need help picking a new LDC monitor

[zylander]

I currently have an old 15" HP Pavilion fx75 LCD monitor. This thing is from back when LCDs were first comming out, back when a 15" LCD monitor cost $1000. I am looking for a new LCD monitor but need some help understanding the different specifications of them. Here are the monitors I am curently looking at;

NEC V91LCD
ViewSonic VA912b
Samsung 915N
Samsung 912T

They are all in about the same price range (except the refurbished NEC) and all the same size. What I want to know is;

1. Is DVI really any better than standard analog?
2. What does the contrast ratio mean?
3. What is response time? Im assuming that when playing games you would want a fast response time? Thanks guys.

 

[xtknight]

1. Yeah, I can tell a difference even with my 17". The fonts on DVI look a lot better, not 'too sharp'. With DVI you don't need to do any fine-tuning either. It's perfect to begin with (geometry wise).
2. Contrast ratio, usually inflated by manufacturers, is a measure of how much difference there is between colors. The higher (the numerator) the better.
3. Response time denotes the speed at which the LCD's crystals change. You want the lowest millisecond number for the fastest response. This is awfully deflated as well though, and the measurements can vary. I'm happy with my 12ms. for gaming.

I'd get the Hyundai L90D+.

 

[zylander]

thanks for the quick response. the hyundai looks pretty nice and the price is decent too. I was basically only looking at vewsonic, nec and samsung because thats pretty much all I know. I dont know anything about all these other manufacturers.

 

[xtknight]

I really don't either, but there's always a first time for anything. I've heard nothing but good stuff about the Hyundai, Samsungs, and the Dell LCDs (mostly bigger ones). This is my first Samsung (and not my last), and I'm extremely pleased by it. Sure, there are limitations, but that's due to the fact that it's an LCD, not because it's Samsung's fault.

 

[zylander]

Does anyone know if there is a way to meassure the response time of a monitor? the LCD i currently have is so old that I have no idea what is response time is. I tried looking it up online but I couldnt find anything. If I knew what the response time was for this old monitor It would help me to compare it to what I will buy.

 

[midnight growler]

I'm almost certain that if your LCD is that old, anything would be an improvement. As xtknight said, 12ms should be fine.

 

[lifeguard1999]

LCD Buyers Guide

 

[zylander]

Originally posted by: midnight growler
I'm almost certain that if your LCD is that old, anything would be an improvement. As xtknight said, 12ms should be fine.

haha, thats pretty much what I was thinking too. Tho a lot of the reviews for some of the LCDs I was looking at said they had ghosting and I have never experienced any ghosting with this old thing.

thanks for that link lifeguard. I ended up ordering the hyundai LD90. thanks guys.

 

[kmmatney]

The Hyundai LD90 is very good. I would buy this LCD, though:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014090

Simply because we get BenQ LCD monitors for my work and our clients and I have never seen a bad pixel or experienced a problem with any of them, ever (which is why I also bought a BenQ).