Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (
More info?)
Steve wrote:
> As part of my ongoing upgrade, I am now going to buy a new LCD
> monitor. I am aware that the response time is important so I am going
> to look for one with 12ms or less.
The lower the response time, the better for games or video or anything
where there is a lot of fast moving action. Of course, exactly what
12ms means from manufacturer to manufacturer remains to be seen, but
even brand-name 16ms screens seem pretty good. If you think about it,
your TV set is approximately 16ms response time as each field of 60
fields (2 fields/frame) per second (OK, 59.94) takes just over 16ms.
And these monitors are drawing the entire frame, not just every other
line (as in interlaced TV). Computer screens are Progressive Scan,
which is starting to be the big thing in TVs, DVDs, etc. because it
gets rid of strange artifacts due to the interlaced images being
1/60th second apart in time.
> 1. Would the 19" montor be too big for normal home use ?
> I usually sit 18" or so away from the monitor.
The LCDs are MUCH smaller than the CRTs. I don't think you'll
find very many of them too big (except maybe the Apple 30" monster).
In fact, maybe just get 2 17" displays, since I think the 6600
will drive both independently, and you'll have MUCH more screen area.
I've had (at least) two screens on my machines since 1990 (actually,
I once had 4: a Black and White, a Grayscale, 16-bit color and 32-bit
color -- of course, this was on a Macintosh II).
> 2. Would I need a better Video card, say the 6800GT or 6800 Ultra ?
> Or would say, the 6600GT I have be OK for the 17" and not for the
> 19" ?
Anyway, the 6600 is a nice (quite new) card. I wouldn't even think
of upgrading unless you actually run into a situation where upgrading
the card would make a difference. These cards will all drive large
monitors with no problem. It's only when you start turning on
anti-aliasing features and making use of multiple pixel pipelines that
the higher end cards pull away in performance.
All I can say is read reviews, but don't switch until you actually
have issues (or build a completely new system).
Paul