monitor How to pick the right budget monitor?

[goshot]

Hello! I need help with picking a new monitor, it'll be for general, everyday use - programming, gaming, watching videos, writing, schoolwork.

My biggest concern and priority is whether the monitor is easy on the eyes, doesn't harm them (as much) and preserves them.

I'd like it to be 21.5"-24", preferably bigger. I'm fine with 60 Hz, but 75 Hz wouldn't be a bad either. I'd like the monitor to have FreeSync, FlickerFree and some other similar extras.

If you have any suggestions for particular budget monitors, feel free to share them!

 

How can you tell if a monitor is easy on the eyes and preserves them?

Can you give me some tips and suggestions on what to look for in a monitor?

What's the difference between contrast 3000:1 vs 1000:1? How much of an impact does contrast make?

 

I found a seemingly good deal on a monitor: Samsung C24F390FHUX, 23.5". What are your opinions on it? Is it easy on the eyes, does it preserve them? Are the colors decent? Is it good in the long term?

[PopsicleHustler]

Its totally up to you to take care of your eyes. Any monitor will cause damage if you don't follow simple rules.

 

The things that you should look for in a monitor are defined by your needs. 

 

Thing like response time/refresh rate for gaming, color accuracy for video/photoshop, panel type (TN, VA, IPS).

 

What I think about your monitor:

 

-Its VA panel so you will get nice contrast with deep blacks. But as with many VA panels, it might suffer from ghosting which can be super annoying.

 

-Brightness is ok. 

 

-Curve is way too aggressive. 1800R at 24 inches it overkill. My brother has 27 inch monitor with the same curve and I think its a little overkill even at that size.

 

-And it supports FreeSync which is a nice bonus for gaming. But at 60Hz its not that important.

 

 

I would look for something else. I don't know whats your budget is so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler I'm from Europe and i don't know if i'm converting my budget correctly but i think it should be around 150 dollars.

Also what are some rules i should keep in mind so i can avoid as much damage as possible to my eyes?

I read on Tom's Hardware that 1ms refresh rate stops ghosting on VA panels, but high refresh rate isn't my main priority. Unless i find a VA panel with such refresh rates i should avoid them, right?

If i'm going with a 5ms monitor that would mean i shouldn't go with VA, but which one then, TN or IPS?

[PopsicleHustler]

1 hour ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler I'm from Europe and i don't know if i'm converting my budget correctly but i think it should be around 150 dollars.

Also what are some rules i should keep in mind so i can avoid as much damage as possible to my eyes? 

Don't sit in front of a monitor in a complete dark. Always have a light on at night or get LED strips and put them on the back on the monitor. This will reduce eye strain.

Make sure that center of the monitor is little below your center of vision. This is more of a back spine thing to help keep it straight when you're sitting.

 

Here is a list of monitors around your budget. Look around it

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/monitor/#X=0,15075&sort=-rating&page=1

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler Thank you! I'll look into them and when i've picked some imma ask which one's the best. Btw i edited my previous post with extra questions just before you answered. Can you answer them?

[PopsicleHustler]

6 minutes ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler Thank you! I'll look into them and when i've picked some imma ask which one's the best. Btw i edited my previous post with extra questions just before you answered. Can you answer them?

 

Things you should look for are

1 Panel type

2 Brightness

3 Response time.

 

Brightness should be around 250 cd/m2. If its lower, its bad.

Response time should worry you if you're playing high paces or competitive gaming.

 

Here is Linus's video about panel types.

 

[greenlotad]

Instead of focusing on a monitor that's easy on the eyes, you might want to get some blue light-blocking glasses and just get whatever monitor has features, specs, aesthetics, and picture quality you like. Or you could do both. I have a pair of these that I wear most of my time at my desk. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JA1EE7E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Idk if anyone has ever done any studies on them, but they're supposed to help prevent macular degeneration and keep your circadian rhythms in check. If you don't like the way this pair looks there's plenty more on amazon that you might like better.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler Why isn't FreeSync important with 60-75 Hz monitors?

[PopsicleHustler]

6 hours ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler Why isn't FreeSync important with 60-75 Hz monitors?

In order for FreeSync to work, your FPS has to be lower than your monitor's refresh rate.  If your FPS i higher than your monitors refresh rate, then there is no effect. If your FPS goes below 60, then your gaming experience becomes unpleasant regardless of FreeSync.

 

It only really makes sense on monitors above 75Hz.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler Is FlickerFree, Low Blue light and other similar features worth considering?

[PopsicleHustler]

41 minutes ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler Is FlickerFree, Low Blue light and other similar features worth considering?

Flicker Free is a complete bogus. Its an LCD LED panel, what flicker could there be in the first place?

 

Low blue light as also a fancy way of saying "Reader mode". I think most monitors come with reader mode for when you do reading in dark time. It is useful if you're sitting in complete dark.

[toobladink]

On 8/17/2019 at 4:26 PM, goshot said:

is easy on the eyes, doesn't harm them (as much) and preserves them.

Personally, I would look for something with darker blacks, but this doesn't mean go for HDR or something with a lot of contrast, as the white can bleed your eyes. I just put everything in dark mode, but those blue light glasses might be a good option, if you don't already wear glasses. You may be able to get the film put on your prescription though, if you use glasses already.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler What's an MVA panel? What's the difference between VA and MVA? By the way, do you recommend i avoid VA panels at all because of ghosting?

 

What's anti-static covering and anti-glare?

 

What's the difference between LED and WLED?

[PopsicleHustler]

Different companies make their own VA panels, so they put different letters so that people know who made that monitor panel. 

 

Anti static is self explanatory. It prevents you from zapping your monitor and killing it.

 

Anti glare is matte finish on the monitor that prevent light glare. Its kinda like lightly sandpapered plastic.

 

WLED=LED. There is no difference between the two.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler
I found some monitors:

• https://support.hp.com/bg-en/document/c05415696
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22v2q/specs (Or the 24inch variant)
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22b1hs/specs
• https://www.philips.com.sg/c-p/226E9QDSB_69/lcd-monitor/specifications

I decided to avoid any VA monitors because of ghosting.

I'd like the monitor to come with a HDMI/dispaly port cable so i can save just a little more. Does the first monitor come with a HDMI cable? If you'd like to see the prices here hit me up.

 

What do you think about them? Are they worth it? Any general opnions on them? Do they have all the necessary features and stuff? How do the colors look?

 

I didn't have time to look at Acer monitors, if there are any good Acer monitors hit me up!

Would you recommend i look for an anti-static monitor?

[PopsicleHustler]

7 minutes ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler
I found some monitors:

• https://support.hp.com/bg-en/document/c05415696
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22v2q/specs (Or the 24inch variant)
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22b1hs/specs
• https://www.philips.com.sg/c-p/226E9QDSB_69/lcd-monitor/specifications

I decided to avoid any VA monitors because of ghosting.

I'd like the monitor to come with a HDMI/dispaly port cable so i can save just a little more. Does the first monitor come with a HDMI cable? If you'd like to see the prices here hit me up.

 

What do you think about them? Are they worth it? Any general opnions on them? Do they have all the necessary features and stuff? How do the colors look?

 

I didn't have time to look at Acer monitors, if there are any good Acer monitors hit me up!

Would you recommend i look for an anti-static monitor?

I would buy 2nd one(22V2Q). 75hz, IPS, FreeSync, pleasant design and modern input ports.

[goshot]

10 minutes ago, PopsicleHustler said:

I would buy 2nd one(22V2Q). 75hz, IPS, FreeSync, pleasant design and modern input ports.

Why that one over the other monitors? I mean, do the others have some big issues with them which this monitor doesn't?
Also what about its 24" inch version and these other monitors:

• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/24v2q/specs
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/i2281fwh/specs (this one and the one you pciked have the same price)
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22e1d/specs

Are these worth considering?

[PopsicleHustler]

40 minutes ago, goshot said:

Why that one over the other monitors? I mean, do the others have some big issues with them which this monitor doesn't?
Also what about its 24" inch version and these other monitors:

• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/24v2q/specs
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/i2281fwh/specs (this one and the one you pciked have the same price)
• https://eu.aoc.com/en/monitors/22e1d/specs

Are these worth considering?

I picked it because it has FreeSync, 75Hz refresh rate, Display Port connection and I like the design.

 

2nd monitor you've linked now looks like some mad DIY project gone wrong. I mean what the hell is that stand? And its only 60Hz.

 

3rd link is TN monitor. Instant no no from me. I stay away from TN panels because of bad colors and crap viewing angles.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler In this review it says that the brightness is lower than 250 cd/m^2, it's actually 228 nits. Nits and cd/m^2 are the same right?

[PopsicleHustler]

2 minutes ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler In this review it says that the brightness is lower than 250 cd/m^2, it's actually 228 nits. Nits and cd/m^2 are the same right?

Yes 228 nits = 228 cd/m2

[goshot]

1 minute ago, PopsicleHustler said:

Yes 228 nits = 228 cd/m2

Isn't this low? Aren't 250 nits better?

[PopsicleHustler]

1 minute ago, goshot said:

Isn't this low? Aren't 250 nits better?

Its not what I would consider unusable. 230 will do the job in most scenarios unless you have sun shining directly at your monitor or as said in the video, you work in a bright office or room.

[goshot]

@PopsicleHustler So i've been looking around for some monitors and im currently deciding between the AOC 24V2Q and a second hand Samsung S24E650PL. Ive been looking at some online reviews and they measure the resposne time a lot higher than it actually is, depending on thetests ( For the AOC: PlayWare's- http://playwares.com/dpreview/56817843 and PCLab's - https://pclab.pl/art80242-2.html For the Samsung: https://pclab.pl/art80242-15.html)
 

What do you think? Which monitor is better?

[PopsicleHustler]

2 hours ago, goshot said:

@PopsicleHustler So i've been looking around for some monitors and im currently deciding between the AOC 24V2Q and a second hand Samsung S24E650PL. Ive been looking at some online reviews and they measure the resposne time a lot higher than it actually is, depending on thetests ( For the AOC: PlayWare's- http://playwares.com/dpreview/56817843 and PCLab's - https://pclab.pl/art80242-2.html For the Samsung: https://pclab.pl/art80242-15.html)
 

What do you think? Which monitor is better?

I would go with AOC 24V2Q. Higher brightness, 75Hz /w FreeSync and a pleasant design. Yes it has a bit higher refresh rate, but its not that much.

[Mihle]

On 8/22/2019 at 12:07 AM, PopsicleHustler said:

Flicker Free is a complete bogus. Its an LCD LED panel, what flicker could there be in the first place?

 

Low blue light as also a fancy way of saying "Reader mode". I think most monitors come with reader mode for when you do reading in dark time. It is useful if you're sitting in complete dark.

Most monitors are flicker free, but some aren't. Those that aren't change the brightness of the backlight with pulsing it, rather than changing voltage.

 

And Freesync is a benefit at 60 hz, but having the range only go down to 48hz and not more doesn't matter because you should have close to 60 FPS anyway, like lock it to 58 FPS or whatever.

 

That said, higher Hz is ofc better.