Help deciding - high quality monitor

[Flakk]

I find it exceedingly difficult to choose a monitor. I have a semi-high budget with a maximum of around 750 USD/730 CAD and I simply want a damn good monitor. Good quality comes before cheap price.

I will mostly play games of all kinds. I'm not super hardcore but I do play a lot. Secondary use will be 3D modeling and texturing work. No movies, no console games.

Here are the ones I have on my list at the moment:

IPS:
HP ZR24W
Asus PA246Q
Dell U2311H
Dell U2410

The less considered TN category:
Alienware AW2310
BenQ XL2410T
LG W2363D

I generally prefer 16:10 and I'm not so sure I want a wide color gamut actually. If it's going to warp colors in most if not all applications besides like...photoshop, as I understand it, I don't think I want it. Unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Super big thanks for any thoughts and or suggestions.

[10e]

Any of those IPS monitors are pretty good. If you are working primarily in the sRGB color space then the HP ZR24W and Dell U2311H are good options, though the U2311 is 16:9. Both are sRGB screens and can be easily calibrated to be accurate down the line with an X-Rite I1D2 colorimeter, which is usually between 120 - 140 bucks. The U2410 would be last on my IPS list. The Asus is pretty good too, but it, plus the U2410 are wide gamut.

Another option that is somewhat close to your budget ceiling is the NEC LCD2490WUXi2-BK. I just picked one up for $749.00 plus taxes and think it's an incredible sRGB gamut screen. A company called CenDirect had it fo $675.00 last month, so it might go on sale again. It used to be over $1000.00 on release.

You can also pick up the NEC SVII (Spectravision II) calibration kit later on and internally calibrate the color look-up tables on the screen to get very accurate sRGB color without needing an ICM profile to adjust colors, which means that videos and games will have accurate color too. Even without the calibration kit the sRGB mode is usually quite accurate from the factory. The unit I received is free of any side to side tinting on white, and uniformity is very good. It also has ColorComp which is factory set to compensate for any brightness uniformity issues. Input lag is fairly well controlled and it has a wide array of adjustment options. Even though I've only had it for one day I love this screen. It also comes with a 4 year warranty and NEC customer service, from my experience is excellent.

The only thing it's missing which I don't think is mandatory is DisplayPort.

If you don't do raw or Adobe RGB image editing, and aren't doing any pre-press work, sRGB gamut is the way to go. Wide gamut is only ok with Macintosh, as OS X is color managed, while Windows is basically not.

[Flakk]

Thanks so much for that thorough reply. I have read up extensively on all those monitors so I'm aware of what color gamut aspect ratio and such they have. So after your post, I'm leaning heavily towards the ZR24W with the only downside I've seen in reviews (for me) is poor black levels and maybe some ghosting/overshooting issues that I'm not sure will be noticeable to the eye with everyday use.
Also good to confirm what I suspected, that the wide color gamut isn't very usable to someone like me and I better leave it alone for now. I do color dependent work, but not printed and not photography. So, yea.

The NEC doesn't seem to be easily available in my country (Sweden) as far as I can see after a quick search.

[SKYMTL]

I'd go for the ASUS personally.

[Flakk]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

I'd go for the ASUS personally.

Care to elaborate?

[SKYMTL]

Sure. The 23" Dell is 1920 x 1080 which is an aspect ratio I personally hate for monitors.

The Dell U2410 we reviewed here: Dell UltraSharp U2410 24” IPS Monitor Review

Good monitor but you enter the ridiculous Dell Panel Lottery which means you have no idea if you will get a good or passably ok panel.

The ProArt we reviewed here: ASUS PA246Q ProArt 24” IPS Monitor Review

I haven't seen the HP but of the ones you mentioned the ProArt is what I would buy.

[Flakk]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

Sure. The 23" Dell is 1920 x 1080 which is an aspect ratio I personally hate for monitors.

The Dell U2410 we reviewed here: Dell UltraSharp U2410 24” IPS Monitor Review

Good monitor but you enter the ridiculous Dell Panel Lottery which means you have no idea if you will get a good or passably ok panel.

The ProArt we reviewed here: ASUS PA246Q ProArt 24” IPS Monitor Review

I haven't seen the HP but of the ones you mentioned the ProArt is what I would buy.

I've read all of those reviews and more. So what is it about that monitor that makes you feel it ranks above the HP?
And what about ProArt's wide color gamut? I won't be making much use of that.

[10e]

Originally Posted by Flakk

I've read all of those reviews and more. So what is it about that monitor that makes you feel it ranks above the HP?
And what about ProArt's wide color gamut? I won't be making much use of that.

Both the Asus and Dell are nearly functionally equivalent monitors. Both are good quality and pre-calibrated for Adobe RGB and sRGB from the factory, which is a good thing.

But if you are going to be in the sRGB color space I would assume the HP probably would be the best bet taking price-performance into consideration and the fact that it is a sRGB panel from the start, and doesn't need to emulate a smaller color space.

[SKYMTL]

That is true. The only reason why I don't recommend the HP is because I haven't seen or used one myself...hence I can't recommend something I haven't seen with my two eyes. ;)

[Flakk]

This is so difficult ... trying to find any info on input lag when using sRGB mode on the Asus. Since Dell's game mode lowers the input lag so significantly but forces you to use the wide color gamut.

What about the TN panels? Are the not even worth considering?