Curse

Minus Sign · Sep 13, 2006, 11:53 AM // 11:53

I'm in the market for a new monitor and would really love to upgrade from CRT.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on what models/specifications I should focus on for LCDs.

The LCD monitor will be my primary monitor for games, videos and work running dual screen with the CRT I have now when I need to. I'm looking for a 17-19 inch, nothing too special (or expensive $200+ range near abouts) but capable of playing games and movies without the "shadowing" effect that has kept me CRT lo these many years. Since Guild Wars is my game of choice atm, I'd like to know what the tech gurus are using, what they reccomend among newer models.

Thanks for the info in advnace.

Hockster · Sep 13, 2006, 01:13 PM // 13:13

I run two of these:
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/de...xseries/vx922/

Awesome monitors, 2MS response time, no ghosting, no pixelation, and not overly bright like many LCD's are.

One Swordsman · Sep 13, 2006, 01:18 PM // 13:18

Well when buying a monitor, make sure you get one with a response-time below 10ms, this will ensure you wont get any noticable ghosting.

gabrial heart · Sep 13, 2006, 03:04 PM // 15:04

I'm going to try not to get to crazy with specs, but lcd's come in a variety of flavors, some that can heavily influnce your decision, since afterall your going to be starring at it for awhile

A couple things you should be looking for above the response times (14ms is actually really a VERY good response time in some cases) are, viewing angle, native (or optimal resolution), brightness, contrast ratio and screen treatment. Realizing that each manufacture judges this stuff a little differently, like a 2ms gray to gray is around a 16ms response across the spectrum 2msx8 (or around 5ms average across all resolutions and bit depths). Anyway, a top of the line 19" model looks like this.

Optimal Resolution: Widescreens 1680x1050 Standard squares 1280x1024
--- Standard for widescreens are 1440x900 and standard squares are 1280x1024, but there are a few out there that sport only 1024x768 as maximum res, which is really something you'll need to be aware of. Going under the HDTV standard of 1280x1024 is very bad indeed.

Viewing angle: 170º both vert and horiz
---- This is a KEY issue with many lcd's in the lower price range some are so low that just slightly moving your view will drastically change color and contrast to almost unviewable levels. Anything below 150h x 130v isn't to hot.

Brightness: 300 cd/m2 (Candelas per meter squared)
---- Anything around 260-280 is pretty decent, mostly if your under that your going to be running your monitor at full brightness and still which it would go up more.

Contrast Ratio: 700:1
---- Personally I wouldn't EVER concider anything under 650. Contrast is a major issue when playing games and at low contrast levels depth and detail suffer greatly.

Screen Treatment: Antiglare hardcoat or antiglare highgloss
--- It's a tough call here, but antiglare option is a must, since you have a crt now you know that glare can be a nuisance. A few out there also that use a texture type of antiglare, where the screen is sort of grainy to the touch, which makes for cleaning and long time viewing pretty tough to deal with. There are some really nice high-gloss mointors on the market right now and the view is probably the best I've ever seen in any monitor to date.

Bottom line, i think widescreens are the way to go in either 17 or 19 inches at 1440x900 will give you a really new and quite comfortable gaming experience.

A viewsonic 19" square
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824116353

Newer on the market but making waves and might be worth looking into.. 19"Widescreen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254008

Mushroom · Sep 13, 2006, 03:12 PM // 15:12

Here is one major consideration you should do before buying any monitor, CRT or LCD:

See it in operation.

This is more critical with LCD then CRT monitors. One thing that the stats will never tell you is how clear the picture is, and how good the backlighting is.

I have seen LCDs that claim to have great stats, yet the backlighting is so bright that it "washes out" the picture. Or that the pixel size looks good on paper, yet the images for some reason have a "blur" around them.

In the last 4 years, we have often sold only 1 model of a monitor, and once we sold the one floor model we never re-ordered another one. And it has nothing to do woth the manufacturer. AOpen is the brand we use most, but even some of their models have not met our standards.

And once again, for this reason I suggest looking at buying local. This way you can "test drive" it first, to see if it looks the way you expect. And if you are dissatisfied with how it looks, you can simply take it back. If you order one from an on-line seller, then you are often stuck with it. The cost and hastle of sending it back is often not worth it.

gabrial heart · Sep 13, 2006, 03:23 PM // 15:23

Very good advice mushroom. I guess i just take for granted that i have a fry's and compusa right around the corner to test drive these before i buy em. 2 things I never buy online without a test drive is anyting with sound or video. Even with top ratings on new egg, you can get stuck with a lemon.

SaucE · Sep 13, 2006, 03:32 PM // 15:32

or LCD's go with a brand you are familar with. Things to look for are High Contrast Ratio and Low Response Time.

Minus Sign · Sep 13, 2006, 10:47 PM // 22:47

Thank you for your input. I have seen a model similar to the Hanns-G at a local retail store recently. I'll look into finding an eqivalent to that or the ViewSonic shown, and be sure to ask about antiglare highgloss and check the other specs offered in this post. Not sure I can afford a 19" w/ 2MS from retail, but since the concencious (between what I've read here and what others have told me in the past) seems to agree that below 10 is okay, I may skimp there and go 8 to 5.

Thanks for the information. I hope this will better help me make an informed decision upon purchase.