2nd computer monitor recommendation?

After more than 6 months of delayingi finally bought the dell ultrasharp u2412 for £250. Colour is fine, nothing amazing as expected, the only complaint is that it's a bit slow, but other than that, it seems fine for the price.

For £200, you could get a 22" version of mine one.

Look for a wide colour gamut, and a decent angle of viewing (it shouldn't change colour if not viewed head-on).

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows[/ame]

Thanks a lot guys - I'd looking at the [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005MHMFJA/ref=asc_df_B005MHMFJA6188363?smid=APKDMHG9FD07X&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22218&creativeASIN=B005MHMFJA"]Dell Ultrasharp U2312HM 23 inch IPS LED Monitor[/ame] and the [ame="http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-085-IY"]Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS 23" Premium IPS Panel Widescreen LED Monitor[/ame].

I think this one has the same pixels as the 22inch model and yet an inch bigger, which means it's not going to be as good quality as the 22 inch one, I doubt it'd make much difference. Besides, it's 16:9 ratio, call me old fashion, I like the 16:10 better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbelows

Rumbelows

You should put your version in wiki*..

*not a euph

You should put your version in a kiwi*..

I though you were from Australia!

They only want us for our dole money..

Those over filled boats full of Kiwis you lot keep sending back to their doom...
It's a damn shame.

I'm standing next to a Visionhire 24" PYE concertina oak cabinet monstrosity as we speak... salesman's smile

I got all geeky and spent about 3 weeks researching monitors before I finally bought one, and posted this a while back with regards to what I'd learned.

"When buying a monitor for colour work you need to get one with a decent LCD panel. The type of panel it uses determines it's colour accuracy. Different panels use different methods for displaying the light/colour. There are 3 main types.

TN (twisted nematic): These are at the budget end of the market and the kind of thing you pick up in Comet etc. They're good for gaming because they have fast response times but are utterly useless for colour work because they only display 6 bit instead of true 8 bit colour using clever algorithims to make up the difference. The viewing angles are shite too. To be avoided I think.

VA (vertical alignment) includes PVA, MVA, S-PVA etc.
These are probably the best value. Good colour reproduction, contrast and viewing angles with the drawback they don't have great response times so not great for gaming. One of these is probably the best bet if on a budget.

IPS (in-plane switching)
The daddy for graphics and video work. Stunning colour and contrast ratios. The choice of professionals. You'll pay for it though (think £600+)."

I think those points still stand, though technology moves quick so IPS panels are becoming more affordable. Don't buy based on manufacturer. For instance Apple use LG panels, Dell use Samsung and LG, etc etc.

For what it's worth I've been using a Dell 2407 for the past 3 years and it's been great. My print work comes back looking how I expect and there are no dead pixels to speak of. I know dell get a bad wrap but I can't fault it considering how little it cost.

A question for you Dell monitors users: when you use it with you laptops, does it drain the laptop battery? I use mine as a 2nd monitor with my Macbook Pro and after a full charge, my mac only has just over 2 hrs batter life (it struggles to finish a movie sometimes) even when it's in sleep mode, as long as it's plugged into the dell monitor, it drains the battery slowly. It's been a number of mornings when I wake up the Mac, it wouldn't because the battery is completely dead. At 1st I thought it was the battery playing up as the monitor has its own power supply, but no, whenever I don't connect the monitor to my Mac, the battery life goes back to between 5-8 hrs as it should be from a full charge. I am not very happy with it and want to know if it's a dell thing or if it's just my monitor acting abnormally.

PS. Should probably add that I didn't have this problem at all with my previous cheap monitor...