I'm looking to get a large monitor to use as a second monitor for coding projects. After doing some research, I've been blown away by how 23"+ monitors have come down in price. Ideally, the monitor should be large, responsive, and sharp, and something that doesn't need a dual-head video card to drive it. It should be reliable and have a decent warranty, so I'm leaning towards name brands, but I'm willing to get something else if it is really great or promised a significantly improved value. I'll be plugging in laptops and/or a 24" iMac into it.<p>What is your recommendation for an excellent sub-$400 monitor primarily used for coding?
I like using a 30" plus a rotated 22" screen.<p><a href="http://blog.domaintools.com/2007/12/quad-monitors-117-million-pixels/" rel="nofollow">http://blog.domaintools.com/2007/12/quad-monitors-117-millio...</a>
For $400 you could get about 8 of these 19-inch Sun CRTs I'm using. I know LCD is all the rage but if you have the desk space, these Trinitron screens are really sharp and have excellent picture quality. Max resolution is 1600x1200, so it's not a 200:5 aspect ratio or whatever the kewl kidz are using these days. I wish I had a second one instead of the crappy Viewsonic LCD I have as my secondary monitor.
Dell's 24" 2408WFP can usually be found either new on eBay or refurbished through the Dell outlet for < $400. It's got a great VA panel, I have two at work and bought my own for home. It also has a million different inputs (HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.) and support for SDHC, which the predecessor (2407WFP) did not.
In case my other comment gets buried, there are many panel types. I'd suggest an IPS type panel from the following list for coding or graphics work.<p><a href="http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php</a>
I'm pretty in love with my Gateway FHD2401 24" laptop. It's 1920x1200, and so bright I don't bother with the screen on my MBP anymore. It's specs came in comparable with >$500 monitors, and it had quite a number of good marks in the various sites that reviewed it. I think I paid $360 with shipping.