Need a decent monitor from DELL

Reason why I want it from Dell: I have a dell gift card for $100

I do not really know the difference between the types of screens used in higher monitors. I am aiming for $100-$150 range monitor. This might be used for gaming eventually but is very low on requirements. This would be used for movies and beginner photo editing. Does anyone have any suggestion for (1) decent monitor and (2) what's a decent price for said monitor.

Also should I be looking at refurb monitors?

What I really want:
21"+ (preferably 23"+)
1080p

Nice to have:
Portrait tilt
Extra USB ports

Thank you for any help.

In that price range, you're talking about TN panels which are characterized by quick response time and bad viewing angles (particularly vertical [lagom.nl]). The viewing angles make perfect color accuracy impossible so more advanced color technology is reserved for non-TN panels.

AFAIK, the E, P and ST series are TN panels categorized by features like inputs and stand ergonomics. The only exception (of which I am aware) is the ST2220T which is a highly unique glossy e-IPS touchscreen monitor on a tiltstand. The U series are e-IPS panels which don't have the same viewing angle color shift problems as TN. However, they have IPS glow [youtube.com] that shows up on blacks when viewed off-angle and is more noticeable on larger panels.

I couldn't find a reliable chart which explained monitor differences. I did find this chart [dell.com], but it doesn't list info for some of their monitors, and I definitely wouldn't rely on these info fields: Contrast Ratio, Viewing Angle, Color Gamut (under Features), Service / Support Details.

For what it's worth, I think you should try an entry-level Ultrasharp. They're a nice upgrade from entry-level TN panels and they do exactly what you want although they're not quite in your price range. The U2312HM is always on sale for $230 which is often cheaper than the U2212HM.

Thanks! That site really helped to get a little of a clue as to what the actual difference is. I am also guessing if I will be using it vertically that difference will be much much more visible?

In that case it sounds like I really should go for the U2312HM

going off the above.. should I invest $60 more and go for U2412M Ultrasharp IPS 1920x1200?
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/6...d-monitor?

I'm not sure what you mean by "using it vertically."

It's likely that you're already using a TN panel. Did you try the viewing angle test? If you enlarge the purple background from the test, you may notice the purple is very blue on the top and red on the bottom; however, the purple background is actually uniform.

Every TN panel has that gamma shift effect which makes color accurate work impossible. If you view your monitor from above or below, you can observe the gamma value [lagom.nl] changing. IPS panels don't have this problem. They have IPS glow instead which is annoying but unavoidable (with the demise of ATW polarizers...)

It never hurts to inquire about pricing. It only took five minutes to get a sales representative to sell me a U2212HM for $200 USD. The U2412M doesn't have any image quality benefits over its smaller cousins. The 16:10 workspace is amazing though. Unfortunately, the corner IPS glow is also more noticeable which kind of sucks.

Nice. initially i decided to just go for the smaller U2212HM for $169 on the dell outlet site, but then they upgraded it to U2312HM new for $179 so I went for that (3 year warranty hoohah!), With tax came out to $195, I'm a happy camper now.

Thank you for your replies exaltare

I'm glad to hear it. How did you manage that? $179 before taxes for a new U2312HM is a solid buy.