Summary of all Monitor Threads

[evilpresence]

There have been lots of questions about which monitor to get, especially for gaming.

Monitor 101

CRT - Cathode Ray Tube - Today these are also known as multi-sync monitors. CRTs are measured diagonally from the lower corner to the opposite side upper corner of the screen, the cabinet size, typically in inches. That is why there is a monitor size and a viewable screen size. When searching for a gaming monitor, the base you would like would be 17” CRT capable of 1024x768 @ 85hz. The 1024x768 @ 85hz means that the monitor is capable of scanning the screen 85 times at that resolution. The higher the refresh rate the better it is because of eye fatigue. Gamers play for hours on end needing the highest refresh rate as possible.

Unlike LCD monitors, CRTs do not have issues if not displayed in the recommended resolution. CRTs typically do not have speakers built-in (Viewsonic has two models). A serious gamer would get a CRT over an LCD if space permits. CRTs can be picked up between $100 and $500. Besides being spacey, CRTs weigh 10-40 more pounds than an LCD. On a side note, CRTs give off a significant amount of heat.

These are the typical specs of CRT monitors:
SVGA 800x600
XGA 1024x768
SXGA 1280x1024
SXGA+ 1400x1050
UXGA 1600x1200

LCD - Liquid Crystal Display - As where CRTs are based on cabinet size, LCDs are based on the actually screen size. Same as CRTs measured corner to corner. LCDs are given native resolutions, what they are supposed to be displayed nearly all the time. When searching for a monitor, the SXGA is an ideal choice. If not displayed in the native resolution, the screen will look fuzzy. Contrast ratio is also important when selecting a monitor. It determines the shade of a color. The higher the contrast ratio the better your picture will look. A ratio of 500:1 is a good base to look at, 700:1 is great. The most important factor of a monitor is the response time. This time is how quickly a pixel can change colors (rise time) or turn on and off (fall time). Although those times aren't shown, a general time is. A base of 15ms is good for gaming, under 12ms is ideal. LCDs with higher response times create the ghosting effect, when a bright moving images ghosts on a black background.

Being that LCDs are using pixels, over time they wear out, decreasing the color and response time value of the monitor. Although LCDs seem to be the top choice, they truely aren't the best option, unless space is small. LCDs can be mounted in the smallest of spaces including walls since most weigh less than 20 pounds. An advantage to LCD monitors is the input. The DVI connector is a must if available.

These are the typical specs of LCD monitors:
XGA 1024x768
SXGA 1280x1024
UGA 1600x1200

Plasma - These screens will be out of the price range for many. Costing a few thousand and emitting off massive amounts of heat, plasma screens aren't practical. Why do they give off so much heat? Because they produce they produce the same amount of heat a CRT does per square meter. The best and coolest feature of plasma screens would be the "perfect black" screen. The contrast ratio of a plasma is typically around 5000:1 - just amazing. Most plasmas have a highlife of about 60k hours. Plasmas can range between 42 and 80 inches insize. Imagine playing UT on an 80" screen.

Video (Digital) Projector - These electo-optical machines convert image data from a computer or video source to a bright image which is then imaged on a wall or screen. As with plasmas above, these aren't really practical. A bright side to something like this is that they are portable and project an image to the size of the outside house wall. Playing a multiplayer console game would be sweet, but again for the price, using this for computers doesn't seem practical for the price. The resolution SVGA is what most projectors come as; not what gaming is about. Another thing to look for and what also determines the price aside from the resolution is the brightness. The brightness should be between 1,000 and 4,000 ANSI lumens. the great the ANSI lumens, the better the picture. Currently Texas Instruments' DLP technology is what many are looking for in a projector.

These are the typical in the specs a projector:
SVGA 800×600 pixels (standard resolution)
XVGA 1024×768 pixels


Edit: Overall, you want a CRT monitor that is at least 1024x768 @ 85hz and is at least 17".