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Postby smartin4 on Sat Feb 21, 2004 9:39 pm

I am thinking about an upgrade to a flat panel LCD, most likely 18 in. or larger, but have some questions.

1) Are LCDs any good these days when it comes to gaming or 3d graphics(they used to be terrible for this purpose). I would gather that they would be awesome for watching DVDs, etc.
2) What are the specs I should be looking for?
3) Any particular manufacturers to look at or stay away from?

Thanks in advance.
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Postby TheWizard on Sun Feb 22, 2004 8:42 am

I have the same questions myself. I want a LCD (or TFT, I still can't figure out which technology is better) monitor that doesn't fade from view if you look at it from an angle. If you ever saw the old projection TV's, you'll know what I mean. The only way to view one of those things decently was to sit directly in front of it. I also want a crisp, clear, and bright LCD/TFT monitor. I know they aren't as crisp, clear, and bright as a CRT monitor, but there must be something that compares well.
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Postby dimitri on Sun Feb 22, 2004 9:48 am

Latest generation panels can be as or more crisp and bright as crt but they have to run at their 'natural' resolution for sharpest display.

For gaming purposes the fastest reaction time is better. 16ms should be good but some 12ms are already out - I think Benq was the first.

The thing is that 25ms panels, which are good enough for most graphics and movie purposes, usually have a better viewing angle. Put it another way, all panels I know of with 170 degree horizontal and vertical have 25ms reaction time 'only' and the 16ms or faster have only about 140 degree.

Another thing to consider: don't go for a panel with analog connection only, even if your graphic card has only analog out, you might buy a new card in the near future but a good monitor is likely to stay with you for 2, 3 years at least..

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Postby CowboySlim on Mon Feb 23, 2004 12:13 am

Look for a 3 year warranty that the store will honor on a return to store basis. The backlights are the weak link with respect to longevity. There is also the "dead" pixel issue. It is not uncommon for out of the box LCDs to have several dead pixels. Many manufacturers have a return policy such that 5, or thereabouts, dead pixels do not constitute a warrranty defect.

In other words, what you see (or pixels you don't see) is what you keep.

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Postby aviationwiz on Mon Feb 23, 2004 12:17 am

From what I hear, Samsung LCD monitors is way up there, amoung the best LCD monitor manufacturers. Also, if you have a lot of $$$, take a look at the Apple Cinema Displays, those ARE, the best around.
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Postby Morpheus on Mon Feb 23, 2004 9:42 pm

...take a look at the Apple Cinema Displays, those ARE, the best around.


You have to be carefull about this - the Apple monitor controls are not on the monitor - they're part of the Apple OS. So hooking up an Apple monitor to a PC - your stick with the picture settings as is.
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Postby BuddhaTB on Mon Feb 23, 2004 10:42 pm

If the Dell 2001 LCD screen drops under $750 again, it's mines! :D
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Postby smartin4 on Tue Feb 24, 2004 12:36 am

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Postby BuddhaTB on Tue Feb 24, 2004 1:26 am

Dell's 1901 is very good especially with the Dell deals.


Does anyone know who manufactures Dell's LCD screens? Especiall the 19" and 20.1" models.
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Postby CowboySlim on Tue Feb 24, 2004 1:53 am

I've looked 'em all over and would go for the Samsung. Only knock is the 25ms response, but I'm not a gamer, so it is not a showstopper for me. They have a 3 year warranty and CC will take back on a no questions asked policy and no restocking BS.

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Postby wicked1 on Tue Feb 24, 2004 11:25 pm

I have a 17" LCD Samsung TFT-LCD. I love it. Havent had any problems with ghosting in quake 3. It looks alot better than the Amptron 17" it replaced.
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Postby TheWizard on Wed Feb 25, 2004 2:25 am

Anybody know what LCD monitors they use on The Screen Savers on TechTV? It's a weird question, I know, but the gray framed, LCD monitors that the "helpers" (not the main hosts) of the show use are very sharp and bright. I like them. I wish I knew the make and model though.
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Postby socheat on Fri Feb 27, 2004 10:47 am

I've never bought from them yet, but www.monitorsdirect.com is a great place to at least do research on monitors. They will break down all the details of every monitor (size, resolution, dimensions, price, viewing angle, response time, warranty service, dead pixel policy, etc) and even allow you to compare against other monitors.
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