Does Higher Resolution Monitors really make that difference in games?

[UK-SQUADDIE]

I know this might sound like a really noob question but, oh well..........

My problem is this, i have read hundreds of post from people battling over CRT's VS TFT for gaming and im convinced that CRT may be better for gaming (although TFT are getting better and better with their responce times 2m) because of their supier resolution qualitys. I mean TFT cannot match what CRT can do, or can they in terms of resolutions?

This leads to my next question.......

Ok i have been thinking of getting this monitor..
http://www.alienware.com/GearShop_Pa...599&CatId=1008

Because obviouly alienware gives the best performace PC's then why wont they give the best monitor for gaming?. However its normal resolution is 1280 x 1024resolution? WILL THIS STILL BE IDLE FOR GAMING?!?!?!?
Thankyou.

[directhex]

1280x1024 is normal for a 19" lcd screen - but it's the same as on a 17" screen, so you gain 2" without any gained resolution. 19" lcds are unpopular for this reason.

a 20" dell tft will give a 1600x1200 resolution (or 1680x1050 for the widescreen version), which is far better from a resolution standpoint.

however, you need a better PC to adequately run at resolutions that high (or higher) by comparison.

[UK-SQUADDIE]

But does the higher resolution benefit you in terms of more visuals on the screen?

[Paranoid2000]

Because obviouly alienware gives the best performace PC's then why wont they give the best monitor for gaming?

Don't fall for the advertising hype - Alienware is far from the "best performance" though you do need to look at systems including advanced cooling options (e.g. liquid cooling and phase change) to get a significant performance increase. Check the PC-Pro A-List for better value mid-range/ultimate PCs.

The key factor for high-resolution gaming is the graphics card - 7600GT is midrange so should be a good pairing with 1280x1024 resolution though more advanced games will require you to drop the resolution (Oblivion will run at 1280x1024 with the 7600GT if you go easy on the graphics settings, see FiringSquad: 3D Performance with Oblivion: Part 2 Mainstream Cards).

[directhex]

But does the higher resolution benefit you in terms of more visuals on the screen?

sharpness. try setting your current screen desktop to 800x600, then back to its normal setting. consider the same in games (with "blockier" graphics)

[Nick F]

But does the higher resolution benefit you in terms of more visuals on the screen?

Higher the resolution, less blocks.

Simple

[Paranoid2000]

Higher the resolution, less blocks.

Shouldn't that be more blocks? (with less blockiness...)

[yamangman]

Also the whole 2 ms response time is rubbish. TFT's have been good for response time for ages. You won't notice ghosting on c16ms tft's. The problem lies in hues, colour range, viewable angle and backlighting.

[Nick F]

Shouldn't that be more blocks? (with less blockiness...)

Sorry, I did mean that there would be less blocks visable to the eye.

[Agent]

You won't notice ghosting on c16ms tft's.

Going to have to disagree with you strongly there.

Im yet to see ANY TFT that is playable for a fast game like UT2004.
Even the latest expensive Benq et all still have visable motion blur (often feels like mouse lag).
Were still a few years off a TFT being able to beat a CRT when it comes to gaming.

[directhex]

Going to have to disagree with you strongly there.

Im yet to see ANY TFT that is playable for a fast game like UT2004.
Even the latest expensive Benq et all still have visable motion blur (often feels like mouse lag).
Were still a few years off a TFT being able to beat a CRT when it comes to gaming.

the "motion blur" effect will never really disappear - that's as a consequence of how a moving image on a TFT is drawn. however, it's down to your own personal preferences as to how much this annoyes you - personally i'm happier with a TFT, and i got used to the way it draws an image a LONG time ago

[BEANFro Elite]

Well, its to my understanding that when they test TFT for the response time its usually from two enstablished and very different colours for example, black to white and white to black, green to red and so on.

This is where it gets messy as when it comes to games like Thief which are in dark places, where get shades of greys etc.

It might seem like the less the colour change the quicker it should respond, but thats not the case cos grey is a "middle colour" it takes ages to get to them in thefirst place and then change to another similar colour and as such response times can escalate upto 40ms.

However, this was shown to me about two years ago, it may not be THAT severe anymore, but I was merely enlightening and giving somemore food for thought

Anyway, apparently widescreen and higher resolutions give you an advantage in games, I can only see an advantage in something like the old isometric CIV games and in filght simmers like IL-2 and Lock On.

[yamangman]

Going to have to disagree with you strongly there.

Im yet to see ANY TFT that is playable for a fast game like UT2004.
Even the latest expensive Benq et all still have visable motion blur (often feels like mouse lag).
Were still a few years off a TFT being able to beat a CRT when it comes to gaming.

There is zero blurring on my 16ms AG Neovo. Maybe you've just been looking at the wrong monitors .

Take any TFT specs with a pinch of salt too. There is no standardised way of measuring any of the specifications.

[Agent]

There is zero blurring on my 16ms AG Neovo. Maybe you've just been looking at the wrong monitors .

Take any TFT specs with a pinch of salt too. There is no standardised way of measuring any of the specifications.

As Jo said, Its how much you can notice it, not a matter of it not being there.
Ghosting will always happen on a TFT due to the way it works - there is no such thing as 0 blurring

As for the wrong monitors - well id say that isnt really the case with the amount ive delt with
Largely its personal preference. Im sure that you probably cant notice the blur on your screen (or have gotten used to it and forgotten what a decent CRT looks like ) - but I can, and it drives me insane. So insane that i have a Dell 24" and a 21" CRT directly next to it so I can play games on it

BEANFro Elite provided a good insight on how response times work. The problem is, its fairly easy for all manufactures to stick to the same scheme of a certain colour to another, but most don’t, providing useless figures for things like "grey to grey"