Computer monitors can flicker on and off for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common issues for LCD monitors are bad video drivers and loose cable connections.

LCD Monitor Flickering

Video driver issues may result in your LCD monitor flickering, so updating your computer’s video drivers is one of the first things you should try. Go to NVIDIA or ATI’s website to download updated drivers, depending on what brand of video card your computer has.

Unlike with CRT monitors, changing a LCD monitor’s refresh rate will have no effect.

Loose Cable Connections

Loose cable connections can also cause a computer monitor to flicker on and off. Check the back of your monitor and verify that the VGA or DVI cable connector is seated properly in the socket. If necessary, remove the cable connector from the socket and re-seat it entirely. Also check where the cable plugs into the back of your computer and make sure the connection isn’t loose.

Of course, check the power cable connection as well – if your monitor is flickering on and off each time you bump it, the power cable could certainly be coming loose.

Electrical Interference

Believe it or not, electrical interference can also cause a monitor to flicker. If you have computer speakers right next to your monitor, try moving them away; they could be causing the problem. This also applies to other electronic devices or appliances near the monitor, such as televisions.

Also try unplugging the monitor from the power bar or wall socket it is plugged into and plugging it into a new electrical socket, to verify that other devices on the same electrical circuit are not causing interference.

Hardware Failure

Computer monitor flickering could also be caused by a damaged component in a computer, such as a video card or motherboard. If you can plug the flickering computer monitor into another computer and it works fine, this may help to isolate the problem as being with the computer itself.

Of course, computer monitors also fail, and a flickering computer monitor could itself be defective. If you can plug another monitor into your computer and it works fine, and nothing else helps your flickering problem, the monitor may simply be broken.

Low Refresh Rates for CRT Monitors

While the majority of new computer monitors being sold are now flat-panel LCD monitors, some CRT monitors are still in use. Low refresh rates (under 60Hz) can be perceived as a screen flicker. A refresh rate of 60Hz means that the screen is redrawn 60 times a second, and this may be too slow for many people. Increasing the refresh rate to 70-85Hz will eliminate the noticeable flicker.

Flat-panel LCD monitors use different technology, and will not have a noticeable flicker. The pixels of an LCD monitor do not need to redraw in the same way. And, while the backlight of an LCD monitor does need to refresh, it generally operates near 200Hz, well above any perceptible flickering threshold.

To change your monitor’s refresh rate, open your computer’s display control panel. On Microsoft Windows 7, right click the desktop and choose “Screen Resolution,” then click “Advanced Settings” and open the “Monitor” tab. Here you will be able to increase your screen refresh rate above 60Hz.

source: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/68377.aspx

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If you are a graphics professional you need accurate, predictable color. If you use an LCD display, then no matter how carefully you calibrate your display, you could have trouble seeing your work consistently.

The facts

The pixels in LCD panels work by passing polarized light through filter layers. To light up a pixel, the liquid crystal component in each pixel applies a ‘twist’ to the light after it passes through the first polarizing layer, making it able to pass through the second. Unlike CRT displays, where what you see is caused by the phosphor coating inside the glass tube being excited by electron beams, the light emitted from an LCD screen makes its way through multiple layers, channeled out through each pixel. This is the root cause of this technology’s biggest Achilles’ heel: view an LCD screen from straight on and you’ll see each pixel exactly as intended. But view it from far enough to one side – or above or below for that matter – and you won’t get the direct, face-on strength of the light beaming out of the pixels. To use a very crude analogy, it is a little like the difference between viewing a light at the base of a tube from face on or from off to one side. Only one viewpoint gets the full strength of the light as it shines out. The result is changes in the values of what’s shown on the screen depending on where you sit. This is clearly a disaster for color proofing, and something that no amount of calibration can help.

This problem has plagued LCD manufacturers for years, but the situation has improved immensely. The best modern LCD panels have all but eliminated this problem. Note the qualifier: the problem still exists, but at the top end of the market it is effectively negligible. Most decent modern displays are dramatically better than models from just a few years ago. In today’s desktop LCD screens at least you’re unlikely to see color and contrast inversions just by leaning to one side or looking down from a standing position, but you will still see a slight shift in hue and contrast if you move far enough away from straight on to the display. The problems now tend to show themselves as a minor contrast drop and a faint yellowing of whites instead. How far you have to move to see this is as critical a point as how much change there is, which is why most manufacturers give viewing angle specifications for their monitors. It is common to see figures of 140° or more, but this will be the point at which the display shows obvious, unmistakable changes rather than where visually critical users might first spot color drifts.

Older LCD screens had such a narrow field of view that merely leaning over a bit or just sitting up straight in the chair would produce obvious visual changes. This isn’t the case with newer displays, but it is worth noting that if you sit quite close to today’s larger panels your angle of view from one side to the other and from top to bottom can be great enough to produce colour shifts in objects simply though being in different parts of the screen. Although LCD technology is constantly improving, the increase in display sizes tends to make this somewhat of a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ situation, particularly with the very largest LCD panels now on offer. For example, despite using the the very best quality of LCD hardware available, this effect can still be seen in Apple’s 30in Cinema display. Making sure you sit at a reasonable distance from your screen can help reduce or even eliminate this, but it is something to remember if you do critical color work on your Mac.

Finally, make sure you keep everything in perspective. This shouldn’t be seen as a reason why you should stick with your old CRT if it is getting a bit long in the tooth. The unstoppable problem of phosphor aging means that CRTs will loose sharpness and brightness as time goes by, and a top-quality LCD will always beat all but the best CRTs.

ColorSync and color management

Calibration of LCD screens can’t be performed to the same degree as with CRT displays, but the best way to manage color lies more in the use of a well-managed color workflow. Use calibration hardware such as the Eye-One from Gretag Macbeth to produce full, accurate ColorSync profiles from your monitor’s display characteristics, then use those to define your display as part of your ColorSync settings. Once in place, ColorSync will manage how images are shown on that display, adjusting the presented appearance according to the particular slight variances in color presentation that the profile lists.

If you don’t have a hardware calibration device you can actually perform a limited calibration to produce a ColorSync profile with nothing but software and your own eyes. In the Displays pane in System Preferences, click the Color tab, then the Calibrate button and walk through the simple process. After making a few selections with sliders you can save and then select your new profile. Alternatively, SuperCal from bergdesign.com provides excellent display calibration including corrected gamma tables. Whichever route you choose, whether hardware-based or performed entirely in software, having an accurate ColorSync profile created specifically for your monitor is one of the keys to an efficient colour workflow.

source: http://www.thesmallest.com/lessonettes/lcdscreensandcol.html

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How to Compare LCD Monitors Based on Specifications To Find The Right One

With manufacturing improving, LCD panel sizes continue to get larger all while prices keep dropping. Retailers and manufacturers throw around a lot of numbers and terms to describe their products. So, how does one know what all these mean? This article looks to cover the basics so one can make an informed decision when buying an LCD monitor.

Screen Size

The screen size is the measurement of the displayable area of the screen from the lower corner to the opposite upper corner of the display. LCD’s typically gave their actual measurements but they are now rounding those numbers. Be sure to find the real dimensions typically referred to as the actual screen size the whenever looking at a LCD.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio refers to the number of horizontal pixels to vertical pixels in a display. Traditional displays used a 4:3 aspect ratio. Most new widescreen monitors use either a 16:10 or 16:9 aspect ratio. The 16:9 is the ratio typically used for HDTVs. Now a new breed of ultra wide monitors is coming to market. These have a near 2:1 width to high measurements.

Native Resolutions

All LCD screens can actually display only a single given resolution referred to as the native resolution. This is the physical number of horizontal and vertical pixels that make up the LCD matrix of the display. Setting a computer display to a resolution lower than this resolution will either cause extrapolation. This extrapolation attempts to blend multiple pixels together to produce a similar image to what you would see if the monitor were to display it at the given resolution but it can result in fuzzy images.

Here are some of the common native resolutions found in LCD monitors:

* 17-19″: 1280×1024 (SXGA)
* 20″+: 1600×1200 (UXGA)
* 17″ (Widescreen): 1280×800 (WXGA)
* 19″ (Widescreen): 1440×900 (WXGA+)
* 22″ (Widescreen): 1680×1050 (WSXGA+)
* 23.6″ (Widescreen): 1920×1080 (WUXGA)
* 23″ (Ultra-Widescreen): 2048×1152 (QWXGA)
* 24″ (Widescreen): 1920×1200 (WUXGA)
* 30″ (Widescreen): 2560×1600

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratios are a big marketing tool by the manufacturers and one that is not easy for consumers to grasp. Essentially, this is the measurement of the difference in brightness from the darkest to brightest portion on the screen. The problem is that this measurement will vary throughout the screen. This is due to the slight variations in the lighting behind the panel. Manufacturers will use the highest contrast ratio they can find on a screen, so it is somewhat deceptive. Basically a higher contrast ratio will mean that the screen will tend to have deeper blacks and brighter whites.

Color Gamut

Each LCD panel will vary slightly in how well they can reproduce color. When an LCD is being used for tasks that require a high level of color accuracy, it is important to find out what the panel’s color gamut is. This is a description that lets you know how wide a range of color the screen can display. The larger the percentage of NTSC, the greater level of color a monitor can display.

Response Times

In order to achieve the color on a pixel in an LCD panel, a current is applied to the crystals at that pixel to change the state of the crystals. Response times refer to the amount of time it takes for the crystals in the panel to move from an on to off state. A rising response time refers to the amount of time it takes to turn on the crystals and the falling time is the amount of time it takes for the crystals to move from an on to off state. Rising times tend to be very fast on LCDs, but the falling time tends to be much slower. This tends to cause a slight blurring effect on bright moving images on black backgrounds. The lower the response time, the less of a blurring effect there will be on the screen. Most response times now refer to a gray to gray rating that generates a lower time than the traditional full on to off state response times.

Viewing Angles

LCD’s produce their image by having a film that when a current runs through the pixel, it turns on that shade of color. The problem with the LCD film is that this color can only be accurately represented when viewed straight on. The further away from a perpendicular viewing angle, the color will tend to wash out. The LCD monitors are generally rated for their visible viewing angle for both horizontal and vertical. This is rated in degrees and is the arc of a semicircle whose center is at the perpendicular to the screen. A theoretical viewing angle of 180 degrees would mean that it is fully visible from any angle in front of the screen. A higher viewing angle is preferred over a lower angle unless you happen to want some security with your screen.

Connectors

Most LCD panels have an analog and a digital connector on them. The analog connector is the VGA or DSUB-15. The common digital interface is the DVI connector. This is a digital interface that is supposed to allow for a cleaner and brighter picture compared to standard VGA connectors. HDMI and DisplayPort are two other digital interfaces that are becoming common. Check to see what type of connector your video card can use before buying a monitor to ensure you get a compatible monitor. Some monitors may also come with home theater connectors including component, composite and S-video.

Stands

Many people don’t consider the stand when purchasing a monitor but it can make a huge difference. There are typically four different types of adjustment: height, tilt, swivel and pivot. Many less expensive monitors only feature the tilt adjustment. Height, tilt and swivel are generally the critical types of adjustments allowing for the greatest flexibility when using the monitor in the most ergonomic fashion.

source: http://compreviews.about.com/od/monitors/a/LCD-Monitor-Buyers-Guide.htm

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We always complain about relatively minor differences in performance between chipsets, motherboards and even CPUs yet very little attention is paid to one of the most important aspects of computing – video output quality.

Over the past few years, as 19″ and 21″ monitors have become more common users began noticing that the output from their video card wasn’t as clear as could be. Issues such as overly blurry text and an inability to read smaller fonts were present, and because they were present when running normal applications in Windows this was incorrectly referred to as poor “2D image quality.” We’re not exempt from the guilt, as we have performed our own subjective “2D image quality” tests of various graphics cards in the past – but bear in mind that these image quality issues affect all output from your video card, not only 2D windows.

To understand why this occurs you must understand that the connection between your video card and most monitors is still an analog connection. What do we mean when we say “analog?” While it is true that the underlying basis behind all digital circuitry is a collection of analog components, a digital system only understands two discreet values. When you transmit a 1 digitally you’ll get a 1 as your output, regardless of voltage fluctuations or any other phenomenon that occur during the transmission so long as the digital components can function properly. Whereas with an analog system, the possibility that a 1 could end up looking like a 0.935 or a 1.062 exists and thus introducing a level of uncertainty where the picture your video processor outputs won’t necessarily be the same was what you see on your monitor.

For example, imagine an analog connection between your keyboard and your computer. If the analog to digital converter on your computer’s side misinterpreted the signal coming from your keyboard, then typing an ‘h’ could very well come out as a ‘j’ on your screen. Similarly, the blurriness that may be present at higher resolutions isn’t what’s being outputted by your graphics chip. The data to be displayed on your screen leaves the video card’s frame buffer (memory) as digital data but before it can leave your video card it must go through a RAMDAC. The RAMDAC (Random Access Memory Digital to Analog Converter) converts the digital data into an analog signal and it used to be the culprit for poor image quality not too long ago. Today’s RAMDACs are much higher bandwidth and are of considerably higher quality, thus making quality loss because of the RAMDAC less of an issue than it once was.

After being processed through the RAMDAC the analog signal leaves the video card, through your VGA cable (another source for signal quality loss) and enters your monitor. The signal loss is compounded even further if you have a digital flat panel instead of a conventional analog CRT as the lower quality analog signal is then converted back to a digital form. It is this last stage that makes very little sense because just a few steps ago we were dealing with a completely digital signal leaving your video card’s frame buffer; this is where DVI comes in.

Today we’ll talk about the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) and how it is shaping up to eliminate these transmission problems when it comes to PC monitors. We’ll also be talking about DVI implementations in currently available video cards, as well as how to improve your present-day analog video output if it’s not so hot.

What is DVI?

Other than “that white connector on my video card that I’ve never used” DVI is a very important standard. Behind the standard is a group of companies that together form the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG), among the key players are Intel and Silicon Image, but we’ll address why they are key players later on.

The DDWG came to the realization of the same problem that we just outlined in our introduction where it makes no sense to convert digital data to analog just to eventually convert it back to a digital form. The purpose of the DVI spec was created mainly with the thought that displays would be moving towards the digital domain in the future. The fact that we’re still not all running digital flat panels is a very good reason for why we all aren’t as familiar with DVI as we should be.

The specification is relatively simple to understand; data is transmitted using what is known as the transition minimized differential signaling (TMDS) protocol. This serial encoding protocol is what is used to transmit data over a DVI connection and it was created by Silicon Image; it shouldn’t be a surprise that when it comes to TMDS transmitters, Silicon Image ICs are used much more frequently than any others. The DVI specification calls for at least one TMDS “link” which consists of three data channels (RGB) and one clock control channel.

According to the DVI specification, a TMDS link may operate at up to 165MHz. A single 10-bit TMDS link offers 1.65Gbps of bandwidth which is enough for a 1920 x 1080 resolution refreshed at 60Hz on a digital flat panel. The maximum resolution depends on the amount of bandwidth required to display the resolution as well as the efficiency of the device it’s being sent to. This is beyond the scope of this article but it’s worth noting that there are differences between the maximum attainable resolutions on various display technologies.

In order to keep the specification as flexible as possible, a second TMDS link may be used. This link must operate at the same frequency as the primary link, meaning that in order to obtain 2Gbps of bandwidth each link must operate at 100MHz (100MHz x 2 x 10-bits).

It is mainly because of its high-bandwidth abilities that DVI was the standard that emerged victorious among all of the competing solutions.

DVI-I vs. DVI-D

Another benefit, albeit very infrequently utilized, of the DVI specification is the ability to support both analog and digital connections on a single interface. The DVI connector can be seen below:

On the left you’ll notice 3 rows of 8 pins each; these 24 pins are the only pins required to transmit the three digital channels and one clock signal. The crosshair arrangement on the right is actually a total of 5 pins that can transmit an analog video signal.

This is where the specification divides itself in two; the DVI-D connector features only the 24-pins necessary for purely digital operation while a DVI-I connector features both the 24 digital pins and the 5 analog pins. Officially there is no such thing as a DVI-A analog connector with only the 5 analog pins although some literature may indicate otherwise. By far, the vast majority of graphics cards with DVI support feature DVI-I connectors.

The idea behind the universal nature of this connector is that it could eventually replace the 15-pin VGA connector we’re all used to as it can support both analog and digital monitors.
What to do about scaling?

A major problem when dealing with digital flat panels (the primary market for the DVI spec) is that they have a fixed “native” resolution that they can properly display at. Since there are a fixed number of pixels on the screen itself, attempting to display a higher than native resolution on the screen is impossible.

It is quite often however that a lower resolution will be displayed on the screen; case in point would be the Apple 22″ Cinema Display monitor with a native resolution of 1600 x 1024. Playing a game at that resolution would be silly not to mention that most games don’t even support such odd ratio resolutions, and thus you’d have to play at 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024. The problem with this is that the image must now be scaled to properly be displayed on the screen.

It used to be that scaling was not even considered an important matter and was left ignored but as digital flat panels increased in popularity it became something that manufacturers worried about. The DVI specification places the duty of properly scaling and filtering non-native resolutions where it should lie, on the monitor manufacturer’s shoulders. So any monitor that is fully DVI compliant should handle all scaling/filtering itself and obtaining a relatively nice scaling algorithm is not too difficult meaning there shouldn’t be much difference between monitors in this respect (although we’re sure there will inevitably be some).

Final Words: What to do until DVI – Improving Image Quality on NVIDIA cards

Instead of closing on a “it’ll be great once everything uses DVI” quote, we’ll leave you on a more practical note. There are many downsides to being the most popular graphics card manufacturer on the planet, and for NVIDIA one of those happens to be that they cannot strictly control and monitor the production of all boards that carry their name. By allowing third party manufacturers (such as ASUS, Chaintech, Gainward, Visiontek, etc…) to produce boards for them, NVIDIA is leaving the role of quality control in the hands of their manufacturers. For the most part, because of the reference designs that NVIDIA provides there are relatively few problems with these third party boards. One of the relatively few problems that do exist is the issue of image quality.

In order to maintain FCC compliance, a low-pass filter is placed just before the analog video output on all cards. A low-pass filter is nothing more than a filter that allows frequencies lower than a certain point to pass through, effectively filtering out all higher frequencies that are not necessary to maintaining the quality of the output signal.

The problem with NVIDIA cards arises when a third party manufacturer’s low-pass filter filters out some of the important frequencies as well as those that aren’t needed. It is unlikely that the capacitors and inductors that make up the low-pass filter are deliberately chosen to be of poor quality, rather the rating of the components is not up to par with what NVIDIA’s specifications call for. Another possibility is that when these third party manufacturers purchase the components for these filters some end up being of higher quality than others. This would explain the seemingly sporadic nature of what cards in particular have these image quality issues. Regardless of what the reason behind the low-pass filter causing these issues, there is a quick and dirty fix for the problem – remove the low-pass filter.

Note that by removing the low-pass filter you will be voiding your warranty on your card and we cannot be held responsible for any damage done to your card. With that out of the way, the process is actually very simple. On all NVIDIA reference designs since the original GeForce, the low-pass filter is readily identifiable by 3 sets of 3 capacitors connected in parallel with 2 sets of 3 inductors in series near the VGA output connector. The 3 sets are for the 3 components of the RGB signal being sent to your monitor – red, green, and blue. Most board designs also offer a set of protection diodes as well although not all of these components will be found on all boards.

On this GeForce2 Pro, the cyan boxes enclose the 3 sets of 3 capacitors. These capacitors must be clipped off. From left to right you can see the first column of capacitors, then a column of inductors, the second column of capacitors, then a column of protection diodes, another column of inductors and the final column of capacitors.

On GeForce3 boards with a DVI-I connector, the low-pass filter is located near the DVI-I connector. If there is no DVI-I connector present then you’ll find the filter components either near the VGA output or where the DVI output would be located if it were included.

This Visiontek GeForce3 Ti 500 already has one column of capacitors removed (red box), so it’s no surprise that it also has very good image quality. These capacitors are located near the DVI connector on the board. When you’ve clipped the capacitors all that should remain is what you see in the red box above.

The fix is accomplished by merely clipping off the 9 capacitors using a pair of needle nose pliers; this won’t harm the board if done properly. The end result depends on how bad the image quality of your card was prior to the mod. We have seen results ranging from virtually no change at all to a dramatic improvement, even on a card that had pretty crisp output to begin with.

To completely remove the low pass filter, you’d want to short the inductors to bypass those as well. Our experience has shown that this considerably more complicated procedure has yielded diminishing returns once the capacitors have been removed.

Again by removing this filter you are allowing higher frequencies to pass through that normally wouldn’t which could cause interference with other devices, although it’s highly unlikely.

Why is this mod not necessary on ATI and Matrox cards? Until recently both ATI and Matrox manufactured all boards based on their chips by themselves and thus had very strict control over all component sourcing. We have yet to see whether ATI’s decision to allow third party manufacturers to produce ATI graphics cards will result in the same issues end users face with image quality on NVIDIA cards.

Eventually worrying about image quality loss as a result of poor RAMDACs or subpar low-pass filters will be a thing of the past and the DVI standard will help to ensure that.

source: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=1577&p=1

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Cathode Ray Tube or CRT monitors are the oldest form of display for PC computer systems. Many of the earliest computers had their displays output to a standard composite video signal to be displayed on a regular TV. As time progressed, so did the level of technology used for computer displays. With the advent of LCD flat screen monitors, the days of the CRT monitor are numbered except for specialized applications.

However, few users today even know how to select a CRT monitor, so here is a quick refresher course for you!

Monitor Size and Viewable Area

All CRT monitors are sold based on their screen size. This is typically listed based on the diagonal measurement from the lower corner to the opposite side upper corner of the screen in inches. However, the monitor size does not translate into the actual display size. The monitors tube is generally partially covered by the external casing of the screen. In addition, the tube generally cannot project an image to the edges of the full size tube. As such, you really want to look at the viewable area measurement given by the manufacturer. Typically the viewable or visible area of the monitor will be approximately .9 to 1.2 inches smaller than the tube diagonal.

Resolution

All CRT monitors now are referred to as multisync monitors. The monitor is able to adjust the electron beam such that it is capable of displaying multiple resolutions at varying refresh rates. Here is a listing of some of the more commonly used resolutions along with the acronym for that resolution:

* SVGA = 800×600
* XGA = 1024×768
* SXGA = 1280×1024
* UXGA = 1600×1200

There are a wide variety of resolutions available in between these standard resolutions that can also be used by the monitor. The average 17″ CRT should be able to easily do the SXGA resolution and may even be able to reach the UXGA. Any 21″ or larger CRT should be able to do UXGA and higher.

Refresh Rates

The refresh rate refers to the number of times the monitor can pass the beam over the full area of the display. This rate can vary widely depending upon the settings the user has on their computer and what the video card that is driving the display is capable of. All refresh ratings by manufacturers tend to list the maximum refresh rate at a given resolution. This number is listed in Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. For example, a monitor spec sheet may list something like 1280×1024@100Hz. This means that the monitor is capable of scanning the screen 100 times per second at the 1280×1024 resolution.

So why does refresh rate matter? Viewing a CRT display over long periods of time can cause eye fatigue. Monitors running at low refresh rates will cause this fatigue in a shorter amount of time. Typically, it is best to try and get a display that will display at 75 Hz or better at the desired resolution. 60 Hz is considered the minimum and is the typical default refresh rate for video drivers and monitors in Windows.

Dot Pitch

Many manufacturers and retailers tend to not list the dot pitch ratings anymore. This rating refers to the size of a given pixel on the screen in millimeters. This tended to be a problem in past years as screens that attempted to do high resolutions with large dot pitch ratings tended to have a fuzzy image because of the color bleeding between pixels on the screen. Lower dot pitch ratings are preferred as it gives the display greater image clarity. Most ratings for this will be between .21 and .28 mm with most screens having an average rating of about .25 mm.

Cabinet Size

One area that most consumers tend to overlook when purchasing a CRT monitor is the size of the cabinet. CRT monitors tend to be very bulky and heavy and if you have a limited amount of desk space, you will likely be limited to the size of monitor that you can fit in the given space. This is particularly important for the depth of the monitor. Many computer workstations and desks tend to have shelves that fit around the monitor that also have a back panel. Large monitors in such an environment can force the monitor extremely close to the user or restrict the keyboard usage.

Screen Contour

CRT displays now have a wide variety of contours to the front of the screen or tube. Original tubes similar to TV sets had a rounded surface to make is easier for the scanning electron beam to provide a clear image. As technology progressed, flat screens arrived which still had the contour on the left and right but a flat surface vertically. Now CRT monitors are available with perfectly flat screens for both horizontal and vertical surfaces. So, what does the contour matter? Rounded screen surfaces tend to reflect more light causing a glare on the screen. Similar to low refresh rates, large amounts of glare on a computer screen increases the amount of eye fatigue.

source: http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/CRTSpecs.htm

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When it comes to PC performance, few people demand more power than gamers. Keeping up with developers who are constantly pushing hardware to its limits requires the best system possible, specifically tailored to peak every bit of performance it possibly can.

Unfortunately for buyers, this means a gaming PC can not really have a weakness. While the most important component is definitely the graphics card, you can not neglect other areas. If you are lacking in CPU or RAM power then you will find your PC bottlenecking at those parts and you will not be able to make the most of your card.

If you are on a tight budget however, there are certain shortcuts you can take to reduce the cost, including a cheaper monitor, mouse and a wise selection of other components. This guide will cover these shortcuts and also options for the hardcore enthusiast who wants to squeeze every frame per second out of their games.

Packages

A gaming PC

The gaming PC market is growing rapidly. Gamers are one of the few groups of people who are willing to spend more than $3000 on a PC to ensure they get the maximum possible performance. Originally this market was only catered for by small niche companies who produced high end PCs targeted specifically at the gaming sector; however in recent times sales of these PCs have increased dramatically and larger companies are beginning to mount an assault on the market.

There are two distinct ways you can purchase a gaming PC. Many companies offer traditional PC packages aimed towards gamers, which come with a predefined collection of components and hardware. Most retailers in Australia that offer these have several different options, ranging in price and performance that cater to different markets. Alternatively, many companies offer a range of customisable parts, sometimes grouped within different price brackets which give you more freedom but also allow room for error. Be sure to carefully read up on the parts you are purchasing if you select the latter option, to make sure everything is compatible and suits your needs.

The hardware

Whatever option you choose, you will need to make up your mind about which individual hardware configuration would best suit you. It is likely that any pre-built gaming PC you purchase will be able to adequately play most games, but knowing how different components relate to different needs will help you can maximise your PC’s effectiveness.

When buying a gaming PC, there are a large number of factors to take into consideration, but the most important are graphics card, memory and CPU in that order. There are also important peripheral considerations such as mouse, headphones and sound cards.

Graphics card

An ATI x800 graphics card

The graphics card is probably the most important element in creating a successful gaming PC. Very few other functions test your graphics card as much as a modern game. As a result, this is the area in which you should find yourself spending the most money.

There are two main competitors in this area, ATI and NVIDIA, who licence their GPU technology out to other companies. Neither is considered greatly ahead of the other in terms of game performance, although NVIDIA has recently released a new generation of cards, the 7800 range, which ATI has yet to respond to. At the moment many games are CPU limited, which means the power of your CPU will often be the factor that limits how well a game performs. This does not allow some high end cards to reach their full potential, but if you buy a high end system it should be capable of handling the most powerful card on the market. This may change in the coming months with the release of ATI’S R520 core, but no concrete specifications have been released.

There are a few things to look out for in a good graphics card, particularly DirectX 9 support and a reasonable quantity of memory. DirectX 9 is a system used by developers to render graphics and is used in the majority of modern, graphically intensive games, so this support is vital. These games also require a large quantity of memory bandwidth to operate within so you should aim for a card with a minimum of 128 megabytes of RAM. Most modern cards will have this, as well as support DirectX 9, but it is worthwhile to check. Graphics card memory comes in the same amounts as regular memory. Some of the common configurations include:

* 32 megabytes (older cards, two or three generations back)
* 64 megabytes (two generations back)
* 128 megabytes (last generation)
* 256 megabytes (last generation and this generation)
* 512 megabytes (next generation)

The absolute minimum you should spend on a gaming card is about $250-$350. This will get you either an NVIDIA 6600GT or an ATI x800, both of which will run modern games comfortably on medium to low settings. These cards are excellent value for money, and should definitely be part of a budget gaming system.

There are some great bargains at the higher end of the spectrum too. With the release of the 7800 range, prices are being driven downwards. The NVIDIA 6800GT and the Radeon x800xl are both hovering around the $500-$600 mark at the moment, and will hopefully drop in the near future. They can both run any game on the market with moderate to high settings and will please all but the most hardcore gamer.

Memory and GPU clock speeds are the primary factors in gaming performance and generally the higher these speeds are, the faster the card is. The pixel shader technology the card incorporates is important if you’re playing very modern games as this technology comes into play a lot. The number of pipelines is also important as these are the channels that convert the image from the card to your screen, so the more the better. Modern cards run at 16 or 24 pipelines, but an 8 pipeline card would probably suffice if you are on a budget.

One other option to consider is an SLI setup, which involves running two cards together to share the load, which increases performance by 30% or more. It only works with select cards such as the 6600GT or the 6800 Ultra and requires a specially designed motherboard with multiple PCI-E slots. Computer enthusiasts will relish the extra grunt, but for most situations a single high end card is more than enough. ATI are coming out with competing technology called Crossfire in the coming months, which purports even higher performance increases.

Most pre-built gaming systems will come with a quality graphics card because companies recognise this is vital to a great gaming experience. Pay attention to the brand however, as different brands have different strengths and weaknesses. Some clock their card at slightly higher rates, offer extras such as games and software, have DVI or TV-out connections, or offer overclocking warranties for that extra bit of power. You can squeeze a little extra out of your system with cards like this, which is great if you are on a budget, but you may also be paying extra for things you don’t want or need, such as useless software and outdated games. It is worth putting a bit of research into such a vital part of your gaming system.

Memory

The importance of memory when gaming cannot be underestimated. When it comes to basic PC use, web browsing, word processing, emailing etc, memory does not really factor in a great deal. When running complicated applications or games however, you will quickly find your system slowing down and will need to create virtual memory on the hard disk if you are not adequately prepared.

You can see our memory guide for a more detailed explanation of how memory works and what the different terminology means, but like anything in the computer world, higher numbers are better. Any gaming system you purchase will use DDR RAM now, with some utilising the faster DDR2 variation.

The minimum you can get away with in modern games is 512MB, but with windows XP using a large chunk of that, 1GB is definitely preferred. You can pick up 1GB of RAM for under $180 now, with prices really bottoming out, so it costs almost nothing to give your system a real shot in the arm. Some recent games such as Battlefield 2 will struggle even with that quantity and will perform better with 2 GB, which will set you back about $350-$400. RAM is the least expensive way to give your system a real boost and if you stick with 1GB, you can always purchase another 1GB stick later to increase performance.

PC3200 is the standard high end RAM, running at 400Mhz it gives plenty of grunt and is definitely one of the best options. There are RAMs that are clocked higher (such as PC3500, 3700 and 4000), but they are only really useful if you are an overclocker or a gaming enthusiast.

Similarly, DDR2, while boasting bigger and better numbers, is not currently much better than regular DDR, as systems and programs are not made to take full advantage of it. It currently boasts negligible gains over its predecessor. Like 64 bit technology, DDR2 will shine once programs catch up. It could be a worthwhile investment if you are building specifically for the future, but everybody apart from overclockers should be fine with PC3200.

CPU

The processor is the central part of any PC, controlling the majority of operations going on at any one time. Different games draw more on different parts of the PC with many being CPU intensive, so you a need a mid to high end CPU to run modern games at a comfortable level. We would recommend a CPU with a rating of at least 3.0GHz on the Pentium scale (or a 3000+ on the AMD scale) as being the absolute minimum required.

However, with the release of dual core technology and developments in high end chips (such as the Athlon FX57 and Intel’s Extreme Edition releases), mid range chips around the 3.5ghz mark are rapidly becoming more affordable, and should be strongly considered even if you are on a budget. They will give a much needed performance boost for comparatively little money.

For the games enthusiast, chips can be acquired that are clocked at over 4.8GHz, but they come with hefty price tags, often in the $1400-$1500 range. If you are looking at spending that sort of money, it may be worthwhile to consider a dual core processor, which is discussed below. A single core powerhouse might be better on current games, but some future releases may benefit from the new technology.

64 bit processors are becoming the standard these days and with good reason. 64 bit computing, while not yet readily used and available, offers a huge performance increase, and although you can spend less to get a high end 32 bit chip, you’ll be missing out by the end of 2005 when the technology really takes off.

With the current generation of chips, AMD seems to have the advantage in terms of gaming performance. The architecture of their socket 939 chips has shown greater performance in gaming benchmarks than comparable Intel chips (or socket 754 AMD chips) which makes it the best choice for the hardcore gamer who is not interested in other applications. Intel’s hyperthreading technology means it shines in other areas, such as multi-tasking. So if your machine is intended for other functions besides gaming, be sure to take this into account.

Both companies now produce dual core CPUs as well, which makes the decision process more complicated again. These chips essentially take two CPU cores and link them together on a single chip, offering increased processing power. Their primary strength is in multi tasking, which is not a big concern for the current generation of games; however much like 64 bit technology, future releases will incorporate and take advantage of these developments, and so they are worthwhile in the long term. They do cost quite a bit more than normal chips, coming in at over $1000 in most instances and so are only viable for the hardcore gamer.

Motherboard

While your motherboard is a vital component in any PC, the quality of the motherboard won’t offer much to your gaming experience. The motherboard is the component which all the other pieces of hardware plug into. It is the medium through which your various pieces talk to each other. Thus you need a reliable board, but it’s not something you can really use to squeeze extra performance out of your system.

With this in mind, the main selling point of a motherboard is going to be its extras. These include things like RAID support, firewire support and built in network support. Most of these won’t be particularly relevant to gaming. However there are exceptions, specifically PCI-E support. PCI-E stands for PCI Express, which is a new technology being phased in to replace AGP. It offers faster data transmission than its predecessor and motherboards are increasingly being released that support it. All graphics cards will either be PCI-E or AGP so we strongly recommend purchasing a system with PCI-E support. It’s the technology of the future and if you’re buying a new system there is no reason not to upgrade to it as there is virtually no price difference and a year from now it will be the standard format (Nvidia have already begun to ignore AGP with their latest card, the 7800). SLI is another technology that is worth considering, but that will be covered in more depth further on in the guide.

Another element that may be important is the overclocking options of the board. While the CPU itself is an obvious limitation on how far it can be overclocked, different motherboards offer different overclocking options, such as FSB, multiplier and voltage control. Some will overclock the same chip better than others. This is only important for the computer enthusiasts who want to get the most out of their system and for most purposes the majority of motherboards will perform the same.

Soundcard

Depending on who you ask, the soundcard is either the be all and end all of a system or, totally irrelevant. With regards to a gaming system, it depends on the sort of games you play. A competitive first person shooter for example, often requires stealth so the sound of footsteps and gunfire is vital to locating and dealing with opponents. In action and horror style games, sound helps create atmosphere and mood to immerse you in the game. If you play more racing and strategy games however, sound might not be so vital. It is background and somewhat token, as opposed to vital to the gaming experience. So depending on the purposes of the machine, your sound card needs will differ.

For most gaming purposes a standard 5.1 surround sound card will be more than ample. You could spend several hundred dollars on a high end card and hardly notice a difference in game. Expensive sound cards are largely targeted at an audiophile market, or sound and video editors who require crystal clarity in their audio applications. As long as you stay away from onboard sound (which no gaming PC should come with anyway) and purchase a good pair of headphones (discussed below) then your games should sound great.

Cooling

A PC case fan

Most PCs come with basic cooling. Increases in technology have meant that modern CPUs and graphics cards typically run at higher temperatures than their predecessors so most systems have a CPU fan and a heat sink or two to help ease the load. Gaming PCs are no exceptions to this; however some do come with added cooling features which are worth noting.

If you are an avid PC user, and are interested in trying to overclock your system, then extra cooling might be just the thing you need to push it that little bit further. A few more powerful fans in the right places can do wonders. Most vendors stock higher quality third party fans for cases, CPUs and graphics cards, so do a little investigation and choose the combination you think fits best. You can buy some extremely powerful heatsinks designed to allow you to push your system to its limits, but these can cost in excess of a few hundred dollars.

Alternatively, you could take it a step further with water cooling. Not as dangerous as it sounds, water cooling involves pumping water through small pipes placed against hotspots in your system. The water cools down vital system components and is considerably more effective than air cooling. It does come at a cost, but it is not out of reach with a basic setup being available for about $300. Some retailers might even help set it up if you decide to enquire about it, so be sure to ask.

There are other methods of cooling out there, including phase cooling (which uses refrigeration techniques) and several types that involve chemical combinations, but they are often unstable and only available from retailers that focus on extreme cooling.

Extra cooling is only necessary if you intend to push your PC past the standard limits. You can boost your performance if you know what you are doing but it can be dangerous. Hardware can be damaged or completely ruined if you push it too far, so overclock at your own risk.

Other pieces

There are other elements to a PC that are less vital to gaming, such as hard drives, DVD burners and floppy drives. You can tailor the amount of disk space, and the types of drives you want to your needs. Most gaming PCs should already come with a basic CD-Rom and probably DVD drive, as well as a reasonable quantity of hard disk space (50-100GB).

You may also need to consider the network card that comes with the system if online play is important to you. Most PCs will come with broadband enabled cards out of the box these days, but it’s worth checking to be safe. A standard 10GB card will be fine for gaming over a LAN, but you may wish to pursue a more powerful 100GB connection if speed is your thing.

Peripherals

In addition to what’s in your box, exterior peripherals are equally important for a proper gaming experience.

Case

Not necessarily a peripheral in the traditional sense, some companies that specialise in gaming PCs like to make their cases a little more aesthetically pleasing than normal. While this does not have an impact on the way you play games, some people make a hobby out of modifying their case with windows, LCD lights and other setups. This is not a big concern for most people, but if you take your PC to LANs (events where many people bring their PCs to network up and play games) then the look of your PC may be important.

Monitor

An LCD monitor

For many people, the monitor is one of the most important parts of their computer. It is the vessel through which you view the thousands of dollars you’ve spent on your system already, so it’s logical to buy a decent one. While it won’t actually improve your game play much, playing a modern game with all the settings cranked up on a 19 inch screen is a great experience.

The main choice is between LCD and CRT. Originally LCDs suffered from a “ghosting” effect, where fast movements in game would lead to a blurring that made it difficult to see. This was particularly evident in first person shooters and other fast paced games. Thus, CRT monitors have been the favourite amongst gamers.

Recent LCD technology however, has drastically reduced the response time of the monitors. Now you can buy 12ms (millisecond) or 8ms LCD screens which have virtually no blurring. A few things to note about LCDs

Pros:

* They have a wider viewing area than CRTs (a 19 inch LCD is bigger than a 19 inch CRT.)
* They are easier on the eyes.
* They are lighter, which is a big factor if you go to a lot of LANs.
* With DVI input you can avoid any loss of quality when converting from analog to digital (as is popular with CRTs.)

Cons:

* There are still some minor ghosting issues (not enough to really be noticeable).
* They have a native resolution (which means you must play in that resolution to get the best image quality); this is typically 1280×1024, which is not small by anyone’s standards.

At this stage of development it comes down to personal preference. The LCD ghosting is all but gone from modern monitors, but if you go down that road be sure the monitor the computer comes with has an adequate response time for gaming (12ms minimum, 8ms preferred). LCD is definitely the technology of the future, but at the moment the differences are quite negligible. CRTs however can be bought cheaper than LCDs, so if you are on a tight budget that is probably the way to go.

Mouse and mouse pad

A greatly underestimated part of your gaming setup, many games rely on quick mouse reflexes and accurate responses, so a quality mouse is crucial. Regardless of whether you’re shooting down enemies or quickly managing large numbers of troops, a good quality mouse will improve your game play dramatically. Optical mice have basically taken over from ball mice, with technology having developed to the point where they are skip-free on all but the lightest, shiniest surfaces. They work by having a tiny camera that takes hundreds of pictures of the surface and uses them to work out how far the mouse has moved.

There are a number of choices in this market, ranging from laser mice to wireless mice. Many wireless mice suffer from response problems which are not noticeable during everyday office applications, but can become a pain when gaming. More recent developments seem to have this under control, but it is worth asking to test the mouse you wish to buy, just in case.

Pay attention to the DPI of the mouse you are getting, as that indicates the quality of the camera present and the number of shots it takes. The higher the number, the more accurate the mouse is. Some gaming mice have as high as 2000 DPI, while basic desktop opticals clock in at a mere 200 or 400. Typically a good quality mouse will set you back $80-$100, and will last several years if kept in good condition.

A Funcpad mousepad

To go with your mouse you need a good quality mousepad. While you may think the $2 pad that came with a game is a suitable surface to play on, many game enthusiasts would tell you differently. There are a number of well known gaming pads, ranging from cloth through to glass, metal and plastic. Some are specially created by professional gamers, others by individual companies that focus on gaming mice and accessories. Do a little research and find the surface that is right for you.

Keyboard

The quality of your keyboard is much less of a factor. As long as it is comfortable and functional it won’t really have an impact upon how you play. There are several gaming specific keyboards available, but they are generally acknowledged as being inferior to a regular setup, as their layout is unwieldy and in attempting to enhance gaming options become useless for anything else. There are also several wireless keyboards, which are a viable consideration if you are trying to minimise your cords. There are a few known problems with response times (as with wireless mice) so try to use one before you buy it if taking this path.

Headphones

While many home PC users enjoy the surround sound associated with a speaker setup, competitive gamers swear by headphones as their preferred audio source. As with sound cards, the importance of the sound depends on the type of games you play. With first person shooters for example, the ability to precisely locate the source of a sound is enhanced by the use of headphones and you can achieve the sort of immersion that comes from an expensive speaker setup for a fraction of the cost.

They are also very useful if you attend a lot of LANs, as speakers are prohibited at such events. Similarly, living with other people or in a small space, you can play your games as loud as you want without worrying about disturbing your room mates.

Most computers will not come with headphones as standard so it will be something you have to pursue as an extra or from a different company. You can get a good pair of headphones for around $80-$100, but the quality continues to increase the more you spend. If you enjoy listening to music while you game, spending a little more for a better listening experience can be well worth it.

Price

If you are looking at pre-packaged systems, one thing to do before buying is price the individual components to get a rough idea of what you are paying for. A quality gaming PC will never be cheap, with a full budget system setting you back around $2000. For a high end experience you will be looking at over $3000, with extremes available for over $5000-$6000.

That said some companies may place an exorbitant premium on their systems simply for the job of piecing them together. If you check the rough market price of the individual components that make up your package you will get a rough idea of what you should be paying and any great disparities will become obvious.

source: http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/190248/gaming_pcs

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Introduction

LCD Monitors – Now ripe for gamers and movie buffs!

Many of us have been toying with the idea of switching to LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors completely but a couple of drawbacks of LCD technology have always come in the way as a hurdle. One being its response time and the other being colour purity. The first is of utmost importance to the gamer and the second to those who work on photo editing software. The gamer needs the monitor to have very fast response time otherwise ghosting effects or in other words trailing effects become evident, which until yesterday had plagued the LCD monitors. Not anymore.

Most of the manufacturers have come up with very fast response times and gamers can now consider buying an LCD monitor. As far as photo editing goes, there are some of us who still have to rely on the CRT monitors since the ultimate colour purity that the CRT offers for editing colours cannot be had in an LCD monitor. This colour purity issue may have already been addressed in the manufacturer’s labs but a commercially viable product which an average Joe can afford has not yet hit the market. However if you are a gamer and were waiting for the technology to take off, read on!

The gamers needs have been adequately addressed as the LCD monitors available in the market have very fast response times – as low as 12 ms and getting better. These response times are fast enough to even satisfy die hard gamers who want the best and are not willing to compromise.

LCD Monitors vs CRT Monitors

Important Points to consider when choosing an LCD Monitor

Most of the manufacturers have come up with very fast response times and gamers can now consider buying an LCD monitor. As far as photo editing goes, there are some of us who still have to rely on the CRT monitors since the ultimate colour purity that the CRT offers for editing colours cannot be had in an LCD monitor. This colour purity issue may have already been addressed in the manufacturer’s labs but a commercially viable product which an average Joe can afford has not yet hit the market. However if you are a gamer and were waiting for the technology to take off, read on!

The gamers needs have been adequately addressed as the LCD monitors available in the market have very fast response times – as low as 12 ms and getting better. These response times are fast enough to even satisfy die hard gamers who want the best and are not willing to compromise.

LCD Monitors vs CRT Monitors

Important Points to consider when choosing an LCD Monitor

There are many other aspects which differentiate the two technologies so let’s take a peek and see what one must consider when shopping for an LCD monitor and which type has an advantage over the other.

Aesthetics: LCD monitors are aesthetically very pleasing to the eye being slim and stylish. There is no comparison with the CRT here. The current breed of LCD monitors has excellent colour combinations, and neat looking control panels. The weight of the LCD monitors is roughly 6-8 lbs for 15 inch models and slightly more for the 17 inch ones. Since it is very light it can be handled very comfortably even by a lady. Some manufacturers have come up with an outboard power supply thus reducing the thickness of the panel which now can be had at less than an inch!

Angle of view: Although the CRT monitors lead the way in this department, the viewing angle on LCD monitors is getting wider and wider and current models offer over 160 degrees. For all practical purposes that is more than sufficient for any user. Therefore the angle of view is not a major concern anymore as it used to be when LCD monitors initially emerged in the marketplace.

Colour Purity: This is where the CRT monitors take a clear advantage. However the best LCD monitors are very good and for an average user the difference is hardly noticeable in side by side comparison. The difference can vary from slight to significant depending on the quality of the LCD monitor used in comparison.

Contrast: Traditionally the CRT monitors always had better contrast and LCD monitors were lagging behind. Recently some of the best LCD monitors have come very close and according to some they match what the CRT is capable of in terms of contrast. This aspect of the monitor helps in correct tonal characteristics in low light situations. A high contrast monitor is likely to produce black as black rather than dark grey. High contrast is most important for gaming and movie playback.

Dead Pixels: What are Dead Pixels? Dead Pixels are simply pixels on the LCD monitors that do not function. Dead Pixels are not repairable hence they stay there for good. Dead Pixels can easily be identified in programs with white background; you can spot them in the same place every time you switch on your system. In the early days the issue of dead pixels on LCD monitors was a big one confronting most of the manufacturers, however, the manufacturing practices have greatly improved over time and dead pixel issue is very much controlled based on the experience gained. Still many manufacturers themselves are confused as to the Warranty Policies they need to enact for replacement of those monitors with dead pixels. The top manufacturers have no problem replacing the monitor within the warranty period. So when shopping for an LCD monitor check the dead pixel policy indicated in the warranty. Also check for dead pixels once you install it in your system. If you spot a dead pixel within the warranty period get a replacement.

Energy Requirements: LCD monitors are extremely economical when it comes to power consumption. Their consumption is in the region of 25 -50 watts compared to CRT which consume like 60-80 watts for a 15 inch model to almost 70 to 150 for 17 and 19 inch models.

Image Brightness: LCD Monitors win hands down in this department. They offer almost twice the brightness compared to the CRT monitor. If you use the system in a brightly lit room or with plenty of sunshine coming through the window LCD is the best choice.

Magnetic Interference: Again the CRT looses out in this department too. LCD monitors are not affected by the magnetic interference at all. Many of the LCD monitors come with stereo speakers built-in and need not be shielded for magnetic interference. Shielding the speakers makes them very costly, thus the savings can be either passed on to the consumer or spent by manufacturer elsewhere in a more effective way.

Response Time: As mentioned in the beginning of this article the response time of the LCD monitor is crucial for the gamers and movie buffs. Response time refers to updating of the pixel colours. Ghosting or trailing effects start to become evident when the response time slows down to 20 ms. One should definitely look for monitors offering 16ms or even 12 ms response time. We may even see monitors in near future with response times in single digits!

Screen Flicker: One of the most annoying things on the CRT monitor which we all had to suffer was the flickering effect, in other words the low refresh rates. This contributed towards headaches which users experienced on a daily basis. This aspect was also responsible for lower productivity. CRT does not have an advantage when it comes to the flickering effect. By default windows always sets the refresh rate at 60 Hz, until you install your monitor and it detects the configuration file and sets the refresh rate based on factory setting of the monitor in question. The VESA standard states that the minimum refresh rate to avoid eye strain is 72 Hz. Some of the good CRT monitors can go much higher. Ideally a refresh rate of 85 Hz should be OK for most people using 17 inch monitors. Due to difference in technology the LCD Monitors are clear winners as refresh rate is not an issue with them. Normally you get a choice of two different refresh rates on the LCD monitor but it is best to go with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Conclusion

The final word…

A quality LCD monitor nowadays is very much affordable, you certainly get your moneys worth, unlike a couple of years back when the prices were still on the higher side and the quality was nothing to write home about.

The CRT was king in all the departments. Maybe Not anymore!

source: http://www.pcreview.co.uk/articles/Consumer-Advice/LCD_vs_CRT/

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