Hi all,

Basically I am in need of a monitor to, err, monitor progress of various dashboards and reports etc. So most of time it will be on, and displaying static data, which means I don't need exceptional colour reproduction, wide viewing angle (though it will be nice) or fast response time - the only thing I need is size. 22" plus will be great.

But because it is on most of the time, I think it will be a good idea to use an energy efficient one.

So can anyone make a recommendation please?

And a related question - is "energy efficient monitor" just a marketing term for LED-backlit monitors, or is there actually any differences?

Thanks.

Actually, LED screens use much lower power than regular cold cathode screens. A typical 24" LED screen draws 25-35 W.

So in a sense, you're right it's a marketing term! But it is still true. But I doubt that anyone actually did anything to further reduce the power consumption, other that replace the old backlight for LED backlight.

Sorry what I meant was in comparison between normal LED-backlit monitors and "energy efficient" monitors! Apologies for not being clear.

My Dell G2410 (24") consumes ~15W with my current settings.

Seriously?? Oh, maybe I was overestimating. I withdraw my last post!

My BenQ G2420HDBL (24" LED) uses 28W at full brightness.

You could use one of ultra thin laptops with culv cpu.

I have two Dell g2410 monitors. They've worked out well. The color gamut spec is the weak point, but I don't really notice it with my apps.

I replaced an old 21" Sony Trinitron CRT with a Dell g2410 and I have it down to about 18w. I do miss my Trinitron when I bring work home though, but I just can't see spending the money to get a LCD that can match a CRT in color reproduction.

Meh. My back and power bill are happier though.

Topten.info might have some useful suggestions for energy efficient devices.

http://www.topten.info/index.php?page=21_inch_and_more

I haven't read to see how they determine which are the "top 10" - seems like something that could easily get out of date. But still, might give useful directions to look. (Wish there was something like it for the US.)


If you want even lower power - how about either a non-backlit LCD, or using ambient light for a backlight. (I have an old LCD with dead backlight, meaning to strip out the back and make it into a computer controlled stained glass window. Sort of like what they do when making DIY projectors, but with a larger panel and using outdoor light as the backlight.)


Unfortunately most of the e-paper displays are still pretty small, otherwise that would probably fit the bill nicely.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/vi ... hp?t=59923

(I know nothing about the monitor in question - but it seemed apropos (aside from being smaller than you wanted.)

Virtually all LCD screens are LED backlit now, although that downside is that I don't think anybody makes 1920x1200 displays any longer. I picked up a 25.5" CCFL 1920x1200 display a couple months ago as they were being discontinued. Now everything is LED backlit, which is better, but all new monitors are 1920x1080 or lower resolution. HDTV helped drive the conversion to LED backlighting, but it also killed off the extra real estate that PC-specific 1920x1200 monitors give. Now the only affordable way to get more pixels is with a multi-monitor setup, but I suppose that isn't exactly the end of the world.

Dell Ultrasharp 24" still gets you 1920x1200.

Oh they're still out there, but I checked and the U2410 is CCFL backlit. It doesn't seem that any LED backlit monitors are 1920x1200. If they're out there, they are pretty rare indeed.

I doubt that they are going to get discontinued, someone will still make 1920x1200. They are awesome in portrait mode for programming. My Samsung SyncMasters draw about 25W with current settings.

For bigger screens I found this chart, there's few LCD, LED, PLASMA and this new RPTV models and their power consumption. The last model on the list really gives an idea why this question is important, (really? Half a kiloWatt television?). Maybe there are big differences in some smaller screens too then.
http://silenssimo.blogspot.com/-> page TOP3 HDTV

I have recently swapped my 17" lcd with a new 21.5" led 1920 x 1080 monitor. Power usage is the same, 13w, when the brightness is lowered to 40%. The new monitor is the Acer S211HLbd 21.5'' (see newegg for reviews). Very nice monitor.

Samsung EX1920W 19" -- 10...12,5W, depends on the brightness. Ten watts!

P.S. Not so good as a display (don't buy it home), but excelent as an energy consumer

Dell 2407WFP 45(black screen)-48(white)W at minimum brightness (which is enough for computer use), 89-90W at max. Just for comparison.

TN panel and LED back-light for lowest power consumption, but today even IPS and CCFL can be quite efficient. My Dell U2311 draws ~25W.

My irremovable SyncMaster 910T (19" 5:4 Samsung PVA) uses from 25 watt (comfortable) to 30 (maximum brightness). Not so bad for a 2005 year model.

The most important thing is brightness. I have measured my 22" LG Flatron and it uses 40W at 100% brightness and 17W at 0%. No other settings affect power consumption. It still looks ok at 0%, you can adjust windows settings which do not influence the power draw of the monitor.

BUT...it start to make buzzing noises on any other setting than 100%, and from what I read about the cause, all monitors used the same technology for that and do buzz when you turn down brightness, so no power saving for me.

My Samsung SyncMaster P2370 uses less than 30w at typical brightness and has absolutely zero buzzing/humming at any brightness setting. It's a TN panel so viewing angles aren't great, but it works very well for me.

Are you sure? If your computer makes any noise you might not hear it, and if your ears are not sensitive you have to put your ear on the backside of the monitor to hear it.

Yes, I'm quite sure. I've put my ear pretty much right against the screen, front and back, and heard nothing of the sort. The monitor itself uses an external power supply, which is probably why the buzzing is absent.

My hearing is extremely sensitive, I'm actually quite notorious for having such hearing, and the main reason why I came to this website in the first place. I'm in my early 20s and still hearing right up to about 19-20KHz as well.

I believe you because the external power supply is indeed most likely the reason as the noise comes from the transformer when dimming the backlight. I will look out for that next time when buying a monitor, so far I did not know that anything but Apple came with external PSUs. Some sort of list of monitors with external PSUs would be useful.
Do you hear anything at low brightness on the external PSU of the monitor? I mean it would be no problem to silence that, just interesting to know.

Well, to be honest my current computer isn't the quietest of PCs, although I wouldn't call it loud by any means. Due to this I can't really say if the power supply buzzes, in my current situation I hear no noise from it whatsoever. The sonic signature would likely stick out over my PC noise regardless, though. The external PSU is tucked away underneath my desk about ~3-4 feet away from my ears.

In the Video Cards & Monitors section, there's a sticky called Quiet / Noisy Monitor Survey where many monitors are listed.

In my experience buzzing was indeed an issue in the past, but modern quality monitors (even with the same type of tech as before, i.e. CCFL as backlight) are often practically silent. The buzzing from my Dell 2405FPW annoyed me quite a lot but Dell U2711 and U2311 are silent even at a very low brightness setting.

I have a 27" HannsG thats a few years old. As you can imagine cheap, large screens arent the most power efficient. Mine sits at 70w(!) at 45% brightness.
Bit scary to be honest, when watching a movie, my PC uses less power than the monitor displaying it, but i cant give up my 27" of real estate so unless this monitor dies and i buy a new one, im stuck with high power usage.