monitor recommendation for gamers?

[Raskolnikov]

What kind of monitor would you guys recommend for gamers ?

[arthur666]

The largest Trinitron you can afford (cash-wise and space-wise).

[TeenPcknowit]

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/de...cseries/g70fb/

Viewsonic makes good monitors. Really the only thing to shy away from if your a gamer is cheap LCD's, andything under 500 probably isn't what should be considering for gaming. Also if you do buy an LCD, make sure IT and you graphics card have DVI-I capability.

Here is a picture of DVI-I

[Prew]

I use a Sony Trinitron LCD with xbrite technology (17")- this has done more to increase the gaming experience than any other upgrade in the past 3 years- You have to see it to believe the difference it makes- colors are the best I've seen. (It's fairly expensive- around $400- but it does more to improve the visual quality than an upgrade in video card would.

[Jaggannath]

Hyundai L90D+ is very good... and a very fast response rate. Basically, you don't want anything that has a response time of more than say 16-18ms

[TeenPcknowit]

Originally Posted by Prew I use a Sony Trinitron LCD with xbrite technology (17")- this has done more to increase the gaming experience than any other upgrade in the past 3 years- You have to see it to believe the difference it makes- colors are the best I've seen. (It's fairly expensive- around $400- but it does more to improve the visual quality than an upgrade in video card would.

That actually seems cheap considering thats a 17" lcd and if it lives up to the quality you say it does; thats definetly a buy.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by TeenPcknowit [url]andything under 500 probably isn't what should be considering for gaming.

The Samsung 172X, last year's fashionable gaming monitor, is down to $360 ($200 after rebates). I wouldn't say that $500 is a magical price point anymore, with so many good LCDs dropping so much in price. Heck, you can get a 2001FP for $487!

[ScurrilousPrune]

Our CyberCafe uses Viewsonic G90FB 19"s right now, but we're looking at 21" options for the future.

[Prew]

Originally Posted by TeenPcknowit That actually seems cheap considering thats a 17" lcd and if it lives up to the quality you say it does; thats definetly a buy.

I should have added, Bestbuy plus rebates.

[fudtone]

I like my Viewsonic its awesome... Viewsonic customer support policys are the worst I have come accross...

[Tophinator]

Iv got a BenQ FP767 costs a lot less than $500 and is great for just about anything. I think you can get a desent monitor for gaming for around $300 these days. It all just depends on the quality you want.

[Tin]

Samsung 710N 17" LCD with 12ms....thats what i have. i got it for $200 too....great buy for the money.

[thefultonhow]

The 710N doesn't have DVI -- I would personally go for a monitor that does. The image quality is much better with it.

[Nuclear Krusader]

LCDs suck for gaming. Unless they have DVI and a response time of less than 8 ms (CRTs have 6 ms and even on some of them you can see ghosting) shun them like the Black Death. It also depends on what kind of games you are planning on playing. If you are gonna play RTSs maybe, just maybe, an LCD would be great (providing it has DVI and low response time), but if you are gonna play FPS and any kind of game that has fast moving images you're better off with a 19"+ CRT from a decent manufacturer, like Viewsonic, unless you wanna ruin your gaming experience with ghosting. Yes, they are massive, and not so sleek looking as their LCDs counterparts, but they are the best for gaming.

I would stay away from Trinitron tubes myself. Those two thin lines across the screen bother me big time. Some people don't mind them, though. Which brings us to the conclusion that the best monitor is the one that looks great to YOU. When it comes to monitors it's best to go to the store and try them yourself. What is glorious for my eyes can be vexing or mere OK to yours.

Avoid el cheapo monitors too. You get what you pay for.

I just got me a Viewsonic G90FB and love it!

Another word to the wise: larger screens will force you to position your eyes farther from the screen. Safe distance for a 17" is 1.5-2 feet. For a 19" it is 2.3-3 feet.

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader LCDs suck for gaming. Unless they have DVI and a response time of less than 8 ms (CRTs have 6 ms and even on some of them you can see ghosting) shun them like the Black Death. It also depends on what kind of games you are planning on playing. If you are gonna play RTSs maybe, just maybe, an LCD would be great (providing it has DVI and low response time), but if you are gonna play FPS and any kind of game that has fast moving images you're better off with a 19"+ CRT from a decent manufacturer, like Viewsonic, unless you wanna ruin your gaming experience with ghosting.

I disagree. I have the Dell 2001FP, which has a 16ms panel, and when playing Need For Speed Underground 2, I see maybe a bit of ghosting if I look very hard, but not that much, only at very high speeds, and it's not that noticable. As long as you get an LCD with 16ms or lower response time (and that's most LCDs on the market these days, even the cheap ones) and an S-IPS or TN panel (not MVA/PVA), ghosting is basically a non-issue, even in fast-moving games.

[Nuclear Krusader]

I am speaking out of experience. Then again, I have eagle eyes and can notice things normal people cannot. That's why I am suggesting to test the monitor first and then decide. You can't buy a monitor based on hearsay and online reviews and expect to be fully satisfied with your purchase.

[Jaggannath]

Test the monitor... but no offence to NK, I think he's wrong.
If a monitor works for you, and you can play a game happily, then buy it. I think saying LCDs are poor and CRT's are great is slightly one-eyed, I have a laptop LCD and it's brilliant for playing games. Just do what makes you happy

[thefultonhow]

I agree with Jag. LCDs can also be easier on the eyes than CRTs, because their picture is very crisp if run at their native resolution, and they don't flicker. In my mind, ghosting is a minor factor compared to those factors -- those factors are why I will never go back to using CRTs.

[mystvearn]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader I am speaking out of experience. Then again, I have eagle eyes and can notice things normal people cannot. That's why I am suggesting to test the monitor first and then decide. You can't buy a monitor based on hearsay and online reviews and expect to be fully satisfied with your purchase.

Yes, please test the monitors. You don't want 2 dead pixels when you open it, only to know that they do not accept warranty on dead pixels.
Gaming:
Samsung 172X
Samsung 173P-good for typing as well.

But Dell does provide cheap samsung LCDs.

[netnamakan]

raskolnikov you should have a look around the forum at some of the posts RJ has made, he's the lcd genius round here

I found this link in another post, got lots of great info


namakan

[Nuclear Krusader]

None taken, Jag. I don't get mad if I am told point-blank I am wrong and proven with facts that I am.

Dead pixels are another thing I would steer away from an LCD, I didn't mentioned it before because I thought that was a thing of the past with LCDs. There was a time when the manufacturers even adopted a standard, so to speak, of how many dead pixels were admisible, because the monitors always had some. But then again, I got a dead pixel with a Samsung flat CRT. Annoyed me big time, as I am very perfectionist and even small bad things vex me.

One last thing about LCDs, and some people mind it others don't. While testing LCDs in HAL's store, well former store, I noticed the viewing angle is still not 180º as in a CRT. Not only that, you have to look at the screen at the proper angle for the colours to be crisp and pretty. You move a little bit to the right, to the left, up, down, and the image gets darker. If you are able to keep your head all the time in the same position/spot or if you don't mind going from crispy-pretty to not-so-crispy-pretty all the time, go for it.

Buy whatever you like more. But test it first. Monitors are not like CPUs that you can buy based on reviews. They are like sound cards, you gotta buy whatever sounds or looks good to YOU.

Happy buying.

[Prew]

I have yet to see a CRT that matches the image quality of my Sony LCD with xbrite- and I have yet to see a ghost. Admittedly the LCD is more expensive than a same sized CRT but I was willing to pay the extra money because of the obvious improvement in image quality. The LCD is also much easier to take to a LAN party (it weighs maybe 3 or 4 pounds at the most). Nuclear is right on about the angle- you need to keep the image straight in front of you or the image colors quickly dull out.

[fudtone]

I'm currentley a LCD nay sayer because I like lots of options in resolution. I normaly run my monitors at 1600x1200 or 2048x1536... I like to have alot of things on the screen... I hate scroll bars. Also LCD's always seemed washed out to me... I like awesome color... weight and size are not an issue for me... Preformance and cost is.

[TeenPcknowit]

Originally Posted by fudtone I'm currentley a LCD nay sayer because I like lots of options in resolution. I normaly run my monitors at 1600x1200 or 2048x1536... I like to have alot of things on the screen... I hate scroll bars. Also LCD's always seemed washed out to me... I like awesome color... weight and size are not an issue for me... Preformance and cost is.

I agree with you completly. But one thing that gets tucked under the table is power consumption, most LCDs use half the power of a corrasponding CRT in size, features, ect...

[Nuclear Krusader]

50W is not that much.

[Prew]

Need to see the new generation of LCD's- especially those with xbrite technology. I know what you mean though, the two LCD's I have at my two offices would really stink at games- both in appearance and in performance- they don't even look that good with text- but my Sony is in a whole different class.

[Jaggannath]

I agree to a degree once again... a lot of LCD's do look washed out or blurry, if you don't set them at native resolution or if they're not good quality monitors. It's like anything in life, you get what you paid for. Buy a very good LCD, and you'll have a very good gaming experience.
I have both a good (but very old) LG 700s CRT on my desktop, and it plays games fine, no ghosting or blurriness etc. I have a UXGA screen on my laptop, it's prolly a shade better but nothing noticeable, I'd be happy to play on either.
Choose which one you want for practical reasons (ie. price vs portability and size), and then research it by going into stores and having a mess around with the options you've reviewed. (Then buy it online )

[randomprecision]

Originally Posted by Tin Samsung 710N 17" LCD with 12ms....thats what i have. i got it for $200 too....great buy for the money.

This is the same as I use and I don't care that it doesn't have DVI because I use it w/ a computer that has an FX 5200 and when I play CS:S on medium settings 1280X1024 there's no ghosting or anything. Great buy for the money.

[BluesNFunk]

I use a really old 19" 'GEM' I think it was probably made before there were monitor companies.... takes 2-3 minutes to turn it on, but 1600x1200 resolution and quality colors are worth it. Surplus from work (FREE!) Muahahahaha.

[David M]

Any monitor that will get you above 75Hz in 1600x1200 resolution. It may cost ya though.