Using LCD TV, 26 or 32" as a PC monitor??

MarkW · 9 Dec 2006 at 21:47

Im wondering about changing my excellent 20" CRT PC monitor for an LCDWidescreen tv to use as a monitor. maybe a 26 or 32
I use my current monitor for web browsing and word, photoshop + FPS and racing game playing.
My desktop res is unusually 1280 x 1024 for home use, while I use 1600 x1200at work. and 1600 x1200 for gaming at home
I got hold of a belinea 201035 20"? widescreen TFT monitor and just couldnt use it for gaming, just crap in comparison to my CRT although everything else was 'acceptable'
I fancy gaming on a bigger screen
1. Is this basically a bad idea? will my general pc experience suffer badly?, will I be able to read text and will it be crisp?
2. will the gaming suffer from the 'reduced' resolution.

Any PC /lcd tv users comments welcome.

Mud · 9 Dec 2006 at 23:29

You sound like you've already made up your mind...a LCD TV will exaserbate the worse features of the belinea LCD you tested (at PC-use distances), the large dot-pitch will do you no favours. Office applications will be better on an LCD monitor than on a CRT (IMO), but a LCD TV is not good for actual work.

Fars · 11 Dec 2006 at 04:55

Have an excellent 32inch LCD sat above my 20inch NEC. Have used it extensively for the past 8 months for pc use alongside several high quality LCD pc screens.

1) Not a bad idea at all, many people use them for this very use. Browsing fits fine and Word is just Word text is the same but will appear pixelated if you're not sat 2-3 feet away. Any kind of real image work is pretty horrible at this resolution though.

2) Gaming, arguably better for some stuff, you need aa at the lower resolution but playing on a huge screen is very satisfying, I found everything except fast pace FPS to be better personally.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly of all. Do not believe for one second that LCD TV in the lower price ranges will perform as well as a dedicated monitor of a smaller size for the same price.

Personally, unless you're looking to spend around 700 or a fair bit more on a LCD TV I think a Monitor is the better choice, and most likely you won't be increasing screen size unless you spend the money. Impossible to give model suggestions without a price range tbh.

fumbles · 11 Dec 2006 at 10:29

LCD TV has a low resolution, it would be better with a 1080i TV. But your best bet is just to get a better quality LCD screen. Ive never had any problems with mine.

MarkW · 11 Dec 2006 at 13:31

fumbles said:
LCD TV has a low resolution, it would be better with a 1080i TV. But your best bet is just to get a better quality LCD screen. Ive never had any problems with mine.

Thank you for the advice.

I will look into that.

Vegeta · 11 Dec 2006 at 13:41

You could always get a 1080P LCD screen, minimum is around 40" and the cheapest is around £1,000! But its a great resolution. (1920X1080)

squiffy · 11 Dec 2006 at 13:53

Vegeta said:
You could always get a 1080P LCD screen, minimum is around 40" and the cheapest is around £1,000! But its a great resolution. (1920X1080)

I agree, for Windows/detailed gaming a true 1080P is desireable. I wouldn't use a 1360x768 32" primarily as a PC monitor, it's too low resolution.

MarkW · 11 Dec 2006 at 19:26

Vegeta said:
You could always get a 1080P LCD screen, minimum is around 40" and the cheapest is around £1,000! But its a great resolution. (1920X1080)

Thanks for the nod, shame there isnt a 32"?
Have you any model numbers?. also, would the 1080P look good enough for word etc?

Maybe a smaller monitor would suffice.. But I will be shelling out around £700 anyway I guess.

Vegeta · 11 Dec 2006 at 22:20

1080P would look good enough for word definately, even 1366X768 would look good for word, just you can't fit much into the screen (if your used to his res, if not its a no brainer and just get a normal 1366X768 lcd tv for me).

Your £700 budget won't even come close sorry mate, the decent make models start at around £1500, wait after christmas.
Can get a goodmans for a little over a grand but you won't fit anything lower than 40".

THE CHOPPER · 11 Dec 2006 at 22:42

I had a dell 20" widescreen, cracking monitor. Played all my games in high resolution. Went and bought a 32" LCD, hooked it up to my pc through DVI. Dell monitor was for sale the day after. Iv'e had this discussion with a lot of people and they say the same everytime" lower resolution it will look rubbish". I have to say don't knock it until you have tried it as it is superb, I love it sat on my settee at night playing battlefield 2/2142 or another of my games. Don't think i'll ever go back to a smaller monitor. In fact i'm planning on getting a 42" after chrimbo

Vegeta · 12 Dec 2006 at 10:49

THE CHOPPER said:
I had a dell 20" widescreen, cracking monitor. Played all my games in high resolution. Went and bought a 32" LCD, hooked it up to my pc through DVI. Dell monitor was for sale the day after. Iv'e had this discussion with a lot of people and they say the same everytime" lower resolution it will look rubbish". I have to say don't knock it until you have tried it as it is superb, I love it sat on my settee at night playing battlefield 2/2142 or another of my games. Don't think i'll ever go back to a smaller monitor. In fact i'm planning on getting a 42" after chrimbo

Yeah completely agree - 1366X768 isnt that small a res for working with word etc - most people use 1280X1024 anyways so its a little less taller but more wide.

richardg3 · 12 Dec 2006 at 15:32

I'd been looking for a good 1080p screen for some time, hoping the Benq would be the way to go. Then after the 1:1 issue I started to really look at TV's - In the US lots of people jumped on the Westinghouse boat (they do a 1080p native 37").

I tried to organise an import for last month or so then I discovered that Sharp had a 37" 1080p LCD TV out (LC-37DX1E). It turned up last Friday and all I can say is Wow! this thing is a beast for gaming!

You do have to be careful with a screen that big - I have a deep desk and sit about 3.5-4 feet back and everything looks amazing, if you have a shallow desk you could easily be too close. I can tell you it cost me £1126, which is cheap for a screen that big/rez. Lots of reviews and buzz going on avforums currently.

MarkW · 12 Dec 2006 at 21:03

richardg3 said:
I'd been looking for a good 1080p screen for some time, hoping the Benq would be the way to go. Then after the 1:1 issue I started to really look at TV's - In the US lots of people jumped on the Westinghouse boat (they do a 1080p native 37").

I tried to organise an import for last month or so then I discovered that Sharp had a 37" 1080p LCD TV out (LC-37DX1E). It turned up last Friday and all I can say is Wow! this thing is a beast for gaming!

You do have to be careful with a screen that big - I have a deep desk and sit about 3.5-4 feet back and everything looks amazing, if you have a shallow desk you could easily be too close. I can tell you it cost me £1126, which is cheap for a screen that big/rez. Lots of reviews and buzz going on avforums currently.

you say this is a beast for gaming, what is it like for text, word etc.
Mark

squiffy · 12 Dec 2006 at 21:20

most people use 1280X1024 anyways so its a little less taller but more wide.

But that's on a smaller screen, meaning higher pixel count per inch. I had a 32" 1366x768 LCD TV. It's a little too low rez for text. Because of the size you're not getting any higher desktop space. For gaming a 32" 1366x768 is great, but not for primary monitor GUI/Text/Photo editting.