question on LCD monitors

[rise]

i'm thinking of getting a 17 or 19" LCD and, being my first LCD, i am a little concerned/unclear on a couple things.
am i justifiably wary of buying one online? newegg and tiger have some great pricing but i think i'd be crushed ifi had dead pixels out of the box. i know most online retailers have 8 or more dead pixel return policies but will the manufacturer take it back for 1? i'm leaning toward sony but pricing on benq 19' and rosewill 17 and 19 is great.
i also understand that the panel makers themselves only number about 5 and sony, samsung, viewsonic etc just brand them, correct?
i play some games as does my son so i'm thinking 16 ms response time and from what i hear the contrast ratio is far less important.
obviously, i have some more research to do but was looking for any help i can get here too.

 

[LordPhoenix]

samsung !!!!!!! 710/910!!!!!!

 

[rise]

thanks LP. have you heard anything about the cheaper models, like benq? am i fool for considering the lower end on something as important as the monitor? my thought was that if the panels are made by the same manufacturer, than perhaps i'd just be paying for less frills, considering 2 comparable panels/specs.

 

[crimson117]

read anandtech's 19" lcd guide

 

[WuGahCha]

a lot benq models have bad color reproduction, but I hear the 937 model is decent for a 12ms TN panel

it all depends on what u need, get a PVA/MVA panel if u do text, and dvd, the 12ms TN panels are good for fast fps gaming

I recently bought the Dell1905fp, looks alright. I think dell has really good pricing, and u can get big discount with the dellf coupons (20-25% off).

for gaming, Viewsonic 912B is best, benq 937 is maybe 150ish cheaper, not nearly as good, but if u wanna save the money thats an option.

For DVD, text and graphics, do not get a 12ms TN panel, go for the 20/25ms ones. 12ms and 16ms panels are 6bit color, the 20/25ms ones are 8bit.
Out of those panels, dell 1905fp is pretty good, quality and price wise. Samsung 910T is very good too.
17" wise, 710T is good, but a little overpriced, check out some older samsung models for 17". DVI is not as important if you dont do a lot of text work.

also 19" and 17" both have 1280x1024 native res. So if you are not comfortable using 17" with that resolution, then get a 19", cuz if u turn it down, it really hurts the quality by a lot!!!

 

[rise]

thank you all, appreciate the input.
i'll post what i get.