Hey guys, I know were all pretty techie in some way or other here on Thrillnetwork, so I am asking for some suggestions. I plan on buying a LCD Monitor coming up in the later months of the Summer. (September most likley) And I want to pick out a LCD monitor so I can have sort of a financial target that I can keep in mind.

Point 1: LCD over CRT. At first I was sceptable about purchasing a LCD monitor. CRT's are cheaper, sometimes provide a better picture, but they do take up space. I run a 17" CRT right now, and its pretty decent. For games, it looks a lot better than a few LCD's. When gaming in stuff like Counter-Strike, the LCD's I've used tend to smear...or fade and create a rather blurry image. My CRT doesn't do that. Thats why I wanted to get a CRT...however....I came to a conclusion that a CRT is not my best investment. An LCD will provide my desk with more space, a better environment, and I can take it to college without worrying about space. So I decided to get the LCD.

Point 2: Quality is everything: I'm looking to invest a substaintial amount of money to get what I want. My budget range can be from 300 to 600. The 19" is what I am looking at, the 21's are a little too high. I do a lot of stuff that takes up screen space, so I need the extra 2 inches. I also want to look at one that looks a little nicer, and provides some stylish appeal.

However, the one thing I am concerned with is quality. I want to buy a LCD that can perform with higher standards than my current CRT. I am willing to invest money, but I want to make sure it has high quality with all the activities I do on my PC, particularily...gaming. I want to make sure the picture doesn't "fade" or "smear" when the action gets going. I also want picture quality to be rather high.

Point 3: Suggestions: I'm not sure if people around here invest a lot in monitors, but I want suggestions. Particularily, brands. I know the stats, and I am particularily looking for a monitor with a higher m value. But for those who HAVE invested a lot, I want to hear what you think.

Right now, the brands I am looking at, are:
LG
NEC
Sony
Viewsonic

As of now, I am looking specifically at the LG Flatrons. They provide high quality, and look good. Rather high in price at 550 dollars. But I am willing to spend it. I ALSO want to get a LCD that will last a long time. I'm all about reliability, so I want to get a monitor that will last a long time.

Any input is appreciated. Unless its stupid input.

Thanks.

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Thornton to Heatley all day, every day.

I would actually look into Samsungs. They offer the best quality for the best price. I have a Samsung 712n (17") LCD and it runs games perfectly. The screen is beautiful and picture is crisp clear. My only problem is watching movies on it, mainly because it doesn't show black very well but what LCD does?

I remember hearing something about how 19" LCDs work at a fixed resolution and aren't the best for gaming but I'm not entirely sure. I think the best way to find out what monitor will work for you is to go to newegg.com and search for 19" LCD monitors but make sure that it has a refresh time of at the most 12ms if you want to use your LCD for any type of gaming. See which monitors have the most reviews and read each one. That is how I found my monitor and I couldn't be happier. I too went from a CRT to an LCD so it was a big step and newegg helped make the transition easy.

Well I do want a 19", simply because it will be a far better upgrade than if I just simply got another 17" screen. I decided no matter what, its a 19" or bigger.

I forgot about Samsung, but I'm really locked onto the LG Flatron. It looks really good, and provides a stellar picture.

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Thornton to Heatley all day, every day.

Well you should still go to newegg and checkout reviews for it and also make sure it has a 12ms or lower response time. That is critical.