monitors...for gaming

[noxiousCaitSith]

i guess this is the right place for this topic...anyway

i'm slowly building a computer but i'm not really sure about monitors. there's a ton of brands so i'm just wondering what are some reliable brands or what kind of things should i be looking for when buying a monitor? it just needs to be able to handle UT3 at a pretty decent resolution...around the $200 range.

[Damnidge]

I got my 22" Acer widescreen (1680x1050 res) for 225 delivered w/CA tax. I love it, and it handles really well and looks beautiful.

It is the 2nd Acer LCD I have owned and both are great - and others have Acers on here as well.

As far as where to put this post, you have a good point, now that we have multiple game sections, perhaps we should look into a "General Technical" forum?

[kaeolian]

I have a 22" widescreen LCD samsung monitor and its the dogs danglies ! I got mine for free from work tho hehe.

[noxiousCaitSith]

i was thinking about getting samsung but it looks like the prices are just generally higher.
acer looks good. the 22 inch is at 229.99 with $15 shipping...i'll probably go to best buy cause it looks like they have the same monitor but it's $300 there. just to see what it's like.
also, most of the monitors i've looked at say they don't have a tv tuner. i'd like to be able to watch tv from the computer cause it will be taking the place of my tv in my room. do i have to get one that has a tv tuner or is there something i can buy that will let me watch tv on it?

[DW_Wraith]

Samsung has nice monitors, I still have my old 19" lcd that pivots and works perfectly. One brand to avoid is the Sceptre, they seem pretty junky to me, and its what I have at work as a 'cheapie' widescreen. Never again. Nothing else, perhaps you'll get some xmas cash or certificates so you could go above the 200 if you need to. Look for ones that display 16.7 million colors, for gaming a 16.2 million capable lcd might suffice, On 16.2 million color displays they can show color banding where there gradients of a color, (such as a sky going from dark to light of the same shade) you can see the transitions of the colors and it appears like a band, and this can happen when you view photos also. The real inexpensive lcd displays have a 6 bit controller (hence 16.2) where the more expensive lcd's have the 8 bit controller (16.7). Your mileage may vary depending on how picky you are, and how the display is calibrated etc. Newegg is a good source for displaying this info on most of their monitors. Alot of stores don't know what your talking about if you ask the salesperson. Sorry about this long rant....

:cheers:

[noxiousCaitSith]

ha, yeah i know what you mean. they ask for what you know on the application but apparently people put things down that they don't really know...cause some of these people know about just as much as i do.

also for a TV tuner or whatever you call it, i saw this one on ebay by a company called geniatech...i think they're based in china or something and i didn't see any products by them on new egg which leads me to believe that they might not be so reliable.
but people seem to be bidding on them. i'd like an HDTV tuner but that's not really necessary. just need something that i can watch/record tv on.
anyway, thanks for the info :faroah:

[Damnidge]

This is the one I have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824009094

It is 16.7 million colors, 5ms response time, 700:1 contrast ratio, a DVI and VGA connector, and honestly it looks great. I have a Dell at work and it looks better than the Dell IMO.

As far as the TV tuner goes, make sure you go for a quality unit. They make PCI and USB tuners. I have seen some with solid ratings that also come with a remote. I'd check newegg and other vendors, but be sure to search the web for reviews!

Good luck.

[DW_ToxicWaste]

And for goodness sake, get a good cable from a respectable place like monoprice.com.

Rich (TW)

[d2frob]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132115

If you can find it in the US - or find its equivelant, you're on to a winner.

[kaeolian]

Thats a very good monitor rob but, it only has vga dvi input, so no good for watching tv on if you wanted. Also there is no wall mounting capability according to a review.