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[StoOgE]

I want an LCD monitor for a number of reasons.. the picture is usually sharper, they look better and my fat fuck of a cat wont try and sit on the back of it... however I need some help.

1) I know response time is important, but anything under 20-25 ms response time seems to only have 6bit color and uses dithering to fake the rest of them.. I dont want shitty washed out colors. Is a 20-25 second response time acceptable? or will I get really bad image ghosting?

Edit: I play alot of FPS' and watch alot of DVD's, so Im not talking surfing the web, Im talking a game environment.

2) Is contrast ratio reliable from companies or do they fudge the numbers? I've heard rumors that Dell (I have a friend that works there, but not in that department) is fond of testing the brightest setting in contrast in an extremely bright room with one setting and then testing the darkest in a dark room with diffent monitor settings so that their numbers become better than the should be.

3) Which brands are most reliable? Do any have a much better picture than the others? Are there any online stores that will let you return a monitor for a single dead pixel or do they all require around 10 before they will let you? How about B&M stores? Could I con best buy into letting me test out the monitor before I go home with it?

4) When a monitor lists 16.7 million colors does that actually mean its an 8 bit display or are they counting dithered colors as well? I really really really want true color.

Edit: also, Viewsonic just put out a monitor with 8ms response time.. I assume this is using dithering to fake the colors, but does anyone know for sure?

Super Edit Hyper Edition II: Also, are there any 19 inch LCD's that dont suck and have a higher max resolution than the 17" ones. I dont want a larger monitor with the same resolution, that doesnt seem like it would be all that great.

Super Edit Hyper Edition II vs. SNK: umm.. I was looking at Dell's website, and noticed that the monitor I was thinking of getting is a solid 30 dollars cheaper on their 'small buisness' website than their 'home and home office' website. Do I need to prove Im a small buisness to order it that way?

 

[StoOgE]

bumpage.

 

[Dilbert]

For what it's worth, I currently own a Samsung 191t+ and love it to death. (The relevant statistics: 19" diagonal size, 1280x1024 resolution, 25 ms response time, 16.7 million colors, DVI and VGA inputs, no dead pixels.) I play FPS games on it all the time, and haven't noticed any problems with ghosting or tearing. It's the second Samsung I've owned, and I've enjoyed both of them. The image quality is better than the generic HP LCD that I have at work.

I'm not sure where you'd go to get general advice on LCD buying...perhaps there is another forum someone can recommend?

 

[Azwethinkweiz]

I got the Dell 20" monitor. FP2001 I think is the model number. 16ms, 1600x1200(I love all the real estate it gives me), vibrant colors, all that jazz. Dell usually runs like 25% off deals and whatever also. For small business you can just make up some business name. I just named it after myself. Also, Dell has frickin awesome customer service. The first one I got had a few stuck pixels, so I called them and the overnighted me another one free of charge. This actually happened for the first 3 monitors I got, and they had absolutely no problem swapping them out. The one I finally settled on had 1 stuck pixel on the right side near the edge. I would've never noticed it if I wasn't anal retentive and did like a million tests on the monitor to see if there were any defects. Even still I have to spend a minute or so looking for it if I wanna see it now and that's only on a black background. Anyway, I say go Dell, if not for anything but the superb customer service.

 

[Dilbert]

The one problem with getting a higher-resolution LCD is that you'll have to have a burly enough computer to run at the native resolution of the monitor. If you get one which supports 1600x1200, there isn't a system out there right now which can run, say, Half-Life 2 with all the eye candy at that resolution.

 

[Azwethinkweiz]

Yeah, but Half-life 2 still looks awesome at 1024x768 with all the bells and whistles, even if it isn't the native res.

 

[VPhys]

The only way to play Half-Life 2 is widescreen OAR baby. Get a widescreen LCD.

 

[StoOgE]

yeah, I was leaning towards the 17" model of that Dell you were talking about... one of my friends has the one you have and loves it.. If I get the big one Im gonna get an SLI mobo and go nuts To 6800 GT's should be able to run HL2 at that resolution.

 

[EekTheKat]

Dell in Mid Feb is supposedly introducing a 24" widescreen monitor. Samsung panel, sub 16ms response rate.

Something like 1920x1200 res too. The real kicker is you might be able to get it at under 1000 bucks.


model was 2405fp or so. You can find a few rumblings about it on google at the moment.

 

[Koopa]

Playing alot of FPS on a 25ms LCD, you will see ghosting. Ghosting is bad, active ghosting will kill a LCD monitor. Which isnt really bad because most companys warranty LCD's at 8 dead pixils

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=24-014-063&depa=1

BenQ, This is from anyone I know the best 19" gaming LCD on the market, 16ms responce time. 16.7 Million colars with a native resolution of 1280 x 1024.

 

[element]

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=24-014-063&depa=1

BenQ, This is from anyone I know the best 19" gaming LCD on the market, 16ms responce time. 16.7 Million colars with a native resolution of 1280 x 1024.

wrong. Anandtech did a review. It doesn't do 16.7 million colors, since it is a 6 bit panel, not an 8 bit panel. Each pixel can display 262,000 hues; the other 16M hues are "simulated" using dithering techniques.

The review also said that the 16ms responce time played little to no factor into the review.

The monitor to get is the NuTech L921G, if you can find one.

 

[teh_pwn]

Meh, I was going to get an LCD, until I did some research. You've got to buy the high end LCD monitors to almost get the color reproduction of a CRT. Native resolutions are also too demanding for high end games.

Ghosting is becoming less of a problem, but usually at the expense of color reproduction, as you noted that monitors with < 16 ms do.

So I decided to stick with my 3 year old Sony CRT, and get a BFG 6800 Ultra OC instead.

 

[StoOgE]

The monitor to get is the NuTech L921G, if you can find one.

which you cant. The viewsonic version (exact same monitor, different bezel) can be found at shady looking websites at nearly 200 dollars over MSRP.

 

[element]

anyone have a dell 1905FP? Dell has a deal on them. Just wanted to hear something good about it.

 

[teh_pwn]

I'm going to eat my words, because I just ordered an LCD. Dell's got a couple for real cheap.

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p5678

I got a Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19" DVI LCD for $400 from Dell Business. They don't check business names at all. I used something blatantly fake before and I'm using it again. And they accepted it. AGAIN. My company is "EDISON LIGHT BULB CO.". :lol

It's a good LCD IMO. Not one of those ones with an insane native resolution, good color accuracy for an LCD, DVI (a must):

http://reviews.cnet.com/Dell_UltraS...074.html?subj=Dell+UltraSharp+1905FP&part=rss


Damn, not sure I trust that review anymore after reading this: "Unequivocally the most powerful graphics card on the market, ATI's Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition hands Nvidia's new card a stunning defeat."

That's just a lie. The X800XT only owns the 6800 Ultra OC in Half Life 2, otherwise its neck and neck, aside from Doom3. The X800XT also doesn't support some shaders that the 6800 UOC does.

 

[golem]

i have the 2005FPW 20" widescreen... it rox my face off.

 

[maharg]

They don't check business names at all. I used something blatantly fake before and I'm using it again.

They can't, really. Best they could do is ask to see your certificate of incorporation, but not all companies are incorporated.