Crt or Lcd?

[Redjackel]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but my searches turned up nothing. Which do you think is better for a gamer? A crt or an lcd? I don't have a shortage of space or money so I'm going purely for gaming performance. Any information you can provide on why you prefer one, and possibly even a particular model you find to be good, would be very greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Subatomic]

A big CRT is good, it offers fast refresh rates and response times, while LCD doesn't

 

[Redjackel]

Thanks for the response, but what exactly do refresh rate and response time effect? Does it have to do with lcds blurring fast moving images?

 

[Asus]

Well if you are going purely for performance then a good 19" CRT would probably be best. You would want it to be able to put out a high refreshrate at high resolutions. Example 1600x1200 @ ~85Hz

Some perfer LCDs and there are some good 17" screens that have no motion blur but there isn't anything that can match the performance of a CRT. It's up to you.
LCDs have better bright contrast. CRT's have better dark contrast.

Refreshrate is how often a CRT redraws the screen. It's passes per second. 85Hz is 85 times in a second. 60Hz is 60 times in a second.
Response time is how quickly a LCD can change the pixels color or refresh the screen, if you perfer to think of it like that. It's in milliseconds. Like 25ms or 16ms.

For comparison, a CRT with a refreshrate of 85Hz updates the screen once in about 11ms.

 

[Redjackel]

Thanks a bunch Asus.

 

[[Matt]]

Here's my pro's and cons for each type of monitor.

CRT

Pro's

• Nearly always cheaper than LCD's especially the larger sized and higher quality variants. You can buy a top of the range 22 inch CRT for less than a top of the range 19 Inch flat panel.
• CRT's tend to be much brighter than LCD panels.
• Response times on the best CRT monitors can be as low as 1ms meaning that ghosting is completely non existant even on white to black to white.
• Extremely high refresh rates are capable on CRT monitors. A friend of mine has a 22" monitor that can do 210Hz @ 1024x768
• CRT monitors can do several different screen resolutions with ease

cons

• Very large desktop footprint.
• Because of the way CRT's work prolonged use can bring about headaches and eye strain.
• Dont mean to scare you but CRT's have been linked to other illnesses through the ELF radiation they give off. Evidence for this is minimal to say the least.

LCD

Pro's

• Small desktop footprint means that even the largest monitors can fit on the smallest of desks.
• Refresh rate means little with an LCD panel because of the way LCD panels work. Screen flicker is non existant on an LCD which means headaches and eyestrain through prolonged use are rare
• Nearly all LCD monitors are DVI capable which means the best ones can produce some very sharp digital images.
• Anyone viewing from an extreme side agle wont be able to see what you're looking at. Handy if you're a porn merchant!

Cons

• Response times on LCD panels are much slower than CRT's which means that ghosting is very common. Look for panels with a response time below 16ms
• More expensive than CRT's unless you go for the cheaper varieties. Beware as the cheaper LCD monitors suffer from horrible ghosting and poor image sharpness.
• Contrast ratio's on LCD panels are usually lower than CRT's. That means that the blacks are usually a very dark grey and thew whites are not very bright. Within the last year however Higher quality LCD's have been introduced to match CRT's contrast ratios. A general rule is to look for an LCD with a contrast ratio above 500:1 as this number will be a rough guide to a monitors image quality. It still doesnt hurt to read a few reviews though as LCD makers tend to bend the rules with this number.
• LCD panels tend to run best in only the resolution they were designed for. Try to run in any other resolution and the image will be washed out and blurry. If your LCD panel has a native resolution of 1600x1200 and you pair with with an FX5200 then you are wasting your cash as games will run as such poor frame rates they will become unplayable. Other resolutions that will look good on LCD panels are usually exactly half or double the native resolution. For a 1600x1200 panel 800x600 will also look good but that defeats the object of buying a 1600x1200 native resolution monitor.

After that if you're still in the market for an LCD panel then the current best on the market right now is the Hyundai ImageQuest L90D+ 19" LCD. Check out some of these stats.

8ms Response Time
- 700:1 Contrast Ratio
- 300 CDm² Brightness
- 150°/ 135° (h./v.) Viewing Angles
- 1280 x 1024 with 60Hz recommended resolution
- 16.7 million colors display
- DVI cable included

Make sure its the L90D+ and not the L90D which has a 25ms panel...

 

[Bakurei]

Buy a crt that has refresh rate of 100-160.

 

[[Matt]]

Buy a crt that has refresh rate of 100-160.

As i have said refresh rate means little on an LCD monitor so a 60Hz LCD will be just as good in that respect as a 150Hz CRT.

 

[Warbie]

CRT!

Much depends on what you want it for - but if you're into shooters, especially fast paced online ones, I wouldn't get an LCD (some ppl don't seem to mind ghosting, but to me it looks absolutely awful :/)

My first LCD had a 16ms response time (looked like playing GTA - bloom city) The second was 12 ms, and was meant to be 'the best for gaming' a few months ago. This also sucked when compared to your average crt (actually - even when compared to a crappy crt) These weren't cheap either (both costing over 350 quid :/)

Needless to say they've both been sold and i'm back on my old, cheap 19" CRT. HL2, Far Cry, RTCW/ET, Doom 3 etc all look much better.

(for general browsing and slow rts/rpg type games the LCD was awsome, though)

I'd get the biggest and nicest CRT that you can afford/have room for. Make sure it has a nice flat screen too

(if you're stinking rich - get both)

 

[freeman2]

To play games on you can't beat a good CRT although with an LCD you can play games ok. You can pick up a 21" CRT very cheap now using it on its high spec will out perform a LCD model no problem.

As you have the space and money is not a problem and you want it purely for games my advice would be CRT.

 

[Asuka]

CRT flatscreens i feel are the best 19in.

 

[Ecthe|ioN]

If you're a gamer, go for a CRT. LCD's for gaming are too expensive.

 

[huntingbear]

crt...wait a few years, LCD will get better and cheaper