My friend convinced me into getting a 40inch 1080p TV instead of a 24inch mointor... im very scared as to what it will actualy look like when playing games and using photoshop... 

Of the actual 24 inch mointors that HP certainly reviewed the best and I saw nothing on the others which would sway me away other than price.

What are you upgrading from?  You can find 22-24" Dell and Samsung monitors on sale regularly for 150-200.  Both brands look very impressive and have a clean feel, and work fine for both my photoshop work and gaming.

I'd consider going with two of those long before I dropped $500 on such a high end model, unless you're doing very precise professional-end work.

Not upgrading, adding a second monitor, currently I have a Lenovo ThinkVision.  Which model Dell and Samsung do you refer to?  I'm not doing professional design work, but I would spend plenty of time in front of the monitor coding and doing other work.  So I'd also prefer a monitor that leaves my eyes feeling okay after long periods of time working or gaming in front of it.

I have always gone with Samsung. But I have always got my monitors with Newegg.com. Great Prices and deals! I have a 24inch SyncMaster T240HD (LCD). I can also use it as an HDTV! Which is fantastic with my 360 and PS3(HDMI and HDMI component)! You can probably get a newer model now though. I use to work at different retails and I know that Samsung is very reliable and yes online reviews too. I personally have had no problems with them what so ever. I have one 27'LCD, an older 21'(maybe 19') monitor and now a nice 24'. Maybe in 5+ years or so 30+ inch monitor... I can't wait!

The Dell ST2310 is what I have, and it was on sale for about $160 when I purchased it.  After tweaking the brightness down a bit, I find its a very comfortable size and viewing area.  I often have three plus hour gaming sessions on it without headache/eye strain issues.  I recommend watching slickdeals.net regardless, as monitors go on sale a lot.

Since a year I have a HP w2448hc 24'' 1920*1200 native resolution. It was 400€ expensive but in the end all of its money worth. Even if my eyes are just 20cm distant from the screen I still can't see single pixels.

The monitor has different modes, esp. the one for video (w/ dynamic contrast ratio on), photo (more "bright" pics and better colours), text (decreased brightness) are very fiting. They really make out a great difference.

Plus the monitor has an ambient light sensor and is able to adjust brightness automatically to its surroundings.

LED is the newest technology and I'd try to get one of those. A 24' one is pretty expensive but I think it's worth its price.

I have a =n HP L2445m 24" monitor, 1900x1200. I also have a 32" LCD 1080i/p  Television. The problem with using the televison is the resoluion is inferior to my monitor, it's like 1337 width only so images are not as crisp. What is the resolution of your 42 inch?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3326540&CatId=3774

This is the I-inc 28 inch monitor that I have.  Current retail is $319.99.  You can get 6-8% cashback through bing's shopping portal as well.  Note - this is a monitor and not a TV (eg there is no tuner).  I love this monitor.  No complaints.

Ye I almost bought that I-inc when it was on sale for $250!  Didnt have the money at the time, and after it went up in price I had my doubts about how long it will survive.  Got a 27 inch LG instead and works great, when i bought it it was $380.  LG works great and is also worth looking at; I-inc and hanns-g 28 models (they are basically the same) have a bit more real estate though 

Yeah.  i managed to get it at this price + some cashback as well.

how dare you to even think about cashback at that price...

btw this 40" TV works great. Little big for typeing this post maybe but I will get used to it.

Mainly its just amazing in games, Arma II is so nice.