I have bought a Korean 27" Crossover a month ago and I’m happy with it, it’s a lot better than my previous TN screen. The difference shows best when playing a game like Diablo 3 or the Witcher 2, the colours look way better than on my old screen.
The only downside is still having a 20" screen at work, the difference is huge, I can now clearly see that the white is more of a grey on that screen.
4:3 or bust, period. 
How much for 3 dual-link DVI adapters?
I’d get two of those monitors, don’t have the space for three.
I was reading Scott’s review and I had to chuckle when he recommended them, and the next thing he knew you were buying 3. Anyways I’m convinced, though that 6ms response time is considerably slower than my asus which gets 2. But that price is the deal maker.
The resolution seems massive, but that’s only because the screen is reasonably large. It works out to 108 DPI, barely more than the 96 DPI Windows assumes you’re using.
@DanM, the only 4:3 LCD panels being made are legacy. Stick with them if you prefer, but you won’t find them in IPS or large sizes.
@Mark Ransom, that was a response to Factor Mystic’s comment and was intended mostly in jest. That said, I do think 4:3 was a better fit for a lot of business and programming tasks than widescreen, especially if you only have one screen (like on a laptop).
the 3 monitors setup look great. What is the video card you are using to drive the 3 monitors? If you could give some more detail on how this set up work, a write up would be awesome. I’m looking to do the same.
vtp
I got a Dell u2410 monitor (24" 1920x1200 IPS) just this past spring, but returned it for various reasons (a bit bright, old TN monitors seemed to display dark color/detail better, went to gray when looking at it diagonally (better viewing angles my butt)).
Over the past month or 2, I’ve got 2 Acer B243PWL monitors (24" 1920x1200 IPS LED backlit). Much better and look great! Took my old monitors into work.
@DanM, sorry I jumped on you like that - I recently had an argument with someone on another forum on the subject. I would prefer the 4:3 format myself, but when the monitor makers price them the same as 16:10 or 16:9 monitors with similar vertical height and resolution you’d be a fool to throw away those extra “free” pixels.
@Deany Nasseri - IPS is slower redraw rate than a TN panel, that’s it’s only “pro” well that an price. But here’s some basic math for you…
1000ms / 6ms = ~166 updates a second
That’s a pretty good number to me, so as you can see, figures like 4,3,2 are just pointless marketing figures. My IPS is 16ms so that gets me
1000ms / 16ms = 62
Once you do the math, you realize that even 16 isn’t a high number
@DanM, It’s really not hard to create a 4:3 region in a 16:9 monitor, with a spare chunk of screen for something else, using something like GridMove: http://jgpaiva.dcmembers.com/gridmove.html
(My favorite template is axrusik’s, with most windows at positions 4 and 6.)
Fortunately, software developers are (finally) getting the idea to get rid of excess top and bottom chrome and either move information to the side or separate it into new windows - browser vendors pushing the hardest. With any luck, Office suites will move into the widescreen world in, oh, five years or so. Sigh.
My problem: If I buy a great screen for at home, I will be annoyed every single day at work when I have to deal with a shitty old low-res TN. My current monitor at home is a cheap BenQ, and still looks far better than my screen at work. I cannot imagine my boss actually offering to pay for the monitors, and I don’t want to buy half a dozen of the things out of my own pocket.
Yes yes Atwood, that’s all well and good but HOLY HELLS WHAT KIND OF GUITAR IS THAT?
Nice Rock Band guitar. I have the same one.
@Mark Ransom & @Silverback Networks, given that we’re now stuck with the 16:9 standard, I agree we should definitely make the best of it, but my point is that we could fit more total pixels on our desk (or lap in the case of laptops) if the standard for computer monitors were still 4:3. And Jeff would probably be able to fit three 27" monitors on his desk without the need for special arms and brackets. It’s basically the same reasoning that leads cities to build skyscrapers–there’s no room to add more buildings (monitors) so you make the buildings taller (4:3 monitors).
@DanM
Vertical mounts, portrait layout. If the web were designed for that, you’d see it a lot more often. Imagine that desk above with four vertical mounts.
Most TVs are IPS. I got some refurbished 32" visios for $200 apeice. They work great, bright and sharp.
So, I wasn’t aware that that ergotron setup could hold 3 27" LCD models. Some product customer reviews threw me off. Glad to see that.
Interesting article, as usual. One thing i noticed is you’re using a Razer keyboard. Do you use it only for gaming or for regular typing/programming too? I’m considering buying one myself, and i’d appreciate your feedback on it.