I'm looking at an AOC 17"LCD monitor. It's only $149. It has 8ms response time. I've never owned LCD and I'm curious if this will be acceptable for gaming. It doesn't have to be great, just needs to be comparable or better than my CRT. Thanks

Response time and contrast ratio are two equally important consideration when shopping for LCD monitors. See our recent discussion HERE. i_XpUser

Thanks for the response XPUser. The contrast is 500:1. Seems to be average. My only concern is, as jam mentioned in that thread, "to high of a response time will cause ghosting". So I started looking at other LCD monitors to compare and it seems like 8ms is also about average. Should be OK I guess. Thanks again

8ms LCD versus 0ms CRT. Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

No kidding? But would I notice?

8ms is a decent response time but I think the games you play would determine if you would see artifacts or not. I suggest you re-post this question in the gaming forum. Keep in mind that there are no free lunches, only bargains. The specs you posted, while important are only part of the picture. In my experience the cheapest product ins't usually the best value. When buying displays it is usually best to actually view units you are considering, preferably side by side.

I have used LCD's for about 4 yrs now and simply don't see myself going back to CRTs - not even for gaming. The demerits of CRT far outweighs its merit. The technology has also gotten so much better since then, and the prices are a fraction of what they were too, with the 19"-20" being the sweet spot. I also agree with OtheHill about simply not shopping for the cheapest LCD you can find - you may be disappointed, going about it that way. For around $250 Newegg currently has the 940BX from Samsumg avaialble and that to me is a good buy considering all things and provided Newegg is an option for you, because it isn't for people outside the US. Samsung SyncMaster 940BX Black 19" LCD.