I know this is the perpetuum mobile, but I'm looking into buying a LCD monitor. I wouldn't mind if it is only 19, 20 or 22 inches wide, but I want to have, at least some, good and relaible color.

How are the Dell...? Or is there a "cheap" eizo or Nec around.

My budget is limited at the moment....


Thanks in advance

Nec 1990SX

thanks, how about the dell 2408?

NEC Multisync 2690WUXi
http://www.tftshop.net/product_info.php/products_id/682

I'm curious what you would have suggested if he said his budget was not limited.

Eizo CG301W
http://www.eizo.com/products/graphics/cg301w/index.asp

Just for the record: what's BANG for you?

So we know what BANG you want for your BUCK.

Bang: good, quality panel; good color; color manageable; even illumniation; size less important, but would prefer 22 or 21 inches widescreen;

Buck: I guess around 450 €, a little less would be apprecciated

Eizo S2231 is nice I use to my small studio setup. After calibration it is very good. Around your price range also.

Not as CG eizo range but I think it is good enough. I dont worry when I work with it at least

The 2490 would be less and in this instance preferable.

The 2490 - for some mysterious reason - is unavailable in Europe.

The NEC LCD2470WNX (24") is sold for 629,00 € at TFTshop.net in Germany. Using the north american version of the Spectraview software you will get a very good calibration.

For other monitors you can browse the website www.prad.de for reviews etc., here is a link: http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/kaufberatung/grafik20.html

2470WNX is not supported by Spectraview II. It's a simple 8 bit LUT panel for office work, without the possibility of hardware calibration.

Guys, thank you for your suggestions, but I'm playing in the 400 euro league at the moment...

is a Dell 2208 worth the money?

In ~400 euro league I'd recommend two panels:

Nec 1990SX - with 12 bit programmable LUT, possibility of precise hardware calibration, electronic brightness uniformity compensation, and all controls you'll ever need.
In comparison to 1990SXi it has PVA - not S-IPS panel, and lacks colorcomp (but to be honest, personally I didn't like "colorcomp" and switched it to "uniformity" in my 2190UXi)
This is definetly the cheapest panel on the market with such advanced controls.

If you prefer something less profesional, but a little bigger - take Eizo S2231. It's a 10 bit LUT panel, with increased gamut - it doesn't have so many sophisticated controls like x90 series Nec, but may be good enough, and pretty solid.

Thanks for the advice, exactly what I was hoping for.

Would you have some advice on a second scrren for tools, pallets, etc. Not too different from the color calibrated main screen....? Or will any do?

I had been waiting for the NEC 2690 WUXI but bought the DELL 2408 and am really happy.

If you really want a panel, that will be "not too different", buy two same panels. What is most important - panels should be the same height and vertical resolution. Personally I'm using 2x21" - Nec 2190UXi as a main screen, and Samsung 214T as a tools screen. For me it works pretty well, but to be honest - I'd be happier having 2xNec 2190UXi.

If you'll take Nec 1990SX - Nec 1970NXp (MVA matrix) should serve good enough as a tool panel, but controls in inexpansive, office LCD panels are always very limited, so there's no chance to get the same look.

It's even worse with the Eizo S2231 - there's no 19" S-PVA wide gamut panels on the market, so anything else will really look different. Of course - if you can live with some differencies, Eizo S1921 or Nec 1970NXp should be ok as a tool panel.

If you want to go shopping for Nec, the american Spectraview v 1.0.42 to calibrate the monitor via LUT tables supports these monitors:

LCD1980SXi – 19” LCD monitor
LCD1980FXi – 19” LCD monitor
LCD1990SX – 19” LCD monitor
LCD1990SXi – 19” LCD monitor
LCD1990SXp – 19” LCD monitor
LCD2090UXi – 20” LCD monitor
LCD2180UX – 21” LCD monitor
LCD2190UXi – 21” LCD monitor
LCD2190UXp – 21” LCD monitor

supported color sensors:
GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display V1
X-Rite/GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display V2
X-Rite/GretagMacbeth Eye-One Monitor Eye-One Pro
GretagMacbeth Spectrolino
ColorVision/Datacolor Spyder 2
Datacolor Spyder 3

1980FXi and 2180UX are dicontinued, 1990SXi is no longer available, while 1990SXp was never available in Europe. 2090UXi and the rest are much more expansive.