Need help choosing a monitor for gaming.

did you read the monitor guide stickied at the top of this forum section? not sure it would answer your questions exactly but perhaps it will give you a few more ideas about options.

it is impossible for us to have tested out every single brand and every single monitor so often we make recommendations based on what we have read or what we have heard which technically is all hear say. every single manufacturer has products which are duds which are better left avoided. this is why i always suggest reading many reviews from different sources to see what the general consensus is. there is no subsitute for reading such reviews. there are always issues with each product which can drop its overall score i tend to look at the percentage of bad to good.

the only monitors i have personaly dealt with have been from viewsonic and in a more limited capacity dell. the viewsonic monitors perform flawlessly (but are also top end $600 ips panels) and the dell monitors were standard fare for tn panels. i have seen quite a few excellent monitors from the brands you listed in person and have heard of many reliable brands but you dont want hear say. all i can say is to stick with higher end brands and well known models with many reviews to back them up.

while a fast response time is ideal it is not always required. for instance i used one rated at 16ms for years without issue. granted the panel most likely performed better but this was still at the very threshold. most high end panels shouldnt have a problem and i am suprised to hear that ghosting is even found in major brands today. some people can clearly see the difference between 120hz and 60hz screens. perhaps you are more suited for such a screen. i've seen people complain about ghosting on panels which 95% of the people say it works great which sounds strange but it could very well be that their eyes notice something others do not.

this ama (advanced motion accelerator) mode... did you try setting it to off? perhaps it is trying (and failing miserably) to compensate for screen motion. it sounds like this may be causing the blurring but unless you did set it to off there is no way to know for certain.

i looked at newegg and there are a few hits in the 27" category. all have some minor issues but there are many 4 and 5 star products. i also noticed a 27" viewsonic television in the mix. you can use a television as a monitor but the pixel arrangement may be different (see the monitor guide for explanation). i am typing this on a 40" television right now.

as far as recommendations?

i would say you can either step down to a 22" and give 120hz panels a try or go with another brand and read alot of reviews on the product first. ideally you would be able to go to a microcenter or other shop to see them in person.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?bop=And&Submit=Property&N=100007617%204018&IsNodeId=1&PropertyCodeValue=3106%3a57100%2c3106%3a21391%2c3106%3a21395%2c3106%3a115946%2c3106%3a21398

this is a good selection of 1 ms responce and also some 1ms responce but with 120 Mhz but only 24 inches. your choice. higher refresh rate or larger screen. I would go 24" but that is me
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313