Anandtech helped me out a ton last time, so im back again! v. Gaming Monitor

[Dorito12]

Last time i was looking for basicaly a whole new system, and anandtech really came through - i love this computer!

Geforce 7800 GTX 256mb
AMD Athlon X2 4400+ 2.2Ghz
2GB (2x1GB) Crucial Ballistix RAM
Asus A8N-SLI
Xion 600W

Ive been able to run every game at max settings, except Fear

So now what i need is a decent monitor... when i was buying my system every monitor out was either way out of my price range or wouldnt keep up with my system.. so a year later, im back in the market. What would be a good idea to look into? Thanks!

 

[Gautama2]

First off, whats your budget for your monitor?

 

[n7]

Err, what's your current monitor?

And yeah, how much do you wanna spend?

I'm gonna assume money's not an issue, since you didn't mention a budget, so how 'bout the NEC 20GX2

 

[Dorito12]

Ummm right now i have an old Samsung, says SyncMaster 955DF on it. Its my brothers old one, im using it since my Sony died lol. And i havent thought much about a budget, since if there something truely good out there im willing to spend a few extra dollars.

Best bang for the buck, or a monitor that will best compliment my current systenm i guess

 

[supastar1568]

bang for the buck?

Ive heard great/amazing things about the Viewsonic VX2025WM.


I myself went all out and got a NEC 20WMGX2

 

[Dorito12]

Originally posted by: supastar1568
bang for the buck?

Ive heard great/amazing things about the Viewsonic VX2025WM.


I myself went all out and got a NEC 20WMGX2

Its a widescreen.. but most gmaes and my vid card will be fine with it, right ?

 

[lamere]

It depends, do you want LCD or CRT?
That's the first question.....
Alot seem to favor LCD for space saving but to go all out eye candy, stick with CRT's.
LCD's are good but if you play anything like fear or oblivion you will be severly disapointed going with an LCD unless it's a (very) expensive one as the black levels on LCD's still suck.
Caves and dark places looked washed out, greyed and have no depth of color and there is no details in the blacks.
Even the NEC 20WMGX2 which is supposed to be cream of the crop in gaming monitors. I bought one, and then took it back because of the black levels.
Pretty fast monitor though, I was impressed with its speed. It would have been PERFECT if the contrast ratio was more like 3200:1 or better.

Give them time though, they're still quite a few years away from matching CRT's.

 

[Dorito12]

Originally posted by: lamere
It depends, do you want LCD or CRT?
That's the first question.....
Alot seem to favor LCD for space saving but to go all out eye candy, stick with CRT's.
LCD's are good but if you play anything like fear or oblivion you will be severly disapointed going with an LCD unless it's a (very) expensive one as the black levels on LCD's still suck.
Caves and dark places looked washed out, greyed and have no depth of color and there is no details in the blacks.
Even the NEC 20WMGX2 which is supposed to be cream of the crop in gaming monitors. I bought one, and then took it back because of the black levels.
Pretty fast monitor though, I was impressed with its speed. It would have been PERFECT if the contrast ratio was more like 3200:1 or better.

Give them time though, they're still quite a few years away from matching CRT's.

Then which CRT do i get ?

 

[lamere]

I always thought samsung monitors had the best picture/colors. I still have a 19" and a 17" and won't buy any other brand.
Problem is, it's becoming increasingly harder to find CRT's

You might try newegg or zipzoomfly or tigerdirect. Picking up a used CRT isn't a bad idea but then you wonder how much it got used or abused. I picked up the HP 24" i have locally used for $190. The bigger the better as bigger CRT's are the ones that are more recent in distrobution.
Look around if that's the way you want to go

Hope this helped.

 

[damocles]

I have no problems playing on LCDs...

Anyway, to help you decide- there is a good thread here

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1745344&enterthread=y

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: lamere
It depends, do you want LCD or CRT?
That's the first question.....
Alot seem to favor LCD for space saving but to go all out eye candy, stick with CRT's.
LCD's are good but if you play anything like fear or oblivion you will be severly disapointed going with an LCD unless it's a (very) expensive one as the black levels on LCD's still suck.
Caves and dark places looked washed out, greyed and have no depth of color and there is no details in the blacks.
Even the NEC 20WMGX2 which is supposed to be cream of the crop in gaming monitors. I bought one, and then took it back because of the black levels.
Pretty fast monitor though, I was impressed with its speed. It would have been PERFECT if the contrast ratio was more like 3200:1 or better.

Give them time though, they're still quite a few years away from matching CRT's.

I have a NEC 20WMGX2 and I have perfect black levels . I've heard that some people get unlucky and get ones that have bad black levels though. Mine is just perfect. When you had it did you have Advanced DV turned on? That's what switches the contrast ratio from 800:1 to 1600:1.

EDIT: I highly reccomend the 20WMGX2 for you dorito12! It's the perfect monitor. I have only 1 complaint though, Once you have it for a while you're going to want something bigger like a 24 incher, however, no 24 inch comes close to the response time, or quality of the 20WMGX2.

 

[Dorito12]

Well, looks like ill be getting the NEC. Oh.. and as im already ordering from newegg, could anybody recommend a keyboard and mouse? Not wireless ones please.

 

[supastar1568]

Originally posted by: Crescent13

Originally posted by: lamere
It depends, do you want LCD or CRT?
That's the first question.....
Alot seem to favor LCD for space saving but to go all out eye candy, stick with CRT's.
LCD's are good but if you play anything like fear or oblivion you will be severly disapointed going with an LCD unless it's a (very) expensive one as the black levels on LCD's still suck.
Caves and dark places looked washed out, greyed and have no depth of color and there is no details in the blacks.
Even the NEC 20WMGX2 which is supposed to be cream of the crop in gaming monitors. I bought one, and then took it back because of the black levels.
Pretty fast monitor though, I was impressed with its speed. It would have been PERFECT if the contrast ratio was more like 3200:1 or better.

Give them time though, they're still quite a few years away from matching CRT's.

I have a NEC 20WMGX2 and I have perfect black levels . I've heard that some people get unlucky and get ones that have bad black levels though. Mine is just perfect. When you had it did you have Advanced DV turned on? That's what switches the contrast ratio from 800:1 to 1600:1.

EDIT: I highly reccomend the 20WMGX2 for you dorito12! It's the perfect monitor. I have only 1 complaint though, Once you have it for a while you're going to want something bigger like a 24 incher, however, no 24 inch comes close to the response time, or quality of the 20WMGX2.

do you leave Advanced DV on all of the time? Just curious if thats what I should do.

 

[willndowed]

Ive heard great/amazing things about the Viewsonic VX2025WM.

I just got that monitor, and I love it. I haven't done a lot of gaming on it because I'm waiting on a few more parts to come in (CPU, MB, case... just minor stuff). I have run through UT2004 and Warcraft a bit, and it looks great. 1680*1050 is an odd resolution, but the games play pretty well on it so far.

It doesn't have a lot of options, USB hubs, video inputs... but I'd buy a USB hub if I wanted it... I wanted a monitor for my new build and I'm happy with it.

 

[lamere]

Originally posted by: Crescent13

Originally posted by: lamere
It depends, do you want LCD or CRT?
That's the first question.....
Alot seem to favor LCD for space saving but to go all out eye candy, stick with CRT's.
LCD's are good but if you play anything like fear or oblivion you will be severly disapointed going with an LCD unless it's a (very) expensive one as the black levels on LCD's still suck.
Caves and dark places looked washed out, greyed and have no depth of color and there is no details in the blacks.
Even the NEC 20WMGX2 which is supposed to be cream of the crop in gaming monitors. I bought one, and then took it back because of the black levels.
Pretty fast monitor though, I was impressed with its speed. It would have been PERFECT if the contrast ratio was more like 3200:1 or better.

Give them time though, they're still quite a few years away from matching CRT's.

I have a NEC 20WMGX2 and I have perfect black levels . I've heard that some people get unlucky and get ones that have bad black levels though. Mine is just perfect. When you had it did you have Advanced DV turned on? That's what switches the contrast ratio from 800:1 to 1600:1.

EDIT: I highly reccomend the 20WMGX2 for you dorito12! It's the perfect monitor. I have only 1 complaint though, Once you have it for a while you're going to want something bigger like a 24 incher, however, no 24 inch comes close to the response time, or quality of the 20WMGX2.

Oh yeah, I had the advanced DV tuner on. That's why I said it be perfect if the contrast ratio was 3200:1 or better. Keep in mind that perfect color/contrast ratio LCD's are $6400, and those aren't even widescreens. I really liked the monitor, but in my eyes it wasn't worth the $680 I paid for it because of the black levels and the fact that EVERYTHING was widescreen as as it tells you on that paper inside the box that it wants you to run 1680x1050 exclusivly. It also tells you your picture will not be perfect unless you stick to that resolution. Even games that aren't meant to be widescreen will be widescreen and streched, and there's no fixing that on that monitor, you're stuck with streched games if the game doesn't suport it. BF2, fear and quake 3 looked jacked. Some can live with it, I can't. If you don't mind these shortcomings, this monitor is for you.
That being said, it IS the best LCD gaming monitor out there right now.
I guess I've bee spoiled by CRT eye candy for too long

 

[lamere]

[/quote]do you leave Advanced DV on all of the time? Just curious if thats what I should do.[/quote]
I would on this monitor, it did help quite a bit as it lowers the contrast of the picture.