Flat Screen Advice for Gaming - Please

Tysonator

Tysonator

Tysonator

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Hi,
firstly i would like to say what an article by Baddas. Top marks :D

I am hoping to buy a flat monitor for my home PC, which i do a lot of gaming on. I would stick with 17 Relisys CRT monitor as i think the picture is great. :)
Though unlike my friends, they have dedicated rooms in their homes for their PC's and all the hard ware that goes with it.
Unfortunately i do not have a spare room. So my PC is in the dinning room of my house, and looks pretty obtrusive, and the wife is not liking it at all. :rolleyes:
expect when she is on the net shopping then its fine ! !

so my question is, what flat LCD 17'' monitor should i buy ! ?
Is the Viewsonic VX724 17" LCD Monitor a good choice or what the SONY monitor Baddas mentioned in his mega thread ? :confused:

is there any thing i should be aware of before i buy ? :confused:

many thanks
 
Well one year ago I bought an OCUK Value 17 Incher, it was £169 at the time IIRC, and I havn't ever regretted it! So that comes with my highest reccomendation for the price, it rarely shows its 16ms times.

Edit: Just noticed the OCUK 17in has changed since mine, can't comment on this one - mine is branded a 'Digimate' if that means anything!

Not 17Inch I know, but the Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor (£411.19 eek) seems higly reccomended, as do ViewSonic.

:p Daniel :p
 
couple of thing you should consider when buying a TFT .. 1. the maximum res.. most of the cheaper mid range TFTs are upto 1280 x 1024 res.. newer expensive 1600 are becoming in now, but at a cost.. If you have a decent graphics card then I wouldn't recomened a TFT of less than 1600 otherwise it's a waste of a spanking new card that is capable of so much more.

2. Look for the Response time - less is good.

If money was no object, then i'd go for the Belinea 102035W 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor at £323..

otherwise the Hyundai ImageQuest Q70U 17" LCD Monitor at £223 or the Viewsonic VX724 17" LCD Monitor at £246 are good compromises..

Any less and i don't think it's worth it tbh..

Love running my CRT at 1600 with 4x AA and 4xAF - Lush

:)
 
Any reason why you want a 17" and not 19" when prices are pretty comparable, for example the VX724 is £247 for a couple of quid less you could get the Samsung SM930-BF which is reportedly a very good gaming screen. I dont think a 19" is going to be that more obtrusive than a 17" and it will certainly be less obtrusive and more stylish than a CRT.
 
Looks aren't everything. I think that TFT still has someway to go before it comes any where near the quality of a decent CRT. Every TFT i've seen played with games don't look that impresive imo. They always seem a bit "misty" and poor to me.
 
PieEater said:
Any reason why you want a 17" and not 19" when prices are pretty comparable, for example the VX724 is £247 for a couple of quid less you could get the Samsung SM930-BF which is reportedly a very good gaming screen. I dont think a 19" is going to be that more obtrusive than a 17" and it will certainly be less obtrusive and more stylish than a CRT.
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this was the first thing i was going to say. While the VX724 and the Sony HS75P are certainly very nice screens and perfectly suited to a gamer's needs, you can get an excellent 19" model for the same price. Having a 19" screen really is nice for gaming and really does add to the feeling of immersion in games. Add to this the fact that the 17" market technology has become pretty stagnant in the last year or so, with the 19" market being the greatest area of growth, and i would really think a 19" model might be a better choice. For a gamer, and on a budget, you can't really go wrong with the Samsung 913N or 930BF. They are both using effectively the same panel, but the 930BF is more aggressively overdriven with the electronic control of the panel. This means it is a little more responsive, but that movie playback is a little more noisy than it's 8ms 913N predecessor. Either would be good choices on a budget. If you have more to spend, then the Viewsonic VX924 / VX922 are also very good, but tbh very similar in performance to the 930BF anyway

hth
 
Mr Huddy said:
Looks aren't everything. I think that TFT still has someway to go before it comes any where near the quality of a decent CRT. Every TFT i've seen played with games don't look that impresive imo. They always seem a bit "misty" and poor to me.
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No looks arn't everything but apparently Tysonator has a demanding misses and you can justify a lot on the grounds of pleasing 'her indoors', so this seems like a good opportunity to move over to a decent TFT.

I agree with you that TFT's do not offer the same qualities in terms of crispness but that's a trade-off for the different technologies used and after a week or so using a properly calibrated TFT there's no looking back IMHO.
 
Thanks guys for the advice.
I am interested in moving to 19'', if cost is not to greater than 17''.
I think the wife will be please if i, and i mean i buy the flat screen monitor.
i would spend up to £300 on a monitor, in order to get the best gaming picture quality, plus i hope to buy a TV capture card and use the PC as 2nd TV.
So the video play back quality also has to be good.
I have checked out the viewsonic and like it a lot.

What about the spec of the SONY, is it worth checking this out as well ! ?
 
The TFT for gaming debate has been going on years and still is an ongoing debate. As i said above, i've never been over impressed by the quality of images i've seen in gaming.

Your choice however, is pretty much hit or miss really tbh and it's down to personal preference within your budget.

With the video card you have it's not worth buying the £300 + CRT or TFT if you don't intend to upgrade your graphics card.

Yet buying a lessor spec CRT or TFT means you are limiting your upgrade options in future i.e. Graphics cards which offer very high resolutions.

As long as you go for a TFT with the best resolution and response time that is within your budget then it will be fine but don't expect it to be cutting edge.

imo, a monitor isn't upgraded as fequently as other equipment so i think it's best to get the best from the offset to maximise your viewing please for years to come.

Why the interest Sony btw, comfort of a well named brand?
 
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To answer your question, I beleive that the Sony's have a glass front on the panels, this does give a crisper image but at the expense of reflecting any light source back at you so if your monitor is to go near a window or any other source of bright light I would avoid them (as per the Xerox TFT monitors too). If you are serious about wanting to use the monitor for TV viewing then I would suggest you will need to spend a bit more and get a monitor that uses a non TN-Film panel. Whilst great for response times TN panels offer relatively restricted viewing angles so make poor choices for multimedia screens where more than one person will be using the monitor or you are not sitting directly in front of the monitor. If you can stretch to the Viewsonic VP930 then this would be a better choice.
 
I know Mr Huddy is a CRT man, and stresses the importance of the VGA on the out put monitor.
I will get a better VGA, perhaps a 6800GT AGP if there are any still around !
Though i must admitt that the Viewsonic VP930 19in seems to e the chosen one at the moment. I was tempted with the SONY, because of the glass panel which seems to add depth to the image, and improve the viewing angel, plus the overall apperance of the SONY is very sexy !

so is the viewsonic VP930 good for future proof for VGA's, say a 7800GT next generation ! ?
 
my 2pence worth is the samsung 913N for about £180!!

Total steal at that price, no dead pixels, easy setup and great for gaming. won't regret it!

:)
 
Both the 930BF and 913N are TN film panels, both are good but not really suited to multimedia as per my post above.

I don't agree with MrHuddy's assertion that what you will be buying is 'lesser spec' or that a resolution of 1280x1024 is somehow not good enough for games a 6800GT is going to struggle to run that resolution with decent filtering levels on the latest games. You have the reason and means to come out of the dark ages that MrHuddy seems to want to keep you in (with the best of intentions no doubt) but I'd go with the VP930 if you can. You could try the Sony if it appeals and send it back within 7 days under the distance selling act if you didn't get on with the reflective nature of the glass.
 
PieEater said:
Both the 930BF and 913N are TN film panels, both are good but not really suited to multimedia as per my post above.

I don't agree with MrHuddy's assertion that what you will be buying is 'lesser spec' or that a resolution of 1280x1024 is somehow not good enough for games a 6800GT is going to struggle to run that resolution with decent filtering levels on the latest games. You have the reason and means to come out of the dark ages that MrHuddy seems to want to keep you in (with the best of intentions no doubt) but I'd go with the VP930 if you can. You could try the Sony if it appeals and send it back within 7 days under the distance selling act if you didn't get on with the reflective nature of the glass.
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LOL. I don't think i said that SXGA TFT are not good enough for gaming and i’m certianly not living in the dark ages. I am merely being practical.

I think TFTs are gorgeous and wouldn’t mind one myself but I’d only buy one that matches the highest specification of the graphics card that I was running at that time otherwise its a waste.

It don’t see the point of buying or potentially upgrading a video card to a 6800GT or 7800GTX (as the TS suggests) which will quite happily run at 1600x1200, yet is beyond the capabilities of most TFTs.

All I’m saying is that it’s something to consider.

Be all means buy a SXGA TFT but there isn’t much point investing in a high graphics card which won’t be used to its full potential.

If your going to buy a TFT and intend in having a top notch graphics card, then invest in a WUXGA TFT. But they are still expensive.

In a nutshell, any SXGA will look fine with the FX5900.
tyonator said:
I know Mr Huddy is a CRT man, and stresses the importance of the VGA on the out put monitor.
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hehe i'm not a CRT man.. it just makes me laugh how People are prepared not to compromise on their choice of graphics yet will when it comes to their monitor. As I said, above, you don’t change your monitor that often so make sure it’s the right choice whether that be a TFT or CRT.
 
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Unless you've a top of the range card I'd avoid screens above 1280 x 1024. Even 1280 x 1024 is a lot more pixels than 1024x768 and needs a lot more gfx power to get good frame rates. A FX5900 Ultra is going to struggle at ultra high resolutions in current games. I was running HL2 on a TFT 1280x1024 with a 9700pro and had to run it all at medium detail etc. HL2 is pretty undemanding. Personally I'm not that bothered about having a perfect image once I get a smooth frame rate and decent gameplay.

I find TFTs fine for most. While a CRT is better, its only better when its new, they go soft and out of focus over time. A problem I've had with all my CRT's including high end Sony's and LaCie monitors. A TFT won't have any of those problems.
 
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I used a 19 inch CRT for a long time for gaming and it was fine, no issues (except maybe the noise it made changing resolution). But healthwise i prefer a tft (use one at work and at home now) When i used a crt i would get dry eyes and occasionally a headache (sitting at the screen too long!) Thankfully i get neither of these symptoms when using a TFT. Also imo the graphics on a tft screen look clearer and sharper than a crt. I was well impressed with Rome:total war on a 19inch TFT. Remember a 19inch tft is a bit bigger screenwise than a 19inch CRT (right? :D)

The only thing i have noticed is the blurring effect for action games which is partly because the tft i have at the moment isnt a 'gaming' tft. I think it has around 25 ms pixel thingy. I will be hopefully upgrading to a samsung 930bf which should help sort the hazy, blurring thing but once youve gone TFT you dont go back to CRT ;)

The other issue about buying a high-spec graphics card with a tft that only has a max resolution of 1280x1024 and it being a waste? Well the thing is, personally i wouldnt run a game at a resolution higher than 1280x1024. (it wasnt so long ago that 1024x768 was high res for me in games!)
I dont think its a waste because there will always be games coming out which will test the capabilities of the card. The card i'll probably get btw is an ATI 1800XT. However i'm not 100% sure about this. Are you saying that a cheaper graphics card for instance x850 GTO will perform exactly the same quality and performance as a higher spec card at resolutions of 1280x1024 and under? So it is pointless to buy a high spec graphics card if one never uses it above that resolution?
 
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