Based on a previous thread, I decided to look for an IPS monitor, and found [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002R0JJYO?ie=UTF8&tag=pchahe-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789
&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002R0JJYO]this one[/url] (a viewsonic).

On another forum, they were suggesting to get anything but viewsonic, suggesting this (an NEC) instead. They really never specified why they didn't like the other company.

Anyway, I have $300 to buy a new monitor with for general use (mostly for gaming and watching movies), with quality over size, and want to know what input the charitable minds at Massassi have.

It says 16:9 ratio but it looks damn near 2:1. What happened to 4:3 ratio anyway.

I've had a Viewsonic monitor die on me. That said, I don't think NEC is better.

I always vote for Samsung, but I don't think they have any IPS panels in your pricerange. Honestly, I'm surprised that Viewsonic is.

16:9 is damn near 2:1 (18:9).

If you're just using it for general gaming and movies, why do you need an IPS monitor?

Because they're just that much better.

You should look at Dell's monitors, they have some great models. You can buy refurbished ones directly from Dell. You might see if you can find a Dell 2007FP or 2007WFP. The WFP model is widescreen, the FP is 1600x1200. They're fantastic. I bought two last year for $200/each, refurbished from some dealer on Amazon and I've loved them. There's a catch, though: after the first six months or so, Dell switched out the IPS panel for a PVA panel. The PVA panel is still very good, just not quite as good as the IPS. Maybe 90% as good. I have one of each. If you google about you can find information on which serial numbers correspond to which panel types. Also, they have a 16 ms response time, which in my opinion is just good enough for gaming. There isn't much ghosting but it can take getting used to. You can probably do better for your money these days but it's worth looking at.

For general use like what you described you'd be crazy to spend on an IPS monitor. Imagine what you could do with all that extra money. I said it on that thread and I'll say it again here. In my opinion there is absolutely nothing wrong with puppy-killing baby snatching god awful TN panels that everybody loves to trash on. You could get a bigger size and cut your price in half. Do you really see the internet world in upheaval about the quality of their monitors? No, because despite almost everybody having TN displays, nobody really cares that much. You really need to ask yourself if it's worth it because in my opinion all the TN trashers are being excessively elitist.

Go to th electronics store and walk around looking at all the monitors. Don't look at price or specs. Do you think they all look like complete ****? Neither did I.

Yeah, I've had generally good luck with Dell monitors as well. Just have to do a little research and make sure you're getting an IPS model, since Dell doesn't really come out and say if a specific monitor is IPS/PVA/TN.

Plus for games and movies ghosting is really annoying.

I don't consider a screen that has a horrible refresh rate but better color to be 'that much better'. It's a trade off, IPS is great for design, but I could do without the extra expense and ghosting if all I was going to use it for was movies, games, and massassi.

Just my .02

Pretty sure mine are TN screens, and they look fine to me. (Though one is a WFP screen so i don't know.)

..obviously lol

I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the help.

Ratio is like other ratio!

Who uses 4:3 still? Everyone should be using either 16:9 or 5:4 unless you have a really old monitor maybe. All non-widescreen LCDs I've used are 5:4. All CRTs I've used recently do 5:4 too.