How much does response time of monitor affect graphics??

[yas]

hello

Im planning on building a new system to be able to play the latest and greatest games, ive already got everything sorted, im getting the 7800GT 1gb DDR2 ram, 3.6GhHz pentium 4 but my problem is with the monitor- i know this isnt a monitors forum but its related to graphics-. I want to know how much of a difference the responce time of a monitor makes, I know that the lower it is the better, for gaming but i mean how great is the difference between a 8ms, 5ms and 2ms monitor since where i live I have trouble getting a 2ms monitor. would it really drag down my performance that much.
thanx for any help

 

[jaguarskx]

There is no industry standard on how to measure response times. Brand A's LCD may only have a response rate of 8ms, but you do not see any ghosting effects. Brand B's LCD may have a better response rate of 2ms, but you do see ghosting.

Also, ghosting is dependant on how well/poorly your brain processes the information your eyes feeds it. For example, I remember watching my friend play a game on his LCD, he didn't see any ghosting at all, but I saw ghosting (no I did not imagine it).

The best thing to do is to actually see the monitor in action (if possible) and forget about the specs. Either that or read user reviews. Goto www.newegg.com and see if they have the LCDs that are sold where you live. Read the reviews to find out if people are seeing ghosts or not.

 

[jaguarskx]

There's also one other thing you may want to consider. There are basically two types of LCD monitors, 6-bits and 8-bits:

6-bit
Cheaper
Faster response times
Less color accruacy - simulated 16.2 million colors
Possible artifacts.

6-bit LCDs allocated 6 bits of data to represent each of the following colors: Red, Green, Blue. That means there are 64 shades of each color (2^6 = 64). Since each color has 64 shades, the monitor can accurately produce 262,144 colors (64 x 64 x 64). Through a process called interpolation, the monitor "guesses" what the missing colors are and fills them in. This can lead to color distortions and graphic artifacts on screen. Manufacturers used to list these monitors as having 16.2 million colors, but they are now listed as producing 16.7 million colors. Sometimes referred to a 18-bit LCDs (6-bit x3)

8-bit
More expensive
Slower response times (8ms is probably the fastest)
True 16.7 million colors
fewer artifacts

8-bit LCDs can produce 256 (2^8 = 256) shades of each color; Red, Green and Blue. Thus, this monitor can produce true 16.7 million colors (256 x 256 x 256). Sometimes referred to as 24-bit LCDs (8-bit x 3).

 

[yas]

OK, thanx for the help.
I guess i dont want something too expensive, between $100 and $200 but i dont want to spoil the good graphics that id get from a good graphics card, 7900gt. So perhaps Id need to get a more expensive sytem to get the most out of my rig? Any suggestions of a good quality/price monitor for my needs?
thanx for any help

 

[jaguarskx]

<$200 for an LCD monitor doesn't really give you that many choices.

In fact, Newegg.com only has 12 monitors that falls under the following filters:

19" LCD
Less than 8ms response time
<$200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020+4017+1309821317+131061713&Subcategory=20&description=&srchInDesc=

If I were to choose a widescreen version, then it'll be:

Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - $190

For a regular 4:3 19" monitor it would be the:

Hanns·G HX-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor - $200

 

[yas]

thanx for the help mate, I like the look of the Hanns G monitor which falls into my price range.