TFT or CRT Computer Monitor ?

[petros]

Ordering a new Evesham Computer early Jan. Which is the best sort of Monitor to get re Playing Games. Currently using a Mitsubishi 22" CRT Diamond Plus. The alternative is A Viewsonic vx 924 19" TFT with a 3 ms response time. Any advice welcome. Peter

[lightningghost]

TFTs are the flat ones, so could be good for storing against the wall.


And they look really cool

[paulhol]

CRTs are better for the most intense games, but my personal view is that LCDs do everything else so much better that they outweight this small benefit - hence i have a 19" Dell LCD

[chris watton]

Personally, I'd keep the 22" you already have, I use that one for both games and CAD work, and I certainly wouldn't swap it for a TFT, not unless I had money to throw away.

[lord summerisle]

deffo keep the CRT,

personally i've tried the flat screen, and they give me eye ache after a short while.

[mybrainhurts]

Asked this question a couple of years ago.

Advice then was avoid TFT's for games because the picture can't keep up with the action.

Is this still true, or are they better now....?

[tinman0]

mybrainhurts said:

Asked this question a couple of years ago. Advice then was avoid TFT's for games because the picture can't keep up with the action. Is this still true, or are they better now....?

i'm not sure what this game snobbery with lcds is to be honest. i think its historical. i've used a high res(ish) 17" tft for a couple of years now and the only way i'd be parted from it is if its prised from my dead hands. i do use it for action gaming and never ever thought "i wish that pixel had appeared a bit quicker".

as a guess I'd say it was from the very early days where a moving image would ghost across the screen where the pixels where unable to switch fast enough - but that is long in the past.

[paulhol]

mybrainhurts said:

Asked this question a couple of years ago. Advice then was avoid TFT's for games because the picture can't keep up with the action. Is this still true, or are they better now....?

its still true to an extent, but you'd be hard pressed to notice it on all the most graphics intensive games nowadays.

[lightstepper]

I have an NEC 18" TFT thats about 3 years old - perfect quality for films, general PC use and games.

[mybrainhurts]

Thanks for the update, folks.....

[Muncher]

I've had an 18.1" Samsung TFT for 3 years now and it is no problem at all for games, the newer TFTs are much better than that too.

I would never, ever go back to a CRT now after about 8 years in total with a TFT.

[tinman0]

Muncher said:

I would never, ever go back to a CRT now after about 8 years in total with a TFT.

amen.


>> Edited by tinman0 on Sunday 1st January 03:17

[petros]

Thanks for all the input, I know the Viewsonic is incredibly quick with a 3ms response but was somewhat worried about the Dead Pixcel Syndrome, all though i've never seen it yet.

[warmfuzzies]

3ms response my ar5e, no LCD tft comes close to that, and don't let the marketing hype take you in.
Those figures are at best 90% grey to grey, they should be black to white and vice versa. colour is a diferent matter again, typically you'll find responses in the high teens if you are lucky.
CRT hands down every time for games, Your Mitsi is a Sony licenced technology, and its great, I've use Mitsi's and Sonys for yonks, the dogs danglies for game play.

kevin

PS, THG (toms hardware) did some very nice articles on TFTs recently showing how far they'd come, but also how far they need still to go.

[petros]

Been checking more than a few reviews for the viewsonic and they say 3ms grey to grey and 5ms black white black, whatever that means

[warmfuzzies]

www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/17/viewsonic_vp930_lcd_monitor/page4.html

Rated bettter than the vx 924 which THG says suffers from shearing, this one has a BEST response in real life of 12ms

kevin.

[Pigeon]

LCD: only looks good at one particular resolution, and that resolution is eye-strainingly minute; you can't get a uniform colour rendering over the entire screen because of the dependence of colour rendering on viewing angle; they go all wibbly if you touch the screen and you have to be dead gentle when you clean them; slow, as has been said; some manufacturers have an arsey policy on dead pixels; expensive.

CRT: completely the opposite, just a bit big - which is no problem unless you're using them in a cupboard.

Conclusion: CRT, every time.

[tinman0]

Pigeon said:

they go all wibbly if you touch the screen and you have to be dead gentle when you clean them

well then dont touch them if you are in a fast moving game - and certainly dont try and clean them during a game!

[sadako]

I find when working with TFT screens I can look at the screen for longer without my eyes hurting. People can bladder on about response times but that doesnt matter much when you are getting fragged while rubbing your eyes at that all night LAN game. Plus that you end up with a ton more desk space when using a panel.

[Byff]

Don't know if it's true or not, but I've heard that LCD's don't suffer from screen-burn. I've seen some pretty burnt CRT's, but that's in an office where they sit with the login screen on all night.