Help! in Deciding on Gaming LCD

[Taelvin]

I brought this thread over from the General forum due to recommendations to try here, im going to also put one up in the peripheral forum.

Original Post in General:
Hello,

I have been in the market for buying a new LCD screen for the past month or so, while learning about what i need to seek in an LCD. I recently received a refund from a cancelled trip and now have a good amount of money to spend on a high quality screen (anywhere around 800 U.S. dollars). The monitor i was going to buy was the Samsung 710T, since it was DVI compatible and had a 12 ms response time and a great review from Toms Hardware. But recently, amazon and newegg have dropped their sales of these items (and i cant seem to find one at a reputable retailer online or otherwise). So this prompted my research into some more recent developments, like the U.S. press release of the Samsung SyncMaster 915n (i believe its 913 something in europe) and the recent review by anandtech of the Dell 1905fp. While recently going through the forums ive also added the Dell 2001FP and the Dell 2005FP to the list. One thing that im concerned about with these last three is the mixed reviews (particularly on the 2005FP, which some say does show noticeable ghosting and others dont). If any of you have any advice as to what to look at that would be great, im also looking to see if anyone has bought the new Samsung SyncMaster 915n or if anyone knows the stats on it (color wise, etc). The monitor im looking for would be for a gamer, who is hoping that by putting a large investment into it wouldnt have to sacrifice so much color *hopes*. And of course if any of you have the Samsung 710T i would be very interested in hearing personal reviews on it as well (even though im having trouble finding it).

Heres the link to that samsung Press Release:
Samsung SyncMaster 915n

Another Poster also recommended the ImageQuest L90D+ 19" LCD Monitor w/ Speakers, 8ms and DVI. But i was concerned that it is a 6 bit panel.

If anyone knows whether there is a monitor out there that is an 8 bit panel but also a low enough response time for gaming, that would be great.

Thanks for your help, it is greatly appreciated in this long and difficult process.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I think, although I don't really know, but I think the Viewsonic VP912b and a Samsung LCD, but I don't remember the name of it, are "supposed" to be really good.

For you information, CRT's are still the best for gaming, by a fairly large margin.

 

[nitromullet]

I feel your pain... This is a really tough decision. I finally ended up going with a Dell 2005FPW, and I am completely pleased with it. I played the Dell coupon game and ended up getting it for $554 shipped. I play a lot of HL2 Deathmatch, and while there is some ghosting, it is certainly acceptable and I haven't seen a better screen yet. I do have some of the backlighting that is mentioned on many of the 2005FPW threads, however, it is only noticable if the screen is completely black and it doesn't bother me during normal use or gaming (even Doom3). I also have one stuck pixel (green), which I also never notice unless the screen is completely black and I look for it.

The biggest draw (and consequently drawback) for the 2005FPW is the fact that it is widescreen. Widescreen gaming is great when it is supported, but can be a pain when a game doesn't. You end up with a stretched image. However, I primarily play HL2, UT2004, and Doom3, all of which support widescreen. HL2 supports it out of the box via drop downs in the menu, while UT2004 and Doom3 requre a few simple edits to some config files. IMO, widescreen monitors are the future for PC's, so I don't imagine that this will be an issue in future games as often and eventually widescreen will be the standard, but for now you have to "suffer" a bit for being an early adoptor. Check out http://www.widescreengamingforum.com for more details on widescreen gaming.

The other thing to consider with an LCD with as much real estate as either the 2005FPW (1680x1050) or the 2001FP (1600x1200) is that LCD's look their best at their native resolution, so you will need a decent video card to play the latest games with eye candy and decent framerates. I would suggest no less than a GeForce 6800 or a Radeon X800 Pro for gaming at those resolutions. Mid-grade or lesser video cards simply won't cut it.

A possible note of interest to you... Dell mistakenly shipped me a 1905FP by accident first, so I decided to check it out. I read the review on AT, and I would have to disagree with their opinion. IMO, this monitor has way too much ghosting to be acceptable for gaming. I put that screen back in the box about 10 minutes after hooking it up and went back to my CRT while I waited for my replacement 2005FPW - that was how much that monitor annoyed me. I was a little concerned that the 2005FPW would suffer from the same issues, but the 2005FPW has proven to be much, much better for gaming than the 1905FP. The poor gaming performance of the 1905FP is a shame really, since the 2D image quality was very nice and crisp and the pricetag isn't bad if you can find a few coupons.

Good luck in your search, and one last piece of advice... You will get a number of varying opinions on what is acceptable for gaming and what isn't. It basically boils down to your personal preference and what your eyes are comfortable with. Current LCD's simply don't handle high speed motion as well as a CRT, and some people still can't deal with that. So, if you currently use a CRT don't get rid of it until you find an LCD that you are satisfied with.

Edit: welcome to AT forums

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: wolfman579
For you information, CRT's are still the best for gaming, by a fairly large margin.

This is correct, although people have different levels of sensitivity to the ghosting that LCD's produce (the other main issue is that blacks aren't truly "black").

With that said, I dumped my CRT last month for a 2005FPW and I haven't looked back. The convenience of an LCD (crisp text, perfect geometry, being able to rotate to portrait mode, arguably less eyestrain, and MUCH less weight/space) outweighs the edge that CRT's have in gaming, IMO.

Obviously, this decision will vary from person to person.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: wolfman579
For you information, CRT's are still the best for gaming, by a fairly large margin.

This is correct, although people have different levels of sensitivity to the ghosting that LCD's produce (the other main issue is that blacks aren't truly "black").

With that said, I dumped my CRT last month for a 2005FPW and I haven't looked back. The convenience of an LCD (crisp text, perfect geometry, being able to rotate to portrait mode, arguably less eyestrain, and MUCH less weight/space) outweighs the edge that CRT's have in gaming, IMO.

Obviously, this decision will vary from person to person.

I had the 2005FPW, the only negatives I had to say about it were backlighting, colors, and pretty minimal ghosting. I would have kept it if it could reproduce blacks better.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: wolfman579

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: wolfman579
For you information, CRT's are still the best for gaming, by a fairly large margin.

This is correct, although people have different levels of sensitivity to the ghosting that LCD's produce (the other main issue is that blacks aren't truly "black").

With that said, I dumped my CRT last month for a 2005FPW and I haven't looked back. The convenience of an LCD (crisp text, perfect geometry, being able to rotate to portrait mode, arguably less eyestrain, and MUCH less weight/space) outweighs the edge that CRT's have in gaming, IMO.

Obviously, this decision will vary from person to person.

I had the 2005FPW, the only negatives I had to say about it were backlighting, colors, and pretty minimal ghosting. I would have kept it if it could reproduce blacks better.

Yeah, it's really the only thing that "stands out" about the monitor in a bad way, since most people seem not to notice ghosting that much. I see it whenever I play in the dark, but oh well - I've already decided I can live with it.

 

[imverygifted]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: wolfman579
For you information, CRT's are still the best for gaming, by a fairly large margin.

This is correct, although people have different levels of sensitivity to the ghosting that LCD's produce (the other main issue is that blacks aren't truly "black").

With that said, I dumped my CRT last month for a 2005FPW and I haven't looked back. The convenience of an LCD (crisp text, perfect geometry, being able to rotate to portrait mode, arguably less eyestrain, and MUCH less weight/space) outweighs the edge that CRT's have in gaming, IMO.

Obviously, this decision will vary from person to person.

same situation, moving to an LCD but i first had a 17" didnt ghost wanted somethin bigger, went to a 19" ghosted then i hated that LCD, but i settled w/ the 2005FPW and havn't looked back. i enjoy using this monitor for gaming much more than any CRT ive ever owned. gotta love widescreen

 

[caz67]

I have the BenQ 937s+ 19" 8ms. This monior is excellent, DVI, D-Sub. I love this monitor, clear crisp pictures, absloutely no ghosting at all..

 

[McArra]

I love my BenQ 767-12, great colors and great black + no ghosting.

 

[Spike]

I am another happy owner of a 2005 fpw. Mine also has some backlight issues in the corners (especially the upper right) but I have only noticed that when I looked for it and it has not bothered me yet, not even in DVD play back where there are sometimes black bars on the top. I also have a single dead pixel in the middle of the screen, it displays black and white fine, but has issues with colors that are not very light or very dark. Not a big deal and I only notice it when I look for it.

As for gaming... he he he.... what a change. I am using both my 21" CRT and 2005 fpw and at first I switched back and forth trying each out and I must say that widescreen gaming is awesome! Also, when I move a webpage from my 2005 to my CRT I notice how much more blurry it is and dull in color, some of this is due to having an older CRT, but still, reading text on the LCD is wonderful, though almost too bright sometimes.

I paid a little more than some here, $612 shipped as the deal was $549 before taxes and shipped but I still found it worth it. I play HL 2, CS S, UT 2004, and Far Cry right now. It was funny, I had all those games running in 1600x1200 and started them using the 2005 and with the exception of HL and CS S, they auto detected the 1680x1050 res and switched to that. I had to selec 16:10 ratio with HL 2 and CS S and then they fell into place as well. No patches or mods to get any of them to work!

-spike

 

[nitromullet]

they auto detected the 1680x1050 res and switched to that.

UT2004 requires a config file to be modified to play in widescreen with the correct aspect ratio. The image will stretch to fit the 16:10 screen, but will sitll be a 4:3 aspect ratio. It's a trivial matter to fix though.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17&highlight=ut2004

The instructions are pretty simple, and I'm sure that you will notice a difference.

 

[Spike]

I can try that, all I know is that when I am in the game and I go to the video tab and check the res it says 1680x1050, so I assumed it was correct. I see no stretching during gameplay, just some in the starting menu.

-spike

 

[Mojo027]

Originally posted by: caz67
I have the BenQ 937s+ 19" 8ms. This monior is excellent, DVI, D-Sub. I love this monitor, clear crisp pictures, absloutely no ghosting at all..

I also have this monitor. But it's 12ms not 8ms.

There is no ghosting whatsoever that I can notice. It does however show some depth objects in a weird way, like branches on a tree in CSS for example. Mine shipped with one dead pixel, which is annoying. It's impossible to notice in a game usually, but on white screens like webpages and text documents it is noticeable. This monitor has some minor backlight leakage, but it can be made pretty unnoticable with some setting tweaks.

The most annoying fact about this monitor, and this goes for any LCD I've ever seen. The blacks just aren't as good. It looks fairly good on desktop performance, but it seems like when you load a game, the screen changes it's settings. I know there is a profile for this in the video card driver, but I haven't been able to successfully tweak it to my liking yet (I've had the monitor for about 3 weeks).

Any LCD is going to have worse blacks than a CRT, don't even try to tell me otherwise. It's IMPOSSIBLE for an LCD to display the same blacks as a CRT because every LCD has a backlight. And that is what washes out the blacks and makes them look "brighter" or more grey. It's just a fast of the LCD technology, granted some monitors might be slightly better depending on the particular backlight design, but all in all, LCDs simply don't display blacks as well.



As for the answer to your question, I would get the BENQ FP937S 19" LCD. It's a really good gaming monitor, as I said no ghosting whatsoever. It does blacks just as well as any other LCD and it's pretty cheap too. I got mine for $480 Canadian, I'm sure you could get one in the states for around $300. Maybe even less.

 

[Evdawg]

whats a gaming lcd?

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Spike
I can try that, all I know is that when I am in the game and I go to the video tab and check the res it says 1680x1050, so I assumed it was correct. I see no stretching during gameplay, just some in the starting menu.

-spike

That's interesting... I didn't get that in UT2004... Possibly, I don't have the latest patch. I'll have to check into that. Menu drop downs are always easier than editing config files.

 

[Spike]

I had assumed that the game would not even startup right as I had it set to run at 1600x1200 but when it started first thing I did was check the vid settings and it was running the correct res. As I said, the menu looks a little streched to me, but the game looks awesome.

I did patch it to the latest, so maybe that was one of the fixes...

Not the jump off topic a little, but do you have to mod morrowind to get it to play widescreen? I have not tried it yet and am curious...

-spike

 

[nitromullet]

I don't know to much about games other than FPS at the moment. Check on the widescreengaming forums...