Baraka_Guru

With the run on freelance editing jobs I've received recently, it has given me the cash flow and the desire to replace my giant of a CRT monitor with an LCD monitor. Two reasons: 1) The current monitor is getting old and the picture is fading, 2) An LCD will look nicer and will free up some work space on my fairly small desk. I'm also concerned about doing more electronic (on-screen) editing.

What should I look for?

Do the pixels per square inch (psi) matter that much?

I've read that it's good to be sure to have at least 100 psi. This is the reason why I'm leaning toward a 20" (or maybe 21") monitor: they tend to have 1680 X 1050 resolution. This is compared to a 19", which tend to have 1280 X 1024. This is in my price range, which is around $300 or so. I know you can get nicer 19" monitors with better resolution, but I think they cost more. So why not go 20" right?

And does response time matter that much? Is 5ms too high? Should I shoot for 2ms? I'm concerned about eye strain, and only a bit about gaming. I'm not a serious gamer, but I like to play role-playing and strategy games. Right now I'm mainly playing World of Warcraft.

Feel free to give specific recommendations, but remember I'm in the Canadian market. (I'm not far from a Tiger Direct. The Toronto area has many options.)

Thanks in advance.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot