Thinking about a new monitor...

[Sivak]

Well, I started a discussion about a mouse, how how about one for the monitor?

I currently have the one from my old Dell that's 15" CRT that's big and bulky. It supports a max resolution of 1280x1024. I've had it since the start of 2002, though it still works.

It seems the flat panels are the way to go these days. So any tips on a newer display? Any particular brands you care for? If you could list a brand and size and why you like it, that'd help.

[dirkduncan]

tip1: buy a 19" or a twenty inch, bigger and it get's too big for gaming. don't buy a widescreen if u are planning to play some older games, most of them will just be stretched, and that makes them lame.

for video editing and watching etc... use a 22" widescreen, they own.

tip 2: refresh rate and resolution are really important for a gamer.

tip 3: make sure it has a good feat. (personal experrience)

LCD/TFT is much better, it saves room, reaches higher resolutions and uses less power. make sure it has a good conector.

[Henrik]

Preferably get one that supports both DVI and analog output, then you're set for most situations.

I own 3 different models and here's the pro's and cons of each..

Samsung Syncmaster 940N - great picture, but seems jittery in some situations. Low response time (good). Can't adjust the screen height or tilt. 19". 1280x1024 annoyingly bright, had to crank it way down. no dead pixels. Has only VGA (analog) connector. Annoying. But very inexpensive.

Hyundai L90D+ same specs but higher response time. 8ms compared to 4 for the Samsung. Oddly however it feels better for gaming. Colors aren't as true, but it has better blacks. Came with a red pixel. Was very expensive, but I got money back for the dead pixel. Nice dealer. This was my first LCD, got it in '05. Has both outputs.

Acer 2216W 22" Widescreen, 4ms response time. 1680x1050. Great for movies, okay for UT but annoying to have to set the res through the console. the HUD appears much too large. No dead pixels. very short and poor stand, you pretty much have to sit it on a riser or a book to get it to feel right. Colors are good.. be careful if you're buying this for a laptop, make sure your laptop supports the res or you will have to bend over backwards to get native res (I had to write my own driver). Has both outputs.

[karmatized]

the biggest thing i can tell you for a computer monitor is the responce time Get a lcd monitor with no higher then 5 ms responce time.

[aLeX]

the most important thing about TFT/LCD monitors used for gaming is reaction time.
I have for example an ASUS MW221u with a delay of 2ms, it looks ok for me but i still see a big difference compared to CRT.

[UejYi]

Well, I purchased one after I did some research also. Flatscreens have a native resolution. I have read that if you deviate from that native resolution, things will be blurry. Also, the response time plays a factor. They say alot, but here is another: that 5ms and under is adequite response time for a game. also, the contrast ratio: the higher the contrast ratio the better.

and search engines are your friend, use them frequently. Search phrases:
"lcd monitor features"
"gaming with an lcd monitor"
"2ms lcd monitor with 1000:1 contrast ratio @ 1280x1028

so:

make sure you have a video card that can support your new monitor's native resolution within a game at decent quality.

find one that has a good "ms" response time

and the higher the contrast ratio, the better.


so they say...

[dirkduncan]

Well, I purchased one after I did some research also. Flatscreens have a native resolution. I have read that if you deviate from that native resolution, things will be blurry. Also, the response time plays a factor. They say alot, but here is another: that 5ms and under is adequite response time for a game. also, the contrast ratio: the higher the contrast ratio the better.

and search engines are your friend, use them frequently. Search phrases:
"lcd monitor features"
"gaming with an lcd monitor"
"2ms lcd monitor with 1000:1 contrast ratio @ 1280x1028

so:

make sure you have a video card that can support your new monitor's native resolution within a game at decent quality.

find one that has a good "ms" response time

and the higher the contrast ratio, the better.


so they say...

i totally agree with you, i have another important thing, collour, my whole point is, i have a black/silver PC, a black keyboard, a black mouse, black/silver speakers, black stereo.... but my moitor is just grey... nothing else. it screws up my rigs collours... and also, when it's dark, all blue neon, looks really cool, except on the monitor.

[Henrik]

the most important thing about TFT/LCD monitors used for gaming is reaction time.
I have for example an ASUS MW221u with a delay of 2ms, it looks ok for me but i still see a big difference compared to CRT.

Are you saying you notice 2ms? If so you're full of it.

[aLeX]

Are you saying you notice 2ms? If so you're full of it.

on this monitor, compared to an CRT i notice a big delay. i think it is because of the LCD display.. color seems to change slower as on TFT.

[Henrik]

Maybe so. Oddly, I notice less delay on my 8ms screen than on my 4ms screen. So I think there are more factors at work than just what response time it says on the box.

[[DR]Marine]

20" widescreen ftw. make sure to get a good contrast ratio too, I've got 1000:1 and i wouldnt get anything over 5ms response time.

[Defeat]

>Yeah, basically a low response time and a good contrast ratio and watch out for monitors people have complained about ghosting on. If your really really into gaming, then get a good CRT.

[M^vL]

Are you saying you notice 2ms? If so you're full of it.

People think they are noticing 2ms but they are more than likely noticing something called "input lag" which has nothing to do with response time. Input lag refers to the time it takes for the processor inside the monitor to display the image once the image has been sent from a vid card.

I replaced my dying Sony 21" CRT with a Dell 24" 2407WFP and then had to figure out why my scores were dropping dramatically. These big LCD's can have an input lag of up to 40ms. Some people really love this monitor but if you're picky, I would look for forums discussing "LCD input lag" and be very wary of what you buy.

Also, the severity of blurring is so much higher than CRT's for me. My eyes get fatigued from trying to focus on the extremely bright and crisp static images to the blurred motion images. http://members.***.net/martinfay/
This doesn't bother some folks but it just torches my eyes after about an hour.

The funny thing is, my daughters inexpensive little Envision 17" monitor works great for UT with none of the problems mentioned above.

[Sivak]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am not interested in widescreen. I think 17 inches will be adequate. I actually didn't know about the response time being an issue, though I haven't bought a monitor in 5 years, heh. Just need one that's black. I'm looking into some monitors currently.

[theeDEATHMASTER]

aww why no widescreen, you see more