Tech Blog

[#1]

We have been looking at a variety of ways to get your PC gaming rig ready for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. We’ve looked at mice, keyboards, even a selection of gaming PCs. Let's not neglect to look at the one thing you’ll spend all that game-time looking at; your PC monitor. You’re always looking at it. So much so that you can forget about it. Lets take a fresh look at some options you might want to consider upgrading to.

First up we have LG’s 23” Widescreen  LED monitor. It's got a native resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. As we all know, the more pixels you have the better everything looks. All those pixels support a five million to one contrast ratio and a 250 cd/m² brightness too so everything will be vibrant. Since it's an LED monitor you get great brightness and contrast but you’ll also use a lot less energy than you would with an LCD monitor, which is always a good thing. That also keeps this monitor nice and thin, at only 11.9mm. You can wall mount this with a slim VESA wall mount and it should look really good, taking up virtually no space. 

After that we have the Samsung 23” 3D LED monitor. If you really want a visual treat, this is one to behold. for starters, this one also has a 1920 by 1080 pixel resolution and 250 cd/m² brightness. It trumps the LG monitor’s 5ms response time with a blazingly fast 2ms response time. The best thing about this option is certainly Samsung’s 3D HyperReal Engine. It can even upconvert standard 2D content into 3D with adjustable depth. 3D gaming is going to be increasingly popular and makes for a wonderfully immersive experience. It's worth checking out at your local Future Shop if you haven’t already.

LG 23" Widescreen LED Monitor With 5ms Response Time (E2351VR) - Black

SKU: 10195815

High definition isn't just for movies and sports - it's for everything, and the LG E2351VR-BN LED monitor delivers. Using LED backlighting technology, this beautifully designed monitor produces an impressively-bright Full HD 1080p resolution while using a fraction of the energy of a typical LCD display of the same size. It's also equipped with HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub connectivity options.

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Samsung 23" 3D LED Monitor With 2ms Response Time (S23A700D)

SKU: 10193275

The Samsung S23A700D 3D LED monitor will change the way you look at entertainment. With 3D capabilities, a 120Hz frame refresh rate, and a Full HD 1080p resolution, you can enjoy the latest and greatest 3D HD digital content on your computer. It's also equipped with HDMI connectivity, 2D-to-3D conversion, and more.

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World Of Warcraft: Mists Of Pandaria Collector's Edition (PC/Mac)

SKU: 10207655

Warships of the Alliance and Horde clash off the coast of a lost continent, scattering shipwrecked survivors across the shores of an exotic new frontier.

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Check out other ways to get WoW ready:

• Getting WoW Ready: Gaming PC roundup
• Getting WoW Ready: Razer Naga Hex MMO gaming mouse
• Getting WoW Ready: The BlackWidow Ultimate gaming keyboard
• Getting WoW Ready: Logitech's G600 MMO gaming mouse
• Getting WoW Ready: The G35 Surround Sound Headset
• Getting WoW Ready: New PC monitors

[#2]

I'm one of those guys that doesn't like to game on a big TV - I like sitting closer to the action so that there is less opportunity for something to get in between me and the screen.  I've been using the Samsung PX2370 (an older LED monitor from a few years back) pretty much since it became available and it's been a tried and tested piece of technology that has kept up with all of my gaming to date (which is a lot - no kids and a wife who works shift work means I have a lot of time to myself to spend gaming ).  I also own a LG 23" LCD monitor from a couple of years before that - I use that exclusively with my PC.  It was my gaming monitor until I bought the Samsung.  It's also a tried and tested piece of tech that has kept up for all these years.  I know for a fact that in the future, if I ever decide I need an upgrade to a new monitor, it will be a tough battle between LG and Samsung.  Which brand I go with will depend on what's available at the time, but I can see even now that the choice hasn't been made any easier for anyone.

JB

[#3]

LOL yeah, the quality of both brands has really imrproved over the years. I think proprietery techs like 3D and multitouch will probably be a big distinguishing factor in the next few years.

[#4]

So does anyone know if Mists of Pandaria supports 3D ?  I see the talk of 3D monitors int he article but is that useful with the new WoW expansion ?  I hope it is able to be played in 3D.

[#5]

Thats the nice thing with 3D monitors like this: 3D upscaling is actually pretty good. I don't know how it knows what to do but i've seen it in action upscaling a few games. it worked well.