ViewSonic 19" VG191b LCD; I just got one: feedback

a1l0s2k9

Distinguished
Jan 13, 2004
1
0
18,510
I setup this monitor to my gaming PC and gave it a go, and here's the report:

For RTS games like Warcraft III it's probably fine for anyone to use (but still ghosts), but for high-speed games like UT2003 or even an old game like FreeSpace 2, the performance just isn't up to par -- especially for old games (like FreeSpace 2) where it can't do 1280x1024, so using 1024x768 the downscaling somehow makes the ghosting even worse (it's NOT playable). UT2003 might be somewhat playable if you get used to it, but I wouldn't recommend it. The brigher the game, the less noticable the ghosting is (but you'll ALWAYS notice it in fast games) -- so don't buy this monitor thinking you're going to play Doom 3 (dark colored game) on a LCD!

FPS <1280x1024: NO!
RTS: YES!
FPS =1280x1024: Maybe -- test one for yourself before buying!

I actually bought this monitor for work purposes where I'm always at 1280x1024 @60hz, and for this it's GREAT. My work
consists of lots of text, and some web. I wanted to switch an LCD since their easier on my eyes, and I consider this
19" to be a good investment. Using a relatively default setup w/ XFree86, my text is beautifull (and that's not always the case w/ LCD's), and so far everthing is as good as I could have hoped. 0 dead pixels, easy to adjust stand (I don't care about this at all, but a lot of reviewers seem to? Fuid movement, one-handed, no stiffness or "bounceback", PERFECT!), beautiful and even picture quality (I ran some tests of various fullscreen solid colors and gradients and the like, all were NICE!).

For gaming: NO! (unless you only play slow-animation or childrens games)
For work: YES

BTW, I have done some FPS gaming on a Sony LCD (SDM-HX73), and it was truly beautiful (no ghosting *AT ALL*), so don't let my story turn you away from buying an LCD for gaming, just don't buy anything larger than a 17", and don't buy a cheap one (the Sony is >$600), the response times just aren't good enough for fast gaming on monitors larger than 17".
 

JP5

Distinguished
Jun 26, 2003
534
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18,980
Thanks for the assessment, I'm wary of 19" screens for gaming. I have one of the earlier 18" LCDs and it ghosts quite a bit. I may get one of the 12ms models this year, but I feel wasteful when my works fine otherwise with no dead pixels.