Are there any good LCD monitors for serious gaming?

by szeigler Jun 16, 2005 10:44PM PDT

My 19" flatscreen CRT monitor finally went belly-up. I really am into first shooter gaming/internet gaming, and have to use an old 14" CRT at the moment. I'd like to move up to an LCD monitor (19"-21"), but have reservations because of the ghosting issue, refresh, etc. associated with gaming. I've read a lot of reviews by various manufacturers and user reviews. I've come away totally confused! Anyone have any recommendations for LCDs or should I just buy another CRT?

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Are there any good LCD monitors

by jcrobso Jun 17, 2005 6:48AM PDT

Well LCDs are getting better all the time. For gaming the responce time is the BIG thing, or ghosting as it is called. It seems that under 16ms is the goal to hit. There are people on both sides of this issue.
Can you go to a store to some eyes on experence to help you decide??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=1056%3A9098&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=1067%3A9193&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=20&Submit=Property
Here are some 8ms units at newegg.com

If you can't find one that will work for you then get good CRT. John

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LCD is not for Gaming

by Falcon978 Jun 17, 2005 1:23PM PDT

An LCD monitor is nice to look at, and saves a ton of space, but they are currently not designed for the gamer. It comes down to basic function. A good CRT has the ability to refresh the screen at up to 160HZ, while even the best LCD can only refresh at 85HZ. What that means, is that the variable "blinking" of the screen, which you cannot see with your naked eye, but your brain can and may cause you to become more tired using an LCD over long term (Gaming) use. Have you ever watched CNN and seen a monitor in the backround that looked like it was "Flickering"?

The price is another major drawback. The best LCD displays could run you almost $800, and that is only for a 19" display. My advice if you are a gamer is to stay with a CRT monitor. I have owned a Samsung SyncMaster 900NF for over four years, and enjoy it very much. My job recently went to LCD displays, and I refused the upgrade, solely because my job requires long hours of staring into a screen, and I wanted a decent refresh rate.

Whatever you decide, I hope what I have said helps!

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Re: LCD is not for gaming

by szeigler Jun 17, 2005 3:29PM PDT

Thanks for all the info. I kinda thought CRT was going to be where I stayed. Wish they could make them with a smaller footprint, but....

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Doesn't apply

by John46947 Jun 19, 2005 3:48AM PDT

That flickering you see is called vertical blanking. A CRT draws from left to right and top to bottom. In other words the electron gun starts in the upper left and draws the image to the right then moves down a line. This is repeated until the gun reaches the lower right corner of the screen. When the gun resets to the upper left again there is a period known as vertical blanking. At lower refresh rates this period takes longer and thus can be seen under the right conditions. The best way to see it is to set your monitor to 60Hz and place an electric fan directly in front of it so that you view the screen through the fan. Fans plugged into the American and Canadian power grid will be running at 60 Hz.

There is no way to view vertical blanking on an LCD because it does not work in the same fashion. An LCD panel is a Liquid Crystal Display with a backlight. Each pixel is either on or off. The time it takes a pixel to turn off and then back on again is called the response time. If an image is trying to draw faster than a pixel can turn off and back on again you will see artifacts.

Since this all depends on the response time instead of the refresh rate we are actually comparing apples to oranges. You cannot judge an LCD by refresh rates because it simply doesn't apply.

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Just my two cents

by John46947 Jun 19, 2005 3:33AM PDT

I am a clan member in UT2k4 so I use my LCD pretty extensively to play games. My monitor is a 17" LG Flatron L1720P with a 16 ms response time. I know there are better response times out there now but I haven't had any of the issues you mention with my LCD. It has performed perfectly for well over a year.

The two most important things to look for in my opinion are response time and brightness. Just remember that the lower the response time the faster the screen can draw an image and then redraw an image. Also the brightness level will diminish as the years tic by so starting out as high as possible is important.

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CRT Losing Ground

by John46947 Jun 19, 2005 5:09AM PDT

I might also point out that CRT Tube manufacturers are going out of business left and right. RCA pulled it's tube manufacturing process here in Indiana last year and others are following suit. I'd say that's a pretty strong indication of where the market is heading. You can still buy a decent CRT but in time they will be hard to come by. For now the prices are low while stocks are being cleared out so now is in fact a good time to consider buying one cheap. In time though demand will outstrip production and the price for CRT will climb. At that point only the hard core CRT fans will be shelling out the cash for the antique technology. If you don't believe me just ask hard core audiophiles how much their new tube amps cost.

Are there any good LCD monitors for serious gaming?

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