Tsunami Gaming

I'm a computer geek, but my hardware knowledge is outdated and I haven't spent much time researching modern LCDs.

Here is what I am looking to purchase:

• Minimum 21" brand name/reputable LCD monitor
• Must support at least 1600x1200 resolution
• Must support at least 72hz refresh rate, preferably 80hz

Now here is where my knowledge gets a bit limited: I know there are other factors like aspect ratios, DPI, contrast ratios, etc. which have an impact on final performance - especially for gamers. I want a top notch 21" LCD monitor that I can use with modern games.

Most monitors I've seen on sites like pricewatch and newegg are between $150 and $350. I'm willing to go on the higher end if necessary, even a little over that. I just really want a nice monitor which exceeds my expectations.

Any feedback? Suggestions? Links to products I should consider purchasing?

Thanks!

My current monitors are a Samsung T220 and a Samsung T220HD. The difference? One is a HD TV/Monitor combo (The T220HD) while the other is a dedicated PC monitor with a slightly faster response time (2ms vs 5ms). In my experience the T220 also resumes from sleep in about a third of the time, but that's likely because the T220HD has more hardware to power up.

Both monitors are 1680x1050 (8:5 aspect ratio), which is a less common resolution (in my experience anyway), but works pretty well. Also, with Windows 7 the taskbar finally doesn't look utterly retarded when placed on the side of a monitor, so the extra width comes in handy for that! I can't wait for it to go RTM so I can order and download my free copy from MSDNAA months before it hits retail channels Did the same with Vista incidentally...



The T240 is a larger version of my T220, and is 1920x1200 : http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/deta ... 4TWHSUV/EN

Personally I have found mine incredibly reliable and it's exactly what I wanted from a monitor, but then again I was happy with my tiny little 15'' 1024x768 monitors for 6 years, long after they were obsolete, so what do I know?

The HDMI is the digital connector, right? Where it comes straight from the video card in digital form and into the monitor as digital, which should improve quality as well as response....yes?

Also, do you know of anything that has PIP technology that would allow me to, lets say, throw a "second monitor" picture into a subset window?

right now I have two 19" CRT monitors side by side, and I'd prefer not to part from my dual-screen configuration. But if I found that special high-quality feature-packed monitor that could help me reclaim some desk space that'd be awesome.

HDMI is for TV's, the PC equivilent is the DVI connection, which is actually just a single link HDMI cable with a different plug on the end.

Also, you mentioned a 75hz refresh rate earlier, but with LCD screens the way they refresh is completely different. In my opinion 60hz should be more than sufficient, unless you have a good reason to want it higher. If you can, try out an LCD monitor (at work or a friends house etc) at 60hz and see if you notice the refresh, I suspect you won't be able too.

The reason for this is simple: A CRT refreshes by basically scanning an image onto the screen, while an LCD just updates the whole screen at once, so there is no flickering involved. One thing you *can* get is tearing, which is caused by disabling vertical sync. What happens is the monitor refresh rate and the graphics card draw rate become de-syncronised and the graphics card draws a half-rendered frame onto the monitor, resulting in half of the old image and half of the new one. Turning vertical sync on clamps the graphics card frame rate to the monitor frame rate and fixes this. Personally I have never actually experienced tearing, but some people do. I think it's to do with how sensitive your eyes are.

As far as PiP is concerned, I don't know of any monitors that have it, but I know they do exist. Look around and see what you can get. If your wanting to simply put a second PC screen onto the monitor, you might find there are software packages to do it instead of buying specialist hardware.

Also... why not buy two monitors to replace the two you have? That's what I did, and partly why I choose the T220 and T220HD, since they are effectively the same monitor and have a uniform look, but one has the added TV functionality I wanted, rather than paying extra for both when I only needed it on one of them. Two 22'' monitors for just short of £400 is a pretty good deal, although I think they have gone up in price a bit since I got mine.

Ah, yeah, DVI is what I was thinking of.

I can get two monitors, but that's twice the price. So rather than buying two $400 monitors ($800) I was thinking I could maybe spend $500-600 on a nice one that had the PIP. I don't know how you'd run software that would enable functionality like this without a graphics card and monitor that have that feature built in. Something to look into I guess.

As for the refresh rate, tearing, etc. I just want something that isn't going to hurt my eyes and will give me maximum FPS with gaming. I honestly don't have the interest (right now) to learn about these technologies which is why I'm asking. I have way too much knowledge crammed into my brain already about operating systems and networking. -_-

I'm hoping to spend no more than $400 or so.

Well, put simply, LCD monitors are not subject to the flickering effect of CRT monitors due to the difference in how they update the display, therefore you can probably get away with a lower refresh rate. As for FPS, it will be equal to the refresh rate of the monitor with VSync turned on (which fixes any tearing issues). If you turn VSync off you *might* experience horizontal tearing, but your FPS should be GPU dependant, and therefore exactly the same as what you get on your CRT at the moment (defining FPS as software FPS).


Also, an FPS of 400 or so is utterly pointless anyway because the most the monitor can actually show you is the same as it's refresh rate. So, with a refresh rate of 60 (for example) and an FPS of 400, your GPU has wasted it's time rendering 340 frames which you never even saw.

I use LG monitors only and have had no problem with any of them (all 7 of them). The best thing to look for in a monitor is a fast response time (2ms or less) so when you move your mouse quickly it doesn't blurr. Most LCD monitors will not give you a refresh rate above 60hz at higher resolutions which is not a problem unlike the old crt based monitors which give a perceived flicker.
Widescreen is nice for doing accounting spreadsheets but I don't prefer it to a regular screen for gaming. Two monitors will still be best for your application then one with pip (good luck getting that to work). With 2 there is no real need for widescreen and you can save some money and stay within budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824005119

I have just the screen for you

It's got a broken power chord, otherwise it looks like a bargain!

I don't think the power chord is broken. I think it is just turing back behind the monitor. It's calling your name fl00d.

Cord.*

lol yeah. After i wrote it i realized i spelled the wrong type of chord/cord. lol oh well.

I hate to be anal, I saw fl00d3d's chord, was going to let it pass and then bam, in you came with another one. I'd have been up all night if I didn't say anything.