EMERGENCY - Monitor Question!!!

[rmthompson]

OK all, my crappy 17 inch Dell monitor FINALLY gave way this morning, and has no screen. I know it's a monitor issue because I currently have the computer hooked up to an hold 15 inch monitor for now..

BUT I now need a new monitor.

Id like to get a nice 17 or 19 inch flat screen LCD monitor.

So what are the qualities I need to look for to get a decent monitor without any artifacting or trails or ghosts? My system setup should be in my signature... and I play games like Counter Strike: SOURCE and World of Warcraft!

I mean is it ONLY on response time? 8ms? 12ms?

I only have around 200 dollars, and would like to pick something up at Best Buy/Circuit City/CompUSA/Wal-Mart this weekend. I dont want to play WoW on the 15 inch! lol

 

[dougie_boy]

however, my LCD is rated at 16ms by dell and worse by toms reviews but i notice no ghosting so do not look too closely at the latency but it is a factor.

16 is pretty slow by todays standards. aim for a 8ms for CS. also brightness of no less than 500:1. veiwsonic are good for moniter.

 

[rmthompson]

Are any of these decent:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=311034&pfp=071606sale&tabtype=rv#moreinfo

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=311035&pfp=071606sale

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=311508&pfp=071606sale

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=336421&pfp=071606sale

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7636034&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01013&id=1134698030120

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7694514&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01013&id=1138083961430

 

[flamethrower205]

I'm kind of an asshole about monitor quality in that I get OCD about my monitors being good, so keep that in mind when reading this (currently running on 2 Samsung 214T's and a 42" plasma):

Firstly, you're probably not going to get something very good from those stores at the most competitive price. Most of those monitors seem to use TN panels...which I despise due t otheir limited color range/ shoddy viewing angles, etc. My favorites are panels that use PVA with overdrive, great color reproduction and good for moving images. I would highly reccomend waiting a few days (this is something you're going to be staring at for some time so might as well get the best u can withint your price limits).

In general when you see 16.2M colors, stay away. Also, viewing angles should be high- it is such a pain on a 17"+ monitor when the top is a different color than the bottom. (Remember that viewing angle for most monitors is measured where contrast ratio is 1/5 or 1/10 of what it is looking head on, so you're getting picture degredation far before that angle...) I also look for brightness that's not too high (Dougie_boy I think you meant contrast there) cause it burns when you look at the monitor for too long. Nothing above 300cd/m^2 for sure. Finally, contrast should be high, go for something that's along the lines of 800:1+. Response time should be <= 16ms, g ofor 8ms.

All that said, I would reccomend a Samsung 970P (399.99 at Compusa, can be found cheaper online) but that's probably much more than what you want to pay. A cheaper solution is the Viewera V191WD which also uses a PVA panel, has similar specs, and is $250 (trust me, the extra $50 is worth it).

Check those out, post back if you have any further questions.