I'm looking to upgrade to a wide former larger monitor and the Samsung 2693HM 25.5" monitor caught my eye. Does anyone have an opinion on this monitor?

The price is fairly cheap and the specs that are presented seem to be pretty good. I read that it might have cheap parts though, and that has me a bit concerned. I am a graphic designer so color is important, but I'd also like to be able to use it for games. Yes I have the hardware that can support the high res.

It's cheap for a reason. It uses a TN panel monitor which is known for poor color accuracy especially for someone who demand very accurate colors.

TN panels uses 6-bit color (aka 18-bit color), that means it can only produce 256k real colors. Thru a process called dithering (blending for simplicity) it produces the remain 16.2m - 16.5m colors. Good enough for the average user, but if you are trying to create over 16m colors from just 256k you gotta know something is up.

Avoid what seems to be a good value monitor 'cause they will be using TN panel tech instead of the more expensive 8-bit color (aka 24-bit color) S-PVA, P-MVA or IPS panels which can actually produce 16.7m real colors.

A 24" monitor with a S-PVA panel starts at about $600 for entry level and can go as high as $1,200 for the NEC 2490WUXi monitor which uses a H-IPS panel and is designed for the graphics professional.

In the 26" (25.5" ) arena, nearly all of these monitors are TN panels. There could be some S-PVA or M-PVA panel monitors, but I never really researched for those. There are monitors that uses the S-IPS or H-IPS panels (generally regarded as the best for color accuracy), but the start at about $900 (Planar PX2611W) which is designed for the average user, or about $1,300 for the NEC 2690WUXi which is designed for the graphics professional.

It colors accuracy is critical for your profession (meaning handing in something that has inferior colors can get you fired) then step up and invest in at least a monitor using a S-PVA or P-MVA panel.

Good info. What you say makes me easily want to step up, but how do you know what panels a monitor is using? I have never seen it listed in product specifications.

Also, I notice that the expensive one you mentioned has a 16ms response time. Does that mean all monitors that have good color will be bad for games? Are there monitors out there with good response times and good color quality?

Trying to determine what type of panel a monitor uses (and the specific make and model) takes a lot of research and many times you will not be able to find out the info you are looking for.

I spent about 50 hours of research over a period of nearly 9 months before deciding on the NEC 2690WUXi for my general needs. I consider myself a "pro-sumer" so I look for the best quality I can get within a "reasonable" price range.

so is it pretty much safe to assume that any monitor for 500 or under at 24" is using a cheap board?

Sigh... I wish they had real showrooms where you could few all the different models at once. All they have out there is the cheap crap at best buy.

How do you go about your research? Are there certain sites to go to, or do you have to sift through the net?

For instance, this monitor: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/s [...] _-Main+Tab

seems pretty good to me at an affordable price, but I would not know where to go to find outside info on it. Now judging by what you've told me I can't go by a typical hardware reviewer since they give good reviews to stuff even I can tell is not special. Where are the reviews by people who scrutinize the hardware?

Based on what I've seen of online prices, any 24" monitor selling for less than $600 uses a TN panel unless it is on sale.

For a store where you can simply walk in, I expect a $50 - $75 premium.

If you live in NYC then check out B&H Video.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

They have two 24" LCD monitor that uses S-PVA panels in the $600 - $650 range:

HP / Hewlett-Packard LP2465

Samsung SyncMaster 245T

Not sure if they are on display in the store though.

There are other 24" monitors made by Eizo, Lacie and NEC, but they are geared towards the graphics pro and may give you sticker shock.

well I am a graphics pro , but I'm at the beginning of my biz so my funds are low. I think I'm looking for a good balance I guess. Get the most quality for the money.

And it's not that I necessarily want to buy it in a store, it's that I wish I could simply see the quality of the monitor so I can decide.

Are 30" monitors worth looking into, or are all of those using inferior panels? I know the high res would be killer on the hardware for games, but if I'm going to spend upwards of $1000 I could get more desktop space for my money.

All 30" LCDs use IPS panels to the best of my knowledge.

However, not all 30" monitors are the same. More expensive models will have extra electronics to improve image quality (NEC 3090WUXi). Less expensive models will probably have somethings geared more towards the average user like built-in speakers, USB ports, etc.

I could be wrong (since I haven't done the research), but I believe LG/Philips is the sole manufacturer of 30" IPS panels. I know for a fact LG/Philips is the only company manufacturing 25.5" IPS panels; unless there is a new player.

I found a couple thorough reviews of monitors, and I feel like I'm leaning towards the HP LP3065. For the money it seems like it would achieve what I want and it has an S-IPS board which is supposed to be good right?

Hello, sorry that i am replying on a thread that is this old but it just gave me the answer i was looking for.

I was planning on buying a Samsung 2693HM 25.5" monitor but after reading this thread about the TN panels i now know what i need and want.

So right now i think i am going to buy a DELL 2709W for 590 euro's.

I am also into gaming and i like to know if some of you have some experience with this monitor and gaming.