Hi
I'm trying to choose between two LCD monitors for gaming. Which one should I buy between the VG810B and the VA721 (both from viewsonic)

VG810B:
18.1 inch
350:1 contrast
30ms response time

VA710:
17 inch
450:1 contrast
25ms response time

They are both almost the same price.

Thanks

Pat

Hi Pat.

For gaming the important spec is response time.

The lower the number the better.

My Hitachi LCD has a response time of 16 ms.

There are models that have a response time of 12 ms.

Take care,

Linda

i heard that LCDs arent to great for gaming and CRTs are best. guess u can be the judge of that.

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I heard the same thing

I think refresh rates are influential aswell

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http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-116-282&depa=0

I have this. VERY nice! =)

On the May 2004 issue of Maximum PC, they had a section called "LCDs for Gamers" and they tested 8 LCD displays and only 3 passed. They were testing for Ghosting, Brightness/Contrast, and Interpolation among other things. The 3 that passed were the Samsung 172x, Planar PL1700, and the Dell 2001fp. Then they reviewed these 3 in the June issue in more detail. These are the ratings that they gave: Planar (8), Samsung (9), Dell (9).

Anyways, this is what they said in general in the May issue....

CRT's multisyncing capabilities, which enable support for multiple resolutions, remain ideal for gamers, but it seems LCDs can no longer be dismissed outright. There isn't a single editor on staff who wouldn't be happy cradling the Dell 2001FP, Samsung 172X, or Planar PL1700 on the way home to play Battlefield: Vietnam.

I've been a gamer for a long time and I never even would have considered a LCD monitor until I read that review. Hope that helps you in your decision making.

Take care and always try to have fun,
Because life is too short not to.
And you never know when any day could be your last,
So never take anything, and especially anyone for granted!

I'll be buying an LCD monitor soon too.
At the moment I am using a really old Compaq 14" SVGA CRT monitor that I was given free during an office clearance sale. It has a big yellow stain up the one side where it's been sat next to a radiator for years, a load of safety test stickers dating back to 1993 on the side and the screen gets a green tinge across it sometimes.. I haven't got any room for a larger CRT monitor, so TFT is the only way to go for me.

hmm ok, my advice take it or leave it, use the money to buy yourself a bigger desk and then buy a good quality crt, my thoughts on tft 'avoid at all costs'

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lol funny Rocky.

Refresh rates are really only important for CRT monitors. The refresh rates on LCDs are usually around 60hz, and have only a couple settings, and work fine... The technology is different in such a way that LCDs don't suffer from flickering like CRT displays do. For gaming I'd check out CRT displays too though, as they dont suffer from the drawbacks LCDs do, and are considerablly less money.