SPCR

I wanted to get a larger monitor with my new computer. It looks like 22" is the new sweet spot as far as price/performance. Here are the candidates I have narrowed it down to.

Viewsonic VG2230wm Highly Awarded

Viewsonic Q22wb Looks like same specs but cheaper? Any differences I wonder?

Samsung 226BW Also Highly regarded.

Anyone have opinions on 22" widescreen monitors? I mostly will be using this for gaming. Currently I have a 19" Viewsonic P95F+B

Read this.

So the 226 is about to have a new revision with better colors, the 226cw. I wonder if its worth waiting for.

Do most games allow for wide screen format now? I have never owned an LCD let alone a widescreen. I hate to think that I would have black bars down the side when I game

Make sure you like the way a TN display looks. I think all of those choices in the first post might be TN type displays. I personally HATE TN displays, mostly it is the limited viewing angles that bother me even when sitting directly in front of such a screen. Although they are supposed to be great for response times...

Nice review at Behardware, thanks JimX! It confirms what I believed, the Samsung 226BW is the best choice. The 226CW should be even better.
I've read that there are 2-3 different panels used on the 226BW, but only the ones with 'S' panel come properly calibrated.

josephclemente wrote:Make sure you like the way a TN display looks. I think all of those choices in the first post might be TN type displays. I personally HATE TN displays, mostly it is the limited viewing angles that bother me even when sitting directly in front of such a screen. Although they are supposed to be great for response times...

Unless I'm mistaken, all currently available 22" displays have TN panels.

I went into circuit city the other day and looked at a few. The Samsung is much brighter and has prettier colors than the viewsonic. I dont understand the viewing angle thing. I could way off to the side and see the screen fine <not that I would ever be looking at it from that angle> If you are looking up at the screen you cant see anything, but again Im not gonna mount my monitor up on a shelf above my head.

So long as it doesnt ghost or tear Im perfectly happy. Now that Ive seen one in action I want one even more.

The Samsung is much brighter and has prettier colors than the viewsonic.

Glossy LCD vs. Non-Glare LCD - Merits and Demerits

So, what's the consensus? Do we get the 226BW now, or wait for the 226CW? I need one too, I'd rather the Samsung had a simpler frame though.

Trip wrote:

The Samsung is much brighter and has prettier colors than the viewsonic.

Glossy LCD vs. Non-Glare LCD - Merits and Demerits

Is the Samsung's screen glossy? I didn't think so, that's why I'm considering it. I HATE glossy.

(There's no place close to actually see it, I'll buy it online.)

The review you mentioned says on the last page, quoting: 'Samsung has chosen a glossy bezel and a mat panel.' Hmm, isn't it 'matte' not 'mat'?
If the bezel is glossy, then better black than silver IMO. Now someone who gets it please report back if it buzzes or not.

Tzupy wrote:The review you mentioned says on the last page, quoting: 'Samsung has chosen a glossy bezel and a mat panel.' Hmm, isn't it 'matte' not 'mat'?
If the bezel is glossy, then better black than silver IMO. Now someone who gets it please report back if it buzzes or not.

Thanks, I didn't think it's glossy, but Trip's post confused me (and I didn't read the article again ).


EDIT: didn't.

I bought the Samsung a month or two ago, and so far it has been my best purchase of the year! And no, it does not buzz, at least to my ears. I cannot hear it at all in my room (which is fairly quiet), unlike my previous (CRT) monitor.

FYI: There's also a new 22" model from LG, namely the L226WT-BF, which has identical specifications with the Samsung 226BW -- however the panel is undoubtedly different, since I'd expect LG to use an LG.Philips panel instead of their competitor's. It will probably replace the L226WTX-WF (5ms panel), which Newegg sells here.

Note that at least in Finland the new model goes by the name L226WTQ-WF and it's somewhat less expensive than Samsung's 226BW (~350€ vs. ~400€). The downside is the currently poor availability, and that it hasn't been reviewed yet AFAIK. A comparison would be in order.

Since most of those are TN panels, pick up a Chimei 22" . You can't beat the price and the clarity is amazing (as well as the value). I considered getting a 24" Dell panel for video editing/gaming/graphics, but resorted to this one in the meanwhile. Chimei also makes panels for Samsung and Viewsonic.

I have a ViewSonic 2235 and it's pretty nice, the viewing angles are quite poor in some angles but really only noticeable on dark images. No problems in games. Obviously i would rather have something like an apple cinema display but they are expensive. No doubt the slightly newer 22" displays are better than this one, and cheaper too..

last time i checked Dell monitors were not even available in Finland, now they seem to be but the 24" model costs 899€+ 22% VAT=1096€.

Oh sorry for the confusion. I just figured I'd post that about glossy and non.

I'm not sure which are glossy and which aren't to be honest.

Watch out with the 226BW, the readers of the hardware.fr review (same as behardware.com) quickly found that there are two or more panels used in the Samsung 226BW, a Samsung panel with the great qualities shown in the original review and a AU optronics panel that has badly set colours.

After some research an arcticle with all the relevant information was published on hardware.fr, apparently it has not been translated into english yet though...

You should be able to get the jist with Google translate, good luck

There's a new contender to the title of best 22" LCD, and it's HP W2207. I think it's still TN, but glossy.
Some people report it's better than the Samsung 226, but they might have gotten a 'wrong' panel on the 226.

Is there any 22" non-TN panel monitor out there?

24" is too large for my desk, and less than 22" would be shorter than my 19" non panoramic monitor. 22" is the perfect size for me, but I can't find any 22" monitor with good quality (angles, colors, etc.).

Not as far as i know.. There are some 23" monitors but i think the apple cinemadisplay is the cheapest of them.

The Samsung 215TW is 21" and S-PVA panel, has input lag. For non-gaming it's supposed to be really good, but a bit expensive.