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[Stevie]

are there any drawbacks of using a telly as your pc monitor?

eg.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298491/Trail/searchtext%3ESHARP.htm

[Condor Baggins]

Contrast ratio and response times on monitors will generally trump a TV.

[Wooster]

Monitor would also use less power since it isn't running a tuner when it's switched on, so far less heat and maybe better longevity.
1920x1200 is the resolution on a good quality monitor, so you'd lose a bit there against the TV.
Biggest concern for me though is that monitors are designed to connect up to a computer, but with TV's it's an afterthought, so I'd worry that it had poorer performance in direct comparison.
...as Conor said, the response times will be far better on a monitor.

You get 2 for 1 using a TV though, since....well, it's also a TV.

My money would be on a monitor I reckon.

You can pick up a decent Samsung 24" on eBuyer for £222 : http://www.ebuyer.com/150964-samsung-sm2443bw-24-lcd-tft-dvi-d-monitor-ls24mykabc-en

Some cash for a Sharp TV, or £33 more for a Samsung monitor.....not exactly a difficult decision is it?

....unless you need a TV....

[Stevie]

I'm basically after a bigger monitor for my "man cave" in the loft, so the kids can sit with me up there and watch movies etc and i can maybe get a bit of gaming "very" seldomly, i donno if I'd be prepared to go over the £200 mark tbh, but i want something with an hdmi port.

what about this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/161554-iiyama-prolite-24-tft-hdmi-monitor-ple2407hds-b1

It's only 1080, what does the 1200 on a "decent" monitor meant to me in real terms, bearing in mind i'm a casual gamer, i'm not interested in squeezing every bit of graphical goodness out of a game.

can you run windows at 1920x1080 without it looking squeezed or crap?

[Wooster]

I doubt you'd notice much, it's only the difference between 16:9 and 16:10 (8:5).

What about the Samsung Spunkmaster? http://www.ebuyer.com/260581-samsung-syncmaster-s24a350h-lcd-led-24-hdmi-monitor-ls24a350hs-en

...says Woosty determined to spend Stevie's cash. 

The Ilyama one looks ideal though and you can buy a USB TV tuner for £24 if you still want freeview. 
http://www.ebuyer.com/265713-compro-u650f-usb-2-0-dvb-t-digital-terrestrial-tv-stick-with-dab-dab-analog-fm-u650f

[Condor Baggins]

Syncmasters are the business if you're willing to part with the dough. Mine hasn't missed a beat and looks great. 

[Thermalsig]

I used my tv as a monitor for a while and it did well. I am tuning a high end LG led/lcd running at 240hz with 5 millisecond response time. When I switched back to my Sammy monitor, I noticed a serious drop in color and vibrancy. My Sammy wasn't the cheapest either (then). Good tv's can pull it off on some of the newer models. I did a lot of research before I bought mine. I would suggest at least trying it.


I must admit to over paying for mine though. Uggggggggg
Sent by  Droid X while sniping squirrels from my roof.

[keasy]

Wooster games on his Panni telly.

And it looks feckin ace.

[Wooster]

...and the Sharp does get some good reviews on the Argos site (plenty of people correctly pointing out that it's a standard LCD TV and not an LED TV though).

[Stevie]

I've actually got the 24" sharp LED in my bedroom. Havent had a chance to check it out on my pc which would sort of answer my own question 

I know it'll work and probably look good but was just wondering if there are any other pitfalls.

[Thermalsig]

I've actually got the 24" sharp LED in my bedroom. Havent had a chance to check it out on my pc which would sort of answer my own question 

I know it'll work and probably look good but was just wondering if there are any other pitfalls.

I've only used hdmi over mine on a gtx560. Worked perfectly, I had to just switch to "just scan" to convert the ratio.

Sent by  Droid X while sniping squirrels from my roof.

[corroded]

I use a Samsung P2770HD... it's the TV version of the P2770 Monitor (same panel, actually... just more connectors to connect TV shit, and a freeview tuner)

It... is... excellent. Can be found for £250 too these days, which is a bargain if you're looking for a mixed use TV/Monitor, imo.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/samsung/p2770hd/sams-p2770hd

There is a whole line going from 20" of this style. P2x70... without HD it's just the monitor, with it contains all the extra TV stuff.

Definitely worth a look at imo, especially if the 24" samsung wooster mentioned looks appealing!

[keasy]

My first HD telly was a Sharp and I adored it.

Despite being older than my Philips (which got great reviews too btw) I sometimes miss the the colour reproduction of the Sharp, despite the fact it was a less powerful TV.

[Thermalsig]

I use a Samsung P2770HD... it's the TV version of the P2770 Monitor (same panel, actually... just more connectors to connect TV shit, and a freeview tuner)

It... is... excellent. Can be found for £250 too these days, which is a bargain if you're looking for a mixed use TV/Monitor, imo.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/samsung/p2770hd/sams-p2770hd

There is a whole line going from 20" of this style. P2x70... without HD it's just the monitor, with it contains all the extra TV stuff.

Definitely worth a look at imo, especially if the 24" samsung wooster mentioned looks appealing!

Looks like a good tv. I think it's missing too man features though. Only 1 HDMI port and no nic or wireless would be a deal killer for me. Then again I do have too much shit in my entertainment center. I suppose if I updated my receiver, it would take care of all the ports for me. Right now, I have 1 component, 3 HDMI, 1 optical, 1 USB and 1 network cable all plugged into the back. It's a big freaking snake that I have tied up neatly in flex loom. That's cool I guess, until I have to move a component somewhere else. 

[Wooster]

You can pick up a simple HDMI switch for much cheapness

I bought one of these to switch between PC and PS3: http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/2-port-manual-hdmi-switch-black.html