Lookng at buying a new 15" LCD..most of my computer time is on the net. I do a little gaming (Vice city, Motocross madness) Im wondering if a LCD is a good choice?

This depends on the apps you run. For games, colors & contrast from a CRT are more defined than what you can get from a LCD with today's LCD technology. Aslo, if a LCD doesn't have fast enough pixel response time, you'll certainly see ghosting. For DVD playback, however, I found a LCD with at least 17" screen is spectacular!

Some things we need to keep in mind when shopping for a LCD:

- Brightness: At least 250cd/m2. For gaming: at least 300cd/m2;
- Contrast Ratio: At least 350:1. For gaming: 400:1 or 500:1 or better;
- Response Time: 25ms or faster. For gaming: 16ms or better;
- View Angle: 170degree or wider (Horizontal and Vertical)

Also, try to get 1 with DVI input, if possible. Even though on a good LCD, it's pretty hard to tell the difference b/w DVI & analog signals but for people with good eyes, DVI does make a difference.

And you should ask this in CoOp forum.

So a 300.00 15" wouldnt make me very happy..Im sure this is a "get what you pay for" item.

Yep, it's true! Also, cheapy LCD's tend to have dead/stuck pixels due to poor quality control in production line and that is the darnest thing I hate. You pay several hundred dollars and get a screen with 1 or 2 or even more defective pixels and there's nothing you can do. Most stores don't let you exchange for another 1 unless you have at least 8 defective pixels! I always go with ViewSonic or Sony. I never consider Hitachi or NEC in my shopping list because you'll have about almost 30-40% of the chance to get a screen with dead pixels if you buy from them. My 19" ViewSonic and 17" Sony are perfect!

so for gaming you want lower response time? Im not sure I quite understand that part.


-haryy

The response time is the average time it takes for a pixel cell to go from active to inactive and then back to active again. So the longer it takes to do this sequence, the slower the LCD reacts. This results in ghosting on slower-react LCDs when you play fast action games because these LCDs can't response fast enough to the color changing on the screen that the games require.

Thanks Van Nugent



-haryy

NP, m8!

Would Vice City be cosidered a fast action game?

What kind of computer is it for?

Most of the so called LCD manufacturers source their components from a handful of manufacturers except to put their names on them. Just like CD media.

Saying that you get what you pay for and only buy the major brands is misleading.

I can show anyone reviews where unheard of brands like Polyview and Vision have trounced "major" manufacturers like Sony etc.

The only way I would ever buy an LCD screen is by thoroughly researching and reading reviews, rather than relying on brand names and prices.

Insomniac has very good point. We just don't simply buy an LCD by a certain brand name or prices. However, besides reading reviews from hardware reviewers, we should also read reviews from consumers through stores such as amazon.com or newegg.com to see which models have the lowest percentage of defective pixel rating. The defective pixels do not reflect how high or how low the quality of the whole LCD but they're annoying. No one wants to pay $500 to end up with an LCD screen that has a dead/stuck pixel right at the middle of the screen starring at you all the time. From hundreds of consumer's reviews I've read, and also my own experience, ViewSonic and Sony have the lowest defective pixel rate.

I used to work in a project for a flat panel company that fabricated the flat panels for LCD manufacturers. It was in 1998-1999 and at that time, the yields were very low mostly due to partices. We'd tried our best in clean room control but a sub-micron particle could easily kill a couple of pixels (or even more). It is much better now thanks to the advance in clean room designs so we may have a chance to buy a perfect LCD screen with zero defective pixel, which was unheard of years ago.

I have had a Samsung for about 12 months now and thought it was superb, until that is , my son bought a Sony just before Christmas. The Sony was a bit more expensive, but it's the best quality LCD screen I've ever seen and it also has very low response rates.

If you can afford it have a look at the Sony screens they are the proverbial dogs b*****cks.

Is the life span of a lcd the same as a crt monitor?

Originally posted by tidd1340
Is the life span of a lcd the same as a crt monitor?
http://www.cheap-lcd-monitor.com/how-lcd-monitors-work.htm

Some low-qual panels might develop dead pixels over time. However, on a high-qual panel, it's just as beautiful three years down the road as it was just bought yesterday. Here, as you said earlier, you get what you pay for.