I was just wondering...I'm really looking into buying a kick-ass monitor for my computer.

I had an incredible monitor in the Sony GDM F500 (predecessor to the GDM F520), which was a 21" CRT with a perfectly flat screen and a .22mm dot pitch with razor sharp quality. That was incredible for games, spreadsheets, editing, etc.

Unfortunately, it burned out a year after I got it, and even though the warranty was over on it, Sony was unbelievably kind in refunding my entire purchase price on it (~$2,000).

Anyway, the new GDM F520 is out...which I am afraid to buy because of how my old monitor burned out (I've been reading that these monitors have this inherent flaw).

So I'm considering buying a high-quality LCD, such as the Apple Cinema Display 23" or the new Samsung 24". Agreed, both are very pricey at over $3,000...but I'm looking for the best.

Do you guys think that they'd be good for games? Clarity wouldn't be an issue, but how about refresh rates? Keep in mind that I own a PC, and even though I can connect the Apple to my PC, I've heard that compatibility may be an issue.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

im using an 18" Sony flat panel that works very well. you can clearly tell that LCDs can perform as well as CRTs when it comes to games, but the difference isn't noticeable. i dont think ill go back to CRT though. i had a 15" Sony flat panel before this that i loved. not even a 1/2" thick.

either way you cant go wrong. [personally i'd stay away from samsung displays though.]

r.

 

Why would you stay away from Samsung?

 

One thing to consider is the type of game you will be playing. For static games (strategy, RPGs, etc) LCDs are great. But if you're going to play fast games (FPS, simulations, etc) where you'll be pushing 90+ frames per second, a CRT is a better choice because the LCDs can't refresh fast enough (even if they can run at 70 Hz, it's probably not enough). However, I haven't gotten a chance to try the latest generation of LCDs, so some of them might be ok.

 

One thing to think about when going to that big an LCD is that many games might not support the native resolution (I'd imagine it would be 1600x1200 on a monitor that size). Playing games at anything other than the LCD's native resultion looks very ugly.

As an aside, I have a ViewSonic VA800 LCD (18"), and I'm perfectly happy with it for games (play RPGs, FPS - my new favorite being BF1942). While I can tell that it is slower than a CRT, it's still perfectly fine for me (It does use one of the more recent LCD technologies which allows for greater contrast and faster pixel transitions...). The color, clarity, lack of geometry errors, light weight, and space savings are all worth the lower performance, IMO.