Thinking of getting a 24" LCD flat panel

[M. Worthington]

The Samsung 244T looks good to me.

But a question: Do I need a special graphics card to get a resolution that will fill the 24" wide screen? I'm not sure my current card will.

[TonyK]

I have a Sony (24" I believe) flat panel monitor. I run 1600x1200 without an issue using an INF file I got from Sony. Check to see if the Samsung has an INF file that will help you with settings and resolution.

[timjon]

Not all flat panels are created equal - almost all of the cheap ones use TN (twisted nematic) panels, which only support 6 bit colour depth per pixel, and use dithering to "simulate" 8 bits per pixel. They also have serious issues with colour accuracy, as the colour depends on the angle you look at them. Needless to say this isn't something the manufacturers like to talk about, and they also make it quite difficult to tell what type of panel each screen is made with.

If you're serious about photography, you need a panel using a better technology like S-IPS. The cheapest decent 24" flat panel is actually sold by Dell (it's using a Philips panel internally) - their 24 inch widescreen LCD is supposed to be very good.

Personally, I'm sticking with my CRT, but every now and then I consider buying the Dell...

(edit: regarding the graphics card, it depends on the resolution of the panel and the age of the card. Most cards less than four or five years old will work, but even if it doesn't, you can buy a card which will drive all modern panels at their listed resolution pretty cheaply - less than 10% of the cost of a decent flat panel.)

Cheers,

Tim.

[TonyK]

Hi Tim,

I've had no problems since switching to the Sony 23" (I verified it today) with color accuracy. I use a Spyder2Pro to calibrate the unit and get wonderful prints from both WHCC and EZPrints.

About getting what you pay for, that is absolute truth. Paying a little more gets a much better result.

Peace,

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by timjon

If you're serious about photography, you need a panel using a better technology like S-IPS. The cheapest decent 24" flat panel is actually sold by Dell (it's using a Philips panel internally) - their 24 inch widescreen LCD is supposed to be very good.

I'm happy with mine but check out the Dell forums before picking one up. Versions 1 & 2 apparently had some quality issues with the 2407FPW. My version 3 (and all the rest from what I remember) are fine, however. I paid about $800 three months ago for it.

[Sidebyte]

I just read a full report on the Samsung T244 and it's is rated as one of the best. In fact for the price, they state it can't be equaled. In Shutterbug mag.

[JDArt]

The Dell 24" is 577.28 with current discounts applied.

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by JDArt

The Dell 24" is 577.28 with current discounts applied.

Ugh. I hate commodity based pricing on these things.

Kinda tempting to add another one, though.