Is a flat screen monitor in my future?

[Guest]

I am currently using an Hitachi 21" with a .22 dot pitch. I run FS2002 and most of my other games including my desktop at 1600*1200 res. Ive had it for about 3 years now and have been extremly happy with it. I have passed on getting a flat screen because they were smaller in size and usually not able to go up to that resolution and did not want to take a step back just to get a flat screen. However, I recently read an article about Sony coming out with a flat screen this fall which is 20" and goes up to 1600*1200 res and will sell for just under $2000. (or so they say) I was wondering if in spite of the improvemnts being made to flat screens, are there still reasons I should stay away from it, since I use my computer mostly for gaming. Any advice is appreciated.Rob

[GeorgeM 2]

Rob: I bought a Gateway 700XL last January and there were two itemsthat came with the 'package' that I did not really want but was willing to try. They both proved to be a highlight of the purchaseand one of them was a flat panel LCD. It is 18.1" (that covers morevisual geography than a standard 19" CRT), has a Gateway logo withmodel #FPD1810 (although I'm reasonably certain it is made by NEC/Mitsubishi). The max resolution is 1280X1024 runs with a refresh rateof 60Hz (might be 70). The picture is bright and clear and I've notnoticed any of the problems attributed to some other LCD's.Flt Sim runs smoothly and I've detected no visible delays in the presentation on screen. I cannot recall the precise term but inthe past some LCD's have been sleeping on the job and unable to keeppace with the speed of the program (Someone jump in here and helpwith more precise technical lingo if you like).This has now become my primary monitor (I'm using duals with a Radeon8500 card) and my 21" flat screen Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2040u hasbeen relegated to position 2; still a good performer though!www.tomshardware.com has recently done some reviews/comparisons onboth 15" and 17" LCD's so it may be worth a trip over there for a look. I don't recall seeing reviews on any 18" or larger but I dorecall something on the Sony 20" which you mentioned. I think thatI'd expect real top-of-the line product for $2000.00 so I hope Sonydoes also. This 18.1" LCD I have costs approx $800.00; the Mit Pro2040 cost about $1300.00 2 years ago....The Eye of The Beholder: I believe it was in a Best Buy store thatI saw one of the best exhibits of LCD's. They displayed about a dozendifferent brands side by side and it was an ideal situation to deter-mine who was 'best-in-show.' There were some great ones and there were some dogs (my apologies to the Canine community)!So, I guess according to marketing and sales trends that an LCDis probably in everyone's future (your original question) and thusfar, I'm reasonably impressed!Maybe someone with a tech background can offer more qualified info...-GeorgeM at 5B6

[Guest TerryT]

George,Good report as I too am looking for a "Large" screen monitor to replace my 4.5 year old AOC 9Glr (19") monitor. (17.8 viewable)According to the article in the Tomshardware site, they talked about a "Response Time" which would be similar to the refresh rate on a crt. I know there are response times for writing and removing the image and they seem to take a average of the two. I believe I read somewhere that times of 25 micro seconds or less will give you a very nice smooth video. Also the higher the number on the "Contrast" the better the picture quality is suppose to be.Terry

[GeorgeM 2]

Yeah Terry, 'response time' is the correct phrase that I could notrecall in my post. I also neglected to mention that some of theseLCD's have both a digital and analog interface; the digital I under-stand, is the preferred one but it must be married to a video cardthat is also digital! Both of these features are part of my system and that is probably why I like the LCD display so well.Now, does that mean that an 'analog only' LCD display should beplaced next to the kitty litter box? Probably not (I have seen some pretty good ones in the stores), but it looks like digitalcontinues to be the trend...C Ya'-George

[Guest]

Thanks guys for the info. I am going to wait and see what Sony delivers this fall. If I like it, Ill probably get it. Since its so close to being released, I think it will be worth the wait because 1600*1200 is important to me. I may start looking now at current models just to become more educated on the differences. Desk space is not an issue for me even though my current 21" is a huge behemoth.Im strickly going to compare picture quality and speed. Ill keep you posted on what I get. Thanks again for the info.Rob