Please help - Which LCD should I get?

[meloman]

I'm having trouble deciding which flat screen/panel to buy. Can someone point me in the right direction? I need to know what to look for and what to avoid. Also, I've read that these screens typically come with dead pixels and there's not much that you can do about it...is this true? Who will honor a refund/exchange should I get one of these defective screens? Here's what I need help deciding (considering I'm a gamer).

17", 19" or 21"?
What's a good refresh rate?
What contrast ratio should I look for?
What resolution is best?
What's .dp?

Anything I missed that is important when deciding what to get?

I'm very confused. Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Walleye]

refresh rate is not applicable in lcd's.

pixel response time is the key.

you want to stick to under .30 milliseconds. .16 is best.

 

[fredtam]

Search LCD. You will get tons of threads on what to look for.

 

[InlineFive]

A generally accepted excellent gaming monitor is the Viewsonic VP171b. It has a low reponse time which yields no ghosting which plauges other LCDs and it has a good Dot Pitch which helps on image clarity. Some LCDs do ship with dead pixels (my VP171b has a small blue one however it's not noticeable, thank goodness it isn't red!) but most vendors will only accept an RMA if it has x quantity of dead pixels.

1. The larger the screen size the more viewing space. However larger screens generally have high response times which makes them unsuitable for gaming or some DVDs.
2. All LCDs use 60Hz. Some can go higher but 60Hz is the easiest on your eyes.
3. Higher contrast ratios yield better image clarity. So more is always better.
4. Most LCDs use either 1024x768, 1280x1024 or 1600x1200. Contrast ratio is more important for image quality. However there are limitations, 1600x1200 can usually only be found on 19" or larger LCDs. For example the VP171b uses 1280x1024 but it has a 500:1 contrast ratio and it has a very sharp image.
5. Dot Pitch. I dont' know much about this.

One thing you forgot is Response Time. This is how fast the LCD's pixels can respond to changing images. A higher response time is usually bad and will result in image ghosting. What this is does is sort of leave a trail of old images on the screen which can be disorienting and annoying. Keep in mind that this typically affects movies and games, not 2D. For games you want an LCD with a 16ms response time as this is as good as a CRT. The current best bets for 16ms LCDs are the Viewsonic VP171b (17") or the Dell 2001FP (20").

Cheers!

-Por

 

[meloman]

Thank you for all the input. Can anyone else chime in here? I was just reading about the pixel response time and according to reports the Dell 2001FP is one of the fastest on the market. Is it worth the $800+ though? So ghosting is one of the setbacks with gaming lcd's? How about the dead pixel issue, how are people dealing with this? Is there no Zero-tolerance dead pixel policy out there? This kinda concerns me, say I buy a screen from a vendor that won't accept a return with a screen that has 10 dead pixels I'm pretty much stuck with it. It's sounds like a bit of a gamble to me. It can't be that bad. Is a dead pixel visible from the first day or can it appear with time?

 

[Walleye]

if you want a cheaper option, one of the NEC 17 inchers has a 16 ms pixel response rate.

 

[egale]

The dead pixel thing is an issue. I think 10 dead pixels would get you a new monitor anywhere. I have the 171P and I have 0 dead pixels. Before you buy check with the manufacturer and vendor on their return/replace policies.