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Are CRTs still the king for gaming?
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JRW
Senior member
Count me in as another that went LCD and back to CRT 🙂 In my case I was comparing a high end CRT to LCD (Paid $600 for the CRT on Newegg.com, retail $800)
You know one other thing I noticed about the LCD , The screen itself is made of a rough texture plastic wich actualy gave it a slightly grainy look, The crt had a noticably 'smoother' appearance when looking at images etc.
The top CRTs are still considerably better for games with superior black levels, refresh rates and maximum resolutions as well as the flexibility of using different resolutions. I would have said LCDs are better for text since they are sharper, but at least the LCDs I have seen have all been quite bright, even at their lowest brightness setting, which strains my eyes after looking at them for a while. It seems that LCDs also have a kind of glittering effect behind the screen that makes lighter colors look non-uniform, which gets on my nerves.
The good CRTs are all gone though. The CRTs you can buy these days are mostly low end ones and the few high end ones still out there are either defective or badly calibrated due to the pathetic quality control in their last few months of production. So your only choices are LCDs unless you want to look on ebay for a used CRT.
The good CRTs are all gone though. The CRTs you can buy these days are mostly low end ones and the few high end ones still out there are either defective or badly calibrated due to the pathetic quality control in their last few months of production. So your only choices are LCDs unless you want to look on ebay for a used CRT.
<-- LCD user, and old-school gamer. Will probably never buy a CRT again.
Bottom line is that if CRTs were that much better than LCDs (as some people make them out to be) then they would still be making them. LCDs rule. Just make sure to adjust the gamma in your video drivers to your liking. The default settings on my LCD made it looked a little washed out. I thought it might be because I have a 6-bit panel. However I adjusted the gamma and now the colors are amazing.
Bottom line is that if CRTs were that much better than LCDs (as some people make them out to be) then they would still be making them. LCDs rule. Just make sure to adjust the gamma in your video drivers to your liking. The default settings on my LCD made it looked a little washed out. I thought it might be because I have a 6-bit panel. However I adjusted the gamma and now the colors are amazing.
Popular buying choice doesn't equate to "better", most of the buying public aren't exactly "educated" buyers.
Consider:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/nation/12329022.htm
Would you consider "The Dukes of Hazzard" a "good" or "better than others" movie? No. Yet more people opted to see it than any other movie that weekend. (prrof positive of the decline of Western civilization)
There could be many reasons the industry is shifting to LCDs, my hunch is at the top of the list is "cheaper to make + cheaper to ship + cheaper to store = bigger profits" for manufacturers and vendors.
They do have advantages, but to say they are currently "king" for gaming is a joke. They are not the flexible gaming solution. They are a better ergonomic/2d solution.
Do LCDs reign over CRTs as a new king of gaming? No, definitely not. Are they adequate? Definitely yes, in my opinion, having used a 17" LCD for 9 months now and gaming hardcore (especially over my summer vacation). The first week you use an LCD, you're going to say yuck (I did). Later on, you actually don't get more tolerant, you just get used to it more somehow and learn to ignore it (trust me on this). At that point, that "con" is essentially off the list. I like the LCD's perfectly flat image, slightly more "alive" (albeit not perfectly scaled) colors. My LCD is also SO much better for my eyes, and I can feel it. I think the reason I need glasses now is because I looked at the stupid electron tube for years and years, and got red eye all the time. I use my LCD just as much now, and never get red eye with it.
What I want to see is DLP monitors, to lay the smack down on CRTs and LCDs.
What I want to see is DLP monitors, to lay the smack down on CRTs and LCDs.
I think the main reason is that they look much more elegant than CRTs. For the average guy who walks into a store and finds that the IQ of all the monitors is similar for web browsing, that's more than reason enough to get an LCD now that the prices have come down. Most people don't play games at all and won't notice a difference.
Avalon
Diamond Member
I use LCDs at work and school, but prefer my Samsung 977DF 19" CRT for gaming at home. I'm just very picky about response time and color reproduction, so an LCD doesn't do it for me just yet. Plus, I like being able to run at different resolutions and have it still look the exact same.
If you're not picky about either of my first two gripes, then a good LCD may be just the thing for you, especially if you don't want a heavy display. Lugging my monitor around is a pain.
If you're not picky about either of my first two gripes, then a good LCD may be just the thing for you, especially if you don't want a heavy display. Lugging my monitor around is a pain.
i played a lot of games on my lcd with a weak ass videocard, the newer lcds are a lot blacker
I would say lcd, even 12ms response time is fine, after I got it I re-installed nfs2 (since I figured thats where I would notice ghosting the most) and tried it out, the technology is improving every generation
I would say lcd, even 12ms response time is fine, after I got it I re-installed nfs2 (since I figured thats where I would notice ghosting the most) and tried it out, the technology is improving every generation
imported_Kensai
Lifer
I've got two Dell 2005FPWs and I'll never go back to a CRT for gaming.
imported_Kensai
Lifer
I'll be heading to 2 X 2405FPW soon. 😉
(Need a bigger desk... 🙁)
knyghtbyte
Senior member
Reasons NOT to buy an LCD
DO NOT buy a LCD to save power costs, ffs, have you ever checked how much it costs to run a CRT for 6 hours a day for a month? FVCK ALL......only things that ever use up much electricity are things designed to kick out DIRECT heat or extreme cooling, not residual heat, ie electric bar fires, cookers, irons, refridgerators etc....a MONITOR does not cost hardly anything to run for a home user......If however you run a business with the need to use 200 monitors, then flat panel LCD's could save you some money......
Oh, and dont buy it to save room unless you actually have a very small area to put your computer system on.......seriously, with the stand as well, most LCDs footprints are only 50% of a CRT, thats hardly a lot, mebbe 10ins reclaimed at most, not worth the cost in my opinion. The only ones to save more space are wall mountable walls, and most are not wall mountable.
Also dont buy it if you play FPS games (HL2, CS:S, Doom3 etc) and are good at them, if you just play them for a laugh and are crap then it wont matter, but if you want to be the best, you need the picture on the screen to be as accurate as possible....LCD CANNOT match a CRT for that, people who say they barely notice it are obviously not playing at a competitive level.
Dont buy one to watch movies on......you wanna watch DVD? get a CRT, even top level TV style LCDs and Plasmas cannot match CRT for the picture quality and response. You are better off buying a proper DVD player to hook up to a TV.....if you havnt the room then fair enough.....The main bonus PLasma has over CRT is it can go much bigger, CRT is limited to 36in for quality.......personally if i go over that i'd rather get a DLP projector and screen...heh
Reasons TO buy an LCD
You absolutely do need the space on your desk.
You do need desktop real estate (as in Windows desktop), but only if you buy a large size widescreen LCD will this be useful.
You play RTS or RPG type games so response times do not make much difference...altho do make sure to buy a decent LCD as you will still notice the blurring on cheaper screens even playing something like C&C Generals.
You want to look cool and modern to your friends.
You look at a lot of photos.....if you get a really good LCD with a good black level, i must admit photos on a 19in LCD can look fantastic, for some reason they do come across more lifelike than a CRT.....oh, and its a lot easier to twist and LCD to portrait mode than a CRT...lol
To finalise.
CRT is for gamers, through and through....especially fast action response games like CS:S......(i play in clans at competitive levels)
LCD is for musthavethelatestgadget folks who dont game so much......they have uses, and they are nice, i own one myself (altho its now on a PC mostly used by my mum) but its nothing compared to a good CRT for gaming, and u can bet that Dell will still be selling a small range of decent CRTs for a while......however if you want a larger size (Dell UK no longer doing their 22in model :-( ) then go to Iiyama, i believe they are going to continue for a while......
So, the moral of the story is, get whatever you want, whatever fits your bill the most, if you game and wanna game seriously, stay with CRT....if thats not important, then what the hell, go LCD...why not, the more people buy them, hopefully the quality will improve to the point they DO rival CRT for all its qualities and with benefits LCD tech brings, rather than being a 2nd place runner up for most things but a tiny leader in a few areas.
DO NOT buy a LCD to save power costs, ffs, have you ever checked how much it costs to run a CRT for 6 hours a day for a month? FVCK ALL......only things that ever use up much electricity are things designed to kick out DIRECT heat or extreme cooling, not residual heat, ie electric bar fires, cookers, irons, refridgerators etc....a MONITOR does not cost hardly anything to run for a home user......If however you run a business with the need to use 200 monitors, then flat panel LCD's could save you some money......
Oh, and dont buy it to save room unless you actually have a very small area to put your computer system on.......seriously, with the stand as well, most LCDs footprints are only 50% of a CRT, thats hardly a lot, mebbe 10ins reclaimed at most, not worth the cost in my opinion. The only ones to save more space are wall mountable walls, and most are not wall mountable.
Also dont buy it if you play FPS games (HL2, CS:S, Doom3 etc) and are good at them, if you just play them for a laugh and are crap then it wont matter, but if you want to be the best, you need the picture on the screen to be as accurate as possible....LCD CANNOT match a CRT for that, people who say they barely notice it are obviously not playing at a competitive level.
Dont buy one to watch movies on......you wanna watch DVD? get a CRT, even top level TV style LCDs and Plasmas cannot match CRT for the picture quality and response. You are better off buying a proper DVD player to hook up to a TV.....if you havnt the room then fair enough.....The main bonus PLasma has over CRT is it can go much bigger, CRT is limited to 36in for quality.......personally if i go over that i'd rather get a DLP projector and screen...heh
Reasons TO buy an LCD
You absolutely do need the space on your desk.
You do need desktop real estate (as in Windows desktop), but only if you buy a large size widescreen LCD will this be useful.
You play RTS or RPG type games so response times do not make much difference...altho do make sure to buy a decent LCD as you will still notice the blurring on cheaper screens even playing something like C&C Generals.
You want to look cool and modern to your friends.
You look at a lot of photos.....if you get a really good LCD with a good black level, i must admit photos on a 19in LCD can look fantastic, for some reason they do come across more lifelike than a CRT.....oh, and its a lot easier to twist and LCD to portrait mode than a CRT...lol
To finalise.
CRT is for gamers, through and through....especially fast action response games like CS:S......(i play in clans at competitive levels)
LCD is for musthavethelatestgadget folks who dont game so much......they have uses, and they are nice, i own one myself (altho its now on a PC mostly used by my mum) but its nothing compared to a good CRT for gaming, and u can bet that Dell will still be selling a small range of decent CRTs for a while......however if you want a larger size (Dell UK no longer doing their 22in model :-( ) then go to Iiyama, i believe they are going to continue for a while......
So, the moral of the story is, get whatever you want, whatever fits your bill the most, if you game and wanna game seriously, stay with CRT....if thats not important, then what the hell, go LCD...why not, the more people buy them, hopefully the quality will improve to the point they DO rival CRT for all its qualities and with benefits LCD tech brings, rather than being a 2nd place runner up for most things but a tiny leader in a few areas.
Suspicious-Teach8788
Lifer
You knwo what.
With TN panels you can't even TELL ghosting ok. I play CS @ 100fps and you can't see jack crap on a TN panel (Samsung 930B).
Now on PVA panels w/ overdrive you CAN if you only TRY to find ghosting. Otherwise, it's fine for gaming, movies etc.
It's safe to switch now, but if you want to complain about it, then it will be a problem. Honestly, even if you're getting 25ms response times a lot of people won't mind anyways. You only complain if you have 2 monitors side by side and one ghosts like hell. Otherwise its fine.
I have a Viewsonic VP191b and I love it (20 ms black to white, 8ms gray to gray). It's a beautiful monitor, and I would pick it over a faster TN panel simply because everything looks better on this monitor.
With TN panels you can't even TELL ghosting ok. I play CS @ 100fps and you can't see jack crap on a TN panel (Samsung 930B).
Now on PVA panels w/ overdrive you CAN if you only TRY to find ghosting. Otherwise, it's fine for gaming, movies etc.
It's safe to switch now, but if you want to complain about it, then it will be a problem. Honestly, even if you're getting 25ms response times a lot of people won't mind anyways. You only complain if you have 2 monitors side by side and one ghosts like hell. Otherwise its fine.
I have a Viewsonic VP191b and I love it (20 ms black to white, 8ms gray to gray). It's a beautiful monitor, and I would pick it over a faster TN panel simply because everything looks better on this monitor.
imported_Kensai
Lifer
Before LCDs = 1 17" LCD and two CRTs
With LCDs = 2 X 20" LCDs and a 17" LCD.
And much more space reclaimed..
With LCDs = 2 X 20" LCDs and a 17" LCD.
And much more space reclaimed..
More like a tenth of the space, depending if the power brick is built-in or not.
Absolute nonsense. I have an LCD, and have played in numerous clans and had competitive matches. I'm better than I used to be when I had a CRT.
You must be joking here. You'd rather have a CRT than watch it on a Dell 2005FPW widescreen LCD? I'd take the LCD any day. For the same price, I'd rather get a DLP display though. Damn thing's based on the same idea as the age-old Nipkow disk and it owns everything out there today.
Or, if you happen to want a desk instead of a CRT stand.
That's why you wouldn't want an LCD (with the kind of low-res panels they offer today). CRTs have much better resolutions.
I've played FPS (Quake 3, Wolfenstein: ET, BF2) for 9 months so far on my LCD, and it's been perfect.
Sure, why not? I love showing stuff off, but that's not the only reason I bought it.
PVA/MVA-panel LCDs have a stunning black level. TN ones start white, so the chemical they use to block the light sometimes leaks. However, the CRT's colors are usually more calibrated. The LCD's appear more lifelike because they are usually oversaturated (something like Digital Vibrance in NVIDIA ForceWare control panel). I used think my CRT looked better, but I looked at the tube so long and probably damaged my vision by giving me so much red-eye and headache. When I put on my glasses, the LCD's colors look almost better than my CRT's did.
No, really, LCDs are past the phase of the iPod or other "cool" devices. I don't own any of those music players.
LCDs are flicker free, and thus more natural to your eyes. Life doesn't flicker, why should your display? I know my eyes feel a lot more comfortable now. No more neck aches either. I'd get one every day with my CRT even at 100Hz vertical refresh rate. (I'm not just talking out of my ass just to disagree with you, contrary to what it may seem.)
LCDs have a lower TCO (total cost of ownership) because the cost of power on CRTs vs. LCD MSRP will break even sooner or later. You won't need a huge desk either. I (almost) even had to use my keyboard slot on my desk in order to have my CRT at the same surface as the keyboard.
CRTs do emit electromagnetic radiation (which some said would cause cancer). However, the "cancer" claims are basically BS now that CRTs route that radiation out their sides instead. LCDs don't have the harmful mercury/lead/cadmium, or most of VLF/ELF that CRTs emit. That makes them easier to dispose of (when they eventually die), also.
The moral of the story for me is the pros outweigh the cons. Do I see a little ghosting? Yeah of course I do, especially when you compare right next to a CRT. If you're not comparing it, you don't notice (or it doesn't bother you). One con is resolution, but that's not a limitation of technology. You see laptops with insane resolution LCDs. For my eyes, LCDs are like looking at a chocolate cake whereas CRTs are like looking at ... (you can guess where I'm going here). 🙂
imported_Ged
Member
I can't say that my LCD is better or the best for gaming.
I am happy with my Dell 2405FPW (1920x1200 native) for gaming though.
Even at lower than native it looks good. I played Half life at 1680x1050 and it still looked good. FEAR at 1280x1024 (I think it was) still looks good.
In comparison to my 19'' SONY/SGI monitor that came with my SGI Workstation, my LCD wins hands down.
At this point the only time I look to a CRT is when I want colors to be correct for printing, which is almost never since I don't print directly from my seat.
That's my experience at least.
I am happy with my Dell 2405FPW (1920x1200 native) for gaming though.
Even at lower than native it looks good. I played Half life at 1680x1050 and it still looked good. FEAR at 1280x1024 (I think it was) still looks good.
In comparison to my 19'' SONY/SGI monitor that came with my SGI Workstation, my LCD wins hands down.
At this point the only time I look to a CRT is when I want colors to be correct for printing, which is almost never since I don't print directly from my seat.
That's my experience at least.
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