

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:22

AlphA

Alpha I personally don't think this board will have any problem handling the 22". I would however like to advice you that you will need a lot of RAM.

And don't expect the full potential of the screen on VGA. Otherwise I think it will work without any hick ups!

AlphA · Post by **AlphA** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:33

Nomadic2Duo wrote:AlphA

Alpha I personally don't think this board will have any problem handling the 22". I would however like to advice you that you will need a lot of RAM.

And don't expect the full potential of the screen on VGA. Otherwise I think it will work without any hick ups!

Thanks for the advice. How much is a "a lot of RAM"? I currently have 1GB in this machine.

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 11 Jun 2007, 00:37

I think that would be enough. If you upgrade to new version of Kubuntu with all the fancy 3D eye candy. Then you may just want to go for another 1GB. But for now I think it is fine.

Darric · Post by **Darric** » 11 Jun 2007, 09:58

In response to those asking about 22" LCDs:

The best 22" LCDs would appear to be the Samsung 226BW, the LG L226WT, and the HP W2207. They're all just about the same price.

The Samsung seems to be the best of the bunch, even with the panel lottery taken into account. If you can get an S panel, then you're getting probably the best of the bunch. You may not be satisfied with the lower grade panels that you'll probably end up getting this late in the game. I'm convinced (others might disagree) that there is a defect that causes ghosting in the non-S-panels, specific to a select number of users (sadly, myself included) - however most people seem not to have this issue, reporting the lower grade panels as excellent purchases regardless.

The HP is roughly the same price as the Samsung, but without the panel lottery, so you're guaranteed a great screen. However, it has a glossy ("clearbright", or something similar) overlay which serves the purpose of making the colours really outstanding, but is also very highly reflective. So depending on your tolerance for glare, and the environment you'll be using it in, you'll want to keep that in mind.

Reports on the LG seem to be good, but not as amazing as the 226BW S-panels. It's reportedly a pretty good monitor in all, and definitely a contender if you don't want to play the lottery. An important thing with the LG is to make sure you get a L226WT, and not a L226WTQ - the latters have had issues with ghosting in some users, similar to the non-S-panel 226BWs.

All of the above retail for around R3000 - 3500, which seems to be the going rate for the better quality 22" LCDs. For just under R3K you could get a Acer or BenQ, but these are lower quality panels, subject to issues with colour uniformity, backlight bleed, etc. But depending on your needs, this may not bother you, in which case you'll end up saving money. Personally though, I'd say screens are pretty long term purchases, and probably worth lavishing on.

The HP, Samsung and LG are all HDCP compliant, definitely worth going for as a long term feature. I'm not sure about the Acer and BenQ, but my first thought is that they aren't - be sure to check that before you buy.

Also, whenever possible be sure to actually take a look at any monitor running before you buy it. That's more likely to convey what you need to know better than any amount of text can. ;\

Interfan · Post by **Interfan** » 11 Jun 2007, 10:18

The Acer is hdcp compatible but the BenQ isn't. If your on a budget the BenQ is great. In fact Slick at systemshock was selling them for R2600 a week or so ago.

Personally for myself it's between the hp and samsung.

slane · Post by **slane** » 11 Jun 2007, 11:30

I was looking at incredible connection at the LCD screens, and some of the screens look great with photos etc.. but when you look at the text in the windows, it doesn't look nice and sharp, but rather blurry or it looks a bit blocky. What is the cause of that, and is it the LCD pixel ratio, or driver or something else. Most of the LCD's especially the bigger ones had that problem with the text.

viceroy · Post by **viceroy** » 11 Jun 2007, 11:33

slane wrote:I was looking at incredible connection at the LCD screens, and some of the screens look great with photos etc.. but when you look at the text in the windows, it doesn't look nice and sharp, but rather blurry or it looks a bit blocky. What is the cause of that, and is it the LCD pixel ratio, or driver or something else. Most of the LCD's especially the bigger ones had that problem with the text.

Incorrectly setup.

Text is incredibly sharp on my screen

ADV4NCED · Post by **ADV4NCED** » 11 Jun 2007, 12:18

Yeah my 226BW came like that too, after a bit of optimization its wonderful

slane · Post by **slane** » 11 Jun 2007, 12:29

Would you go for the 226BW or LG'S L226WTQ-WF ?

Interfan · Post by **Interfan** » 11 Jun 2007, 12:49

slane wrote:Would you go for the 226BW or LG'S L226WTQ-WF ?

Between those 2 I would go for the samsung.

viceroy · Post by **viceroy** » 11 Jun 2007, 12:58

slane wrote:Would you go for the 226BW or LG'S L226WTQ-WF ?

Definately the 226BW

Darric · Post by **Darric** » 11 Jun 2007, 14:06

....don't go for the LG226WTQ. Ghosting issues.

If anything, consider the L226WT. Personally, I'd say try the Samsung, see if you like it, otherwise the L226WT would be my second choice. Alternatively, the HPs are excellent if you're fine with the glossy screen.

Nomadic2Duo · Post by **Nomadic2Duo** » 11 Jun 2007, 14:18

What they normally do is they run a preview or advertisement from one PC and then split that signal to four or more screens. Then you end up getting a preview on a screen that doesn't run on its native resolution. And that is why you get the bad image quality on them.

I have the 226BW s Panel and I can guarantee you that the text quality is very very good!