The LCD Buyers Guide

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The LCD Buyers Guide
________________________________________




Introduction:

This thread was designed to help gamers, video enthusiasts,
application users, and even normal users who just surf the net
to buy the best LCD for their needs

LCD Terms

LCD: Liquid Crystal Display
TFT: Thin Film Transistor
VGA: Video Graphic Array
DVI: Digital Visual Interface
Contrast Ratio: Light intensity between black and white. Higher contrast ratios = sharper image
Luminance: Brightness level on a LCD. Measured in nits or candelas (cd) per square meter (cd/m2). 1 nit = 1 cd/m2.
Response Time: The speed of a pixel's color transition. Measured in milliseconds (ms).
Motion Blur: When the screen blurs in fast motion pictures due to slow response times
Ghosting: When the screen leaves a ghost like trail in fast motion pictures due to slow response times. Ghosting is a step further from motion blur, and should not be confused
Bezel: Plastic or metal frame surrounding the pannel
Native Resolution: The actual measurement in pixels of the screen area
Dead pixels/Stuck pixels: A pixel that remains 'on' or 'off', meaning that it is always illuminated, unlit, or stuck on one color regardless of the image the LCD monitor displays can also be called a dead pixel.
VESA: Video Electronics Standards Association. Site = www.vesa.org/
VESA mount: VESA recommendation indicating that the monitor can be mounted on a desk or wall.
Viewing Angles: the degree of angle at which you can view the screen sideways (horizontal angle) and top/bottom (vertical angle) without losing image quality.

Interfaces:
***Under Construction***

VGA

VGA (Video Graphic Array): analog conector that sends information to the monitor as a Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) signal. Nearly all CRTs have it, and most LCDs support it. First introduced by IBM in the mid 80s and still remains as the most popular solution to date.

Types of VGA Connectors:



*NOTE: There is a mistake in the pin arrangement. I will update the image with the correct pin arrangement.

VGA Pin Arrangement:



DVI

DVI (Digital Visual Interface) digital connector that send information to the monitor in eather a digital signal of over 160mhz
Can supports UXGA and HDTV resolutions with a single set of links. Higher resolutions can be supported with a dual set of links.

Types of DVI Connectors:



DVI Pin Arrangement:



LCD vs. CRT:

Here are some reasons why to buy a LCD over a CRT


No Flickering:
LCDs don’t flicker because all pixels on a LCD refresh themselves, wile a CRT has to constantly refresh the entire image with 3 electron beamps, each of a different color. Red, Green, and Blue.
You can notice flickering when there are fast motions on a CRT. You can see how the screen refreshes a frame by taking a camera and viewing the CRT though the camera. In real time it’s really fast and invisible to the naked eye in most situations, but in the camera it looks slower and you may notice a difference in brightness between frames.

Focus & Perfect Geometry:
LCDs are made up of millions of small colored pixels that are lighted with a “back light”. They are equally proportional in the entire surface, so the image looks equally well on the entire screen

CRT use an electron beam that projects a series of colours to a curved lens. Newer CRT have a lens hat convert the curve surface to a flat surface. Because of this, as you move away from the center of a CRT's screen, it becomes less sharp and more blurry

Sharpness:
LCD run at a native resolution, wile CRT compresses the image as you raise the resolution, making it less sharp and more blurry in higher resolutions.

Durability:
the only part on a LCD that ages is the “back light”. LCD commonly have a backlight that has a half-life of 50,000 hours. Afther that time period, the LCD will only lose half the brigtness. If the “back light” dies on a LCD, it can be replaced.

CRT ages in two ways: An oxide layer forms on the cathode of the electron gun, decreasing beam current; and the phosphor ages and becomes less efficient.
Most CRT’s half-life is about 10,000 and 20,000 hours. After that time spawn, the CRT may lose brightness and/or image quality. As you can see, a LCD can las between 2-5 times more than a CRT

Power consumption:
The power required to run a LCD is about 1/3 the power needed to run a CRT.
Because of less energy needed, less heat is released.

Low emissions:
An LCD is essentially emission-free, while a CRT monitor can generate electric, magnetic and even X-ray emissions due to the high-voltage power supply necessary to drive the CRT. An LCD causes no electromagnetic interferente
In other words, NO MORE HEADACHES

Ergonomics:
As many of you may know, LCD are a lot more thinner than a CRT
LCD can also be adapted in many ways for the user’s needs.
You can also buy a wall mount to help you place the LCD anywhere you want.

Size:
LCD are not also thinner than CRT, but they are larger too.
CRT are measured by the display size, so the viewable size is smaller than described.
LCD are measured by the viewable area, so a 20” LCD is larger than a 20” CRT




CRT advantage
The only advantage with CRTs is response time, darkness levels, and price.
Right now, an average CRT can have a response time below 2ms and can have contrast ratios above 1000:1 and LCDs could cost more than two times a CRT at the same recommended resolution.

CRTs are already mature in technology, so you shouldnt see huge improvements on latter releases
LCD is a new tech and each new release is an improvement in LCD technology. As new tech is released, LCDs become better and more afordable, and will outperform CRTs


LCD Tech:

The Truth About Response Times:

The problem with response times is that companies quote their monitor's with the best possible response time and not its average response time.
This is further complicated by the fact that response times on different panels means different things.
Currently, these are the different LCD panels on the market:

* TN
* S-IPS
* PVA/MVA.

Depending on the type of panel, there can be large differences in the monitor's response time.
Response times are measured on how fast a pixel changes from black to white or grey to grey.

Traditionally, a 25ms S-IPS LCD panel works as fast as a 16ms TN panel for the wide range of black to light grey.
Only when a pixel is going from pure black to pure white was the 16ms TN panel actually faster.
On the other hand, a PVA or MVA monitor advertised at 25ms when going from black to white may very well need 80ms to transition from black to grey!

Since then, TN panels have been pushed to the lowest response times of any other panel... the fastest ones today rates at 4ms.
TN panels have become the "gamer's panel" for some time because it sacrifices colour representation, image quality and viewing angles for the best response time possible. All these panels display 6-bit colour, which unlike the other panels, means poorer colour quality.
This isn't a problem in games as the 6-bit spectrum offers more than enough colour accuracy to match even the most graphically demanding game out there. However, for watching movies, picture editing or even general desktop use, the difference from these panels to the S-IPS and PVA/MVA is noticeable.

S-IPS panels typically offer good viewing angles with accurate 8-bit colour representation. Screen contrast, however, remains poorer than other panels.
With recent advances in TN and PVA/MVA panels, these screens have been left behind as they remain slower than TN panels and offer less visual quality than PVA/MVA panels.
Latest news within the industry suggests these panels will soon be discontinued.

Traditionally, PVA/MVA panels on the other hand are famed for deep black levels, superb contrast ratios and 8-bit colour... all at the expense of speed.
Recently, however, MVA panels have made a huge technological leap with the development of very fast 8ms panels. The average response times on this panels are better than 8ms TN panels.
PVA panels are commonly seen on older & larger LCD displays. Although they offer similar colour and picture quality as a MVA panel, they haven’t improved significantly in terms of response time. Recent reviews suggest that the fastest PVA panels rated at 16ms fail to show signficant improvement in response time over older 25ms PVA panels

When you consider that the PVA/MVA panels retain their great image quality and perform better at the same refresh rate, these panels are likely to soon phase out both the S-IPS and TN panels.

Here is a graph comparing one of the fastest panels from Samsung's TN panels vs. AU Optronic's 8ms MVA panel.
This essentially compares TN vs.MVA at 8ms, not Samsung vs AU Optronic

-Chart from THG; modified by Turok-



Common Aspect Ratios:

5:4 = 640×512, 720×576, 1280×1024, 1800×1440, 2560×2048, etc.

4:3 = 320×240, 480×360, 640×480, 800×600, 832×624, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1440

16:10 = 320×200, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600, 3840×2400, 7680×4800, etc.

16:9 = 1280×720, 1600×900, 1920×1080, etc.



As you can see, 1280×1024 is the only common resolution on a 5:4 ratio.
That's why games are showing up with 1280×960 resolutions, since 4:3 ratio monitors are more common than 5:4 monitors

16:9 is wider than 16:10 and it’s what you mostly see as wide-screen movies
Only a few games and applications support 16:10 and 16:9
Games running on the Source, CryTech, WoW, Doom3, and other engines can be setup or hacked to support 16:10 and 16:9 ratios. This may give you an advantage over everyone since you will have more viewable are on the sides.

Here is a link comparing Counter Strike: Source with 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=49242

By overlaping them, you can see how much viewable area is being lost



The LCD List
(In order from smallest to largest)

15 and 17-inch (5:4 / 4:3)

We don’t know much about these LCDs
We also though it wasn’t worth mentioning LCDs below this resolution,
and probably one of the best 17-inch LCD would be enough, so here it is:

BenQ FP71E+



Price: 250-300 USD

Specs:
- 17-inch LCD Display
- AU Optronics TN Panel
- 12 ms GTG Response Time
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1, 600:1(Max)
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- Fast TN panel
- Vivid colours and good image quality for a TN panel.
- Great for gaming

Cons:
- Glossy screen can get annoying, especially with a dark image
- Very Poor viewing angles
- Very Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video editing

Summary:
This monitor is very similar to the BenQ FP91V+
Check the summary on the BenQ FP91V+ below

Links and Reviews:
TomsHardware: *Click*



19-inch (5:4 / 4:3)

BenQ FP91V+



Price: 300-400 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- AU Optronics TN Panel
- 6 ms GTG Response Time
(Actually an 8ms GTG Panel With Overdrive technology to 6ms)
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 600:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- A very fast TN panel
- Vivid colours and good image quality for a TN panel.
- Great for gaming

Cons:
- Glossy screen can get annoying, especially with a dark image
- Very Poor viewing angles
- Very Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video editing
- Expensive for a TN panel

Summary:
Has the same problem as the NEC LCD1970GX... a great gaming panel somewhat ruined by a glossy screen. The screen may seem appealing at first, as it accentuates colours and images realism, but the glare can quickly become annoying particularly in dark games. The glossiness also affect significantly viewing angle.
Aparently the screen is verry reflective even in a dark room.

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
HardwareZone: *Click*
PC World: *Click*
Byte Sector: *Click*



Hyundai L90D+



Price: 330-350 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- Samsung TN Panel
- 8 ms Response Time
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- Good colour reproduction and image quality for a TN panel
- Excellent for gaming
- Amongst the least expensive of the fast TN panel monitors

Cons:
- Fair viewing angles for a TN panel
- Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video editing

Summary:
The combination of quality, price and performance make this monitor, hands down, one of the best LCDs you can buy. It suffers from the same issues as all other TN panels, namely for colour reproduction and viewing angles... but for gaming it is still one of the most responsive monitors you can buy.
It has over 800 votes on Newegg.com and still retains a perfect 5 star rating!

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
TomsHardware: *Click*
PRAD: *Click*
FiringSquad: *Click*
PC World: *Click*
Mistix UK: *Click*



NEC 1970GX



Price: 520-550 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- Samsung TN Panel
- 8 ms Response Time
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- Vivid colours and good image quality for a TN panel
- Great for gaming

Cons:
- Glossy screen can get annoying, especially with a dark image
- Very Poor viewing angles
- Very Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video editing
- Expensive for a TN panel

Summary:
Has the same problems as the BenQ FP91V+... a great gaming panel somewhat ruined by a glossy screen. The screen may seem appealing at first, as it accentuates colours and images realism, but the glare can quickly become annoying particularly in dark games. The glossiness also affect significantly viewing angle.
Aparently the screen is verry reflective even in a dark room.

Links and Reviews:
TomsHardware: *Click*
BeHardware: *Click*
FiringSquad: *Click*
Digit-Life: *Click*
TrustedReviews: *Click*
PC Magazene: *Click*



Samsung 930BF



Price: 450-550 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- Samsung TN Panel
- 4 ms Response Time
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm


Pros:
- The fastest panel on the market
- Excellent for gaming

Cons:
- Less vivid colours than other TN panels
- Poor viewing angles
- Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video edition


Summary:
A great gaming panel. Colours are a little less vivid than the BenQ FP91V+ and the Viewsonic VX924, but difference is not that great.

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*



Viewsonic VP191B



Price: 430-500 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- AU Optronics MVA Panel
- 8 ms GTG Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- Excellent colour accuracy and image quality characterstic of PVA/MVA panels
- Excellent average response time
- Excellent viewing angles
- Good for everything, including gaming

Cons:
- Slightly less responsive than the Viewsonic VX924 in gaming
- A bit expensive

Summary:
Probably the best overall 19-inch monitor on the market today. It’s superior in all ways to the other 19” monitors in this list due to its fast MVA panel.
The Samsung 193P+ is a direct competitor with a Samsung P-MVA 8ms panel, but no reviews have been found with reliable sources

Links and Reviews:
WARNING: Beware of reviews on the internet for this monitor.
There are two models with the EXACT same model number...
the new one has an 8ms response and the old one a 25ms response
BeHardware: *Click*
TomsHardware: *Click*



Viewsonic VX924



Price: 380-450 USD

Specs:
- 19-inch LCD Display
- AU Optronics TN Panel
- 4 ms GTG Response Time
- 6-bit colour (16.2 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 550:1
- Native Resolution: 1280x1024
- Pixel Pitch: 0.294 mm

Pros:
- Second most responsive panel LCD on the market
- Good colour representation and image quality for a TN panel
- Excellent for gaming

Cons:
- Fair viewing angles for a TN panel
- Poor for watching movies
- Poor for video editing

Summary:
One of the best purely gaming monitors available. Response time in gaming is second only to the Samsung 930BF, but due to the VX924's better colour representation and image quality, the VX924 comes out ahead.

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
TomsHardware: *Click*
HardwareZone: *Click*
Bit-Tech.net: *Click*



20-inch (4:3)
Review: 20" LCD S-IPS Panels
TomsHardware: *Click*


Dell 2001FP



Price: 500-750 USD
(Depending on offer, can go as low as $350)

Specs:
- 20-inch LCD Display
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 600:1
- Native Resolution: 1600x1200
- Pixel Pitch: 0.255 mm

Pros:
- High native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles
- Inexpensive

Cons:
- Motion blurring noticeable in gaming compared to TN panels, possible ghosting

Summary:
Not the most reponsive panel out there, but can be purchased quite cheap from Dell with the right deals and coupons. Many people are quite happy with these monitors... but few have reported problems with backlight bleeding and dead pixels.

Links and Reviews:
Anandtech: *Click*
PC Magazene: *Click*
CNET: *Click*



Viewsonic VP2000s/VP201s/VP201b



Price: 580-620 USD

Specs:
- 20-inch LCD Display
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Native Resolution: 1600x1200
- Pixel Pitch: 0.255 mm

Pros:
- High native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles

Cons:
- Motion blurring noticeable in gaming compared to TN panels
- Expensive

Summary:
An all round great LCD panel. The 16 ms IPS screen is somewhat slow in response time compared to modern fast TN and MVA panels. Motion blurring is evident in fast FPS games and during scrolling of the screen in strategy games. However, the screen is fast enough that ghosting isn't a problem.

Links and Reviews:
PRAD: *Click*
PC Magazene: *Click*
ZD Net: *Click*
Game PC: *Click*



20-inch (16:10)
Review: 20" LCD S-IPS Panels
TomsHardware: *Click*


Apple 20-inch Cinema



Price: 700-800 USD

Specs:
- 20-inch Widescreen LCD Display
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Native Resolution: 1680x1050
- Pixel Pitch: 0.258 mm

Pros:
- High native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles
- Beautiful aluminum finish
- High quality assembly

Cons:
- Motion blurring AND ghosting noticeable in gaming and everyday use
- Very Expensive

Summary:
This monitor looks absolutely amazing. The motion blurring and screen ghosting, however, make it a poor choice for gaming considering the faster panels out there. It has the exact same panel and response time as the Viewsonic V201s, and yet illustrates a poorer response in practical application. Just goes to show that even the same panel can perform differently depending on the monitor.

Links and Reviews:
Anandtech: *Click*
CNET: *Click*



Dell 2005FPW



Price: 500-700 USD
(Depending on offer, can go as low as $350)

Specs:
- 20-inch Widescreen LCD Display
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 12 ms Response Time (Actually a 16ms S-IPS panel with Overdrive to 12ms)
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 600:1
- Native Resolution: 1680x1050
- Pixel Pitch: 0.258 mm

Pros:
- High native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles
- Inexpensive

Cons:
- Motion blurring noticeable in gaming compared to TN panels, possible ghosting

Summary:
As with the 2001FP, the 2005FPW is not the most reponsive panel out there, but can be purchased quite cheap from Dell with the right deals and coupons. The 12ms responsive time is nothing to get too excited about as no comparison has objectively shown any difference in response time to the 2001FP. Again, many people are quite happy with these monitors... but few have reported problems with backlight bleeding and dead pixels.

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
Anandtech: *Click*
CNET: *Click*



23/24-inch (16:10)



Dell 2405FPW



Price: 960-1200 USD
(Depending on offer, can go as low as $800)

Specs:
- 24-inch Widescreen LCD Display
- Samsung PVA Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
- Native Resolution: 1920x1200
- Pixel Pitch: 0.270 mm

Pros:
- Large viewable area
- Very high native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles
- Inexpensive for a 23-inch panel

Cons:
- Motion blurring noticeable in gaming compared to TN panels

Summary:
As with the Dell 2001FP and 2005FPW, many people have purchased this monitor and have been happy with it. However, unlike its smaller cousins, the 2405FPW uses a slower PVA panel. Even though it’s rated at 16ms, the actual response time is much higher than an equivalent S-IPS panel. Reviewers at BeHardware.com found no improvement in response time from this 16 ms PVA panel and 25 ms PVA panels previously tested. If you read the LCD technology section above, you would remember that the advancement in technology of “VA” panels was with MVA panels (i.e. with the 8ms Viewsonic VP191B).

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
ExtremeTech: *Click*
PC Magazene: *Click*



Apple 23” Cinema HD



Price: 1300-1500 USD

Specs:
- 23-inch Widescreen LCD Display
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Native Resolution: 1920x1200
- Pixel Pitch: 0.258 mm

Pros:
- Large viewable area
- Very high native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles

Cons:
- Motion blurring and ghosting noticeable in gaming
- Poor dark levels

Summary:
This is a excellent monitor for video and photo enthusiasts. The image is really sharp, excellent for precise photo editing. It’s a bit slower than the Dell 2405fpw in gaming and brightness and contrast ratios are a bit lower.

Links and Reviews:
PC World: *Click*
CNET: *Click*



HP L2335/F2304
(Same monitor, the F2304 has speakers on the sides)



Price: 1000-1600 USD
(Depending on model. The L2335 has no speakers. Its a lot cheaper)

Specs:
- 23-inch Widescreen LCD Display
- S-IPS Panel (manufacturer unknown)
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 500:1
- Native Resolution: 1920x1200
- Pixel Pitch: 0.258 mm

Pros:
- Large viewable area
- Very high native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles

Cons:
- Motion blurring and ghosting noticeable in gaming

Summary:
If you absolutely want a 23-inch screen for gaming, this is one of best panel out there. Unlike the Dell 2405FPW, this S-IPS panel is a bit faster in response times.

Links and Reviews:
BeHardware: *Click*
Anandtech: *Click*
PC Magazene: *Click*
CNET: *Click*

30-inch (16:10)

Apple 30” Cinema HD



Price: 2700-3000 USD

Specs:
- 30-inch Widescreen LCD Display
(29.7 inches viewable)
- LG Phillips S-IPS Panel
- 16 ms Response Time
- 8-bit colour (16.7 Million Colours)
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Native Resolution: 2560 x 1600
- Pixel Pitch: 0.250 mm
- Dual-DVI card required

Pros:
- Xtremely Large viewable area
- Xtremely high native resolution
- Excellent colour reproduction and visual quality
- Excellent viewing angles

Cons:
- Motion blurring and ghosting noticeable in gaming
- Poor dark levels
- Expensive at around $3k

Summary:
Performs equally well to the Apple 23” Cinema HD, the difference is that it has a smaller dot pitch and it depends on a Dual-DVI connection.
If you are going to game on this monitor, it is recommended to have a top notch SLi or Crossfire solution, because this Monitor runs at a very high resolution, and most cards cant handle such a resolution with AA and AF on.

Links and Reviews:
CNET: *Click*

 

thì lâu lâu cho ae luyện thêm về tiếng Anh mà:sun: