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[Vieo]

Ok. This has been discussed at length several times, but it's such an interesting topic. Being a CRT man myself the only time I've really seen LCDs in action were in stores. In fact, the only time I've ever seen games being played on a LCD was at a computer show I went to a long time ago(the game was Serious Sam).

Anyway, I have been pondering about LCDs for gaming lately and have a few questions. The arguments I hear about LCDs' inferiority are 1)black shows as washed out. 2)limited viewing angle. 3)dead pixels. and 4)ghosting when something fast moving is on the screen. The only thing out of those I'm probably really concerned about is 3 & 4. What causes dead pixels, how likely would my monitor be to get them, and is there a way to prevent? And as for ghosting, I heard that happens if the LCD has a low response time. How bad is the ghosting effect?(I've never seen it) Does it make games totally unplayable or is it tolerable?

I ask because I've been thinking if I should replace my CRT(19" NEC FE991SB) with an LCD. I really love my CRT and it has an amazing picture, but the only thing is it's huge and weighs like 60lbs+. I've made a couple of new friends last year and only now recently found out they're always having LAN parties. Having never been to a LAN party before, I'd like to go to one, but this monitor is holding me back. =P

So far I've been eyeing this:

It's a Shuttle XP17. There's two versions. Only difference is one has a response time of 8ms(costs significantly more) and the other a 16ms response time. How do you think gamin would be with the 16ms version? The only thing I don't like about this monitor is it's 17". After using a 19" screen for so long, I don't think I could go back and good 19" LCDs cost a ton.

BTW, why do LCDs cost so much more than CRTs? They look like they're manufactured with less materials and cheaper parts. Does is really cost them more to make a 19" LCD than a 19" CRT?

 

[aoi tsuki]

Pussy. My Samsung 19" weighs something like 67lbs and i've taken it to LAN parties. Twice.

 

[Borys]

BTW, why do LCDs cost so much more than CRTs? They look like they're manufactured with less materials and cheaper parts. Does is really cost them more to make a 19" LCD than a 19" CRT?

Different technology, different price.

...

Yes they will [replace CRT], it's a natural evolution just like moving from B&W to color.

 

[tedtropy]

I don't think that LCDs will replace CRTs, as there are certain things that they cannot match in a CRT. Namely, LCDs are stuck with one native resolution. Now this is a big issue that's only going to become more apparent with time. Additionally, an LCD is likely to never match the color quality or black levels of a good CRT. The CRT will get inevitably get replaced, but I don't think that LCD is the technology that will do it.

 

[dem]

LCDs look like ass outside of the native res..

USELESS

Invent something else smart people

 

[Leatherface]

CRT for life.

 

[Vieo]

Bah. If only they could make CRTs as thin as or almost as thin as LCDs. That would be the perfect solution.

 

[GXAlan]

Definitely. CRTs are no longer being manufactured

Read the intro here, look at summary benchmarks
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/budget_lcd_roundup_0405/

Read about the first place monitor here:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/19_lcd_roundup_0605/

We'll just end up with worse contrast ratios for a while

 

[golem]

LCDs have already replaced CRTs.. in my house at least. Last CRT left is a Samsung HDTV.. soon to be booted out by a Plasma

 

[human5892]

LCDs look like ass outside of the native res..

USELESS

Invent something else smart people

I agree. Unless there's some new LCD technology I haven't seen yet that solves this problem, I will never, ever buy an LCD. I view media from too many different source resolutions to even consider it.

 

[border]

LCD never looks as good as CRT and costs 3-4 times as much. BLECH.

Neither one will become "the standard", and I think/hope they will both be replaced by something better.

 

[human5892]

There might be hope in that new technology KLee posted about a little while ago...was it carbon nanotubes? The article claimed the technology is cheap (less than $800 for a 40-inch display), provides great image quality (I think they quoted a 250,000:1 contrast ratio or something insane like that) and should be available within a year or two. It almost sounded too good to be true.

EDIT: Yeah, it was carbon nanotubes. Here's the thread.

 

[border]

I never got all the LCD love. Aside from their slim factor, it's kind of a shitty technology. Only 1 resolution and it's taken how many years for them to get acceptable pixel response times? Is 8ms as good as CRT? I don't think I've seen an LCD running at that rate yet.

 

[Rushmore]

I recently picked up a 19" Samsung 930B LCD monitor.

Samsung 930B

I'll agree about the washed out Black tones (which are really only noticible when watching letterboxed videos) but with the 8ms response time, I don't see any ghosting and I don't mind the 1290x1024 native resolution because that's what I use for all games. There's no dead pixels at all and the price was right at ~$400. That's not counting the $50 rebate either.

I'll agree that LCDs will never be as sharp as CRTs, but the strengths outweigh the negatives for my personal use.

 

[Sapiens]

I'm going to wait for the carbon nanotube display so I can achieve my dream of a room, completely "wallpapered" by television.

Magic Alex would be proud.

 

[Litigation Manuel]

The LCD Soundsystem is better though.

 

[Ryck]

Magic Alex would be proud.

Didn't that guy build a studio that didn't work for the Beatles ?

 

[Sapiens]

Didn't that guy build a studio that didn't work for the Beatles ?

For Let it Be. He promised some kind of 72 track studio, but it was trash, a joke. In the anthology book, John Lennon seemed to like him (LSD?), and Ringo commented on some kind of "glowing electric wallpaper" and a radio in a toilet invention.

He was supposed to be some kind of electric genius, but never delivered.

 

[Shawn]

what does lcd have going for it besides the "slim factor"?

what a f*cking joke.

 

[Crazymoogle]

The firingsquad article is well done, and if you need something bigger look to Anandtech's comparison of the Apple and Dell screens.

We use the Hyundai Imagequest L90D+ at work, and blurring is not a noticeable problem, even during extended hours of Counterstrike Source, which surprised me (and I usually catch DLP rainbows / sub 85hz refresh issues, go figure). There's one dead pixel, but that was luck of the draw so to speak (it's the only one here I've seen a dead pixel on). The only problem, of course, is that using anything but the native resolution (1280x1024) looks so damned ugly it's hardly worth looking at.

I'm usually a CRT guy (I've got a 21" Sony CRT monitor at home), but this panel has me sold (and it even has headphone jack and USB passthrough). The only reason I wouldn't buy one would be if my PC can't possibly run games at the 1280x1024 mode.

 

[bionic77]

what does lcd have going for it besides the "slim factor"?

what a f*cking joke.

If you read a lot of text on your PC LCDs smoke CRTs. So much easier on your eyes.

 

[milanbaros]

The techonolgy is so much younger than crt. At a similar time I think CRT would have looked like crap. Tech moves so fast nowadays, it will only take demand to truely lift off for the tech to improve beyond recognition.

 

[tedtropy]

I'm usually a CRT guy (I've got a 21" Sony CRT monitor at home), but this panel has me sold (and it even has headphone jack and USB passthrough). The only reason I wouldn't buy one would be if my PC can't possibly run games at the 1280x1024 mode.

Ditto. I had a 17" 12ms Samung LCD display for about two weeks before getting the 21" Trinitron as I just couldn't deal with the LCD's caveats. I'm not saying there's not better LCDs out there, I'm just saying I'm a CRT guy. And on LAN party weekends, I'm the hernia guy.

 

[teh_pwn]

Aside from their slim factor

Perfect geometry, increased sharpness, and being easy on the eyes.


CRTs have better blacks, colors, and motion. Overall I think a good CRT beats a good LCD, but times are changing.