New Monitor

[Duncan_Mon]

Rite, i currently have a 4 year old17" (16" veiwable) CTX Monitor and i have no complaints about it what-so-ever. Thing is, its getting old now. Think its time for me to dive into a TFT/LCD monitor.

I play lots of games (basicly all the pc is used for), and i have no idea what to take into consideration when buying a monitor, and ive read that tft/lcd screens are bad for gaming because of ghosting.

Looking for some people to explain what i need to look for for a gaming monitor.
Also looking to know roughly how much id need to spend to get a 17" tft/lcd that wont perform worse than my current . High resolutions aint really a must, as im fine with my current 1024 by 768 screen.

[t_aitch]

If your worrying about ghosting then dont be, i was too but i cant notive anything. To be sure though you need to look for a monitor that has 12ms or less, youll even be able to find a 17" panel with an 8ms. The lower this number the better when it comes to ghosting.

Also looking at your graphics card youve got a DVI output on it, this means that you need to look for a monitor with a DVI input.

17" flat panel monitors support 1280x1024 (i think) so will be good for gaming.

As always though the amount of budget available will provide you with a better screen, i used to have a 17" hitachi and it was a great screen but there are many more better screens available now for was less than 200 notes.

AG Neuvo make good 17" screens apparently, and so are Viewsonics.

[Duncan_Mon]

If your worrying about ghosting then dont be, i was too but i cant notive anything. To be sure though you need to look for a monitor that has 12ms or less, youll even be able to find a 17" panel with an 8ms. The lower this number the better when it comes to ghosting.

Also looking at your graphics card youve got a DVI output on it, this means that you need to look for a monitor with a DVI input.

17" flat panel monitors support 1280x1024 (i think) so will be good for gaming.

As always though the amount of budget available will provide you with a better screen, i used to have a 17" hitachi and it was a great screen but there are many more better screens available now for was less than 200 notes.

AG Neuvo make good 17" screens apparently, and so are Viewsonics.

Thanks, my GPU has 2 diff oututs on the back and i have an adapter anyway.
Thansk for saying about the ghosting thing, from what ive read, it was supposed to be terrible on all £300< monitors!

[t_aitch]

I wouldnt say that, my friends got a sammy 17" screen and theres no ghosting on it.

I think you might notice a little but only if you look really (and i mean really) close at it.

[Syd]

I have been doing a lot of research on the CRT to LCD upgrade over the past 2 - 3 months and still havent taken the plunge, but from what I have discovered so far your choice is going to depend on a couple of key points.

1. What is your Budget
2. What type of gaming is your poison, FPS, MMORPG Etc?
3. Do you intend to watch movies?

These points will decide pretty much which screen is right for you.

[kalniel]

Looking for some people to explain what i need to look for for a gaming monitor.
Also looking to know roughly how much id need to spend to get a 17" tft/lcd that wont perform worse than my current . High resolutions aint really a must, as im fine with my current 1024 by 768 screen.

I hate to say it, but good luck finding a TFT that doesn't perform worse than a CRT. Depends on your conditions of use etc. but while I've seen TFT's that *almost* match the quality of a working CRT in the right conditions (not too light room, no reflections etc.), I've yet to see one that has exactly as good colour, contrast, speed, brightness and natural blacks as a CRT.

Speed *probably* isn't an issue these days, if you get the fastest of the fast, but the other factors still bother me. I don't have much experience of TFTs though, we use dell high quality ones at work and they dissapoint me (so much that we still keep an old CRT for my visual/graphical work).

[schmunk]

I upgraded from a 17" Belinea (16x12 capable) to a 19" AG Neovo F419.

The new monitor is SOOOOO much better.

[Duncan_Mon]

I hate to say it, but good luck finding a TFT that doesn't perform worse than a CRT. Depends on your conditions of use etc. but while I've seen TFT's that *almost* match the quality of a working CRT in the right conditions (not too light room, no reflections etc.), I've yet to see one that has exactly as good colour, contrast, speed, brightness and natural blacks as a CRT.

Speed *probably* isn't an issue these days, if you get the fastest of the fast, but the other factors still bother me. I don't have much experience of TFTs though, we use dell high quality ones at work and they dissapoint me (so much that we still keep an old CRT for my visual/graphical work).

Looks like a 2" upgrade to 19" on a new CRT is for me.

EDIT:
Any1 know what i should be looking for in a CRT monitor?

[schmunk]

I've yet to see... a TFT ...that has exactly as good colour, contrast, speed, brightness and natural blacks as a CRT.

Look at my avatar. My monitor has a black surround and it is the same colour (if not slightly lighter-looking) than the patch of black on-screen. That's because I've turned the brightness down from the stock superbright settings.

[kalniel]

Look at my avatar. My monitor has a black surround and it is the same colour (if not slightly lighter-looking) than the patch of black on-screen. That's because I've turned the brightness down from the stock superbright settings.

My laptop produces jet black backgrounds too - when it turns the screen off Most LCDs *can* produce a good black.. but not at the same time as producing a good white so you can see clearly in a bright room.

And the bright room thing is a killer. We have nice dell FP LCDs at work but they're really hard to use when the suns out, even with blinds down.

And then there's the limited flexibilty regarding resolutions..

EDIT:
Any1 know what i should be looking for in a CRT monitor?

Look for something like a diamondtron tube, if you want a flat front screen. Ilyama make good screens. Look for high top resolutions (at least 1600x1200), good refresh rates and small dot pitch. Also check for energy star or other power saving measures if you're planet friendly.

Sadly the market for CRTs dried up recently so retailers don't offer the quality and range that they used to.

This one looks a good bargain though:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=168321

And even better outside of scan:
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...d=206&rstrat=0

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...d=206&rstrat=0

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...d=206&rstrat=0