46" samsung, keep or switch to smaller for future pc?

[Lumy]

I'll be building a new pc soon. Just wanted to know if my current hdtv would work well with my future pc which will be used for gaming/movies etc. I would probably get a video card in the <$350 range. Color is the most important to me with true black and also the lowest lag i can get without sacrificing too much color.

If my lcd doesn't work for me then I would be looking for one in the <$600 range maybe. I've been looking over the various threads about monitors but first wanted to get input on my current one.

Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

I don't use it for TV anymore, so I would probably just try to sell it for money towards a new monitor if it doesn't work out.

Thanks

 

[snuuggles]

I own the 60hz version of that very tv ln46A550. Not sure if there are any other differences, but I did hook it up to my computer about 1 year ago, here are my thoughts:

1. It was too big. I only sit about 4' away and it was just "too much". I can't explain it better than that, sorry.

2. I don't remember much input lag, but a. the 650 could have different lag than the 550 and b. I wasn't really looking very carefully (at the time I really didn't know much about displays and how important input lag is)

3. The big problem for me was ghosting. As an example, I tried playing "Braid" on it, and some of the finer patterned backgrounds got all blurry while moving side-to-side. This is pretty particular to certain game types/art styles, but it was pretty unbearable to me.

Overall, I'd say maybe you could just try it and if you don't like it then you can go for something else and compare it to the tv. The best thing is that you already have it in your house for easy A/B comparison! Why not take advantage of that?

HTH, sorry not better news.

 

[Kenmitch]

I'm using a 32" Vizio LED TV as my monitor and I love it.

I'm not sure I could hang with a 46" tho....But I say at least try it out and see as you have it already.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

The problem with Braid sounds more like typical LCD blur, ghosting looks like smearing - moving objects on screen leave a trail. My a450's ghosting is fairly bad in darker scenes.

OP, you won't get true black with a typical LCD, plasma is better for that and don't blur like LCD's, though they're not really the optimum choice for use as a monitor. Course black level is hard to gauge unless a direct comparison is done. Most LCD's today have blacks that range from "very good" to "good enough for most".

A monitor is usually better than an HDTV because input lag, blur, text clarity, & ghosting are all generally better + smaller pixels = a sharper image (though many monitors aren't well suited for video). Using a HDTV for a monitor can be great though, but you have to be careful because most of them are geared toward producing video which is basically the opposite of a monitor.

Low input lag is important for gaming in general, but is only really a factor when gaming online. And from what I've seen in stores lately Samsung seemed to be among the worst. Turning off all of the processing or using game mode improved things, but it still lagged a tiny bit. Plus, many of Samsung's newer TV's have dynamic backlighting that can't be turned off which I found to be pretty distracting in games, though very hard to notice during video.

Anyway if your main focus is size and getting that "wow" factor, a small screen just can't deliver that. If you're not sure what you'd like better you'll just have to try it yourself. It's the only way to know.

I want to get a new 37" and use it as a monitor myself. I Bought the TC-L37U3 to test and it works very well as a monitor via HDMI. However, the IPS panel is a problem because when you sit too close, the screen (namely blacks) becomes significantly washed out in all corners of the screen. This was also, albeit minor, issue with my 20WMGX2. Not sure if it's the panel or just the larger screen but it really hurts the overall PQ. Gonna have to check out the 37LK450 and 37D550 (if I can disable the dynamic backlighting via service menu).

 

[snuuggles]

The problem with Braid sounds more like typical LCD blur, ghosting looks like smearing - moving objects on screen leave a trail. My a450's ghosting is fairly bad in darker scenes.

Yes, sorry, I was careless with my words (though I'm actually not clear on what the difference between ghosting and blurring is).

But my point was really that the ln46a550 displayed significant blurring/ghosting/whatever in dark patterns (I didn't mention that they were dark, but they did happen to be brown/black patterns). Much more than the TV I'm currently using as my monitor, an old westinghouse LTV-32W1, which is kind of surprising considering I know the westinghouse is not a great display...

 

[gramboh]

I could never use something as big as 46" for daily desktop work. Gaming, maybe, but trying to browse the web and do any kind of productivity with that size of 1920x1080 is paniful on the eyes (huge pixel pitch).

 

[snuuggles]

Yeah, I couldn't pinpoint exactly what the issue was for me. To be honest, I sometimes use my 1360x768 32" tv as a desktop monitor, and I donn't have the same problem I had with the 1080p 46" tv even though I'm pretty sure the pixels/inch is about the same for both...

For me, I think it just came down to the thing was just taking up too much of my vision - great for games/movies, not great for desktop use or reading.