LCD FLAT PANEL MONITORS

[gujuguy007]

I'm looking to buy a flat panel monitor and was wondering what are some of things i should look for. When i look for a crt i look mainly for the dot pitch...the lower the better...but since lcd's don't have a dot pitch, what should I look for especially if I want one with good graphics display?

 

[woodscomp]

Who makes t he panel and what the response times are combined with the contrast ratio. Hyndai makes an excellent panel usually with the 16ms response times.

Also warranties play a large part in the price. I would not get anything with less than a three year warranty. And I know for a fact that Link have the best warranty on the market. Most liberal when it comes to dead pixels.

And lasty the input plays a role as well. DVI-D is better than VGA input but is not required and make sure your video card supports whatever input you have on the LCD. Most all computers support VGA (older style). But some will onluy support DVI-D if you have a newer high end card like a 6800 Ultra.

 

[gujuguy007]

thanks for you input.... so i am to assume that the faster the response times, the better? which makes sense.

 

[IQJUMPuw]

Look into these things:
Contrast Ratio (Higher the better) 500:1 or higher preferred
Response Time (Lower the better) under 25ms preferred
Brightness (Higher the better) 260 cd/m2 or higher preferred
Viewing angle (higher the better) 160 or higher preferred
DVI-d is a MUST

Another important thing is, you can't just look at the specs. No name brand LCD with 500:1 contrast ratio and 16ms response time may not even compare to a name brand LCD with 350:1 contrast ratio and 25ms response time. You REALLY have to go to a store and compare the LCDs yourself. Make sure you play around with the monitor settings like contrast/brightness. Make sure they are using DVI instead of VGA.

Here are some LCD manufacturers you should look into:
Samsung, Viewsonic, NEC, Hyundai and Iiyama. I've tried many different LCDs at home, work, and at the university so let me know if you have any more questions. I wouldn't recommend Sony. I've had some pretty bad experiences with them. Dell also makes great LCD monitors but they just use either Samsung or LG screens.

Have fun shopping around for a new monitor. =)

 

[Mermaidman]

I'm not sure if viewing angle is all that important. In fact, I'd get one with a very small angle

 

[IQJUMPuw]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
I'm not sure if viewing angle is all that important. In fact, I'd get one with a very small angle

Why small angle? I wouldn't say it's THAT important but it's definitely something you should look out for. Imagine watching a DVD movie with your friends... Those that are sitting on the sides may not be able to watch the movie because all they will see is blank screen if the viewing angle is small.

 

[alrocky]

Native resolution. The LCD looks best at it's native resolution so you generally want one that matches your preferred resolution.