Been really curious as to how they all compare from a gaming prospective, finally got all 3 in the same room having paid for all 3 and having no bias i feel i'd be in a good position to do a neutral review of all my thoughts and findings and at the same time hoping it'll hold more weight than "omg i just bought this and it owns!". If you don't like reading much feel free to just skip to the verdict at the bottom!
I read some so-called review sites opinions but being honest I just didn't trust them to have a clue what they are on about, and based on my personal findings i still don't! I wanted to say what i think about the screens, knowing it'd be very subjective but actually being as honest as possible and giving potential buyers a genuine insight into what they might be getting themselves in for.
As said in a previous review i did, i used to play gaming very competively and i'm extremely fussy about ghosting/tearing/input lag and all the issues normally assosiated with LCD screens but i do realise not everyone worries about this, a prime example is my girlfriend who still can't see any noticable ghosting at all even when im trying to point out exactly where it is !!
This review is aimed at fussy people like myself 
and not at casual gamers, to which, most of my review would be totally irrelevent i'd imagine.
21" CRT - Its pretty much impossible to beat the smoothness of one of these when it comes to the lower resolutions such as 1024 x 768 @ 120hz which is the sort of resolution you'd be using if playing a game like cs:s / quakes / other first person shooters at a high level in a good clan...
However, if you run them in higher resolutions on most crt's result in the hz being dropped to 85hz they feel a hell of a lot more juttery, much more so than i'd say a samsung 226bw does @ 1680x1050 @ 60hz. They are still the benchmark for games if you play to win, its just a shame they have lots of weaknesses in some peoples eyes such as the size / widescreen ratio / out and out trendy-ness (!). They don't really serve any purpose anymore for casual every-day gamers.
The reason i finally turned to the darkside on my faithful CRT was not because of its performance in games (which tbh is absolutely fantastic compared to any lcd), not even because of the fact they're such big lumps as i have a huge desk, but more because i was sick of the eye strain when browsing especially. LCD's are in a league of their own when it comes to this and times do change.
Samsung 226BW
Really impressed with this screen generally. It copes extremely well on all ghosting fronts on any game but does suffer from tearing in a nasty way (at least compared to a good CRT at high hz) on first person shooters that are capped to 60fps. It seems far less problematic on first person shooters with an upcapped frame rate where if you have a good pc your fps will run into the hundreds, for whatever reason this really helps cut out the tearing (once v-sync is off and the fps is running 250fps+) to a point where i can genuinely see 95%+ of people could enjoy playing first person shooters on one of these in a sortof-competitive / casual way without any noticable disadvantage. Having said that I still feel that if your playing competitively then no lcd on the planet is a suitable replacement still for a good CRT. Samsung 226bw 1680x1050 vs 21" crt 1024 x 768 @ 120hz, CRT still has the crown by a reasonable margin. The samsung 226BW copes extremely well (basically better than a CRT) in any other type of game other than first person shooters. Its just flawless performance.
Dell 2407wfp
Got this new lcd up and running this morning and have been playing around with it ever since on every game i can. I must say i wasn't blown away by the increased viewing angles over the 226bw, i've heard so much about how tn panels suck etc etc!
Its clearly better and brighter with really vibrant colours, but to a lesser extent so is the 226bw. What immediately struck me was not the picture quality like i expected but just the pure size of the thing, feels a hell of a lot more than 2" difference and the general feel of the whole screen is a lot better, makes my 226bw look a bit puny tbh!
I really have mixed thoughts on the performance of the screen. It does clearly ghost on several games but not too badly, but its performance on first person shooters really is pretty appalling, not only compared to a CRT but even compared to the sammy 226bw. If you want a big screen and your a really casual gamer then it might well be suitable but i felt it was a real let down, the input lag was pretty noticable and the ghosting as you turn was worse than the youtube video's i'd seen (and worried about!) previously. Its all uphill from here though, seeing things like pro evo 6, command and conquer 3, various racing games etc was simply amazing on such a big screen. Very smooth, brilliant colours, absolutely huge screen compared to both the crt and the 226bw.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Verdict (imo!!)
None of the screens are perfect, and all of them quite far from it. CRT is horrible for eyestrain and looks small (screen size) and accient looking compared to some of the more recent LCD's. The Dell 2407wfp picture quality is very impressive but the 226bw's is still in the same league, even if near the bottom of that league! The Samsung 226BW feels like a very good option if moving from a CRT with a lot of concerns regarding ghosting. If your likely to sit in windows a lot and/or play games such as wow/rpg's/slower paced games then the dell 2407wfp is simply amazing and you'll be blown away. So basically (imo!!)....
21" CRT = Diehard fans of quick fast paced first person shooters. LCD's wipe the floor with CRT's in higher resolutions now, even on first person shooters. I'd much prefer a 226bw @ 1680x1050 on a first person shooter than a CRT @ 1600x1200 @ 85hz. Its just that feel of 120hz/150hz on first person shooters that LCD's can't compete with yet.
Samsung 226BW = A pretty good, and almost budget alternative to a good CRT, if you hate ghosting and you can't keep a CRT anymore then this is really the screen to get. I have no issue with viewing angles or the colours, both are better than they are made out to be imo. Its just a very sound buy thats very hard to be disappointed with.
Dell 2407wfp = It does have weaknesses with ghosting (which are only really ever a big issue on first person shooters, even racing games run pretty nicely) but it copes with all other types of games very well, and the massive screen is really good to see and really adds to the all-round enjoyment of gaming. In a way this is the 'casual gamers choice' and is an extremely good all-rounder outside first person shooters. It'll be so much easier to live with on a day to day basis playing the sort of games i play right now (footy games / racing games / rts games) and has a wow factor the other 2 both lack.
Sorry to everybody i have offended!
I read some so-called review sites opinions but being honest I just didn't trust them to have a clue what they are on about, and based on my personal findings i still don't! I wanted to say what i think about the screens, knowing it'd be very subjective but actually being as honest as possible and giving potential buyers a genuine insight into what they might be getting themselves in for.
As said in a previous review i did, i used to play gaming very competively and i'm extremely fussy about ghosting/tearing/input lag and all the issues normally assosiated with LCD screens but i do realise not everyone worries about this, a prime example is my girlfriend who still can't see any noticable ghosting at all even when im trying to point out exactly where it is !!
This review is aimed at fussy people like myself and not at casual gamers, to which, most of my review would be totally irrelevent i'd imagine.21" CRT - Its pretty much impossible to beat the smoothness of one of these when it comes to the lower resolutions such as 1024 x 768 @ 120hz which is the sort of resolution you'd be using if playing a game like cs:s / quakes / other first person shooters at a high level in a good clan...
However, if you run them in higher resolutions on most crt's result in the hz being dropped to 85hz they feel a hell of a lot more juttery, much more so than i'd say a samsung 226bw does @ 1680x1050 @ 60hz. They are still the benchmark for games if you play to win, its just a shame they have lots of weaknesses in some peoples eyes such as the size / widescreen ratio / out and out trendy-ness (!). They don't really serve any purpose anymore for casual every-day gamers.
The reason i finally turned to the darkside on my faithful CRT was not because of its performance in games (which tbh is absolutely fantastic compared to any lcd), not even because of the fact they're such big lumps as i have a huge desk, but more because i was sick of the eye strain when browsing especially. LCD's are in a league of their own when it comes to this and times do change.
Samsung 226BW
Really impressed with this screen generally. It copes extremely well on all ghosting fronts on any game but does suffer from tearing in a nasty way (at least compared to a good CRT at high hz) on first person shooters that are capped to 60fps. It seems far less problematic on first person shooters with an upcapped frame rate where if you have a good pc your fps will run into the hundreds, for whatever reason this really helps cut out the tearing (once v-sync is off and the fps is running 250fps+) to a point where i can genuinely see 95%+ of people could enjoy playing first person shooters on one of these in a sortof-competitive / casual way without any noticable disadvantage. Having said that I still feel that if your playing competitively then no lcd on the planet is a suitable replacement still for a good CRT. Samsung 226bw 1680x1050 vs 21" crt 1024 x 768 @ 120hz, CRT still has the crown by a reasonable margin. The samsung 226BW copes extremely well (basically better than a CRT) in any other type of game other than first person shooters. Its just flawless performance.
Dell 2407wfp
Got this new lcd up and running this morning and have been playing around with it ever since on every game i can. I must say i wasn't blown away by the increased viewing angles over the 226bw, i've heard so much about how tn panels suck etc etc!
Its clearly better and brighter with really vibrant colours, but to a lesser extent so is the 226bw. What immediately struck me was not the picture quality like i expected but just the pure size of the thing, feels a hell of a lot more than 2" difference and the general feel of the whole screen is a lot better, makes my 226bw look a bit puny tbh!
I really have mixed thoughts on the performance of the screen. It does clearly ghost on several games but not too badly, but its performance on first person shooters really is pretty appalling, not only compared to a CRT but even compared to the sammy 226bw. If you want a big screen and your a really casual gamer then it might well be suitable but i felt it was a real let down, the input lag was pretty noticable and the ghosting as you turn was worse than the youtube video's i'd seen (and worried about!) previously. Its all uphill from here though, seeing things like pro evo 6, command and conquer 3, various racing games etc was simply amazing on such a big screen. Very smooth, brilliant colours, absolutely huge screen compared to both the crt and the 226bw.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Verdict (imo!!)
None of the screens are perfect, and all of them quite far from it. CRT is horrible for eyestrain and looks small (screen size) and accient looking compared to some of the more recent LCD's. The Dell 2407wfp picture quality is very impressive but the 226bw's is still in the same league, even if near the bottom of that league! The Samsung 226BW feels like a very good option if moving from a CRT with a lot of concerns regarding ghosting. If your likely to sit in windows a lot and/or play games such as wow/rpg's/slower paced games then the dell 2407wfp is simply amazing and you'll be blown away. So basically (imo!!)....
21" CRT = Diehard fans of quick fast paced first person shooters. LCD's wipe the floor with CRT's in higher resolutions now, even on first person shooters. I'd much prefer a 226bw @ 1680x1050 on a first person shooter than a CRT @ 1600x1200 @ 85hz. Its just that feel of 120hz/150hz on first person shooters that LCD's can't compete with yet.
Samsung 226BW = A pretty good, and almost budget alternative to a good CRT, if you hate ghosting and you can't keep a CRT anymore then this is really the screen to get. I have no issue with viewing angles or the colours, both are better than they are made out to be imo. Its just a very sound buy thats very hard to be disappointed with.
Dell 2407wfp = It does have weaknesses with ghosting (which are only really ever a big issue on first person shooters, even racing games run pretty nicely) but it copes with all other types of games very well, and the massive screen is really good to see and really adds to the all-round enjoyment of gaming. In a way this is the 'casual gamers choice' and is an extremely good all-rounder outside first person shooters. It'll be so much easier to live with on a day to day basis playing the sort of games i play right now (footy games / racing games / rts games) and has a wow factor the other 2 both lack.
Sorry to everybody i have offended!
Last edited:
