Need Advice On New Gaming Lcd Monitor

kill4thrills

<div class="IPBDescription">yes, me too...</div> i have to increase desk space in my study, so i'm looking to buy a 19" LCD monitor to replace my aging and bulky 17" CRT.

i will almost definately be purchasing it from a place near where i live, and they carry a lot of different models and makes (prices in $CDN):
<a href='http://www.atic.ca/index.php?page=Products&cat=11' target='_blank'>http://www.atic.ca/index.php?page=Products&cat=11</a>

Since i'll be using it for gaming, i'll want a fast response 8ms or better monitor, but i'm not sure what type of contrast or brightness i should be getting.

how much of a difference is there from a 700:1 contrast to a 500:1?

i see brightness ranges up to a max rating of 300, although not all monitors have this stat listed. how important is this rating? and what difference will i see from 300 to say 250 or 200?

i have a ATI x800pro with DVI-I. should i also invest in DVI cables? will i see a significant difference in IQ with DVI as opposed to traditional analog?

if ATIC doesn't have anything i should have, i would also consider buying one from Futureshop <a href='http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=22334' target='_blank'>http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass....=EN&catid=22334</a> (our canadian version of BestBuy)

TychoCelchuuu

I'd go with a 700:1 contrast ratio, not only because it's better but because a monitor with that is likely to be of higher quality; 700's kind of my minimum. Careful with response times, since they are all measured differently and in the end don't really mean anything. As for DVI cables, I just bought one for 15 bucks off eBay. I'll let you know if there's a difference.

kill4thrills

hmm... people have warned me about response times, and that some companies will use 6-bit color displays instead of the standard 8-bit displays to get faster response time, with a loss of about 500,000 colors and corresponding IQ. 16.2 million colors instead of 16.7 million. doens't sound like a lot, but apparently makes a lot of differnce.

i've heard good things about this Hyundai L90D+ 19" <a href='http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1218288&CatId=0' target='_blank'>http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/Sea...1218288&CatId=0</a> but i can't find a place near me that carries it and i don't want to get it online and need it delivered etc.

if anyone can recommend good computer hardware stores in vancouver, bc, it'd be appreciated.

Beast

I bought a Viewsonic VP191b.
It's awesome <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
They come with a damned good warentee too <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

I recommend this monitor! :O
And yes, DVI IS GODLY :O

OttoDestruct

<a href='http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824179014' target='_blank'>Linkeh</a>

Cheaper that TigerDirect.

<a href='http://graphics.tomshardware.com/display/20050215/lcd-01.html' target='_blank'>Review.</a>


Tom's Hardware is pretty much saying the L90D+ is the best thing since sliced bread, for the price its at.

Black_Viper

<a href='http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?TabPage=techspecs&sku=320-4042&spagenum=&category_id=210&brandid=&k=&c=us&l=en&cs=19&mnf=&prst=&prEnd=&mnfsku=&orderby=&searchtype=&pageb4search=&page=productlisting.aspx&instock=&refurbished=' target='_blank'>http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/Product...k=&refurbished=</a>

Its not too cheap, but its the one i use on DVI, no ghosts, looks great, and the USB hub its great for my wireless joystick, high and in clear view of my stick, no connection problems.


Plus the stand rocks!!!

Edit if 19" is what you want.

<a href='http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?TabPage=techspecs&sku=320-4113&spagenum=&category_id=211&brandid=&k=&c=us&l=en&cs=19&mnf=&prst=&prEnd=&mnfsku=&orderby=&searchtype=&pageb4search=&page=productlisting.aspx&instock=&refurbished=' target='_blank'>http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/Product...k=&refurbished=</a>

Contrast ratio isnt as good, but 800:1 is great.

kill4thrills

thanks otto. i acutally found a place a 10 minute drive from me (thx google) that carries it ,although backordered. i should be able to put in a deposit and pick it up in a week <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

i noticed an error in tom's review. he states that the L90D+ has 16.2 mil colors but the manufacturer's website says it has 16.7 mil, which makes it much better than the other monitors he's comparing (if he didn't mess up their color range as well tha tis)

OttoDestruct

It seems I made a mistake though and was at TD canada. I looked at shipping and TD comes to 350 USD though, Newegg comes to 354 after shipping. I'm personally a fan of Newegg, they've typically gotten stuff to me in 3 days.