Help choosing monitor

I would like a new monitor mainly to view pics from my D-SLR. I'd like to do some justice to the high quality pics I've taken. I do work on it a lot too (Excel, Outlook, CLI windows). And occasional gaming and movie watching. I'm currently using the display from my 2 y/o HP Pavilion g7-1070us laptop (with VGA + HDMI out). I also have a 10 year old 17" flat panel. I was thinking of a 23", but may consider a 27" (do I need to sit further back for those?). I'd like to spend $250 or less.

Considering these two:

ASUS VS239H-P ($185 Newegg) [newegg.com]

HP 2311XI ($180 Best Buy) [bestbuy.com]

CNET says the HP is an e-ips Link [cnet.com]

A review of the Asus believes it's an e-ips as well Link [com.sg]

I'd appreciate any thougths you might have.

Thanks!

(side question, after I get a monitor should I use the HDMI out from my laptop for all uses or just for movie watching?)

From some quick google searching, many people are reporting backlight bleeding problems with the ASUS? You're on the right track staying away from TN panels. You don't necessarily have to sit further away from 27" monitors, just go into your local electronics store and see for yourself. You'll notice they're higher resolution, so you're still getting similar text size, just with more honest-to-goodness screen real estate. However, you won't really find a worthwhile 27" photo-quality monitor in your price range. Really, the best-reviewed budget IPS monitor is the Dell U2312HM which is often under $250. I have the last year's model, U2311H, here's a review:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/revie...1317112577
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/fo...eview.html

There are a few more reviews there as well. A little creative google searching should lead you to endless forum discussions comparing this to its competitors. Threads like this should help you sift out worthwhile other options within your price range, but I'd probably be considering an NEC, Samsung, LG before HP, but a few stars come from them every now and again:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum...izo-fs2332
http://photography-on-the.net/for...?t=1164792
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1038083850
http://www.overclock.net/t/126449...lg-ips235v


HDMI and DVI carry the same quality video signal. The advantage of HDMI is that it also carries audio, which is useless for connecting to a computer monitor. You can do it either way you want. Since most laptops have HDMI, and many IPS monitors do not, you can simply get yourself an HDMI-DVI cable to hook up video. VGA is analog, stay away from it. The cable:
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasic...hdmi+cable

24" samsung syncmaster 2443

Quote from Count_Chocula : 24" samsung syncmaster 2443

Although even the most mediocre desktop screens are noticeably better than most laptops' mobile displays, this TN panel is not sufficient for any kind of serious digital photography work compared to any of the IPS panels already discussed in this thread. Read post number 9 here, for example:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showt...?t=2233920
Or this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/...p=19023287



Also OP, do you have an editing program? Lightroom is relatively inexpensive compared to the prices you pay for lenses, and it also saves you a ton of time. Auto imports and organizes, lets you do quick adjustments, batch edits, etc. It's pretty powerful overall, and is one of my favorite tools. I hardly open up Photoshop CS5 any more, and if you have a friend with a .edu email address or are a student yourself, you can get it for like $80.

Thanks all, I'll look into the links. Will be swamped this weekend with other stuff...but am excited to read all you provided during the next week!

For $50+ more, will I notice the difference between the Dell U2312HM and the two in my post?