Ignoring cost, how big is too big for an LCD monitor? What is your perfect size?

[Speederlander]

What is your ideal LCD monitor size for gaming, watching movies and typical day to day use, including work/homework (dep. on age), surfing the net, etc.

A lot of people use multiple monitors. Is that preferable to a single very large monitor?

Assume all monitors are top of their class and problem free with good images. I am only concerned about size and resolution. Don't worry about cost.

Choices:
20" (1600 x 1200)
22" (1680 x 1050)
24" (1920 x 1200)
26" (1920 x 1200)
30" (2560 x 1600)

Indicate why you picked what you did.

If you have a choice not listed above, then mention it below. Thanks.

[Soulburner]

Even though I really like the size of my 22", I'm gonna have to go with 24.

Web pages are huge on the 22, and I'm not really sure I'd want my forums stretched even wider on a 24. However for all those times I wished I had more screen to work with in Photoshop the 24 would rule.

That Dell 24" is still coming down in price. It has actually dipped into the 500's now, and they also have some heavy competition at the 24" size which is pushing prices down. I don't know at what point I will make the jump, but I will.

[Speederlander]

Even though I really like the size of my 22", I'm gonna have to go with 24.

Web pages are huge on the 22, and I'm not really sure I'd want my forums stretched even wider on a 24. However for all those times I wished I had more screen to work with in Photoshop the 24 would rule.

That Dell 24" is still coming down in price. It has actually dipped into the 500's now, and they also have some heavy competition at the 24" size which is pushing prices down. I don't know at what point I will make the jump, but I will.

Would an even larger monitor be better or does it get unruly for you past 24"?

[justin_c]

24 inch. 1920x1200 resolution definitely. i've seen 30 inch, too big. 24 inch is the sweetspot. i have a benq fp241wz.

[Soulburner]

Would an even larger monitor be better or does it get unruly for you past 24"?
The bigger you go the further back you have to sit. Since your keyboard and mouse are at your desk...that isn't usually possible unless you can move the monitor back. Otherwise its like sitting too close to a big TV, or in the front row at a movie theatre - you become overwhelmed.

You also need to consider your budget. A large screen is going to need a very powerful video card, and you will have to keep it up to date. A 24" screen will have you gaming at 1920x1200 whereas a 30" will have you doing 2560x1600.

[GrimReaperGuy]

30" is too big, 20" is too small.
Although there is something strangely enchanting about a monitor that takes a second to move your mouse from one side to the other, it's simply too large. I find the sweet spot for me is 24, maybe 26 inches.

[Speederlander]

i have a benq fp241wz.

How do you like that monitor? I have been watching for the release. It's only become commercially available in the last month or month and a half really.

[Soulburner]

From the review I saw, color and brightness were better on the non-z model. I'd save a few bucks and get that.

[Speederlander]

Yeah I was following the discussion for BenQ FP241WZ in these threads as well:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1161471
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1066372&page=149

[justin_c]

I had both of them side by side to compare at the store I bought. I read before that there were differences. I couldn't tell the difference between the two. they turned the lights off (in the computer testing room, know the guys well) and when they were on. Angles were ok, not as good as a Samsung 22 inch that I saw. The PerfectMotion is best used at setting 1, the more you turn it up the colours get brighter, the the extent of washout. Dunno why. Here are some pictures.
http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/8279/img1219oj2.th.jpg (http://img466.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1219oj2.jpg)
http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/4539/img1223hk9.th.jpg (http://img164.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1223hk9.jpg)
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1389/img1226zp0.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1226zp0.jpg)
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/5959/img1227jy8.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1227jy8.jpg)
http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/8399/img1228ht9.th.jpg (http://img357.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1228ht9.jpg)
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/7231/img1237fn5.th.jpg (http://img249.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1237fn5.jpg)
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2227/img1235cc1.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1235cc1.jpg)
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/4269/img1231du5.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1231du5.jpg)
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/1781/img1230sa2.th.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1230sa2.jpg)
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/5956/img1229uu1.th.jpg (http://img79.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1229uu1.jpg)
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/1208/img1238ap5.th.jpg (http://img73.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1238ap5.jpg)
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/1176/img1239rk1.th.jpg (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1239rk1.jpg)
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/3370/img1240pb9.th.jpg (http://img58.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1240pb9.jpg)
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/3928/img1241xi9.th.jpg (http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1241xi9.jpg)
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/1517/img1242yt4.th.jpg (http://img485.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img1242yt4.jpg)

[Speederlander]

I had both of them side by side to compare at the store I bought. I read before that there were differences. I couldn't tell the difference between the two. they turned the lights off (in the computer testing room, know the guys well) and when they were on. Angles were ok, not as good as a Samsung 22 inch that I saw. The PerfectMotion is best used at setting 1, the more you turn it up the colours get brighter, the the extent of washout. Dunno why. Here are some pictures.

Nice. No flicker with the perfect motion enabled? Any noticeable input lag?

[justin_c]

No "noticeable" input lag. Don't see any flicker. There is a tiny bit of ghosting that only goes noticed in fast-paced deathmatch first person shooter games.

Pros:
Size and Resolution (1920, not 1900)
Sharpness (text looks great at all sizes)
Abundance of inputs (PIP is a nice feature)

Cons:
Requires massive amount of electricity, according to my UPS (200w compared to two old 17 inch panels only consuming 100w, don't know about its accuracy).
Sometimes when I turn it on it will briefly shut off for 1/2 second and turn back on itself. Doesn't happen randomly.
Some ghosting, but I give it a thumbs up still because I don't think there is a LCD panel of this size that doesn't have ghosting.
Price ($910 canadian)

I would recommened this over the Dell 2407. The Dell you have the panel lottery.

If you have more questions or need pictures from a specific angle, just ask :cool:

[AzzXtrem]

Personnaly I love my 24" Dell.
I've made a lots of research before choosing mine and finally it answer exactly my need of gamer in full HD (1920x1200)

I cannot answer the vote 'cause mine is a 24" in 1920x1200 native. (not 26" like you propose)

I add a 19" beside my 24" in dual screen to keep an eye on TeamSpeak and temp monitor since I stabilize my Overclocking. :D

Azz

[lowfat]

for gaming, really anything over 20" is too big if you sit pretty close to it. I'd love to have a 24" for watching movies on my bed though.

[Speederlander]

Personnaly I love my 24" Dell.
I've made a lots of research before choosing mine and finally it answer exactly my need of gamer in full HD (1920x1200)

I cannot answer the vote 'cause mine is a 24" in 1920x1200 native. (not 26" like you propose)

I add a 19" beside my 24" in dual screen to keep an eye on TeamSpeak and temp monitor since I stabilize my Overclocking. :D

Azz

That was my screw up, that resolution should have been 1920 x 1200.

[thunderstruck!]

It depends on the viewing distance between you and the screen. My desk is deep enough for me to be able to game on a 20-22" screen, but a 24" is just too big, where I can't see everything on screen. So, I went for an LG 204WT 20". It's perfect for what I do.

[syne_24]

I think 24" is about the perfect size if you plan to use it on a desk. I see people going 30-37" and it's just ridiculous. I had to pull out the tape measure just to see how big it really is. IMO it just doesnt look right at all.

[serialk11r]

My screen is less than 15 inches away from my head. That's why I have my 17" ;) I actually don't like big screens all that much. Also, I had no money to buy a big screen, so... Besides a 21" sitting on my desk would've destroyed my vision by now.

[nn_step]

it is too big the second that I need 4+ screen savers

[Soulburner]

I really like my 22", its about right size wise, and 1680x1050 is the last step before you really stress your system with 1920x1200. Someone just needs to make a quality 22" with a non-TN panel and I'd buy it. Even better if it had a higher refresh rate than 60Hz.

it is too big the second that I need 4+ screen savers
Huh?