Shopping for an LCD, looking for suggestions

[Jason Ash]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?
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[Gareee©]

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?

Yep, stick with a crt.. response time is faster, and colors are more
accurate.. plus they are 1/5th of the price.

I've yet to see a flat screen I could live with and every single digital
artist I know of refuses to use a flat screen because of refresh and color
issues.

 

[Gordon Scott]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?
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If your main purpose is playing games LCD is NOT the way to go.
CRT monitors remain the best for gameplay, if any store/salesman tells
you differently they are lying through their teeth.


Gordon

 

[Jason Ash]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I
had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs,
and PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I also plan to try to use dual monitor until my current CRT up and quits.
Due to desk space, I am unable to fit two CRTs on the desk, which is
another reason for shopping for a LCD.

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m0ng0lh0rde @ ukonline . co . uk

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[SteveK]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?

First remove the monitor from the ups system and see if the problem goes
away - then buy another monitor..

 

[nazgul]

Le Sun, 19 Dec 2004 17:49:45 -0600, Jason Ash

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?

I have dell laptop costing very much.
The display is 16/9 ratio; playing dvd flawlessly, but not tried
games.
Yes, you should keep this manufacturer to go and get one of the
monitor.

 

[Andi Cole]

I'm using a BENQ FP937s and it's the first (of three) LCD's that I've had
that works well in fps games. CRT's I've had in the past all suffered from
focus issues after a while, gave me migraines took up so much space.

Don't believe the cynics here, LCD's are not bad at all nowadays. Make sure
you have a refersh rate at an absolute maximum of 16ms, 25ms just won't cut
it. 12ms is what my LCD is and there are some 8ms ones now. Unless your
doing true colour photo work the LCD will be fine, might need some fine
tuning.

As for the Dells forget the 17" it's 25ms, the 19" is 20ms so is marginal,
the 20" is 16ms so would be OK. However you can get 19" 12ms TFT's now the
BENQ FP937 for example or a Philips 190X5FB.

 

[Jack]

Before you buy anything, make certain your video card is not going bad.
That was my trouble, my granddaughter's and a friends trouble, rather
than the CRT itself.

 

[Gareee©]

Don't believe the cynics here, LCD's are not bad at all nowadays.

Hey I'd move to a LCD in a minute, if I thought I;d get an advantage from
it.

Again, check any of the digital graphic developement, or digital photography
newsgroups.. there isn;t even a debate on LCDs being up to par yet. The
general consensus is that LCDs are get for low end consumer use, but just
are not there yet for professional uses.

There are color shift issues, refresh rate issues, and angle visibility
issues that are just not acceptable for grpahic developement uses.

Red needs to look "real world" red, not a close approximation.

They are especially bad when you develop on one, and then display on a
normat crt, and see many hue variances.

As I said, check the various forums fore digital photography, 3d work and
such, and you won't even consider a LCD yet.

 

[Shawk]

Hey I'd move to a LCD in a minute, if I thought I;d get an advantage from
it.

Again, check any of the digital graphic developement, or digital photography
newsgroups.. there isn;t even a debate on LCDs being up to par yet. The
general consensus is that LCDs are get for low end consumer use, but just
are not there yet for professional uses.

There are color shift issues, refresh rate issues, and angle visibility
issues that are just not acceptable for grpahic developement uses.

Red needs to look "real world" red, not a close approximation.

They are especially bad when you develop on one, and then display on a
normat crt, and see many hue variances.

As I said, check the various forums fore digital photography, 3d work and
such, and you won't even consider a LCD yet.

Agree on the Pro uses but the OP uses his PC primarily for game playing.
A lot of LCD's are fast enough for that now. Shaun

 

[Gareee©]

Agree on the Pro uses but the OP uses his PC primarily for game playing. A
lot of LCD's are fast enough for that now. Shaun

Yeah, but not with the newer video cards running hi res 100+ fps.

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

[This followup was posted to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati and a copy
was sent to the cited author.]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Check out www.tomshardware.com. Many good, full featured reviews. He
checks response time not at just the 0-100% switching given in ads (and
even then, usually over-optimistic), but also at lower levels. The
switching time is much slower then. Also avoid overrated specs like
contrast ratio. Usually given when comparing sunburn-level brightness to
black. The real usable ratio is usually much lower. There is also an
article explaining the marketing scams related to the above.

As other have posted, try your monitor on another computer, or try
another monitor on your computer. You need to verify that it is the
monitor itself that is bad, and not the computer or video card.

 

[TonyC]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?

Just got myself a ViewSonic VX912 12ms 19" dual input. Makes my 19" Vision
Master Pro 450 look crap in EVERY respect. Looks great, performs great.
Happy chappie I am.


Tony

 

[Andi Cole]

Yeah, but not with the newer video cards running hi res 100+ fps.

Why? mines fine runing 100 fps in GTR.

 

[Andi Cole]

Ah yes, someone who's actually looked at the results and not just read the
words.

Jason should get an LCD, save on desk space and power.

 

[Malc]

Just got myself a ViewSonic VX912 12ms 19" dual input. Makes my 19" Vision
Master Pro 450 look crap in EVERY respect. Looks great, performs great.
Happy chappie I am.


Tony

I've just bought a Sharp LL-171G-B and its excellent. Its 17" and only
has 20ms response time, but its bright and there is no blurring at all.
I think some of the LCD manufacturers are over-optimistic in their
quoted response times - so don't go on this alone. There's a review at
http://www.custompc.co.uk/ .

Malc

 

[Andi Cole]

Good refence there.

Take a look at the review of the BENQ FP783, it concludes along the lines
of; a games monitor needs to be different to a graphics tool monitor. Benq's
12ms and "sledgehammer approach to colours and whites" is ideal for gaming.

So don't get confused by purists selecting the wrong monitor for gaming
needs. A slow response time, and I think you need 16ms or faster, is no good
for games, but below that you're gonna be amazed.

 

[T Shadow]

BenQ=Acer
For those that have owned Acer products.

 

[RJT]

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Of those you mention, only the 2001FP comes close to being good for
gaming. I've seen the panel - I've even owned the 23" version of what is
technically the same panel - but it didn't please me. It's still a
little choppy, so the may say it's 16ms, but you can see it's not as
fast in refreshing as a CRT. I took mine back, and ended up buying a
second hand SONY F520 - which makes me veeeery happy.

Getting a TFT to display 24bit color as it is meant to be comes at a
price: the better the color reproduction, the slower the panel's
response. So you'll have to choose: if you want 24bit color and gaming,
you NEED a CRT. If you want a TFT and gaming, you'll have to drop the
24bit thing and then the BenQ FP71E+ is the best buy available. If you
want to buy a TFT from Dell, I'd get the 2005FP. AFAIK It's a 20.1"
widescreen (1680x1050) 16ms panel, and is currently on sale - cheaper
than the 2001FP.

 

[HockeyTownUSA]

Here's the deal. My current 19" CRT seems to be failing, since I had
an overloaded circuit in my house blow (not the circuit with the PCs, and
PC/monitor etc all on UPS, but problem started then)

I've got a built by ATI Radeon 9700Pro. I am planning to get an LCD
through Dell (I already have Dell credit) I am looking at no smaller
than a 17" and preferably a 19" or larger. I am looking at the following
couple, and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.
Planar PX191 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1905FP 19"
Dell Ultrasharp 1704FPV 17"
Dell Ultrasharp 2001FP 20"

I'll take other suggestions as well. Please don't say to just get the
20", as I need to get this "approved" by the wife as well. She's only
letting me shop like this due to the (very visible) problem with my CRT.

A few notes and restrictions on whatever I get:
Must have DVI input. This is non-negotiable
I use my PC primarily for game playing, Half Life 2, Battlefield 1942,
etc, so a low response time is preferred.
I would like a true 24bit display, not 16bit dithered to 24.

Any ideas?
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Been using a Dell 2001FP for nearly a year now (wow already!). All I have to
say it is the BEST monitor I have ever had. It has worked flawlessly for any
game I throw at it at any resolution up to 1600x1200. With the 16ms
response time there is absolutely zero video smearing. The 16ms essentially
equates to around 60 fps, so even if there is "smearing" it won't be visible
to the naked eye. It has four inputs, one DVI, one 15-pin VGA, one S-Video,
and one composite. I have two PC's and my XBOX attached to it. It even has
an add-on speaker that snaps to it too. It can also be rotated easily if
you're into desktop publishing and need that feature.

The good thing is that Dell usually has excellent deals on it too. I got
mine for around $750 and had a $100 off coupon for buying a Dell a year
earlier (Xmas gift for my sister and her family). So, keep a lookout for
deals and it will be a purchase you won't regret.