What is the best PC gaming monitor?

[shiznit]

Samsung 2233RZ, period.

 

[Adrenaline]

Once you buy NEC pro series you'll never buy anything else. I'd start with LCD2490WUXi2 - if you have old eyes then LCD2690WUXi2.

I have a gateway but am due for an upgrade. My job has big NEC monitoprs all over the place and they are very very nice.

 

[GEOrifle]

DELL and HP.
I can't say more. By myself i have brand new LG 24" 2ms but you know what? If it can be changed i should go with SAMSUNG or HP GLOSS ones.(DELL is to much $$).

 

[SingJsong]

Kinda surprised more discussion hasn't been given to the refresh rates on monitors given how it practically defines best maximum FPS for games...

 

[Dribble]

The best definition of a gaming monitor would be what does a pro-gamer want from his monitor to win.

They would rate 120hz and no input lag as more important then "vibrant colours" - TN panels have perfectly good colours for gaming. Equally they don't use 30 inch displays - the standard display size in the finals is more like 20 inch widescreen iirc. It's important to have the whole screen in your field of vision so huge displays don't help (you'd just have to place them further away from you to allow that).

If you are rating colour improvement and size over input lag/refresh rate then that's fine, but it's not really a gaming monitor.

 

[Fallengod]

There are many pro gamers who actually still use CRT's for gaming. I still do. People who compete professionally for money, make thousands of dollars a year, etc know CRTs have the highest fps... Some crappy ass 85hz just doesnt compare to 200hz+.

Whatever the monitor was, if youre gonna go LCD, it needs the newer 120hz models for sure and low ms. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. The hz and low ms is what matters.

 

[jvroig]

I was also under the impression that pro gamers (or anybody who is seriously wanting to be a pro gamer) actually still prefer CRTs as they have less drawbacks than LCDs, even though they tend to be larger, heavier and use more power. I was surprised when most people here answered with LCDs.

Being not a pro gamer myself, I prefer a large LCD. But if I had to choose something specifically to make my games look or seem to play better (I mean better experience visually) then I would most certainly say a big CRT with very high refresh rate rather than an LCD monitor.

 

[v8envy]

Depends on which games you play as well.

I've completely given up FPSes after downgrading from a dying Nokia CRT to a 22" Acer (and subsequently 24" Dell) LCD. Even with the lowest input lag and highest refresh I could find the FPSes are just... not good. A 60 fps refresh rate limitation gives you up to a ( 1000 / 60 = 16 ms ) latency right there. Most LCDs are at least a frame behind, some can be several frames behind on top of that. Your monitor lag can be worse than your network lag! Add in all the other latencies and you might as well be sending your mouse clicks on punch cards.

Good news is most everyone else is similarly handicapped. Bad news is, those with functioning CRTs are cleaning up. I find it funny people are wiling to blow thousands of $ on graphics cards and not realize their display is a bigger performance bottleneck. $800 for a refurb CRT is a great value if all you do is shoot pixels in the face.

Anyhoo, even though I don't touch FPS any more I still consider myself a gamer. Non-FPSes (RPGs, MMOs) are great on a large, slow LCD.

 

[jvroig]

Right, I failed to consider that. The refresh rate advantage of a CRT would only really matter as an advantage for FPS type games, and not so much on slower-paced games, especially non-competitive ones.

 

[Fallengod]

Well ya. People use their monitors for different things. LCDS are good to, but not optimal for gaming(with the exception of the newer ones which have whatever the hz is at now, 120hz I guess?) Id love to get my hands on one of the newer LCDS with 120hz to test. Im sure they are significantly better than the older LCDS.

If you want a good test, use any decent older LCD that has a max of 60-85hz for at least a few weeks. Then after that time, go hop onto a CRT at a res that can still do 120-200hz and you will be in shock as to why youve been playing on a LCD the entire time. I tried that experiment a while back, and couldnt believe how much better the CRT was.

I just laugh at people who buy like $400 video cards for gaming, then use a LCD at a res that has like 60hz. Some people just have no idea....

 

[MrK6]

Call me biased because I own it, but I cannot more highly recommend the Dell WFP3007-HC. It is without a doubt the best computer equipment purchase I had ever made, partly because I got it brand new for $668. 30" and 2560x1600 resolution are beyond amazing, there's no way I could use a smaller monitor now. The colors, angles, and response times are also great (better than some TN panels I've used, although obviously not that of a CRT). I mostly game and do desktop/office work on it, and it's just fantastic. I've seen 120Hz monitors, wide screen CRTs, and large-screen TV monitors, and I have no desire to switch at all (maybe OLED will change my mind ). Dell runs deals on monitors every now and then through their outlet, and many, like mine, are brand new - keep your eyes open.

 

[x3sphere]

Call me biased because I own it, but I cannot more highly recommend the Dell WFP3007-HC. It is without a doubt the best computer equipment purchase I had ever made, partly because I got it brand new for $668. 30" and 2560x1600 resolution are beyond amazing, there's no way I could use a smaller monitor now. The colors, angles, and response times are also great (better than some TN panels I've used, although obviously not that of a CRT). I mostly game and do desktop/office work on it, and it's just fantastic. I've seen 120Hz monitors, wide screen CRTs, and large-screen TV monitors, and I have no desire to switch at all (maybe OLED will change my mind ). Dell runs deals on monitors every now and then through their outlet, and many, like mine, are brand new - keep your eyes open.

I can second this. 2560x1600 is a huge jump from 1920x1200, totally worth the money. Even on FPS type games the response time is excellent unless you're really picky on that, in which case I'd recommend a CRT.

 

[n7]

There have been a number of 2560x1600 recommendations, & for good reason.

I make a lot of PC upgrades.
Many many new parts get purchased every year.

But there are three things that have revolutionized my day to day life on the PC more than anything else.

1. 2560x1600 30" IPS display.
There is nothing that compares to this.
Even multiple 1920x1200 displays...it's just not the same.

2. My projector
For watching movies/TV/sometimes gaming, again, nothing compares to this

3. My SSDs.
Overclock everything in your system to the hilt; it still won't improve things like these do.

 

[davidrees]

I use a Sony 21" CRT and I love FPS games.

Usually 1600x1200 @ 85hz or sometimes 1280x960.

You can go higher than 85 but on a CRT, higher refresh means a loss in sharpness.

For the last couple years, you have been able to get really nice 21" CRTs for $20-80 on craigslist. The supply seems to be drying up and a lot of the ones for sale have problems. My monitor cost me $25 and it has amazing color, black blacks and I just love it. However, my second system has a Sony monitor where the black has a slight green tint to it and I have not been able to tune that out. It needs to be serviced.

Every time I think about getting a nice TN panel for gaming, I read about the latency issues and decide to skip it - as long as I can.

 

[uclaLabrat]

I can't wait for OLED to get here, but in the mean time, I've been playing on my sammy 305t+ and it's damn amazing. I can see people in the distance extremely far away, the detail is excellent. Best upgrade I've ever made.

 

[shangshang]

LG W63 enters gaming monitor arena, claims to be the best

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/03/lg-w63-enters-gaming-monitor-arena-claims-to-be-the-best/

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Yet they didn't include 120Hz.

1920x1200 + e-IPS+ 120HZ <-- This is what I want.

 

[shangshang]

hmm.. I would personally get a 40"-42" 1080p plasma if I'm into extreme gaming
forget all these scrawny little 22"-24" lcd. Forget the archaic, big and heavy 24" CRT costing $800 (if you can even find one). To me, it's a little weird when I hear all these big explosions with awesome bass... yet I'm only staring at a little scrawny 24" LCD. I hear the explosions... but it takes a big screen TV to really bring out the audio-visual experience.

 

[postmortemIA]

some posts are lame.. 'best' monitor is surely not some $200 ASUS with unknown panel in it... nor is LG who does all sorts of panel lotteries even on their 42" LCDs.

 

[Ben90]

some posts are lame.. 'best' monitor is surely not some $200 ASUS with unknown panel in it... nor is LG who does all sorts of panel lotteries even on their 42" LCDs.

Yea, i wish people could keep out their personal equipment from these kind of "discussions"

"OMFGz i has a 42"incher IPSS Disyaplay that is THE bestn GMAIng monitner EVRe!"


If you play for competition: get a CRT if your super hardcore or a 120hz LCD
If you play from immersion: get a bigass IPS or high quality type display

*edit*

I wonder how many people that drop 1k on a 30" IPS display actually have their colors calibrated with that little suction cup thing

 

[MrK6]

I wonder how many people that drop 1k on a 30" IPS display actually have their colors calibrated with that little suction cup thing

I just grabbed a color profile off of Google.

 

[alkemyst]

I am going from a Sony 21" CRT G500 at 1600x1200@85 to a NEC LCD2490WUXi at 1920x1200...hope I don't regret it.

 

[davidrees]

I am going from a Sony 21" CRT G500 at 1600x1200@85 to a NEC LCD2490WUXi at 1920x1200...hope I don't regret it.

Keep us posted because I use a CPD-G520P - mine is still in great shape, but they don't last forever - I use the same settings and if I make a move, it will be to a 1920x1200 24ish panel.

btw - if you keep your eyes open, those that love CRTs can still find these on craigs list once in a while. I have bought 3 in the last 2 years. The 2 I paid the most for ($50 and $80) have the green tint, but the one I paid $25 for is perfect.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-CPD-G520P.../dp/B000066IX5

 

[ViviTheMage]

I've got two of these bad boys :

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/prod...p&amp;sku=320-7825

 

[shangshang]

Yea, i wish people could keep out their personal equipment from these kind of "discussions"

"OMFGz i has a 42"incher IPSS Disyaplay that is THE bestn GMAIng monitner EVRe!"


If you play for competition: get a CRT if your super hardcore or a 120hz LCD
If you play from immersion: get a bigass IPS or high quality type display

*edit*

I wonder how many people that drop 1k on a 30" IPS display actually have their colors calibrated with that little suction cup thing

ugh... it's a net forum... people come here to chill out... and like most chill out spot, you'll get randomness... they don't come here to post competitively to score points with the ladies. Egh how bout you 2 get off your snobby soapbox?