Ok, so I'll be building a system in the next twelve months for Storm of War, but have no great need to sell myself short by buying components today, I'll wait.

However, I am getting my office/play space set up for a new rig and could certainly use a new screen to add to my laptop now and use as a gaming screen next year (I'm presuming display technology doesn't advance at the same rate as other components so I'll be safe buying now).

Any suggestions? Good flat panel, fast response, and one of the more important things (for me, as I've seen issues with this in the past on LCDs) would be good ability to handle very dark/completely black tones consistently in low light. CRTs always scored over flat panels here, are things better these days?

Cheers, Spinner

Edit: don't need integral speakers, probably 19-22in.

I just got a HannsG 28 inch 1920 x 1200 resolution, 3 ms response, built in speakers (probably minimum satisfactory), HDMI/Analog and all the other cables and software from Amazon.com for $329 and free shipping.

I should be getting my system in the nest 3 days, so I'll update on the monitor.

I've seen that brand HannsG here, but never really tried one. Looking forward to your review of that monitor!

I have two of those HannsG monitors for over a year now. Excellent.

Nothing beats two really big monitors with good repsonse and color.

Right now, $299 with free shipping from Newegg.

-Skater

OK, I've hopoked it up and given it a try. This is initial, but it's good.
No dead pixels. I likew the combination of on screen and manual adjustments. It was at 100% bright when I plugged it in, but I have it down to 55 right now. No odd color or brightness/contrast bands.

It's huge.

I will give it a better test when my new computer comes in. I'll see how it does on response and detail. I will adjust it better and see how the colors, white and black levels adjust.

It has a software disc that I haven't installed since it won't be used with this computer. It has a "game-mode", but I haven't looked into that yet. Might be part of the software disc.

i would recommend against HansG.at that screen size, 1920x1200 is too low res for me, and looked pixelated. i bought one from costco, thought the picture image looked like crap (and had very uneven color distribution unless one is looking directly at the monitor from a straight ahead position...something that is impossible if you and another person are looking at the monitor). basically, the HansG monitor is cheap because it's just not that good. better to get a 24" lcd that's much better quality for that type of money than a 28" that makes such compromises.

Benq seem to score well on reviews, anyone have one of them?

Hanns-G seem to get disapproval for being TN displays, although it seems to be tricky to determine exactly which displays use this technology as it's not always in the specs.

Interesting that monitor reviews are often so hard to come by on the hardware sites, where they're tucked away under 'miscellaneous peripherals', for me it's one of the most important bits of the system.

Cheers, Spinner

i would disqualify any 28" lcd with only 1920x1200 resolution...just too low. and i think it's the TN screens that look horrible from any other angle other than directly ahead.

Same here, but there are plenty of reports from those who find this acceptable.

sure, but the comparison btwn something like a 28" hansG at 1920x1200 and a samsung or dell 30" at 2560x1600...well, there really is no comparison. if a good 30" is beyond one's budget, better to go for a smaller monitor, say 24", that's equally good. someone who wants very good image quality would be making a mistake going with hansG or benq. why put a great system together to run games at high resolutions only to buy a sub-standard monitor? be like putting a great stereo together and buying cheap speakers.