LCD Verus CRT?

[Wally's World]

Looking at replacing my old trusty Samsung SyncMaster 15GLe 15 inch CRT monitor.

I was figuring on buying a LCD monitor with a response time at 12ms, but I've also read some comments that sticking with a CRT monitor is better for gaming. That the increased refresh rate (75-85MHz) of a CRT will be better than a 12ms response time (ghosting problems).

Not withstanding the price and the physical space savings, is an LCD worth paying the extra cost over a same size CRT monitor? Game wise, I play all sorts of games (RTS, sports, wargames, strategy). Like I wrote before I was looking to buy a LCD, but some of these anti-LCD comments may be scaring me off a LCD and I might just get a 19 inch CRT instead.

My current video card is a GeForce4 Ti4200-8x.

Any opinions on LCD versus CRT?

Many thanks to any and all who reply.

[flamingknives]

LCD takes up less desk space and is less tiring on the eyes. CRTs will give a better resolution for a given screen size, but ghosting is not a problem that I've noticed.

I'm running a Mac 17" LCD. It has max resolution of 1280x960 (?) or so and , as noted above, minimal ghosting. It's not cheap though.

Oh, and do the math on the refresh time. A response time of 12ms is equivalent to 83 Hz.

[Sirocco]

I have a Samsung SM193P LCD, and an older SM171S LCD, and I would never, ever go back to a CRT. The ghosting issue has never come up in my experience, but perhaps it's more noticeable on cheaper LCD's. Yo do get what you pay for.

[Steve_R]

I have a 19" viewsonic LCD Monitor. The image seems just fine to me. (but then I have not seen the game on a CRT). I have not experienced any problems. The space saving "feature" of the LCD is really great too.

[Schrullenhaft]

Even with a high response time, LCDs may not be very suitable for FPS and other games that prefer a high fps count (depending on how picky you are about the display). Other details that aren't obvious in the specs can make a difference such as the circuitry behind the TFTs and other qualities of the TFTs that can affect the 'ghosting' (how you 'drive' the display's brightness and contrast can have an effect on ghosting, etc.).

It pretty much comes down to first-hand experience with the device in order to determine if it will really meet your needs. Admittedly it's pretty hard to see most LCD models first-hand, so you may want to ask people in forums of the FPS games you play and see what their recommendations would be for an LCD. Of course people are going to have varying opinions about the same product.

[Redwolf]

LCDs also have worse black levels. If you watch a movie with a lot of darkness and things barely noticable in the darkness, then a good CRT is still miles better.

LCDs require to be driven a native resolution to look good. Which means you need ninja-macho graphics cards or you have to limit yourself to a fraction of the screen.

[Wally's World]

Thanks to all who replied. Very interesting to read.

I bit the bullet and bought a 17inch Samsung SyncMaster 712N LCD with 12ms response rate for $380 CAN ($70 off on a sale). I have a two week full return and refund period to try it out. If I don't like the new monitor, I'll return it and get a CRT.

Thanks again!

[ February 17, 2005, 08:33 PM: Message edited by: Wally's World ]

[CommonSense]

I can tear through Half-Life 2 on my Samsung 710T with zero ghosting and beautiful graphics.

Redwolf is right about grey scaling being better on a good CRT but that is not a problem for me.

I like my LCD so much I won't go bak to a CRT for anything.

My games are much prettier on my LCD then on my old SOny 21 inch CRT.

Plus no flicker with the LCD equals great on the eyes in more ways than one!