ISO flatpanel monitor advice

[El Gallo]

Does anyone use a flat panel monitor for gaming?  Are the graphics decent?  We don't do any fancy graphics with our machines, mostly just play WoW/EQ/NWN/Civ games and such.  I have only seen a few in stores, and the picture just didn't seem that great for the cost.

 We need a new monitor for one of our computers, and a flat panel one would fit in the space much more efficiently.  Up until now, we have always gone with the behemoth trinitrons that have a great picture but take up a ton of desk space.

Any suggestions?

[Fargull]

I have the following monitor.

Liyama 19" LCD

I love the beast.  My standard playing revolves around two games, COH and Railroad Tycoon 3...

I have zero issues with the monitor with one caviat, make sure your vid card supports DVI.  I swung by Fry's and got it for $599.00.

[Sky]

LCDs with low pixel response times (not sure the technical term, pixel refresh rate, whatever) are pretty good gaming monitors, with DVI. Most recent monitors (if you don't totally cheap out) are fast enough to game on, but it's something to be aware of.

Another big caveat is that the picture gets a bit fuzzy whenever you're not in the native resolution of a fixed pixel display (like an LCD, DLP, or Plasma).

Last two computers I built for others included 17" flat panels (Samsungs), and I've built at least a dozen machines with 15" flat panels this year (mostly NEC/Mitsubishis). Good monitors, all.

The last sammy lcd had a single dead pixel (within manufacturer's tolerances), but it wasn't visible most of the time (it was stuck on, though...ecch).

[Glamdring]

I've heard that you can't go wrong with Dell screens.

[eldaec]

I've heard that you can't go wrong with Dell screens.

I heard the moon is made of cheese.

[eldaec]

NEC/Mitsubishi or Iliyama have always stood me in good stead, I'd recommend just about any monitor from either company.

[Grelf]

Dell screens are pretty good.

I have an old Dell 21 inch monitor that's about 7 years old, still running strong.

[Murgos]

You need to ensure you get a lcd monitor with 16 ms or below response times for gaming, otherwise your eye will pick up ghosts and artifacts as images change and move.

[Furiously]

I thought the nice small footprint of a LCD would be great for gaming.

I ended up spending another $200 after I bought my $600 LCD to get a CRT.

Only looking good at one resolution got a bit old fairly quick. That resolution being less then a CRT was a bit annoying. The ghosting issue is definately something to look into. The other piece of advice I'd give is that not all LCD's are equal. Some have a lot more ghosting issues, some have "duller" colors. I noticed I could never get the contrast set very good on the one I bought. The clouds on the defaul windows XP background were either white blobs or the grass was dark. On my CRT everything is bright and lively.

[schild]

I will not be getting an LCD until it can match the output quality of my Viewsonic Ultrabrite A90f+. I expect it'll be 2-3 years.

[Glamdring]

I've heard that you can't go wrong with Dell screens.

I heard the moon is made of cheese.

I'm just relaying information that I've heard about the Dell LCD's.  I know that the 21" is pretty affordable and displays at 1600x1200 w/ around a 16ms response time.  If I remember correctly it can be had for around $700-800 if you look for certain coupon codes and such.  I've never heard of anyone who disliked the monitor and actually know of a few people who use them for multiple monitor setups.

However, I'm sticking with CRT for as long as I can.  More screen size for the $ and they're still superior for gaming.

[eldaec]

Fair enough - I'm probably overreacting to the term 'Dell' following the number of dodgy monitors we recieve on desks here at Global Sinister Megacorp.

Who makes Dell tubes and flatpanels anyway?

[Glamdring]

I think the flat panels are made by Samsung for the most part, but some of the models are Benq, Lite-On, and LG I believe.

This morning I was glancing through this month's CGW and they happened to have a review for the new Dell 23" WS LCD/TV.  Let's just say that I wish I had $1600 laying around.

[Sky]

I'd agree that Samsung is making at least some of them, based on observation. Half the big flat panels we got here back in January are identical to the 3 Sammy flatpanels I've bought for custom systems I've built on the side. (the other half have a much larger bezel, but came in the same order....)

[boley]

The Dell 20.1"  LCD is supposedly a good one, as mentioned by the above poster.  The last sale I saw was found in a thread at Anandtech.com and cost about $710.  Each time it comes up for sale, they go batty for it.

I have almost purchased one several times, but I keep holding out till my refurbed 21" CRT dies.

[Sky]

I'm perfectly happy with my 61" DLP monitor :P

[Glamdring]

I'm perfectly happy with my 61" DLP monitor :P

Wow, I've never seen one of those.  What's your address?  I'd like to come by and uhh... check it out.

[Sky]

123 Main St.
Anytown, USA 12345

[Furiously]

I'm perfectly happy with my 61" DLP monitor :P

Which model, my old RPTV is on the blitz and my wife is bitching about me suggesting we use the Barco for normal tv.

[Sky]

I have the Samsung HLN617W, last year's model. The new HLP sets fix some minor quirks (mostly adding more sequences to the sequential color wheel), but it corrects something I didn't have a problem with.

It's a fixed pixel display (1280x720 aka 720p), I have it hooked up to the pc via DVI for a nice razor sharp image. Because of the "low" resolution (heh) I try to get as much aa/af as I can on the scene to smooth the aliasing, which is a little bit of a problem with the xbox.

Everyone who comes over gets a whole new perspective on gaming, even if the better budgetary route is going with a front projector (like the ubiquitous 800x600 Infocus X1), which is around $800. My DLP set listed for $4999 at Circuit City, I paid $3350 for it, and the improvement it's made in every aspect of visual entertainment (HDTV, DVD (via the pc) and especially PC gaming) has made it more than worth it in my opinion.

PC gaming at 61" is incredible. With a projector you do have to have a more controlled environment (on the DLP I can play Thief:DS in daylight with the windows open...with a bit of a gamma bump, but the set is powered by a 125W bulb, so it's bright), but you can also scale up the picture size with a FP to 100"ish before it gets super-washed-out.

I also use the logitech wireless mx duo from the sofa, it was a great day putting my 21" behemoth in storage and removing the pc desk from the living room. My DLP only weighs in at 107lbs.

[naum]

I've got a 20 inch Apple Cinema Display and use it with a ADC-DVI connector with my PB. Civ3 and WC3 can go fullscreen though WC3 distorts the gamescreen a tad due to the widescreen. Civ3 looks incredible on it though playing Civ3 is like playing checkers after getting immersed in this TBS game.

Haven't tried SB on it yet and haven't played FPS since 1991...