LCD monitors for Games

[T3KT0N]

Lately more and more gamers are looking to get LCD monitors,and with so many competitively priced on the market,the choices become blurry.

Also with so many unknown or generically named manufacturers,one may miss the chance to get a good monitor due to lack of name recognition.

I've been looking into the subject even briefly tried some.and here is the info,regarding a good gamer's LCD.:

a)Refresh rate=If it is high enough there will be no ghosting during gameplay ,high is above 65 Mhz

b)Contrast ratio=It has to be above 400:1 to be visible with a bit of ambient light

c)Response=some of them are very slow almost like lag,it has to be TOTAL below 30 ms(they count separately the send/receive time in ms),beware when they advertise 16 ms,they mean send,you need to add the receive too.

d)Viewing angle=image visible,from a slight angle,the best offer 170 degrees which is almost like a curved tubes angle visibility,the closest to that the better.

e)dot pitch=needs to be below .30 to enjoy non pixielated graphics

f)The base's adaptability to tilt or move is crucial too since if it's rigid it will be very uncomfortable to look at.So look for tilt and up/down adjustments.
Some offer also rotation capabilities ,where you can rotate vertically the monitor on the stand.

g)Finally viewing area,see the tubes even if they say 19" for example it only allows 17.5" real viewing area which is close to the 17" in LCD.So LCD has and advantage there too,since a smaller size replaces the existing tube.
Usually 15"-17" monitors are more than good to play games and the price is really competitive vs tubes.Even 18"-19" are affordable,note that the viewing difference between 18 and 19 is negligible so if you find a good 18" go for it.

[And_so_it_goes]

<div class=\"smallfont\">\[']Lately more and more gamers are looking to get LCD monitors,and with so many competitively priced on the market,the choices become blurry.

Also with so many unknown or generically named manufacturers,one may miss the chance to get a good monitor due to lack of name recognition.

I've been looking into the subject even briefly tried some.and here is the info,regarding a good gamer's LCD.:

a)Refresh rate=If it is high enough there will be no ghosting during gameplay ,high is above 65 Mhz

b)Contrast ratio=It has to be above 400:1 to be visible with a bit of ambient light

c)Response=some of them are very slow almost like lag,it has to be TOTAL below 30 ms(they count separately the send/receive time in ms),beware when they advertise 16 ms,they mean send,you need to add the receive too.

d)Viewing angle=image visible,from a slight angle,the best offer 170 degrees which is almost like a curved tubes angle visibility,the closest to that the better.

e)dot pitch=needs to be below .30 to enjoy non pixielated graphics

f)The base's adaptability to tilt or move is crucial too since if it's rigid it will be very uncomfortable to look at.So look for tilt and up/down adjustments.
Some offer also rotation capabilities ,where you can rotate vertically the monitor on the stand.

g)Finally viewing area,see the tubes even if they say 19" for example it only allows 17.5" real viewing area which is close to the 17" in LCD.So LCD has and advantage there too,since a smaller size replaces the existing tube.
Usually 15"-17" monitors are more than good to play games and the price is really competitive vs tubes.Even 18"-19" are affordable,note that the viewing difference between 18 and 19 is negligible so if you find a good 18" go for it.</div>

in my experience, you will get much more for your money if you stick with crt monitors, especially for gaming. an lcd's 'high' refresh rate of 65 is not high at all. any decent crt monitor gives you at least 85 htz at 1200*1040. also a dot pitch of .30 is terrible. most reasonable crts are less than .25. lcds are priced high simple because they save space but the image quality-in all but the most expensive models-lacks.

[T3KT0N]

I hear you,and I see your point.

The specs I posted were the LOWEST acceptable specs,in order to run a game decently in a 1280x1024 res.
Most of the good and affordable LCDs have a 72 Mhz refresh rate and higher,and their dot pitch is about .25.

I agree that affordability is based on the buyer's intent and values.

But if today's gamers are willing to spend $200-300 for speakers,or $350-400 for a video card,a monitor's price can be similarly upped.

Yes tubes are cheap,even the big ones,yet my 19" is taking over so much space that it is ridiculous,it came with my PC (dell mon.model M991)and it's contrast ratio is so awful, that I can hardly see Mr.Crow before I die miserably in UT2k3 ;),regardless of my fx 5900.

Also,you need to try some of the newest LCDs and you'll realise that image quality in games and videos is good to excellent with prices ranging $350-450 for 15"-17",and $ 550-750 for the 18"-19".

Of course compared to the $150-350 tube price tag it seems expensive,yet for those looking to get a LCD this is not exorbitant.

[E.T.]

I've been shopping for some of the newer LCDs, as you noted in the $350-$450 range. Its hard to come to a conclusion in store on which brand has best image quality. The stores provide desktop images or screeen savers, but I've yet to find a store that'll let me "view" a game on one. Also the store lights effect what I see. I think I'll wait till I hear first hand from gamers what their experiences are w/LCD's.

[T3KT0N]

I'm expecting something by late next week.
You'll hear me crying or wooting,right away.

Meanwhile check:

www.tigerdirect.com,they have some very competitive prices within your range(for 17"),brand names and not,with some very impressive specs.

This CTX is nice too,note that not all CTX are for games ,you need the P series
http://www.ctxintl.com/products/lcd_pv740mdv.htm

The reason I did not buy from them was that I needed more contrast and some 4 USB2 ports on the 19" monitor (and spend $100 less,than the $770,they charge for the 19").

[T3KT0N]

E.T.
As promised,here it is:
I could not manage to have 2 LCDs at home to do a similar products comparison,so my basis of comparison in home was my "old" 19" tube,Dell M991,and the "new" LCD.
My vid-card is a GeForce fx 5900
Also my rudimentary performance test is based on a vigorous UT2k3 gaming!
Installation set-up,a breeze 1 minute flat.
I tried the monitor in Analog and Digital modes(Analog is a good feature for those who don't own vid-cards with DVI).
In Analog it took about 2 minutes to position reshape screen size,in Digital it was self detected perfectly.
These agjustments can be made via an OSD set of buttons and/or via your vid-cards function settings.
The monitor in Analog,runs at 1280x1024,up to 75 Hz refresh rate.
In Digital it presets to 60 Hz,I called my geek-guru savant, who clarified that refresh rate in Digital mode is NOT required to run higher than that,something to do with the digital signal output and all.
I did NOT experience ANY ghosting,or visual problems in ANY mode during my happy gaming experience.
But personally I liked the Digital mode better.
This monitor is so bright and clear(600:1 contrast) that even when my fluorescent desk lamp hits it straight-on AND the overhead INDIRECT halogens,light the room,it reads perfectly.
As promised,visual access is up to 170 degrees which means even looking at it from the side the image is readable.
It rotates vertically too if you feel the need to.
The provided excellent stand offers all kinds of height/tilt adjustments and it also has a nifty cable ring holder to keep the spaghetti in check.
It features an incorporated Usb2 hub w/1 upstream and 4 downstream slots.
It also uses an audio jack,and when paired with a thin (optional) 2 speaker stick,it provides a stereo (double jack hole)earphone plug.
As far as dot pitch it offers 0.29 dot and looks better pixel wise,inspite of all this brightness than what I had before.
I saw for the first time how many color graduations I wasn't seeing before, in the Windows desktop silver theme,and for the first time I could see the default UT2k3 skins,when hiding in shadows,far far away in the big maps,even the opening UT screen revealed to me variations of blue I did not know were there.The text letters are real black,I do not need to make the fonts bigger than default(I swear I thought that it was old age that made me augment the font size on the previous monitor).
Overall playing my beloveg game,looks so different,the colors are so vibrant ALMOST fluorescent!
To the extent that I may lower the contrast rate below the default.
My only gripe is that the monitor's USB2 plug doesn't like sharing the USB2 port on my PC,so it wants it all by itself,concequently,my Belkin USB hub is plugged on the USB 1 PC port.
The speaker stick is(optional $39) used for the earphones,and I configured the 2 incorporated speakers as center channel,in a 5.1 setting.
I use the SB Live card 5.1(nothing fancy)
The monitor is 19" bezel,about 2" thick
model
Dell Ultra Sharp 1901FP.
Price $611 tax & del included
There is an 18" offered for about $80 less
and a 17" for about $150 less (ballpark prices,may even be lower)
I would make no bones about returning it and admit to a wrong choice if it were the case.
Thankfully this is not the case,even compared to my daughter's NEC 19" tube(excellent tube monitor).
I included some pictures,the # 1 is taken with a tripod,while the other 2 are hand-held

[T3KT0N]

sorry this doesn't accept pictures it's ok.
;)

[E.T.]

<div class=\"smallfont\">E.T.
As promised,her it is:
I saw for the first time how many color graduations I wasn't seeing before.
Overall playing my beloveg game,looks so different,the colors are so vibrant ALMOST fluorescent!</div>

Wow, thats one ringing endorsement of LCDs as gaming monitor.

[1] Refresh rates, I have had my doubts about how critical the difference was, & if the digital values were equal to analog values.

[2] The lack of "ghosting", especially when monitor is illuminated w/outside light source is surprising/encouraging. This, more than anything else you've expressed, was unexpected.

[3] 170 degree view is more than adequate as I usually game straight on to monitor [its not often I game from side of screen]. I know in store demos in the past have offered less than 170* before ghosting, more like 140*.

[4] I'll check out this Dell model LCD, @ $611, this continues the tradition Dell seems to be establishing for low hardware prices.
It was'nt that long ago that a 19" monitor of this quality sold for $1000.
A monitor profile of 2" is unbeliveable, you gotta love the way electronic tech is advancining.

Thank you for spending the time relating this vaulable feedback T3KTON.

[I noticed your "handle" has changed, was it the interaction w/Review section that cause the ]\[ portion to be deleted?].
E.T.

[T3KT0N]

I could not post game reviews with the ]\[ at the end.
I'm not implying that all LCDs are good as you know,this particular one floats my boat.

Again I'm stressing the fact that my basis of comparison is my old 19" Dell M991 tube.
The final judge is your eyes.
Best of luck.

[E.T.]

<div class=\"smallfont\">I could not post game reviews with the ]\[ at the end.
I'm not implying that all LCDs are good as you know,this particular one floats my boat.

Again I'm stressing the fact that my basis of comparison is my old 19" Dell M991 tube.
The final judge is your eyes.
Best of luck.</div>

Did you have success posting your games then?

Re: LCD monitors, no problem, your opinion is appreciated.
[Responsibility for purchases lie w/consumer] ;)