Gamer needs new monitor

[SBGTF]

Its been a while since I've been in the market for a monitor. I'm searching for some recomendations (maybe a FAQ) . I don't have a truckload of cash to spend. I heard back in the day that LCDs were not for gamers. Sounds like that may be changing.

Any suggestions, links to a FAQ or other help would be appreciated.

Maybe something like, "Well for $300 you could get "x", or for a little less get "y", but you lose ____ feature, or spend a little more and get "z" so you can get _____ feature."

Happy Easter.

 

[Alowishus]

If you are hardcore into gaming and dont mind getting a used monitor, you might want to look into getting a refurb Aperature Grille tube monitor (diamondtron or trinitron). http://www.azatek.com/ . My personal recommendation goes to the FW900 or HP equivalent A7217A 24 inch widescreen CRT. I own one and it is absolutely amazing.

 

[bamacre]

At what resolution are you used to for gaming?

 

[SBGTF]

Originally posted by: bamacre
At what resolution are you used to for gaming?

1024x768

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
1GB Ram
GeForce 5800 128MB

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: SBGTF

Originally posted by: bamacre
At what resolution are you used to for gaming?

1024x768

AMD Athlon 64 3000+
1GB Ram
GeForce 5800 128MB

17in and 19in LCD's will have a native resolution a little higher than that, but you could set them to 10x7 for gaming. They've come down in price a bit of course. You're basically going to choose between one with DVI or not.

17in Samsung w/o DVI

17in Samsung with DVI

19in Acer w/o DVI

19in Samsung with DVI


Generally, the lower the response time, the better, and the higher the contrast ratio the better. DVI will give you a more clear picture of course. You may want to read a few reviews, or get some feedback here for a particular model. I've only used one LCD, a Dell 2001FP. Speaking of Dell, you may want to check out some Hot Deal sites and see if Dell is offering any coupons or deals on LCD's, but stick with their UltraSharp LCD's. Dell's LCD's are quite popular especially the larger ones.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I use a Viewsonic VX924, love it. ~$350 for the newer models...922 mebbe?

 

[Ojannen]

If you are a casual gamer, don't worry about monitor's too much. If you compare a decent 19" crt ($200) with a decent lcd ($400), the performance will be similar. You will pay more for the lcd but it is much smaller/ergonomic/etc. Decide if the feature set of the lcd is good enough that you can justify doubling the price.

If you are a hardcore gamer, be very very careful with lcd monitors. To trained eyes there are ghosting issues with all but the fastest monitor. Much of the ghosting problem has been eliminated or greatly reduced on top quality monitors. Assuming you get a good quality lcd, the biggest issue is that running a 17" or 19" monitor will not give you a 4:3 aspect ratio. It is 5:4. Which means the difference of 1280x960 which scales down to 1024x768 and 1280x1024 which absolutely does not scale down to 1024x768 in full screen mode. To keep the aspect ratio correct, you will have to play in windowed mode. This lowers piscture size and causes a considerable fps hit. If you are a hardcore gamer, and you play games where fov is locked, expect a 1-3 month period where your aim will be bad due to the fact that the screen is stretched. It takes a consierable amount of time to get used to the different screen dimensions with the same fov. Your two realistic choices are a refurb trinitron for azatec ($150-250) or a good quality 20 inch lcd with native re of 1600x1200 ($500-$800+). The lcd monitor sticky at the top of this forum probably has better suggestions than I can give you.