My CRT Monitor has seen better days :) Now I'm faced with the decision of whether to go TFT or stick with CRTs; I'm told that TFTs can 'stutter' when running games, in particular, Fs9. Has anyone got an opinion on this; is response time the key? Just a general opinion would be fine, if it gets too technical the moderator will have us out of here :) - then I might miss out on the opinion of none techies like myself.Ken,Somerset, Englandwizard01

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Check to see if your LCD flashes... CRT's Don't..http://www.puonti.net/stuff/lcd_flicker.html

Ken,I recently upgraded my 15inch CRT to a new 17inch TFT. The model in question is the Samsung 172x. The good news is that there's no stuttering. Also, the screen has a fast response time meaning you won't get significant ghosting or blurring. For fs2004 this is a superb monitor. I've also tried it with Lo-mac and Rainbow Six and had no problems.For text viewing and pictures, the screen is sharp. I say it's sharp, the text looks rather pixellated meaning some edges on small fonts look rather jagged. I never had this with CRTs as the pixels had a little overlap between each other.One thing you have to look out for are dead pixels. After three weeks, I've found one dead pixel that's permanently lit. However it's barely noticeable.For color, I have to say thet my CRT is better. This screen needs to be calibrated to get the best colours and that can be quite tricky.Samsung have now released two new monitors that have a better spec than the 172x that I have. They are essentially the same as each other: The 710N has analog only input. The 710T has dual analog and digital input. The two monitors have higher contrast, the same response time as the 172x, smaller dot pitch and a rotating screen. The only downside to these monitors are that they don't look as sleek as the 172x.Overall I'm happy with my purchase of the Samsung 172x. It looks great - a design asset the the living room rather than a liability.Hope this helpsAnthony

I switched from a 17" Diamondtron CRT to a 17" TFT monitor and would not go back. Is is just so much more detailed and the text is so much better defined that I've sold the CRT to a friend and am not sorry I did. One thing you will have to get used to is that the native resolution of most 17" TFT monitors is 1280x1024 which is not the same ratio as the 1280x960 that I was running on my old monitor... and running a TFT monitor at anything but its native resolution delivers a sub-optimum result (!) For that, the TFT monitor performs great at just 60 Hz refresh rate, so there is no need to run your video card at high rates, just to get a stable picture.It is more money... but it is really nice, and takes up very little space, and can be lifted without getting a hernia :-)Pretty soon CRTs will all be either in landfills or a niche item for dedicated fans only (and yes, I do still play and love my 1960's Dynaco ST70 tube amplifier...)

That's OLD NEWS, my 19" Veiwsonic VP912b LCD is JUST AS FAST and more crisp than ANY CRT. Everyone read this review about my monitor before you talk about GHOSTING http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=vp912b&page=5, my monitor is 12M and no matter what game I throw at it there is ZERO GHOSTING or stuttering and as you can read it's not just an opinion. I play other games like America's Army, Battlefield 1942 and Call Of Duty (Half Life 2 bought on STEAM) absolutly perfect and this LCD has a glass covering so it looks like a flat crt....These monitors have changed the way gamers view LCD gaming, join the club! Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/southparkcartmad.gif[h3]I WANT MY 747![/h3]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)

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Gentlemen,Thank you all for your replies, they are informative and just what I was hoping for. You have helped me to make a decision I was finding very difficult to make.Ken,Somerset, Englandwizard01

That's bogus man, you seeing things that are not there. Plus like I said I am not the only one who plays fast FPS who agrees with me. All one has to do is do a search on this monitor and it's bigger brother to see what ALL GAMERS say about this. Plus you don't have it so your opinion means nill yeah know? I've been playing games (FPS) much longer than FS and I think I can see perfect with 20/15 and plays FPS for hours a day.....Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/southparkcartmad.gif[h3]I WANT MY 747![/h3]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)

Yes I have seen it was considering a TFT when buying my new monitor but ended up with my 22" Diamondtron.I didn

I fairly recently switched from a 19" CRT to a 19" LCD Samsung 193T.-Colours are not as good. Black is not black. Colours are not as vivid or lifelike. Not as bright as my CRT. Some "ghosting" but not very noticable in slow-paced games like FS. 1 dead pixel. A small area with slight discolouration in one corner. 1280x1024 is the native resolution. This resolution is not supported in all games and all other resolutions look slightly wrong since the monitor is adapted for a non-standard aspect ratio.+Takes up less space. Doesn

Blacks do suffer one small area people are willing to sacrifice. My monitor (if you read that review) displays colors more vivid because of the glass covering. If you develope panels better keep a CRT other than that a little grey in my black is not too big a problem although my whites not blacks are my issues.. And I will state again, this monitor is better than all other LCDs in terms of playing fast paced games. CRTS arev still nice at least 21 inch and bigger but I will take mine anyday... Best Wishes,[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]http://www.rawbw.com/~bdoolin/shinault/southparkcartmad.gif[h3]I WANT MY 747![/h3]Caution! Not a real pilot, but do play one on TV ;-)

Hi everybody P

Here's my update. Despite misgivings; I purchased a 17" Viewsonic LCS ms12, because I thought hey let's move forward :). However, although I like the LCD for DVD's and text; I do get occaisional 'flashes' while running Fs9 also some stuttering when hand flying small aircraft and sudden scenery changes. Colors also seem 'wishy washy' e.g. Red appears more of an Orange. I ran Randy's Test and find it flickers quite fast top and bottom; when I ran the test on my 'old' Dell Triniton 19" CRT I got continuous movement right to left in the checkered area and solid black in the bottom area. Not sure what all that means (help Randy!)I have just a couple of days to decide if I should send the LCD back and revert to the trusty new CRT medium.Also find the LCD takes up much less space and is 5.5 kilos against the CRT 24 kilos.Ken,Somerset, England wizard01

Did you guys read about that guy that got a 24" widescreen CRT for like 450$ used but in just about new condition. That should be really sweet for FS 2004 unless you only fly with 2D panels which is stretched then if you want to make use of the whole screen :)If it