[Malinkadink]

What are the odds BenQ botched the smaller GW2470H compared to the new EW2750ZL similar to how the EW2440L was inferior to the EW2740L in color gamut, contrast, and screen coating. The EW2750ZL seems an improvement over the EW2740L in pretty much every category except top end contrast being a little over 5k to the EW2750ZL’s 4k. Though that seems a moot point seeing as how the EW2750ZL’s test settings yielded higher contrast values than the EW2740L’s test settings. Maybe i’m paranoid, but somehow i feel that the GW2470H won’t have 100% sRGB coverage or peak over 4k:1 contrast like the EW2750ZL.

[PCM2]

It’s a completely different panel and indeed there are better 24″ VA panels already used (outside of the EW2440L), so that isn’t really likely to be an issue.

[Pyoro]

Good evening; hope you can help me out, please.
I’m looking for a 24″ LCD primarily for the purposes of everyday computing and watching movies, though I’d also like it to be good for gaming, which I’m not doing much of atm because of uni. I’m not thinking of playing much on it that’s more demanding than Half Life 2, say, but I’m guessing response times are still important for games like those. It cannot be bigger because of space availability, but I’ve decided I’m not fussed about ports or ergonomics (I have some thick wads of paper at the ready…). I’m aiming to spend £150.

I tested the Dell P2414H and noticed two problems: the grainy matte coating and the non-blackness of blacks. This got me looking at VA panels; I was starting to favour the BenQ EW2440L but eventually realised it was inferior to the EW2740L, whose review gave me a good impression by proxy. I was starting to think that inferior colour accuracy and responsiveness were tolerable for my application, though I don’t know how much of a nuisance black-crush is for a typical VA monitor. I was really disappointed when I realised I couldn’t find a really good 24″ VA monitor. There appear to be some models coming in the future (GW2470H) and some occasional choices that I can’t find reviews for here or on tftcentral (Iiyama X2483HSU).

Anyway, I’m wondering if you can recommend a 24″ VA and, if so, give your instinct on whether I should go with it or an IPS. Of those, the clear choice seems to be the Samsung S24E390HL (or S24D390HL) (but if there’s anything else that’s worth considering, do mention it). I chose these over the Dell P2414H/U2414H largely because it seems the matte coating is lighter and the default calibration is better. I also gather backlight bleeding tends to be smaller.

I’m aiming for a semi-glossy coating (glossy being forbidden by the adjacent window) but it seems those don’t exist in 24″ either. I was impressed by the colours in daytime shots of the New Mexico desert on the P2414H, but did feel it was a bit dull and grainy. About what I’m used to from a monitor, though.

Am I right in thinking that I should aim for good default (or perhaps OSD but not ICC profile) calibration because I won’t be able to do better without a colorimeter (e.g. using Lagom)?

Otherwise, I’ll be watching a lot of movies/TV shows that are heavy on basement scenes and the like, and in these situations, I did feel visibility was reduced on the P2414H with excessive glow. I’m not sure if it was backlight glow, IPS glow or just high black luminance (didn’t know the difference at the time). But in my ignorance, I did feel like that’s just the way things are, which suggests I could probably get used to it. I wonder if my naive solution of just rolling back on my chair to a 1m viewing distance might help with IPS glow…

Anyway, I’ve basically spilled the state of my soul out onto the page :). I’m already very grateful for the work you’ve done reviewing and answering questions (I’ve now spent hours reading both) and will make sure to use an affiliate link if I buy from Amazon.

PS:
1. I can’t find any monitor showrooms within a mile radius. I’m also slightly pressed for time, so would prefer to make returns unlikely.

2. Any preference for S24E390HL vs S24D390HL? Reading your reviews, it seems responsiveness improved and uniformity of colour temperature worsened, though this seems like it could vary per unit and no-one makes a big deal out of it for some reason. BTW, you have the wrong contour plot for this in the review of the newer model.

3. I’m currently using the e-yama 17JN1-S (from 2004…). This is the bulk of my experience so I’m curious as to what the most obvious differences are RE picture quality (info if you fancy a blast from the past: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/monitors/display/response-7_6.html. The most obvious could well be the 120Hz PWM, which will probably cause me visual impairment later in life. Ah well, such is laziness.

[PCM2]

Hi Pyro and a warm welcome to the forum!

I enjoyed reading your very thorough post and can see that you’d understood the information presented on our reviews and elsewhere very well indeed. This is what I would hope for from a university student, of course! 😉

My gut instinct is that you may not like the Samsung AD-PLS models as much as a VA model, but it could equally go the other way. The screen surface on the Samsung models is better. I haven’t compared it in detail to that used on the EW2440L, but it’s quite similar I think. It’s less grainy than is used on the Dell P2414H at any stretch, and although not as light as it could be would hopefully avoid that hazy feeling you got from the Dell. If it was indeed IPS glow you were observing (do you remember the brightness setting you were using?) then I have a feeling you may dislike that aspect on the Samsung as well as it’s fairly similar in that respect.

You nailed the differences between the two Samsung models and indeed the fact that uniformity varies between individual units. I’ve corrected the contour plot (well spotted, by the way!) I personally prefer the newer model slightly, simply because the stand is a bit more solid and I prefer it aesthetically. For raw performance it’s really so similar overall, I think most users would be hard pushed to tell the difference. Unless they’re super-sensitive to inverse ghosting, then they may prefer the newer model.

In an ideal world you could give both the EW2440L and S24(E/D)390HL a go and see which you prefer. It is technically possible to do that and return one, but I know that’s not ideal and it may also annoy Amazon slightly (it probably won’t, though). And you are pressed for time, so would prefer not to be juggling around with returns. So perhaps my recommendation would be to try the EW2440L and see how you get on. If you like pretty much everything about it but still find the screen surface problematic then I think waiting for the GW2470H could be worthwhile. That would mean returning it, but you have ’30 days’ in which to do that and Amazon will arrange it on a day that suits you. Or if you’re brave, you could even try the Samsung in the meantime. Again, not ideal thinking that you may need to process another return. The GW2470H really shouldn’t be too far off now (he says).

[Pyoro]

Many thanks. 🙂

I suppose I’m slightly surprised you elected the EW2440L, since it appears to be less consistently good. How are your second-hand impressions of that one stacking up? Does it use a similar panel to the EW2470L? Or does it seem to be worse off in terms of gamma shift, black crush, trailing/pixel overshoot and backlight bleed consistency? (I appreciate it’s not ideal asking second-hand but I can’t find any decent reviews). I suppose these things aren’t so bothersome compared to contrast and black depth for my application, and the movie experience is a big draw. I don’t think I’m all that susceptible to gamma shift, off the back of my TN iiyama. The red smearing and inverse ghosting on the EW2770L video you provided did seem a bit annoying, but I’ll be staring at basements more than strafing, for sure.

Otherwise, I’m hoping to be able to overclock to 72Hz for smoothness of 24fps video playback. Do you think the BenQ can handle it? Or is 48Hz also a reasonable option in that regard?

I can’t remember the brightness setting I was using, sadly. My guess would be something like 75.

Well… I just realised a month is about the amount of time I have left in my summer holiday, so I should be able to get a good impression of whichever monitor I choose and return if necessary. If so, I needn’t get a new one till December (GW2470H, maybe) since I’m away, though my mum might not like going back to the 2004 iiyama, haha. Just to check, can I return for any reason in 30 days? And what kind of dead/stuck pixel guarantees do BenQ/Samsung have?

Greatly appreciate the personal attention. :3

[PCM2]

According to user reports the responsiveness is actually decent on the EW2440L – similar responsiveness overall to the EW2740L, but less overshoot in fact. Perhaps more similar to the EW2750ZL in that respect. Contrast performance is very similar as is the likelihood of backlight bleed (or lack thereof). The colour gamut is less generous and screen surface ‘stronger’. I can’t really say whether the gamma shift is similar or worse without thorough testing, but for all intents and purposes I’ll just say ‘similar’ for the time being. You’d certainly not find it problematic being used to a TN panel, in my opinion. Although things are a bit different when comparing 24″ to 17″ screens! I should imagine it would run happily at 72Hz like the 27″ version, but again I can’t say for certain.

You can return for any reason within 30 days, yes. The dead or stuck pixel policy, well it’s within one of the European standards (ISO_13406-2) but I am not sure which fault class they go for these days. To be honest they are usually a bit more flexible than that, it kind of depends who you’re talking to and what sort of day they’re having as to whether they’d consider something faulty. It’s worth remembering that for such models these faults usually develop during or shortly after manufacture so you’d be going through Amazon not the manufacturer. They’re both quite good as far as customer services go in the UK so if you’re reasonable with them and clearly aren’t happy with the monitor and feel the performance has degraded suddenly then they will probably be quite accomodating.

P.S. If you’re wondering why my reply was so swift, it’s because I am at a very tedious point in a monitor review. Checking my own forum and emails is far more appealing than analysing the contrast of a monitor that has millions of different settings! 😉

[Malinkadink]

The GW2470H is available already from Amazon actually, it was available since a week ago now if you want to give it a shot

[PCM2]

Not in the UK, unfortunately. But when it is, the news article will be updated to reflect that.

[Pyoro]

And my reply is slow because I’m procrastinating and trying to let my subconscious decide for me. 😛

With the returns policy and the fact I’ll be able to compare it with a Dell P2414H at uni, I’m feeling brave about trying out a VA panel. However, I was uneasy about trying the EW2440L having not read a review. Eventually, I found this thread. Consensus is that one can do better than the EW2440L.

When you said the colour gamut is less generous, I didn’t realise this meant it failed to cover sRGB quite substantially. I perhaps should’ve emphasised that colour accuracy is important to me. I’d like to see colours as intended, and find them engaging; this is also why I’m aiming for a glossier monitor. Perfection in this area is not important, but despite the fact that I might not need colours all that much, I enjoy watching colourful scenes much more than dark ones and feel like I’d be very disappointed with dull, narrow colours, to the extent that I might tolerate occasional glow for better colours (and prefer an IPS!). I could well be blowing the issue out of proportion, but I feel uneasy about poor sRGB coverage, I must say, and the forum I linked seems to support this position.

I considered the options recommended there and found only the iiyama X2483HSU available in the UK (and on Amazon). I compared this and the EW2440L using their overclockers.ru reviews; these were the main points I got out of it:

+ Better colour gamut (like 95% vs 85% sRGB)

+ More glossy coating, though this seems to contradict ufoman’s impression, above. I’m not sure what to think here – I hope it’s at least on the level of the S24E390HL/EW2440L.

– Contrast/gamma tradeoff (whereas the BenQ maintains excellent contrast at all brightness levels). Goes from about 3000:1/2.33 to 1100:1/2.2, but the reviewer wasn’t fussed as he considered no glow to be the bigger advantage of VA over IPS. I could decide I prefer higher contrast like ufoman did.

+ Better (but comparable) response times/settings. You mentioned that this review’s testing isn’t detailed enough, though – should it be comparable, then?

I also appreciate the iiyama has poor quality control (though I haven’t yet looked at feedback). But if the BenQ’s gamut seems insurmountable, returning an iiyama and getting a S24E390HL instead could be the thing to do. At least I would’ve tried to get a VA (and could compare the technologies). The P2414H gave an acceptable movie-watching experience; I’m just trying to do better.

What are your thoughts on this comparison? Why did you opt for the EW2440L in the first place? Thanks for the patience. At any rate, I hope I don’t get hit by any more surprises!

[PCM2]

You hit the nail on the head. The reason I don’t recommend the Iiyama, even though it provides an experience more like the 27″ models; quality control. Or lack thereof. I used to recommend it to users by email quite a lot, but I stopped once it dawned on me just how much of a gamble it is. And with bad odds. Of the 5 people who bought the monitor when I recommended it quite heavily, there was an 80% return rate. So only one person kept their monitor, and they may or may not have been truly satisfied with it. Some issues include large clusters of dead pixels, large pressure marks on the screen, uncorrectable green tints and in at least one case a partially dead backlight. Granted this could have been a ‘bad batch’ and the situation may have improved since, but be aware of this. Equally, feel free to be my guinea pig with an understanding that returns may well be on the cards. Seems you’re already prepared for that anyway.

[ufoman]

As I see I’ve been mentioned by Pyoro, I feel compelled to respond.
Yes, I have traded gamma accuracy for contrast, as I consider it worth the price of colors being slightly off. At similar gamma shift, IPS monitors achieve contrast as you’ve outlined, and there’s also glow that, in my opinion ruins the experience. Your perception might differ, of course.
I’ve used to own Samsung T220, a TN monitor that had two big issues:
– no response acceleration – visible smearing
– response acceleration even on low setting – SEVERE overshoot issues, mostly with light gray to lighter gray transitions
As such, on my X2483HSU, I don’t see any overshoot artifacts even on maximum response acceleration setting, and I’ve been looking for them hard… Granted, some transitions are slower than even on most IPS panels, but I don’t mind that. Great contrast, solid color representation and nearly perfect white balance make that irrelevant for me.
Regarding the screen coating, I think on X2483HSU it’s very similar to typical TN coating in my experience. It’s definitely not too hard, nor too grainy. I still wish I could have the same panel with glossy coating though…
Also, PCM2 is right about Iiyama’s crap quality control. There sure has been more than one batch of very faulty units, and if you want to try X2483HSU, make sure you choose a retailer that respects IIyama’s 30-day replacement policy if any dead or stuck pixels appear, or is otherwise consumer friendly in that regard, like Amazon.

[Pyoro]

My apologies for not bothering to quote (I was on my phone); I was hoping you would notice. 😉

I’ve re-read your opinions on the iiyama on a couple of threads and I’m tempted. What to do when such a bad manufacturer offers such temptation (I write insidiously as I use their monitor, over a decade old and counting!). I have serious misgivings about my other two options, crucially about blacks and colours respectively.

So I think I’ll take the gamble, knowing I’m backed up by Amazon’s hassle-free 30-day trial and iiyama’s own 3-year “we’ll organise everything” warranty (though it’s not clear if they recognise faults as faults). I’ve changed my attitude to returns and am prepared to send it back, but am hopeful that it’ll last at least until early October, at which point I can compare it with the Dell IPS and make a more informed decision. Otherwise, I suppose I’ll have to guess the decision between the Samsung IPS and the BenQ VA. The iiyama (the XB adjustable-stand version, which I think I’ll opt for) has 3×4 star and 6×5 star reviews on Amazon.co.uk, so from that sample, things at least look good quality control–wise.

Shame about the coating – I gather that’s decent but worse than the other two options. I’ll see if it bothers me unduly, but I’m guessing this would affect my enjoyment of the colour less than a much-reduced gamut.

At any rate, this has gone on long enough, so many thanks to you both and, last-minute objections aside, I’ll take the punt tomorrow. Review to follow in due course!

[PCM2]

As I understand it the screen surface is actually slightly lighter (lower haze) on the Iiyama compared to the BenQ, so don’t worry about it. Of course a nice glossy screen surface or ‘super low haze’ would be beneficial in a controlled lighting environment, but hopefully you’ll find this one fine.

[juanitox]

Hello!

I have been reading thru this thread and undoubtedly there is a lot of quality information. I didn’t know much about monitors, I was always buying whatever was cheaper, or the first monitor I would get offered. Now I’m trying to make a more conscious buy. I have a HP s1935a LCD Monitor and I want to upgrade it, I got tired of this monitor not having a nice contrast, so I can barely see stuff on games in dark areas, also in some movies.

I want to get a 1080p monitor, 24″. I was about to buy the Dell S2415H, thanks to your review PCM2, a nice one indeed. But I found another monitor at some local store, the Samsung S24E510C, which is looking nice as well, but I can’t really find a lot of info about it.

I bring my question to this thread, since I’m divided now in between an IPS and a VA monitor. Which one would offer me the best experience for casual gaming and watching movies? I like vivid and vibrant colors, also would like a better contrast. Prolly anything at this point would be better than my current monitor, but I really want to get something good because probably I won’t be buying another monitor any time soon.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[PCM2]

Hi juanitox and welcome,

I can’t really add anything that isn’t already covered in this thread or our reviews (including that of the Dell S2415H). Having not tested the Samsung S24E510C and having received no user feedback on it I can’t provide any advice regarding that model either. All I can do is recommend reading through reviews of both panel types and referring to this thread, as you have done. Short of that it’s something you’ll have to see for yourself really, but I’m sure you’d be very happy with either model coming from your current monitor.

[juanitox]

Thanks for your reply. I was trying to look for some info on those Samsung Curve monitors and some users have reported some weird flickering, so I think Samsung won’t be my option.

As for the Dell one, I found that the LG 25UM57-P is priced lower in my country than the Dell S2415H. Ultra wide screen sounds awesome, and I also don’t know why is the LG monitor cheaper, I’m still leaning for the glossy screen of the Dell.

[PCM2]

An UltraWide screen isn’t awesome when it’s 25″ and the same height as a 20″ 16:9 monitor. 😉

[juanitox]

Thanks! That answer now made my choice! Going for the Dell S2415H

[yahooligan]

Hi,

I found this page while googling the upcoming AOC G2770PF Freesync-Monitor and poking around questions about its Free-Sync-Range. After following the debate of the first Users of the Monitor and PCM2s first words about the upcoming review I was left a bit disappointed and thought: “you weren’t the most professional gamer in the last years and never had the feeling a monitor was to slow, why insist on the newest gaming-tecnology now?”

So I read the recommendations and reviews on this site (really great) and thought a non-TN Panel could be the answer. A great gaming-experience is not just about speed, its also about atmosphere. I read the review of the BenQ EW2750ZL and thought that could be it. Now i just don’t know if VA is the answer or if I should check out more about IPS-Monitors. Another Question: The ASUS VN289Q seems to be a cheap VA Display and until now I couldn’t find any voice against its ability as a gaming monitor. Anything knowledge about its Panel? And another one: the BenQ BL2700HT also seems to have an AMVA+ Panel, is a bit older than the BenQ EW2750ZL but is height-adjusable at the same price. Any idea if it is just as good for gaming as the EW2750ZL?

Thank you!

[PCM2]

Hi yahooligan,

There is extension discussion regarding the topic of ‘IPS or VA’ from a gaming perspective on this thread. There are also some thoughts on both the BL2700HT, largely the fact that I haven’t used it and can’t really help you with it. As for the VN289Q, it uses the same or a very similar panel to the Philips 284E5QHAD so is very unlikely to be a good choice for any sort of gaming. Feel free to entertain yourself by reading the responsiveness section of that review. The EW2750ZL runs rings about those 28″ models, in my experience, so would certainly suggest trying that out if anything.

[Author]

Posts