Looking For a good Gaming lcd about 19" not too costly

i am in a similar boat. i was thinking about going up to 20 inches for the resolution. i would like to perhaps add a few specifics to this post. how important are the following.
response time? what is good?
contrast ratio? what is good?
i currently have and older samsung 17inch (170s) and i dont like the way it looks when i play fear on full graphics. i am not sure what is boggin the game down. things almost look slightly blurry?when i move around etc.
Anyway back to the topic, price range maybe around $300?

Well, I know you guys have a fairly limited price range, but I reccomend LCD's that are around 20". They offer a resolution higher (1600x1200 as opposed to 1280x1024), and most come in Widescreen which is becoming the standard.

--No matter what size you decide on, though, these are good:
-Try to find 800:1 or higher contrast.
-A brightness of at least 400 cdm2 is a world of difference between many monitors that are only around 300.
-A response time of 12MS or better is what you want to try for... but many LCD's measure 6MS or lower, which is often flase. There is no standard test for response time, so details can be smudged.

The 6MS response time is usually measuring a gray-to-gray change as opposed to black-to-white. You can usually expect the actual response rate to be one and a half to twice the number they actually give you.

-I hope I helped a bit!

Suggest you check out Newegg.com's customer satisfaction ratings. LOTS of gamers buy from them, so you can find out which they like in your price range. That should narrow your search down to just a few.

what kind of response time is good for games?

i do mostly gaming/flash/cad *then the myspace aim and music stuff* but my biggest thing stoppign me was if i should go widescreen or not. cu zif the game doesn't support it ur kinda F***'d

Sorry, I haven't seen any with 400 cdm2 but isn't 400 too bright?!

i was going to go with wide screen. i thought most of the new games supported it? also 8ms good enough for games?

NEC 90GX2 is a solid 19 inch for hwat you are doing.

The 20WMGX2 will meet all of the suggested specs but be too pricey for a 20 inch version.

well the plot thickens, i am in a bit of a bind. going back to school, and was looking for a monitor. i dont want to buy online for the main reason that i do not want any dead pixels. thus i am confined to the following stores: costco, bestbuy, circuit city, microcenter, fry's, and maybe office depot.

what i have seen:

Princeton 20 inch 1680x1050
8ms & 550:1 ratio
$300

Viewsonic 20 inch 1680x1050
8ms & 600:1 ratio
$300

i have an ati x1900xt, so i think i can support the res, i dont know if going to 19inches would be worth it, especially since the res is so much lower(1280x1024 vs 1680x1050)....thoughts?

well everyone is talking about widescreen being the best and i have a few questions in regard to this.

If a game does not support it, then does it just cut off the extra wide part or like stretch out the game?

also what about 19 inch widescreens i know there res is only like 1400x900 but would you still reccomend them? if so what would be a good 19 inch WS monitor?

Lastely my vid card/monitor right now is setup vga, if i buy a lcd and unplug my current monitor and plug in the new one VIA DVI will it auto recognize or do i have to set some shit up?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824254001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009091

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116373

are any of these good monitors for games and such or should i look elsewhere?
thanks guys

I was looking at that hanns as well. seems like a good buy for 189!

On the gaming issue, i would like to know which games are compatible with widescreen. if i can manually set the resolution, does that mean the game is compatible? also i think we should perhaps change the title of this thread to something about widescreen monitors and gaming, might get some more attention  
Skinny, it seems like you and i have similar concerns. i only want to be sure i can run games at the native res of the monitor, since i have an x1900xt, i think i should have no problem, so long as the game supports it.

So more on widescreens and gaming? anyone?

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001230

samsung 940bf, ive heard good things i think im going to roll with this one.

btw anandtech has a great guide to buying lcd, i dont want to link cuz i dont know if that will be a problem since i imagine THG and Anandtech are kind of competitors.

So back to my vga dvi question, can i just unplug my current vga and plug in this dvi lcd and it will be fine without any settings

Im in iraq right now but want to order and have my wife set it up for when i get home in 28 days or so, plus to check on dead pixles etc and shes not very pc literate

You'll be OK if your video card has a DVI port or you get a DVI-VGA adaptor. Can't promise you won't have to fuss with "settings".

I am in the process of building a new rig. But im piecing it together while im still in iraq and just ordering the more cruical parts as the closer time it comes for me to leave (mobo, pc, etc)

But this rebate ends aug 31, currently i have a 5700 ultra. And it does have dvi out, so will my wife just be able to plug it in and it will be fine, i just want her to be able to plug it in and evaluate dead pixels etc. thanks again. not trying ot beat a dead horse but just making sure

I just ordered a Samsung 940BX, I was looking at the BF but I like the contrast ratio of the BX better and it still has a very quick response. I am second guessing myself though after I saw this monitor in the best buy ad, the LG L1932TQ... anyone have any info on this monitor?

i said screw it and ordered the bf, after hearing great things about it

I thought the lower the response time the better?

can u link the one u bought?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7894086&p...


that one seems the one for me.

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001230

10 bux instant off, then 30 on rebate that ends on the 31st. shippnig 14 kinda sux but ya o well i hope ill be happy  

i prefer to not get monitors from online cuz i know i'll get about 7 dead pixels.

Definitely go widescreen: once you go wide, you'll never look back.

Most new games support widescreen, however not all of them provide 'true support.' In the case of even really new games (ex: Prey), you need to edit the config file in the game directory and force your monitor's resolution (technically Prey has a built-in widescreen option but it actually doesnt use the correct aspect ratio, i.e. what would normally be a circle still shows up in an oval shape.)

Go to widescreengamingforum.com for all your widescreen gaming needs.

IDK when i thought about it its jsut kind of more hassle.
1. not all games support it and i still do some old school d2 , and wc3 dota
2. it has less area screen size
3. to get a good ws with minimal ghosting is a lot more expensive.

but i'll look that site out and get back to you.

In my experience, if the game doesn't support Widescreen ... it'll stretch the image to fit the resolution. I think games look awful when stretched, but I'm picky about that. A solution to that is running the game in Window'ed mode at whatever resolution you like. However, that voids the in-game brightness settings as it assumes your Windows' desktop brightness/contrast/color/etc. settings.

Widescreen is definitely great. I love being able to have a Microsoft Word document open and some other window or document open beside it where I can view both simultaneously. The resolution I'm using is 1680 x 1050.