LCD Monitor Decision Need Help

[ClockerXP]

Hi All-

I need some help/opinions on what LCD I should buy.

I currently use a 19" MAG CRT that has been serving me well for about 7 years. I've decided that sometime in the next few months is the time to upgrade to a nice new LCD panel display. My current video card is a 128MB Radeon 9500 turned in to a 9700 with W1zzrds hacked drivers and it is overclocked to about 315/315. This will probably be upgraded sometime after X-mas (only if necessary). Best $160 I ever spent when it was new!

I'm concerned about good gaming performance (i.e. response time) and I want to stay with whatever the naitive res. of the LCD panel that I get is. The Dell 2001FP looks like a nice but I'm concerned that the res. may be too high. The Dell 1905FP looks like a nice alternative that I'm also considering. The higher contrast seems like it's a nice + as well.

A few questions I hope you will comment on:

Should I be considering other products besides the 2001FP and the 1905FP?
Which LCD panel do you feel is best for gaming (of any brand/make)?
Does the higher contrast ratio of the 1905FP really make a difference in actual usage?
Will a 19" LCD give a larger viewing area than my 19" CRT? Is the 20" LCD noticeably bigger?

Considering this is an item I will be sticking with for several years, I'm willing to pay a premium and also buy a product I can 'grow' into with a higher end video card mid-2005.

Any feedback/opinions would be apprecaited!

Thanks,
CxP

 

[ClockerXP]

BUMP

Am I posting in the wrong place?

 

[Hikari]

I'd consider the 2005FPw (res is slightly lower...you mention res, and it is wide screen). It also has better response time and is brighter.

Any 12 or 16ms panel is probably -ok- anyway. Although some people are much more neurotic.

Yes, a 19" LCD is more like a 20" or 21" crt in viewable area usually. You'd have to look at mmodels at the store to see how much bigger a 20" was vs a 19" LCD, though...

If you get coupons, you can get a 2001 or 2005 for $550-600.

 

[jvarszegi]

I have a 2001FP and it is awesome. I'm not much of a gamer, but I do play racing games, and I've never noticed any smearing at all. It's an all-around great monitor; you can rotate the screen to view documents more easily, which I guess most of them do nowadays; the colors seem to be fairly accurate; it's easy to use and reposition; and the resolution is great for just about everything.

I have an Inspiron 8200 with a 15" UXGA screen, and the resolution's really too high for certain things at that size. With a 20" screen, it's perfect.

I know that there are a fair number of games that support 1280 X 1024, but you might not want to lock yourself into that resolution (which I believe from memory you would, going with the Dell 19-inch). It's an oddball one; the pixels aren't shaped normally, like those of 4:3 screens. Why Dell doesn't give their 17"-19" LCD panels SXGA+ is beyond me; it's better in every way.

 

[Schadenfroh]

i have not gotten my 2001fp in, but i chose it over the 2005fpw because the 2001fp has more surface area and it is not widescreen. I dont like the idea of having to mod several of my games and spend more time getting them to fit in a widescreen resolution than i do playing it (many new games support widescreen, but i play many old ones)

 

[darklight0tr]

The 1905FP is a nice LCD, but with a 20ms response time it wouldn't be that great for gaming.

If you're looking at 19" LCDs, check out these:

ViewSonic VP912b, 12ms response

http://www.viewsonic.com/produ...lays/proseries/vp912b/

Sony SDM-HS94P/B or SDM-HS94P/S, both have 12 ms response

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bi...&Dept=cpu_Displays

As for 20" LCDs, these are good too:

Dell 2001FP, 16ms response, just like Hikari's recommendation

http://accessories.us.dell.com...8&category_id=4009

As for the 2005FP, others on this forum haven't said good things about that LCD. I would investigate it further first if you are considering it.

ViewSonic VP201b or VP201s, 16ms response

http://www.viewsonic.com/produ...pdisplays/lcddisplays/

There are more manufacturers than what I listed above, but I wanted to provide a sample for you.

I don't know much about LCD contrast ratios, so I wouldn't be able to answer that question for you.

I am looking at getting an LCD next year and I am going with a 19" LCD for price reasons as well as the lower 1280x1024 native resolution. As a gamer, I don't want to always have to have cutting edge hardware to run at 1600x1200 like a 20" LCD requires.

 

[jvarszegi]

I am looking at getting an LCD next year and I am going with a 19" LCD for price reasons as well as the lower 1280x1024 native resolution. As a gamer, I don't want to always have to have cutting edge hardware to run at 1600x1200 like a 20" LCD requires.

Just because you have a UXGA screen doesn't mean that you have to run all your games at that resolution. Also consider that you'll probably have the screen for quite a while, whereas you'll probably upgrade the rest of your hardware in the next several years if it's falling behind now.

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I've seen complaints on Anandtech from people using SXGA screens to work with images, especially if they switch to a normal resolution afterward. Is this true? Why did they even create the strange SXGA resolution in the first place-- does it offer some benefit?

I agree with Schadenfroh (what does that mean, "damage-happy"?) that for a gamer, a widescreen recommendation is a bad one. Wide screens are also not optimal for programming, or for any activity naturally involving document composition with sidebars/browsers. There's not really enough room to fit two documents side-by-side in an IDE at widescreen, and the extra space is wasted.

 

[Hikari]

The only things not good that people have said about the 2005FPw is that they don't want to bother trying to get games run in widescreen. Performance and contrast, etc., it is better than the 2001fp, but it does have a slightly lower pixel density. I like it anyway, since the only games I play (NWN, Morrowind, HL2), all support widescreen right out of the box.

 

[ice024]

I would say go with the Viewsonic vp912b i have seen numerous reviews and none have been negative. Check out this review (btw, i ordered mine on amazon last week for 655.49 with free ship) http://www.gamepc.com/labs/vie...=1&cookie%5Ftest=1

 

[g8wayrebel]

The sony HSDM series would definitely be my choice. The response times are good,they have wide range for resolutions,the color is pretty good w/o adjustment,they have a great warranty,and excellent customer satisfaction, and last but not least they have a frame around them(which looks pretty good)and you don't get fingers on the screen when adjusting them. You will need to upgrade your vid card for sure to keep up with the demands put on them today, so get the digital monitor and a compatible card.It willl make all the difference.

 

[ClockerXP]

Thanks to all so far for your input!

That Viewsonic looks nice but I want a monitor that has some untegrated USB ports so it won't make it on my list.

I'm kind of torn right now between the 2005FPW and the 2001FP...but I don't really like the idea of my LCD saying 'Dell' on it. Is the logo removable?

Any other comments are appreciated!

CxP

 

[ClockerXP]

Originally posted by: Hikari
The only things not good that people have said about the 2005FPw is that they don't want to bother trying to get games run in widescreen. Performance and contrast, etc., it is better than the 2001fp, but it does have a slightly lower pixel density. I like it anyway, since the only games I play (NWN, Morrowind, HL2), all support widescreen right out of the box.

Do you think all (or at least most) future games will support wide-screen? I only play the bigger popular titles as it is. Also, can you use the wide-screen capability in Windows or is it letter-boxed?

Thanks,
CxP

 

[Ryland]

I have hte Viewsonic VX910 and it looks awesome playing FarCry.

 

[jvarszegi]

Originally posted by: ClockerXP

Originally posted by: Hikari

Do you think all (or at least most) future games will support wide-screen? I only play the bigger popular titles as it is. Also, can you use the wide-screen capability in Windows or is it letter-boxed?

Thanks,
CxP

Most future games will support widescreen, and some already do, and apparently you can tweak some of the rest to run them at widescreen. Windows definitely supports all current widescreen resolutions. With Windows, I think it'll do whatever the card supports, as long as the minimum required dimensions for height and width are met.

 

[mboy]

I have a Dell 1905fp on the way. Got it for $430 delivered from Dell (business), so that was an awesome deal I could not refuse. If I couldn't have gotten it at that price, I would have gone for the BenQFP937s for about $20 more delivered. The Sony's, etc in that league are easily 100-200 more. For that range I would have stepped up to the 2001fp or 2005fpw.

 

[Hikari]

Someone else already answered I see.

Their answers are correct. Most new games support widescreen and it'll probably get even more common with more affordable widescreen LCDs coming out lately. Heck, a lot of old games even work with widescreen, either out of the box or with mods. Windows just runs at whatever resolution you set it at, so it'll be the correct aspect ratio and full screen.

Originally posted by: ClockerXP

Originally posted by: Hikari
The only things not good that people have said about the 2005FPw is that they don't want to bother trying to get games run in widescreen. Performance and contrast, etc., it is better than the 2001fp, but it does have a slightly lower pixel density. I like it anyway, since the only games I play (NWN, Morrowind, HL2), all support widescreen right out of the box.

Do you think all (or at least most) future games will support wide-screen? I only play the bigger popular titles as it is. Also, can you use the wide-screen capability in Windows or is it letter-boxed?

Thanks,
CxP

 

[ClockerXP]

I think I'm going to go for a 2005FPW in February then after I get back from vacation. Or, would I get a better deal during the Christmas sales? Tough decision. Thoughts?

 

[ice024]

well right now the 2005fpw is NOT on sale at dell so wait and see if does if not wait since prices of most
tech drops over time

 

[D0rkIRL]

there is a way to get 25% off their LCDs though, it's in a thread in the Hot Deals forum.

 

[Jeffyboy]

So, did you get a 2005FPW monitor? ;-) If so, what video card are you rnning it on?
I just ordered the dell monitor myself and am waiting for it to come... in the meantime I am worrying about what kind of video power I may need. Just curious to see what you use

Jeffy in Kelowna

 

[Jeffyboy]

I chose the 2005FP for the wide format. Makes looking at digital pictures easier because of their format. Games will look real cool... may need a honking video card to get a good frame rate... I plan on getting an X800 if no one says otherwise... I could get a 9800 cheaper.