What makes LCDs ghost?

[DyslexicHobo]

I'm looking to buy an LCD soon. I'm a gamer and I frequently go to LAN parties, but carrying around my huge 19" CRT is a pain. I want a 17" or 19" LCD good for gaming. Something easy on the eyes with text is a plus, but not a must. What should I look for when I'm buying a monitor? All I know is that refresh rate should be =<16.

What makes the monitor ghost? Is there a certain value that I can make sure is high/low to ensure no ghosting?

 

[biostud]

tomshardware just had a review of 4 19" LCD's for gaming

 

[dguy6789]

This looks to be by far the best for gaming so far. Have to love that 8ms responce time. I bet you couldnt tell the diff between it and a crt besides the weight.

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=24-116-276&amp;depa=1

 

[DyslexicHobo]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
This looks to be by far the best for gaming so far. Have to love that 8ms responce time. I bet you couldnt tell the diff between it and a crt besides the weight.

http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=24-116-276&amp;depa=1

That looks nice but it's just a little out of my price range. My range ~ $300.

 

[Coherence]

Originally posted by: DyslexicHobo
I'm looking to buy an LCD soon. I'm a gamer and I frequently go to LAN parties, but carrying around my huge 19" CRT is a pain. I want a 17" or 19" LCD good for gaming. Something easy on the eyes with text is a plus, but not a must. What should I look for when I'm buying a monitor? All I know is that refresh rate should be =<16.

What makes the monitor ghost? Is there a certain value that I can make sure is high/low to ensure no ghosting?

The reason LCD monitors have ghosting is because they are physically kinetic in nature, as opposed to CRT monitors which are purely electrical.

Each liquid crystal pixel is an OBJECT WITH MASS that is forced to shift position based on the electrical charge. It takes longer for an object with mass to move than it does for a CRT phosphor to light up. So, when an object moves across the screen on an LCD, those pixels being passed over by the object have to shift around, and because it takes longer on some LCD's than others, the ghosting is more noticeable. CRT's don't have that problem, because phosphors are basically on or off, without any need to move physically. It's more or less instantaneous.

If an LCD pixel could move at the speed of light, then it wouldn't have ghosting. But, we don't have that kind of technology. 😉

However, I love my LCD, and will never go back to a big, hot, bulky CRT, even as a gamer.