Using flat panel for gaming?
 

hey all

i use a 19 inch flat screen monitor right now, and the thing is huge, but i love it. Awesome picture and quality etc.

Im lookin into buying a flat panel, because they look much nicer, are lighter, and take up less room. They do cost quite a bit tho....

i game a lot, and im wondering if its worth the price for a flat panel for games? should i stick with my flat screen?

thanks

I have played games on some flat panel monitors, and yes, the look amazing. But I would say that it is not worth it for the money right now. Id say if you really want a nice one, wait for the second half of this year, I read somewhere that prices of those monitors will dive. So that is my half assed advice.

Stay with the flat screen, flatpanels tend to get dead pixels from time to time. Also, if you play games on it you need to realize that you wont get as much clarity as a CRT because the crystals in the flatpanel take longer to shift than the electrons of a regular monitor, meaning if you turn to fast in the game youll see a big blur for a millisecond.

Hope my limited knowledge was helpfull.

The only plus if you got a LCD would be if you go to LAN parties..

A CRT is far better in terms of image quality. But a LCD and be alright too, it just depends on the type of games that you play. If you're playing first person shooters or games that are very fast paced, you will notice the lag of the LCD, even ones with the best response times. Slower-paced games usually look fine though.

I use my LCD for everything. The LCD Is a Samsung 192N and my old CRT is a Samsung 900NF Flat 19" CRT

In CounterStrike (the only FPS I play anymore) I do see a bit of an issue when moving fast, but for the mostpart its fine for me, and I used to be in CAL-I so I am not a noob who knows nothing ;) I just play for fun now tho.

If you play Racing Games, STAY AWAY. I have never seen anything as bad as this. Its Ok as long as you dont take things too seriously, but not being able to make out the far away objects clearly is a very big problem.

For RTS / RPGs its fine, there all slow enough pace that things done bother you too much.

Now for the good.
First I used to get serious headachs on my CRT after a number of hours working on photos or editing a video, after switching to the LCD these became few and far between. I love it for that.
second, the space it takes up is amazing and in my situitation is worth its weight in gold. Third, the brightness / clairity of the screen FAR outdoes my CRT (I dont know why I think this but it just seems to be better, and no my CRT is not a crappy one ;) ). Finally the aspect of it that sold me on the whole idea (kinda sounds rediculus but meh) The AUTO button that will make the screen best fit......I LOVE IT. Change a res and in a matter of seconds the whole screen is perfect...MMM

Anywho, just my 2 cents. If you are serious about it, look into getting one of the newer 16ms panals, get a 17" one cuz it would only be one inch smaller then your current monitor, wont cost TOO much, and currently are the best choice for gamers.

Vanquish pointed out some of the good with these things. I won't go into that - he was right so why tell you why you need one of these things.

The key to using an LCD for gaming is unfortunitly money at this point. Couple things to consider when buying these monitors.

1 - Size: you really do get increased viewing size when you buy one. I replaced a 19inch CRT with a 17inch LCD and actually gained some space. To that end - more size is not better. You can buy a 19inch LCD for what might be the same price as a good 17. The difference is that the 19 just has bigger dots and the same native resolution.

2 - Speed - The refresh rate of the monitor will tell you if you can play games. Believe it or not, even racing games with huge refesh requirements can be played on a good monitor. I have a monitor that allows me to do this, but I spent a lot! I have a Hercules Profitview DVI. I have no ghosting at all, but I paid for it. If you goal is gaming and you don't want delay / ghosting either stick with the LCD or be prepared at least at this point to pay for it.

3 - Prices of high speed LCDs may come down. If you can wait, it will help.

4 - GET DVI!!!!!!!!!!!! This is not a small difference. Make sure your card is capable of DVI output and the monitor has native DVI input. Do not comprimise on this issue.

5 - Manufacturers lie about refresh rates. I can talk about this all day. Esentially there are two ways to measure. Be careful. If you ned help - I would be happy to - but read this article first: www.tomshardware.com

Good luck.

I have a 17 inch samsung flatpanel and it works great for all gaming. Looks better than most CRTs. I bought last year for $350 at Best Buy during a sale. Best decision I've ever made. No regrets.. GET ONE!!!!

Basically everything Mondak said. The refresh rate is EVERYTHING when it comes to gaming. If you get a high refresh rate, no matter which brand, size, or quality, games will look like shit. I've always heard that 25 milliseconds and below is good for gaming.

-Lasereth

I have an LG 1710S TFT, with a 16 ms response time (which translates to some 60 fps). It looks great, works fine in games (no "ghosting" whatsoever, and I have none of the problems that were mentioned.

As for the DVI: Mondak is overstating the importance IMO. I have yet to see the difference between normal VGA and DVI, and I've tested quite a few TFTs.

(Oh, and the TFT cost me some 500 Euros)

Wow - that IS amazing! I ran my LCD in both modes and see a gigantic difference in what is displayed. Reading text on a page like this is where it is the biggest. It is just so clear. I can swap back and forth with my setting of my video card without changing cables and I swear I don't feel like I am overstating. Maybe then there is some degree of difference to the specific monitor I am using. It is a really nice monitor.....

As for the 25ms thing, it really depends on how you measure and that Tomshardware guide explains it very well. Even 16ms LCDs can ghost. You just need to kick down for the good one, wait or stay with a CRT until they are cheaper.

hmm thanks guys

Mondak, using the VGA Connector try and adjust your monitor, it should have an auto adjust button, see if that clears up the VGA screen. I would never use DVI unless I HAD to, I dont like having to change color settings and such in software. Thats the reason I never got the 192T, I looked at both and I found that the VGA was better on both then the DVI was. Just for comparison, the text on my VGA one is SUPER crisp after I let it autoadjust. but if I change the res or switch back and forth a lot, eventually the monitor will become out of sync and create areas that are out of focus, around 2" square all over my screen in random areas. After an autoadjust these go away and the monitor is fine.

I think another important thing to mention as a disadvantage to the LCD is contrast ratio...if you play games where scary things lurk in the shadows, you'll be lost.
I have a really cheap 17" LCD, and I use it for gaming, but those dark levels really suck...
In the future, I'm only going with CRT for gaming.

I have no problems gaming with my NEC Multisync LCD1760v .. Nec monitors are awsome.