I just bought some new hardware for my computer; I think I will leave the mobo + CPU + RAM upgrade until the weekend, but for now I have a new monitor to replace my old failing one. There are two niggles with it; the version I have has a base which cannot be pivoted or adjusted at all, which is a bit annoying since the default position of the monitor is leaning forward slightly. Not unusable, and I have mostly alleviated the problem by wedging some booklets under the front end of it in tandem with a book to raise it vertically, but it is an annoyance (the model has a string of characters, and there is another model with a single extra character which comes with a proper adjustable stand attachement, which I only discovered via reading the manual). I really feel this sort of issue should be highlighted on the website (I bought it from SCAN). It might be suitable for a lot of office environments (the more I think about it, along with the problem I mention below, I wonder if this was its target market), but not for most casual gamers.
EDIT: Just went back to the website and looked through the endless blurb. I had previously not paid much attention to the start of the Product Overview, which is a shame, because it makes it clear that this is aimed, at least to a strong degree, for office use. On the other hand, it also says: "Playing with friends? Use the integrated high-quality speakers". High-quality! And it says that I can "Tilt up to 20° up & 4° down". Having had a good look at the stand, there is no obvious pivoting section, and I am loath to apply too much pressure in case I break something. Confusing!
The other problem with this monitor is the sound from the speakers; it is very tinny. I suppose this is due to it being a fairly slim LCD screen, and not having much room to pack in good speakers, but I am disappointed. My previous monitor by the same manufacturer (new and old are both Iiyama Prolites but different models; I think I bought the old one about 10 years back) had decent sound quality, nothing special but perfectly satisfactory for me. I had not thought about how good the speakers of the new one would be, but I never imagined they could be this inadequate. Playing Rocket League and watching Youtube videos, there is a profound lack of bass, and I am having to turn the volume up considerably to hear much.
Something I am finding particularly confusing is that with my old monitor, I had to have an audio cable plugged in the computer and monitor- the manual for the new one instructs me to do the same (I used my old audio cable, there isn't one with the new monitor), but upon taking it out just now the audio stays on- so what is the point in the audio cable?!?!? And how is the monitor using my Nvidia sound device, as it says it is doing (think it is part of the GPU)? Presumably it is all transmitted through the Display Port cable, then? Which would explain the new monitor not coming with its own audio cable, but it doesn't explain why there is still a port to plug in such a cable, if it is superfluous. The new one is an Iiyama 22.5" XU2395WSU.
The long and the short of this post is: have I missed an easy step that is resulting in me having substandard sound, or is this the best I can hope for from this monitor's speakers? In which case, I should be getting a soundbar/speakers?
I can't complain too much; the monitor was rather cheap compared to what I was expecting (I haven't bought one for about a decade and had expected £200-£300), but I perhaps was too hasty in plumping for another monitor of the same brand, assuming I would end up with a similar experience to the one I had enjoyed with my old Iiyama. I took it for granted that, having speakers, it would be pleasant for gaming and general audio use, and that it would have