10 replies to this topic

[Shock]

Alright, I need some advice on a very old topic... I was looking into getting an LCD monitor to replace my CRT one and thought I was all set... UNTIL I read more carefully to all the differences between LCD monitors and CRTs.

Can any LCD monitor owners out there tell me: How would an 8 ms LCD monitor compare to a CRT in FPS games? And how much of a difference is there truely in the color displays, I read that CRTs display more natural colors and I'm still confused over that.

Most of the time I'm either coding websites, designing graphics, or playing games and I'm still not sure if an LCD would suit me. My CRT monitor right now only goes to 85Hz, and I was looking for something that would display quality close to that. Ok... Its 3:33 and I'm going to bed now. Thanks alot for any advice .

[adam123]

Although some people say that CRTs are much better for design and games, however i find that's only on the high end ones up in the $400+, whereas you can get an excellent quality lcd for under 200.

[l3lueMage]

Its true about the natural colors though, when I play games on my computer the colors are often a bit more realistic, but on my friends its a little more sharper and a tiny bit brighter, so just turn the brightness down LCD for sure

[Faken]

Ok fact... a high end CRT will ALWAYS beat a high end LCD, and I find low priced LCDs are terrible. LCDs have one thing going for them... size. The small depth and light weight are great... especially when you want something 20" or more, but it pretty much ends there. I have a 22" CRT and it's MASSIVE and weighs like 68 lbs, but you won't find an LCD that can touch it for image and color quality and clarity. 1600 x 1200 at 128 Mhz

Faken

[slack3r08]

well after i upgraded to my LCD i found that the colors where different .. i also found that the brightness is way more on this one than the CRT i used to have .. i'm having a little trouble finding a nice setting fot it ... i always set it up but then i see a couple of graphics games or sites and start setting it up again and again .. i don't know if it is just me or what.. hehe any advice would be appreciated..

for you Shock i would recommend to you that you upgrade to LCD but you should do a good research first and if you have the oportunity test some LCDs out to see if you like what you see.

[Shock]

Hmmm... Alright, the most important reason I was considering an LCD is because they are easier on your eyes. I should have posted that. But I really don't want to have to sacrifice the quality of my CRT. I've been looking around alot lately and have seen some HD monitors... They're pricey but I wasn't sure how much worse/better it would be compared to the quality of a CRT. Thanks for the advice though! I'll keep reading up on them.

[Faken]

Shock, on Dec 11 2005, 06:28 PM, said:

Hmmm... Alright, the most important reason I was considering an LCD is because they are easier on your eyes. I should have posted that. But I really don't want to have to sacrifice the quality of my CRT. I've been looking around alot lately and have seen some HD monitors... They're pricey but I wasn't sure how much worse/better it would be compared to the quality of a CRT. Thanks for the advice though! I'll keep reading up on them.

See, I find the complete opposite... LCDs look less crisp, especially in the high resolutions I use for designing. CRT is just so much crisper and the colors brighter. It'll be a awhile yet until LCD style monitors are up to snuff, which is a shame because I'm sick of these huge CRTs lol!

Faken

[Faken]

Just google CRT vs LCD and you'll find all the articles you want on the debate, and they all pretty much say what I mentioned above.

Example:

Quote

The first and foremost advantage is cost. Dollar for dollar, it is possible to get a larger and better display buying a CRT monitor when compared to an LCD screen. This primarily comes from the fact that CRT monitors have been developed over the last 20 years of computing and as such the manufacturers have already paid for most of the development and manufacturing costs.

CRTs also have multisync capability. This allows the electron gun inside the tube to adjust itself to various resolutions and refresh rates. This is very desirable if you have any need to display multiple resolutions. Games are a common area where multiple resolutions are useful. New games that may tax your computer at higher resolutions can be scaled down to lower resolutions.

The high refresh rates and response times of CRT monitors also makes them ideal for video purposes. Since the tubes are based on the same technology that is used in television sets, it makes sense that the video display of a monitor is better able to reproduce the fluid motion of video playback on the CRT.

Finally, the color clarity of CRT monitors cannot be matched by an LCD screen. With the myriad of adjustments that can be made to the contrast, brightness and hues, CRT monitors are better able to represent actual document colors. This is extremely important for individuals who work in either print or graphics industries. Having an accurate reproduction of the color of a document on the screen when it is printed can save a huge amount of hassle when it comes time to have documents published.

Of course, all these advantages do have their drawbacks as well. The biggest drawback to CRT monitors is their bulkiness. The tubes within the CRT monitors are extremely heavy. This is primarily necessary for safety reasons. The tube is a vacuum and if it were to crack, the monitor tube would implode. The tubes also draw a large amount of power. Some larger CRT monitors now can actually draw more current than the computer they are attached to. The visible area of the tube is also smaller than the actual tube size. When a company markets a 19" CRT monitor, the actual visible area of the screen will be about 1 inch less than the tube's full size due to the cabinet surrounding the tube.

The only things better on an LCD are as follows:

- Smaller Size
- Heat output
- Energy consumption

Anything in terms of display quality, CRT is better.

Faken

[Jeepinator]

If you are going to game an LCD monitor is fine, but make sure it has a 12ms or lower response time. The colors on the monitor I have are great, I have it calibrated with a spider, which I borrowed form someone. He happens to own an Apple 23 inch widescreen LCD and ther certainly are differences like contrast ratio and color depth, but nothing that would greatly effect designing. CRTs take a lot of power and weigh a ton. The guy I know has an old 21" CRt and it weighs at least 55 lbs. he says he'll give it to me if I'm willing to carry it out. CRTs are capable of higher resolutions though, as my 17" LCD can only do 1280x1024 and a 17" CRT of the same price can do 1600x1200. You can get 17" 1600x1200 LCDs but they have a response time of about 20-26 ms, and you can tell. I can see the mouse blur on teh ones I have seen.

[LordKenny]

CRT supports high refresh rates, therefore for gaming purposes, CRT ftw. But LCD is

Faken said:

- Smaller Size
- Heat output
- Energy consumption

like faken said