LCD upgrade

ReadyMan · Post by **ReadyMan** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:24 pm

I'm moving to Hawaii and so rather than ship my two Sony 21\" CRT monitors, I'm thinking that I should just sell them and purchase an LCD monitor (in Hawaii) to replace them.

I used to keep up on the progress of LCDs, but lost interest when I got my 2nd 21\" monitor and began running them in dual mode. So I dont know much about LCDs atm.

Here's the pertinent information:

I want an LCD to game with, that doesnt have ghosting or blurring problems.

I'd like to stay under $500 or so.

If it's feasible, I might like to get a 2nd LCD to run in dual mode, because I cant imagine not having 2 monitors running side by side anymore...dunno if I can go back to just one (though money is always the final arbiter).

I saw this at Best Buy...Samsung 19\" 2ms response time, 700 to 1 contrast...here's a link on newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824001230

Is this LCD any good? Is it just low response time and contrast that makes it good?
What other LCD would you recommend?

thanks for any input!
RM

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 6:01 pm

I have a Samsung 204b 20\" LCD, it is the least expensive 20\" 1600x1200 LCD I could find, it comes with a 5 MS latency and reasonable contrast. Running it side by side with a CRT, the only thing the CRT really looks better at is showing an all black screen. LCDs just can't touch the pure black level of a CRT, other then that, any kind of picture or text and the LCD looks better and sharper. And my CRT is no pushover, its a NEC-Mitsubishi 930SB.

Granted, I use the CRT for gaming since I can see ghosting even in the best LCDs out there, it depends a long on your eyes if you can see the latency or not. But I would recommend getting a Samsung 204b if you are in the market for a LCD. The horizontal viewing angle is a little bit narrow so you will sometimes see the top of the screen is a slightly different shade of color then the bottom, but you get used to it and a full 1600x1200 resolution with all that space can make you forgive and forget a lot. And you really can not complain about it since it costs around $300-340 (I have seen it as low as $280). It really is worth every penny.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:30 pm

I have a Viewsonic VX2025W. It's 20.1 inches and it's great. Works in all the gmaes I have and it's native resolution is 1680x1050

ReadyMan · Post by **ReadyMan** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:36 am

It seems that one of the determining factors of an LCD is the native resolution....
Is there an optimal native resolution...best for games?
I currently run my games and my desktop at 1280 x 1024, on an X2 4400 with an nvidia 7800 GT copper video card (if that makes any difference)

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:26 am

LCDs all look bad unless you run them at exactly their native resolution.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 11:58 am

P4 2.4
1.5 gig ram
9800 pro ATI 128meg

I have games like D3, Diablo 2, BF 1942, UT 2004, Q4 and they all work fine. No hiccups.

ReadyMan · Post by **ReadyMan** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:37 pm

so what is the *best* (all around most usefull) native resolution?

fliptw · Post by **fliptw** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:53 pm

ReadyMan wrote:so what is the *best* (all around most usefull) native resolution?

pick a monitor you like, and stick with its native resolution.

let me rephrase something: native resolution to only resolution.

anything lower than that is scaled, either by the monitor or your video card.

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:06 am

The best is what your eyes can see. If you can read at 1600x1200, then that's the best resolution.

Viewsonic makes a 2ms response-time lcd. WarAdvocat has one, says it's the (J)bomb.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:24 am

My LCD is 8ms response and trust me, it's plenty fast enough for any game. And the native resolution (1680x1050) is easy on the eyes. You can always adjust the icon/text size if it's to small.