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LCD Monitor specs for Gaming


Crilix

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Bah, just when I thought I had my computer how I wanted it, my monitor goes on the fritz. It's shadowing pretty horribly, at 1600x1200 I have about three (consecutively fading) cursors within an inch on my screen. This is making graphic stuff really hard. The odd thing, is that when I get ingame in CoD2 and exit, it's all fine. If anyone knows how I can fix this, let me know. Otherwise...

 

Time for a new monitor! I'm gunna go LCD, but I have exactly no idea what I need to look for that'll produce good gaming results. I've played CS on an LCD a while back and it was kinda blurry and hard to concentrate on (Reffered to as ghosting?). There was a thread at some point that talked about this stuff, but I can't seem to find it. If I remember correctly, I need a low response time (4-6ms?) to make most games playable. If someone can let me know what I'll need and how much I'd be looking to spend it'd be appreciated. Thanks.

-Cril

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any LCD's currently advertising less than like 10 or 12ms response time is not advertising the TRUE response time. that low response time is referred to as 4ms (gtg) meaning Grey to Grey. Wherein their true response time is generally up around 10-12+.

 

With this I definately say you are goin to get what you pay for. Buy cheap, you'll get fucked. Buy Expensive, you'll be happy. I like Sony and NEC for monitors so Id suggest looking into those personally. You may not get the "Ideal" response time out of your monitor but if you are dead set to spending money on an lcd for both its sexyness and its clearing up of desk spaceness its worth it to spend the extra cash, get something of quality, and put up with as little "ghosting" as possible.

 

Ghosting just isnt the concentration or blurryness either.. or rather that is whats being interpreted. However the response time affects what you could call "monitor lag" its how quick it refreshs the colors in yoru screen and what not. So what is ACTUALLY happening is you could be shooting where no one is. It may show on your screen, but both the Server AND your computer see differently. Also prolonged gaming on an LCD has been known to be hard on the eyes and im sure worse than that.

 

However I personally would play on a good LCD. Infact I have done it and will do it in the future.

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Whatever you do, get a monitor with an advertised response time of no more than 8-10ms if you want to be 'sure' it's not going to ghost on you. I dont know which brands are better or worse for misguiding advertisement, but no doubt it goes on. My monitor at work is a dell 19" and the response time is.. 20ms, i think ? Maybe a little more. Anyways, it barely ghosts, but it does do it to a noticable degree - If you find somethign under 10, you'll be fine.

 

Graphically speaking, i bet any decent name LCD is goign to do fine with color reproduction, fine enough, anyways. I still dont think they're as good as CRTs, but thats me.

 

GL !

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One thing to keep in mind is that you need to run all your games you want to play at the native resolution of the monitor you get, and I concur with all that is said in the above posts, I got the 17" Sony with Xbrite technology and its wicked.

 

blue

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running native resolutions is critical. 17" and 19" run 1280x1024. 20" runs 1600x1200 I think. and the widescreen ones run all sorts of different resolutions. most new vid cards can handle 1280x1024 at max settings, but only a few can handle 1600x1200 at max settings these days( cough FEAR cough). so keep that in mind
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Thanks for the imput everyone, I really aprreciate it. When I go to look at LCDs, though, is there a way for me to judge it based on the provided specs, or is testing it the best option?

 

Or, more specifically, when looking at an LCD what am I looking for in the specifications? What are the categories that matter, what do they mean, and what values do I need for get good performance?

 

I suspect I will end up spending $400-$600 on an LCD. Is that even enough? I browsed a few online stores, and the majority of monitors are within that range. There are some above and below, but I don't want to spend to much/too little.

-Cril

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Hrm... I just found a 20" Samsung on sale at Ye Olde Futureshoppe for $100 off. It's $600 before tax and all that junk, which seems pretty cheap for a 20" LCD. It also says it has a 5ms response time... I'm really trying to find some reviews for it, but am having little luck... There are a few user submitted/casual reviews that are encouraging. I'd still like to see a review from a know hardware site with someone who knows what he's talking about. Opinions? 20" Samsung 204B

-Cril

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Actually, looks pretty good chris. The reviews are kinda funny, i suspect some of them are plants " great monitor! gushgushgush great monitor! " etc.. but anyways, given the feautres such as nice response time, good contrast ratio, resolution presets and the mgic swivel thing, on top of a 3 year warranty.. I'd say your money is safe..

 

Not to mention the fact that it's a twenny. GOOD call there, really. There aren't many places to go from there that wont cost you an arm and a leg, so this seems like a great buy. GL buddy !

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Well, it looks pretty good, I'm tempted. The thing is, what about dead pixels? How much of a problem are they? I haven't used an LCD with a dead pixel before, but I'd imagine they'd get quite annoying. The Samsung warranty states that a LCD with "less than 6 damaged pixels is considered regular". One would be annoying, but FIVE and it isn't even covered under warranty? That doesn't sit well with me. If I get it through Futureshop, I think I'd only have a 30-day return period. Bah. How common is this problem, is there a way to fix it, and what would it cost?

 

I know it doesn't have to do with that specific model, but just LCDs in general. I don't want to pay up $600 for an imperfect product that I can't get fixed or returned. If I can get one through Costco, than it won't be a problem due to their 'no questions asked' return policy. Otherwise... Do I shop around for a CRT?

-Cril

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