Hanns-G HG281DPB Monitor

Ask any gamer how big of monitor is the perfect monitor and you might just get a response of "the bigger the better". Today Benchmark Reviews takes a look at a LCD monitor aimed squarely at the "bigger is better" gaming crowd. The Hanns-G 28" LCD HG281DPB monitor seems to fit perfect with the typical gamer looking for the largest LCD screen they can get without breaking the bank. Featuring an Active Matrix TFT, 3ms response time, 1920x1200 resolution, and at a cost of under $600. On paper the specifications look great, but how would it actually perform in reality? I had to give it a shot.

The last Ten years have brought about some significant changes in the computer industry. Most are familiar with the term "Moore's Law" which states "the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit is increasing exponentially, doubling approximately every two years". (Intel was kind enough to change the two years to 18 months) Basically what this meant to the average consumer is that every two years your identical investment bought a computer that was twice as fast. Unfortunately, Moore's Law never applied to monitors. For years the typical desktop monitor was a small CRT screen inside a very large case. The screen may have been small, but the foot print and the electric bill was anything but small. The invention of the LCD computer monitor has changed the look of the standard workspace, and over the last few years, the competition in the LCD computer monitor market has become intense. The advances that LCD monitors have made over the last 5 years is amazing. They seem to be getting larger, faster and cheaper all at the same time. The typical LCD desktop monitor has jumped from 17" to 19" to 22" or even 24", and the prices keep falling. Currently there seems to be a rather large jump from 24" to 30" in both price and performance. This is where the Hanns-G 28" LCD Monitor comes in. Priced similar to the high end 24" monitors and carrying the same resolution it tries to fill a niche market of those that desire a larger monitor but lack the actual need for the ultra high resolutions or the bank roll to buy the 30" monitors.

The saying "you get what you pay for" is often the case. Sometimes this isn't such a bad thing as long as you know what you are getting and what you are not getting. If you are looking for a monitor to do your professional photo editing on, where displaying the perfect color is critical, you probably need to look elsewhere. But then again, if you are a professional photographer your lens most likely cost more than this monitor. If you are simply looking for the most desktop space to open multiple application windows, two cheap 24" LCD monitors might be a better fit. But if you are a gamer wanting to play on a "BIG" screen, (or for that matter simply need a bigger monitor to help you see small text) then this may just be the monitor you've been longing for.

About the company: Hanns-G

I wish I could provide you with an informative background of Hanns-G but honestly I don't know that much about the company. What I do know is that they are a branch of HannStar which is most known for the small LCD monitors made for children. If you have ever seen the little 9" LCD monitors that look like an apple or a football, most likely those are HannStar. The good news is that they seem to like to compete in the low cost sector of the market and with the current product being reviewed they really don't have much other competition at this price point. From the research I did, I can tell you it seems they favor the budget offering in all areas, warranty included. Don't expect to get a new replacement monitor just because you have a couple of stuck pixels.

Hanns-G Features & Specifications

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