I have been looking at a lot of forums and been doing my research but am more or less swamped after weeks of looking around. So I wanted some monitor recommendations.

I have the following criteria:

Under $500

Will be used for gaming (FPS and MMORPG) and watching DvD's - no Blu Ray I have a home theater for that.

I care about quality more than size. I know I can get a better LCD for $600 but I can't really afford it unless the performance gains are huge.

So either a 22'' or a 24'' what ever is going to provide for a high quality picture while still allowing for games.

Also I will have a 4870 GPU if that will effect the whole scenario.

Thanks in advance.

P.S. I love Slayer too Jag.

So far I have been looking at the BenQ g2400Wd and the v2400w - I am concerned that a 24 inch monitor will choke my Frames Per Second if I only have a single 4870 on games like COD4 and Crysis - thoughts?

A 19" LCD monitor with only 1280 x 1024 resolution can choke Crysis with everything turned up to high quality.

Don't know about COD4.

I think I am going to go with the Benq G2400wd. According to most reviews 41 FPS at med - high settings with 1900 x 1200. - More thoughts. I am going to be stuck with the VT (think that's the crappier under plate).

Having just bought THIS all I would say is make sure your desk is deep enough. Considering most of the pannels are made by only a few manufacturers I dont think brand is massively important.

Make sure that your gfx card is going to be up to the job of 1920x1200 res and be aware that some games will not support that resolution without 3rd party aps. I know that bf2142 has only recently been patched to support that res & widescreen.

And of course DVi is a must for this size, I've seen budget 22" screens with VGA only.

I am still undecided about the 22'' vs 24'' - I am having trouble finding a good 22'' other than Samsung 226bw (S series)

I'd go for a 24", non TN monitor. You can really see the color difference in a good PVA or IPS. The Dell 2408 ultrasharp is on sale right now for $600 - the colors and clarity will absolutely blow you away compared to most 22" and cheaper 24" monitors.

i wanted a 24'' but ended up settling for a 22'' LG Flatron that was on sale for $269, all the 24 and up were 500a nd up and i figured 269 for 2'' less was a better deal.

I'm pretty happy w\ this lg though, 22'' is huge coming off a 17'' dell !

I really like the 24'' dell CJI posted...but its $600+, they have the other 24'' dell e248wfp on sale for $350 @ dell and its on ebay for $324+25 shipping...

CJULYFUN0810P = 10% off when you buy on ebay and pay w\ paypal... so that would make it $300 for a 24'' dell lcd nib.

I think im going to buy that one for my wifes system.

The other Dell 24" is a TN panel though, so it will have noticeably worse colors and viewing angle. It really depends on if you want the best quality, or just a cheap, large, high res monitor.