LCD computer monitors

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Well my 21" CRT old school monitor just fried out. It was a fairly high quality monitor that lasted about 7 years. I don't have big bucks to spend but I'm looking for a replacement, preferably LCD. I'm inclined to spend more money for a good monitor since they will usually last years. Price range is $500-$600 but willing to pony up more if something really stands out.

Looking at a 19" screen. I like to play games but I'm not a big FSP type, mainly Madden NHL type games. What should I look for?

What are the important terms to know?
What is a good contrast ratio?
Refresh time?
Brightness?

I know I want to get something with analog/DVI since I'll upgrade my vid card eventually (currently have a Geforce FX 5600).
 
Dell LCD's are really good. The FP series ranges from 17' to 20' and are height and tilt adjustable. They also come with digital outputs, so when you upgrade your video card you can connect digitally. The 2 port USB hub built in to the side is also useful and you can get a sound bar that will let you save space.
 
Just saw this deal today at Slickdeals.net. Sounds like it fits what you're looking for:

ViewSonic VX910 19" DVI LCD Monitor $370 after $100MIR
Exp: 01/15/05

OfficeDepot has the ViewSonic VX910 19" DVI LCD Monitor for $500 - $30 coupon 077553721 - $50 OfficeDepot MIR (send upc copy) - $50MIR = $370 w/ free shipping.

Lowest on Pricegrabber is $478.
 
BTW to answer your original question about refresh times, ~15 ms is about standard these days. In business environments refresh rate isn't so important, so be careful if buying from Dell Business or whatever because their monitors tend to have good image quality but slower refresh times. But if you're playing high-framerate games, watching DVD's, playing videos, etc. you'll want the quickest refresh rate you can get.

It's also worth mentioning that refresh times can be misleading becauase they measure full-on to full-off, not gray-to-gray which is more important and can vary widely. Monitor brightness can also vary widely from the published spec because manufacturers measure it differently. But as long as you get one with ~15 ms refresh rate and 500+ to 1 contrast you should be OK.
 
I had a 17" Dell LCD and was really happy with it. My TV was taking up so much room that I decided to go with an LCD that could serve as my monitor and TV. I bought the Dell W1700 widescreen LCD and love it. You are looking at probably a better screen size than just your normal 19" LCD and also have the capability to hook it up to a digital signal for HD TV. I paid only about $450 for mine. I think the refurbished ones from Dell are somewhere around that price range still. I looked at a ton of them before I bought this one and it really seemed like the best deal. My parents bought one to use a a TV in the kitchen cause they are so much cheaper than just the normal 15" standard screen LCD TVs. It really is great for watching DVDs, playing video games, watching TV, whatever. You might look at something like it so that it can serve more than one purpose. Even if you purchase a new computer at some point that has a flat panel with it or something like that, then you could use it solely as a TV somewhere if the new LCD is nicer.
 
jcdenton--I haven't seen any response times greater than 16ms on LCDs. Most the larger ones (19"+) usually have a response time of 25ms. I'm looking at the Dell 1905FP which has a response time of 20ms. I'm not sure how much ghosting will take place. I don't know any good 19" monitors with a 16ms response time.
 
I went with the Viewsonic VP912B. Got it from Newegg for $539, no shipping, no tax.

Its pretty damn sweet. No ghosting that I can tell. Not a single dead pixel. Played NHL 05, NBA 05 and it looks great. Madden 05 was a little jerky, I think its too much for my CPU at the higher resolution. The only other bad thing I noticed was that all the menus in the games are default 800x600 rez which I can't change. Its viewable but clearly not as sharp as the natural 1280x1024 rez.

Anyways a great monitor I'd recomend to anyone.
 
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