Gaming on Apple Cinema TFT, and general big screen TFT advice

[Batistuta]

I would like to know of your experience or opinion on gaming on an Apple Cinema TFT screen (either the 20" or the 23");
It will be connected to the DVI of a GF4 ti4200 on a PC.

Also if you have any other recommendations for a big screen TFT suitable for gaming, I would like to know.
Currently I'm focusing on the screens below (prices in Denmark, but given in $US):

Dell 2000 FP - 1540$
Apple Cinema 20" - 1890$
Apple Cinema 23" - 2900$
Samsung 191T - 1100$
Samsung 240T - 3550$
Sony X82 - 1100$
Viewsonic VX900 - 1300$
Hitachi 174SXW - 800$

I realize that these screens retails at very different prices, and probably 2000$ will be my max. Also screen size differ considerably, with the Hitachi being included because of the 16ms response time. Widescreen would be nice, as I will also be watching movies and TV on this screen. Games to be played currently include UT2003, Battlefield 1942, F1 2003 + some strategy games (Warcraft3 etc.) which will most likely not pose a problem.
Streaking/Ghosting is my main worry.
Also, IF i buy the Apple 20"; since the screen has a native resolution of 1680x1050 how would the quality fare, when my card can only produce 1600x1024 as the closest match???

 

[LH]

The Planar 23"(4:3) monitor, its $2000, and has 25ms response time. The apple cinema displays are NOT good for gaming, they have slow response time(unless they have been upgraded recently).

 

[Batistuta]

Apple has just released a 20 inch widescreen display with "Lightning-fast pixel response for full-motion digital video playback" ... according to Apple that is... I have tried to find the actual response time, but have been unsuccesful :-(
By the way; Planar monitors are quite difficult to come accross in Denmark :-(

 

[FreshPrince]

You bring up a good point, most video cards won't suport those weird apple wide screen resolutions...unless you have an apple or apple compatible video card. Besides...you're really cheated by those apple screens. If you put a viewsonic 23" and a 23" cinema display side by side, you'll see that you're getting much less screen real estate with the apple. I would go with something like a sony or viewsonic, or planar 23" You'll get much better native res support and screen real estate.

- FP

 

[Batistuta]

On another forum someone suggested, that my graphics card will detect the resolution (1680x1050) when I hook up the screen and install the drivers (??? - are there drivers at all or is it entirely plug'n'play with Apple, if there is I would guess it's only for Mac OS X - correct?!)

B.

 

[chizow]

There is some adapter that allows you to use the Apple Cinema with a standard DVI out. Anand himself is using one IIRC; run a search in all forums (it may be archived) with Anand as the author.

Chiz

 

[Batistuta]

Tried the search - no luck.
Apple makes a DVI->ADC adapter with DVI,USB and power in and ADC out (~100$). This will make the screen work with my PC, but in what resolution? How will 1600x1024 look (if it will work with the screen at all) ???
Screen has the 3 following resolutions: 1680x1050, 1280x800 and 1024x600, none of which is apparently supported by my GF4 ti4200 (as far as I can see!)

B.

 

[PCMarine]

My friend just purchased a 17" Apple LCD >> Link

He says its awesome with absolutely no ghosting.

 

[Batistuta]

hrmm...I guess no one really knows (yet).

I could just buy one (there's an Apple store just down the street), and hand it back in if it doesn't work satisfactory...then I would know...hrm, need 1900 bucks first...next pay is a couple of weeks down the road...will let u know how it goes if my bank doesn't stop me...have patience...

B.

 

[LH]

Well it appears Apple ditched the 50ms screens. The newest ones have sub 25ms response times. They didnt last year.

 

[Eug]

Originally posted by: PCMarine
My friend just purchased a 17" Apple LCD >> Link

He says its awesome with absolutely no ghosting.

The Samsung 172T is better than the 17" Apple Display IMO. I looked at both. Plus the 17" requires the ADC converter if you use it with a PC or even a Mac laptop.

 

[Batistuta]

I got the following answer from NVIDIA support (quite fast actually), with regards to using an Apple Cinema on a GF4 ti4200 (PC version):

Solution:
It is not a standard resolution and since I am sure Apple does not test their monitors on the PC side, it may be a lot of trouble to get it working properly. You would also need to add this custom resolution to your Windows registry in order for Windows to allow you to choose the resolution. In theory, our Geforce4 Ti cards should support this resolution with correct installation however I would recommend going with a PC monitor for a Windows environment.
---
HOW do I add a custom resolution to the windows registry????? I am running WinXP Pro (if that matters).

B.