Upgrading from a 19" CRT to a 19" LCD

[AverageGamer]

I know very little about LCD technology, only what I've read in a few online reviews from Tom's and some topics here on the boards.

Basically, I want an LCD. My budget is around 250-300$. I can go a little higher, but not much. The primary use will be games, followed closely by movies and a bit of exploring the net. I understand that low response times are good, high contrast ratio is good. I'm open to the idea of widescreen, but I'm intersted in hearing personal experiences/preferences and the pros and cons. I have a pretty good rig, so I'm looking for something with DVI input (preferably with another display slot so I can switch between two pcs with one display).

I've heard good things about the following monitors. I'll include the specs so those with more understanding than I can make a reccomendation more easily.

ViewSonic VP930b

Link

Display
Panel Active Matrix, TFT LCD
Screen Size 19"
Display Type SXGA
Recommended Resolution 1280x1024
Viewing Angle 170°(H) / 170°(V)
Pixel Pitch 0.294mm
Display Colours 16.7 Million
Brightness 250 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio 1000:1
Response Time 8ms
Horizontal Fresh Rate 24~82kHz
Vertical Fresh Rate 50~85Hz

ViewSonic VX922

Link

Panel Active Matrix, TFT LCD
Screen Size 19"
Display Type SXGA
Maximum Resolution 1280x1024
Recommended Resolution 1280x1024
Viewing Angle 170°(H) / 170°(V)
Pixel Pitch 0.294mm
Display Colours 16.2 Million
Brightness 270 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio 650:1
Response Time 2ms
Horizontal Fresh Rate 30~82kHz
Vertical Fresh Rate 50~75Hz

And for the widescreen alternative:

ViewSonic VA1912wb

Link

Panel Active Matrix, TFT LCD
Screen Size 19"
Widescreen Yes
Display Type WXGA+
Maximum Resolution 1440x900
Recommended Resolution 1440x900
Viewing Angle 160°(H) / 160°(V)
Pixel Pitch 0.294mm
Display Colours 16.2 Million
Brightness 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio 500:1
Response Time 8ms
Horizontal Fresh Rate 30~82kHz
Vertical Fresh Rate 50~85Hz

For some reason, I've only included viewsonic brands. The first choice was the "all around" choice. I like the ergonomics of the swivel and hieght adjust. What I'm wondering is if the vx22 is vastly superior in terms of gaming (though it said it was slightly inferior in terms of movie viewing). And the whole widescreen thing would be a big change.

But like I said, I've only been looking into LCD monitors for only a few days, though I'd like to make a decision soon. I'm not limiting myself to Viewsonic by any means, they just seemed to have a few good models out at the time.

Your thoughts?

Edit: Included links.

 

[Machine350]

Well I can vouch that Viewsonic monitors are pretty good. I have the VX924 and it's been great for gaming. I own a bigscreen for moviewatching, so I can't really help ya there. For gaming though, the VX922 would be my first choice.

 

[AverageGamer]

Thanks for the input. I'm in a small apartment, so this will be my primary moviewatching screen as well, so it's definitely a factor. and since I love widescreen format for movies (over fullscreen), that's what's made me consider a widsescreen monitor. The only downside (that I can think of so far), is limited resolution in games.

 

[AverageGamer]

Bump

 

[Barkotron]

I have the Vp930 - coming from a CRT I can't directly compare it to other LCDs, but I'd say it's a pretty good all-rounder. Suits pretty much everything I do with it. Unfortunately, pretty much the only thing I've done with it since I bought it is play Oblivion. Must... stop... life... being... eaten...

 

[Calin]

Many games that don't have a standard resolution for wide screen can be "fooled" to run wide screen by introducing by hand a different resolution in their config files/configuration options/registry info/whatever.

 

[AverageGamer]

Barkotron- Have any trouble with backlight bleeding? Hahaha Oblivion is sooo great. Looks good on your monitor? no ghosting? (not that Oblivion is incredibly fast paced).

Ahhh, gotcha, so some simple hacking is all it takes? No side effects from that?

 

[AverageGamer]

Strongly thiking about going with the ViewSonic VX922.

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

The NEC 90GX2 seems to be the best 19" out there, the question is whether or not you can find one in your price range. Apparently, the can be had for around $350 now.

 

[farp96]

Yeah Newegg has the 90gx2 for $369 with $9.00 shipping for a total of about $400. I paided $500 a couple of days ago. I am trying to return the one I got from ewiz and getting it from Newegg. The only thing that worries me is, I have no dead pixels now, my luck I get the one from Newegg and its got 7 dead pixels...

 

[aniruddha23]

Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
The NEC 90GX2 seems to be the best 19" out there, the question is whether or not you can find one in your price range. Apparently, the can be had for around $350 now.

6 bit Panel. Great for Gaming.

But super average for day to day use.

 

[farp96]

You know its strange but when I was picking out my 90gx2 at frys they had an 8 bit panel next to it. Now to me the desktop picture they were using looked alot better on the 90gx2 than the other 8 bit monitor. Maybe it was the way the had it setup but it sure did look better...

 

[aniruddha23]

Originally posted by: farp96
You know its strange but when I was picking out my 90gx2 at frys they had an 8 bit panel next to it. Now to me the desktop picture they were using looked alot better on the 90gx2 than the other 8 bit monitor. Maybe it was the way the had it setup but it sure did look better...

If you setup the Gamma levels correctly then you can make it look much better than your average monitor. I mean I play quake 4 on this monitor and I truly believe nothing can beat it in terms of teh image quality for that game. But the color dithering is very obvious when u start writing emails and edit pictures.

 

[farp96]

aniruddha23,

What settings are you using for your 70gx2? I have no idea what to set my gamma levels at...