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What monitor to go with?

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I'm a few months from putting together a new system, but I'm stuck on monitors. I'd like for my monitor to double as a tv, or at least to watch movies on. Is the size of monitor limited by the video card I have in my PC? I plan on having the 8800GTS, unless there is something better for the same price when I get around to buying. Will that card support a 30" monitor? 36"? 42"? Are there certain brands that I should be wary of? I see some good deals on LG, but don't know much about them. Samsung seems to be failry decently reviewed. Any suggestions, advice? I could see myself spending up to $1000 on a good monitor.

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Check out one of these two... not quite as big as 36-42, but they have higher resolution allotments than your average TV.

1. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824254026
2. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824116084

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Reply to pous

pous wrote :

Those two monitors are built around inferior 6-bit TN panels. Watching any type of HD content will cause video artifacts. Not only that, but 6-bit TN panels are notorious for poor color reproduction and bad viewing angles. About the only thing good about TN panels is low response time.

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teancumtbh wrote :

I could see myself spending up to $1000 on a good monitor.

Are you talking about PC monitor or are you talking about an HDTV.

A 30" PC monitor has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and requires two video cards to drive it at that resolution. Otherwise you will be limited to half that resolution with a single video card. They start at about $1,300.

HDTVs have two resolutions depending on which one you buy. A standard HDTV has a resolution of 1366 x 768 so the 8800GTS should have no problems. However, a 1080i/p HDTV has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 which may prove a little too much depending on the game settings that you use.

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Message edited by jaguarskx on 08-14-2007 at 02:44:03 AM

jaguarskx wrote :

How can you tell? (Seriously) Is a certain spec?

------------------------------ The Truth About GPU Power Consumption
Home: E4600@3.6Ghz|AC7|P35|4GB|640GB|8800GT|Vista64|24" P-MVA
Work: Phenom9500@2.5Ghz|AC64|690G|3GB|500GB|8600GT|XP|2x22" TN
Reply to TSIMonster

Research. Lots of research. I've been researching for a new LCD monitor since December.

I think I settled on the 26" Planar PX2611w, but I'm kinda in between jobs right now.

After reading about many different types of LCD panels and specs, it becomes very easy to tell if a monitor uses a 6-bit TN panel or an 8-bit panel (S-PVA, P-MVA, or S-IPS). Distinguishing between the 8-bit panels is not very easy. Definitely need to do research.

See some of my posts in the following threads:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] 5wm-please

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] difference

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] 6bw-panels

Here are some resources:

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

http://www.behardware.com/html/cat /22/

Hardforum has a very active LCD monitor section:

http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78

Message edited by jaguarskx on 08-14-2007 at 06:48:02 AM

For gaming you want the lowest mili second rating otherwise it can't keep up with your card - I'm running a 6ms Dell 24in monitor that goes up to WUXGA 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz1 with Contrast Ratio: 1000:1

Not a bad monitor for the price 650$ US

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produ [...] 0&whse=BC& topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US

------------------------------ I can't believe it all Works!
Reply to GenericName

for a grand you can get a decent 37" tv with all the accessories you need + a 3 yr warranty. Or a really cheap 42". Just make sure it is 1080p. I use a 1366x768 and it suits me just fine, but I wouldnt pay no grand for it!

Reply to shadowmaster625

jaguarskx wrote :

Are you talking about PC monitor or are you talking about an HDTV.

A 30" PC monitor has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and requires two video cards to drive it at that resolution. Otherwise you will be limited to half that resolution with a single video card. They start at about $1,300.

HDTVs have two resolutions depending on which one you buy. A standard HDTV has a resolution of 1366 x 768 so the 8800GTS should have no problems. However, a 1080i/p HDTV has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 which may prove a little too much depending on the game settings that you use.

30" LCD with 2560x1600 DOES NOT REQUIRE 2 videocards, it require Dual Link Videocard like 8800 or 8600. It will not work on 2 videocards whitch not support duallink.

As for 1000$ limt, you cant get high resolution LCD for this price, I think HP 3065 cost around 1400$.
If you use it only for watching movies its ok go for some 1366x768, but me personaly prefer 30" 2560x1600.

Reply to xrodney

he means, if you want to play at 2560 by 1600, like a game like half life 2 for example with a 8600 gt you will get like 1 frame a second with everything on the highest settings, it prob wont even load, but if you want 60 frames a second you will need a 8800 gts sli or ultra

Reply to sharp910sh

After a lot of reshearch I recommend something like my setup

24" dell lcd
8800gtx

I play alll my games in 1920x1200, and it works great :sol:

------------------------------ AMD P2955X4 ATI 5870 DX11 [:boudy:2]

24" dell 1900x1200 2x74 wraptor hd's1 X-FI pro gamer sounds
2G ram log.Z5500 speakers 650w toughpower G15kb dvd....ITS A MEAN GREEN GAMING MACHINE
Reply to sirkillalot

Is there a benefit to going with an HDTV rather than a computer monitor?

Reply to teancumtbh

nope, none but a hdtv has a built in tuner, thats it and sound

Reply to sharp910sh

So they're completely interchangeable? Interesting...

Reply to teancumtbh

And what about brand names? Any to stay away from?

Reply to teancumtbh

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