*sigh*

People categorize displays that are light, thin, and have a small footstep as a flat panel display.

LCD is a display technology that falls into the flat panel display catagory. All computer monitors available to consumers are LCD so you don't have a choice.

You have to consider the following when picking a computer monitor:

- response times (lower numbers = better)
You need a monitor with fast response times if you are going to be doing any gaming or watching any action movies. Response times is measured mostly in GTG (grey to grey), anything under 6ms is awsome. For response times measured in FOFO (full on full off), anything under 12ms is awsome.

- contrast ratio (higher = better)
If you can control the lighting in your room and you watch a lot of movies, you want a high contrast ratio. But for gaming and daily uses in a room where light can not be controlled, any native/static ratio above 300:1 is good. Most monitors today have a 700:1 native contrast ratio (3000:1 dynamic) so this shouldn't be a problem..

- brightness
This also depends on the environment of your monitor. You usually want a brighter display for public areas (room where light can't be controlled). But this is all preference... Most monitors today are usually too bright out of the box anyways =x

- viewing angle
This depends on the purpose of the monitor. If a lot of people are going to be viewing the monitor at the same time, you would want a wider viewing angle.

- resolution / size
Take into consideration of your video card. If you paid $300 for a video card, you should be paying close to that amount for a monitor as well or else you going to end up being disappointed. Don't expect a $100 card to play games at a resolution of 2560 x 1600.

And that's it.

edit: And also you need to worry about dead pixels with LCD displays so buy from a place that has a return policy for dead pixels.


Edited by skyR - 29 Nov 2007 at 12:52am

this may or may not be very good advice. I will just tell you what I do when I am interested in getting something I have no idea about.. I goto newegg.com get in the category of whatever i'm searching for and goto Top Sellers start reading my way down the reviews until one really snags me :) I know it's pretty lame but hey, atleast you know you're getting a quality product that others seem to like too! Thats how I found my Samsung 22" =]

I would suggest going with a flat-panel over a CRT hands down, in terms of space usage, weight, convenience, etc. A 21" CRT is huge AND weighs a ton.

My 17" Samsung LCD runs 1280x1024 and it looks great. I could upgrade to a larger screen and might at some point, but would never go back to a CRT.

Chris

Originally posted by skyR People categorize displays that are light, thin, and have a small footstep as a flat panel display. LCD is a display technology that falls into the flat panel display catagory. All computer monitors available to consumers are LCD so you don't have a choice. *and the old CRT acourse You have to consider the following when picking a computer monitor: - response times (lower numbers = better) You need a monitor with fast response times if you are going to be doing any gaming or watching any action movies. Response times is measured mostly in GTG (grey to grey), anything under 6ms is awsome. For response times measured in FOFO (full on full off), anything under 12ms is awsome. - contrast ratio (higher = better) If you can control the lighting in your room and you watch a lot of movies, you want a high contrast ratio. But for gaming and daily uses in a room where light can not be controlled, any native/static ratio above 300:1 is good. Most monitors today have a 700:1 native contrast ratio (3000:1 dynamic) so this shouldn't be a problem.. - brightness This also depends on the environment of your monitor. You usually want a brighter display for public areas (room where light can't be controlled). But this is all preference... Most monitors today are usually too bright out of the box anyways =x - viewing angle This depends on the purpose of the monitor. If a lot of people are going to be viewing the monitor at the same time, you would want a wider viewing angle. - resolution / size Take into consideration of your video card. If you paid $300 for a video card, you should be paying close to that amount for a monitor as well or else you going to end up being disappointed. Don't expect a $100 card to play games at a resolution of 2560 x 1600. And that's it. edit: And also you need to worry about dead pixels with LCD displays so buy from a place that has a return policy for dead pixels.

Wow thanks skyR! That helped a LOT!

So yeah I'll definitely grab an LCD then.


Edited by skyR - 29 Nov 2007 at 9:07pm

if you are looking for 1600x1200 you won't be using a widescreen.  I'd probably say that widescreen is the way to go.  Based on your rig you would be well off with a 22" widescreen and your GT could probably push 1900x1200 on a 24" widescreen as well. 

I currently have the 24" LG and it's incredible.  I had the Samsung 245BW for a while but it's a TN panel so its viewing angles started to bother me.  the LG is a different panel, actually the same as the 24" BenQ that is pretty good and I love it so far.  No ghosting, very little input lag, and it looks great once tweaked a bit.