UPDATE: Larry Has a New LCD Monitor! (see p.2 for details)

[Larry_OHF]

Originally posted by Sir Goulum: As for Acer, I'd tend to stay away from them if you can.. just personal opinion, I suppose. The monitor I had before this was an Acer, and I despised it. The color seemed washed out a bit, no matter what I did with the settings and the monitor couldn't tilt. I'd stick with HP, Viewsonic (a friend stands by it, and he's a hard core gamer), or Samsung.

Okay, I'll consider that Acer mention and not just jump at them because my favorite PC store sells them exclusively.

I have noticed Viewsonic around in stores, but they all seem to have speakers integrated in. I'll try to find one that does not and think on it.

[ 03-29-2007, 01:17 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Larry_OHF]

It appears that NWN1 runs at maximum resolution of 1280x1024. I assume this is a good basic res. for most newer games?

Therefore, I have at least decided that the 1280x1024 is better for me than the 1600x1200.
Anyone have a disagreement? (Remember, I have a GeForce 6600).

[ 03-29-2007, 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Hivetyrant]

Well I have not owned a CRT monitor for quite a few years, and I have MANY LCD monitors (about 8 last count... dont ask...) All DELL's and not one dead pixel among them. My gamng monitor is a 24" Widescreen Dell (Though I may start using my new TV as my gaming monitor, same resolution, bigger size )

The only noticable difference between CRT and LCD these days is the brightness of colours, and how dark black is displayed.

For a whle, many games did not support widescreen, but most do these days, and many are making theur games support it. However if you plan on playing old games, then you are likely to be disapointed, though most *decent* widescreen monitors can resize and not strech the image. But it's not like its that bad anyways.

You should be looking for a maximum of 8ms response time if you want to play games (I can delve into grey to grey, or grey to white reposnse times if you would like, but they make little difference in the end)
A contrast ratio of at least 1000:1
And prefereably DVI (and maybe composite/component/s-video options as they can be handy, though are not common)

Higher resolution is prefereable (you can always scale down to common resolutions with little to no distortion)

[ 03-29-2007, 03:40 AM: Message edited by: Hivetyrant ]

[Luvian]

1280x1024 is the resolution I use and I think it's pretty great. If you go higher than that everything feel too small in my opinion, plus you have to consider the performance of your computer. The higher the resolution, the harder it is on your system.

[Larry_OHF]

Hey Hive...Re: your mention of older games not really working on widescreen...can you or anyone tell me if the regular NWN1 works on widescreen? I am not looking forward to having trouble...and am not ready to lose that game's ability due to my monitor not being able to display it good.

Also...you said to have at least 1000:1 ratio? Most I am seeing is 800:1, but I have seen few 1000:1 that are in my newly budget of under $300.

I also see that most these days are at 5ms-8ms, and a couple I have seen is at 2ms, but those had other issues in reports I've been reading.

[ 03-29-2007, 02:05 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Ilander]

I'm not sure a person needs 1000:1... I've got 500:1, and it's darn fine...matches my old CRT, for sure, with color quality.

5-8 is fine...I think mine is a five, and it performs admirably.

I will second what someone else said, though...It won't hurt to go a resolution above what you're setting your games and desktop on. 1280x1024 is a good resolution for you desktop, but did you know you can actually set game resolution higher than your desktop resolution in windows? It'll make for some clear images, and also, when you upgrade your video card down the road, you can enjoy the treat of better image quality AND frame rate jumps.

So, my vote goes for the 1600x1200 monitor, and for just using 1280x1024 on it. It will have to stretch 100 pixels over the space of 125, but you won't notice that on your desktop.

[Larry_OHF]

An interesting defence to the 1600x1200 option, Ilander. Can somebody else confirm it?

[Larry_OHF]

Originally posted by Luvian: 1280x1024 is the resolution I use and I think it's pretty great. If you go higher than that everything feel too small in my opinion, plus you have to consider the performance of your computer. The higher the resolution, the harder it is on your system.

Any way to determine if my system is too weak to currently run something?

P4, 1.8GHz
1Gig RAM

[Larry_OHF]

Check out what I just found:

(15, Sep, 2006 / SEC)

SAMSUNG SyncMaster 931C Named Offical Monitor Of The 2006 World Cyber Games, The World’s Largest Cyber Gaming Event, Featuring One Million Players And Competition From Six Continents

931C to be featured at the upcoming USA Championship Final in Las Vegas



IRVINE, Calif. - Sept. 14, 2006 - Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of professional LCD and PDP display products, today announced that the company's new SyncMaster 931C TFT LCD has been named the official monitor of the 2006 World Cyber Games.
The World Cyber Games is the world's largest cyber gaming event and the only single e-sports event organizing competition from six continents. In addition to the competition - which features nearly one million players competing against one another for the title of world champion in several events - the World Cyber Games is also a conference bringing together industry leaders and technology experts. Approximately 60 of the 931C monitors will be used by the competitors at the upcoming 2006 WCG USA Championship Final being held at the Aladdin Hotel - soon to be Planet Hollywood by Sheraton - in Las Vegas, September 15-17.

"We have a commitment to providing our competitors with the ultimate gaming environment and experience," said Michael Arzt, senior vice president and general manager of International Cyber Marketing USA, organizers of the World Cyber Games. "We are pleased to have the 931C as our official monitor and look forward to offering our gamers Samsung's cutting-edge display technology."

The 931C features 97 percent of the NTSC (National Television System Committee) color gamut for CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) displays. In addition to its wide color gamut, the SyncMaster 931C features notable specifications, including a 2000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, a fast 2ms (GTG) response time, 1280x1024 resolution, and 250 cd/m2 brightness. This allows the 931C to have outstanding color quality and a fast response time.

"We look forward to having the opportunity to show the World Cyber Games' competitors what the 931C can do," said Andrew Weis, product marketing manager, display products, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. "Not only are the color quality and response time perfect for gamers but, at $299.99 MSRP, the 931C is also an affordable way to improve the overall gaming experience."

Samsung Electronics, Inc. is also the world-wide sponsor of the World Cyber Games

http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/P...915_0000288150

[Luvian]

So, their monitor won the best award of their sponsored event? How nice...

About the 1000:1. If I remember well that was either the brightness right? OR was it the colors?. Well anyway, I remember trying 1000:1 and not liking it, switching to 800:1 and liking it more.

Larry, how's your game's framerate at 1024x768? 1280x1024 get in a little over 520k extra pixels in the screen.