Opinions on 30" LCDs

[WileCoyote]

Someone I know wants to hook up a 30" LCD (like the one at Dell) to their PC to use as a monitor. Any recommendations? I've been searching around but can't find too many reviews on them. He has two Dell 21" Trinitron but wants something that will take up less space, give off less heat, and have a sharp image

 

[Peter]

Usually those really big LCDs are actually two or more smaller ones, seamlessly glued together to make one big image.
For them, special graphics cards like the Matrox four-head thing are in order.

 

[SUOrangeman]

I don't think the LCDs in the 30"+ arena are high resolution in comparision to 20" and smaller models. Sure, a 30" LCD can do HDTV at 720p (1280x768), but my Dell 1800FPs at home do 1280x1024 natively. If I'm going to have an LCD on my desk, I sure don't want it to be a monster than can only do 1280x768.

For now, I think 30"+ only has its place on the wall.

-SUO

 

[tapir]

If he wants something with the resolution of 2x 21" CRT monitors the price will be exorbitant. We're talking $5K+

If he just wants a big 1280x768 or 720p monitor there will be many options, most branded as LCD TV but will have a VGA and/or DVI input. I say get one with DVI and you're fine.

 

[jrphoenix]

Most of the 30" LCD's haven't had the highest native resolutions. I think your friend could get a much larger 21" or even 23" LCD with a higher native resolution. I have a Samsung 213 T and it is a beauty 1600 x 1200. I use it to game too!

The 1600 x 1200 resolution is optimal... if you ever have to bump up your frame rates you just drop to 800 x 600 and don't see any distortion at all. I have gamed at 1280 x 1024 and don't see really noticiable distortion.