Looking for a good LCD monitor

[ShellShock Profile]

Recently I've been thinking of replacing my aging 17'' CRT monitor with something a little more...modern. I've been looking at 19'' LCD monitors and my question is are they good for gaming? I mean lets say an LCD monitor has a native resolution of 1280x1024, does that mean I HAVE to run all my games at that resolution? Or can I lower the resolution (and gain extra FPS...I'm not much of a reslution whore and I prefer to use AA and Anistropic-Filtering anyway) without a significant loss in image quality?

[LordShard]

Don't buy an LCD moniter. =O Wait until the slimline CRTs are released. Almost as thin as a CRT, but better quality picture and about the same price as a CRT (much cheaper)

[Necron99]

Your games are resolution independent, so don't worry about what the working resolution is for your monitor. The major concern in boosting your fps is your video card.

Regarding LCD vs. CRT, I've been using a NEC LCD1760NX for about 6 months now and I have overall positive feelings about it.

I went for a LCD not just because it was cool looking, but because LCDs are progressive scan as opposed to CRTs which use conventional interlaced images. What this all means is LCDs give you reduced flicker and less eye strain. Image quality is not as sharp as CRT but it's very very close. Colors are a little different, but once again this is a minor issue. Some LCDs are hard to view if you are not perpendicular to the screen and looking at it head on. So if you’re looking at porn, it makes it a little easier to not get caught.

On 19" vs. 17" be careful, you might get a monitor that's too big. The viewable area on LCDs is much greater than on CRTs. So your current 17" CRT is comparable to a 15" LCD. 19" LCDs are great for watch HD, but for gaming you might want to be a little closer and a 17" LCD will do just fine. Not to mention that it'll cost less and use less power.

Of course, I could be completely wrong...

[Rocky Dennis]

I am also in the market to get a new LCD. I decided to get this one based on the reviews on CNET and Newegg. I wont be getting it for a couple weeks so if someone can convince me of another I'll bite.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-116-338&depa=0

[ShellShock Profile]

I found a good roundup of 17 19'' LCD monitors over at anandtech. They seem to reccomend both the Viewsonic and Samsung monitors.

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2289&p=17

EDIT:

Looking at these monitors, I just don't think I can afford to splurge on an LCD just yet. Maybe for my birthday or after I get my bonus in April....

[SkiloDog2000 Profile WebsiteYIM]

my moniter is 21" and 2 ft deep, it is sitting on a desk made of cheap aluminum on a shelf thats 4mm thick supported by two half inch diameter metal poles which are hollow and bend to the point where i have to remove them and snap em back into the right shape.im thinking about going with an lcd because if it ever falls, i wont break both my wrists.

[MeatHead_NJ]

My wife got me a Sony 17" W screen lcd last christmas (it was an open box special). It's Great. It doesn't have DVI input. Odd i thought so i ordered a dell 17w to compare. The dell came with DVI and did all the things my sony did, but the pic of the Sony was far superior. Side by side the dells colors were muddy So i sent the dell back and kept the sony .

We use dell utlra sharps at work and they are very nice 17" for workstations and 20" in our graphic and photo deptments (i still love my sony)

I knew the sony was the one but i still had to be sure.
I have an old PC desk thats rolltop, the Sony fits just bearly, so i can still close it.

I've used it to watch DVD's too. Its incredible the pic, Funny how the view is the same size as my 27" tv in the basement when watching movies in Letterbox.

I have a 21" CRT sony at work i look at all day, and even though its huge big i dont mind gaming on the 17" w when i get home.

I'm sure your already aware but just makesure the LCD you get can do the higher res. alot of the ones you see in staples and whatnot only do 800x600.

oh and they are so much "cooler" litterally, if i left my old monitor on the finished side of my basement would easily be 6 degress warmer then when i turned it off.

That sums up my experience.