Advice needed for buying computer monitor/keyboard/tablet

[Salguod]

Some background
My Lenovo Y410P's bottom case began popping out recently (due to a seemingly common problem in the build quality) and is now cracked near the charger port, such that I cannot open the lid beyond ~50 degrees nor bring it anywhere anymore. I am two months out of warranty and found the estimate for repair to be at least $269, after talking to a Lenovo rep. That is assuming that the only part I needed is the base cover.

I've lost faith in Lenovo after the shaky quality and the rep's insistence that it was the user's fault, so I'm reluctant to spend more money on this computer. That said, the software still works fine as long as I don't open the lid up too much, so I was thinking of hooking the laptop up to a monitor for home use and eventual transition to a desktop, then getting a tablet for when I need to study outside the house. To avoid another disappointment, I was hoping you guys can give me some advice or your thoughts on what I should purchase.

Computer Monitor
For the monitor, I am hoping to continue to use it after my laptop eventually dies, so durability is a huge factor for me. Price is also key since I am a cheap college student. I've looked around and here are a few that I've stumbled upon: BenQ GL GL2460HM, Acer H236HL, and ASUS VE247H

1) Monitor buying guides recommend buying 24 inches at least, is that the new standard?
2) Is there any merit to the BenQ claims, like the kindle like "paper" reading? I do need to read a lot, so those kinda things would be helpful if it's true.
3) I'm leaning towards the Asus because that's what my friend has, and some experience with the product is better than none, but what do you guys think?

Keyboard
I do play dota, so I would like a decent keyboard with enough keys. My standards aren't super high though, as I've been using laptop keyboards. Ideally, I would be able to use it for both the laptop and the tablet and it would cost less than $30. First, I looked for a bluetooth keyboard, but the choices seem slim. One caught my eye but it seems rather small. Then there's this usb wireless one. I am not a fan of the flat top style of the keys but they seem to the most common ones around. Suggestions are welcome!

Tablet
I haven't looked too much into this yet since it's not as urgent but ideally, I would want something that I can easily read on (PDFs), can use office (preferably comes with), and windows 8? Sounds pretty basic but I don't know much about the capability of tablets, especially lower end ones. Price wise would prefer <$170? Many seem to be at $169 from what I saw.

Summary
Need new monitor, keyboard, tablet. Budget is <$150, <$30, <$170 unless there's a good reason to pay more. Please give me some advice and suggestions. Thanks!

[SaptaZapta]

From my recent experience monitor-shopping, it's not so much that 24" is the new standard, as much as it's Full HD (1920x1080) being the new standard, and trying to cram that into a smaller area results in tiny pixels.
That's good for graphics (including movies and games) but not so good for text-oriented work. You end up increasing the font size so you can read without eyestrain, effectively having less content on the screen than the resolution implies you could. (You should always use the monitor at its native resolution).
I ended up getting a Dell P2314H and I like it, but reviews I see on the web indicate that some of them have a reversed subpixel layout which results in blurry text, so I wouldn't recommend getting it sight-unseen. It's also a bit above your budget. I don't know the models you were looking at.

For keyboards, is there any special reason you want it wireless? If you're going with a "desktop" configuration, with your monitor planted on a desk and the computer within cable distance of it, then the cable of a keyboard on that desk would also reach the computer easily. Cabled keyboards are much cheaper and also more reliable than wireless, and you have more selection of whatever style of keys you prefer. Just go into your local store and see which one your fingers like the most.

About tablets I know nothing.

[Salguod]

Thanks for the info on your monitor buying experience.

You make a good point about the wired keyboard too. I guess I was thinking wireless for compatibility with the potential tablet for note taking ability, but the price and variety of the wired keyboard are attractive.

[Dudewitbow]

Asuming the benq monitor is a standard tn panel, it's claims are kinda of because tablets and phones tend to use other panel types like ips or amoled where tv panels and monitors(cheap or gamer ones) tend to be tn. As for monitor size, it depends. I personally prefer high ppi. But monitor uses depend on person. Eg a multitasker likes multi monitor or 21:9 setups. Readers prefer 16:10 setups. Standard media is 16:9( e.g 1080p)

[dark nova]

Windows 8 tablets are pretty expensive from what I recall. Windows RT isn't quite a good substitute, because even though it's Windows, you are limited to software in Windows Store, a relatively sparse one that I've seen. I just checked the store's contents and saw a bunch of knockoff apps listed on the front page. Nonetheless, I did a quick search on Amazon for Windows tablets based on Windows 8, and saw that the top result (and the cheapest) is the Dell Venue 8 Pro, going for about $200. I've heard that Dell tablets, both Android and Windows, have been OK and reasonably good for their prices, but this tablet in particular only sports a 32 GB SSD. I think Windows 8.1 takes 12 GB or more on its own, so you're left with <20 GB for any data or programs. That's still plenty for your purposes.

As for cheaper alternatives, the equivalent Dell tablet for Android is $165. It starts with 4.2 Jelly Bean but has an OTA available for 4.4 Kitkat. Likewise, the Acer Iconia A1-830 with a similar price also starts with 4.2 and has an OTA for 4.4. I realize Android is not Windows; still, I think it's a great alternative for the price. Google has several Drive apps like Docs that boast compatibility with MS Word. Not sure about that entirely, but that's definitely usable.