LCDs

[Mithosphere]

So i have been looking at LCDs, and wondering whats the difference between a regular LCD tv and an LCD monitor? Cause if possible im thinking i should just go ahead and buy a larger LCD when they come down in price when i build a new computer

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Mithosphere

So i have been looking at LCDs, and wondering whats the difference between a regular LCD tv and an LCD monitor? Cause if possible im thinking i should just go ahead and buy a larger LCD when they come down in price when i build a new computer

LCD TV's normally have a rather low resolution compared to the size (in inches).
LCD monitors have a higher resolution for their size (also in inches).

For example, some 32inch Dell LCD TV will sport 1366x768 resolution.
And LCD monitor that size will sport 1920x1200 resolution.

So tecnically speaking, if you get an LCD TV you're not always getting more real-estate. ;) The icons will be bigger than before, that's all.

[Quakindude]

Bigger isn't always better in this department. It's awesome to breing home that 20" LCD you've been wanting. Your joy quickly turns to a chitty attitude when your FX5900 pukes on it.

Cliff's notes: If you can't afford a new video card with your bigger monitor, reassess your purchasing decisions.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

Bigger isn't always better in this department. It's awesome to breing home that 20" LCD you've been wanting. Your joy quickly turns to a chitty attitude when your FX5900 pukes on it.

Cliff's notes: If you can't afford a new video card with your bigger monitor, reassess your purchasing decisions.

An ATI Radeon 9250 brand PowerColor is enough to run Windows on a 1680x1050 monitor, but don't hope to game with that anytime soon. =P
But yeah, be sure your video card will be able to run and hold that resolution. Sometimes you might not be able to chose that resolution with the slider or even in the advanced properties of your video card, but with a quick registry hack you can.

[Quakindude]

Originally Posted by polobunny

An ATI Radeon 9250 brand PowerColor is enough to run Windows on a 1680x1050 monitor, but don't hope to game with that anytime soon. =P
But yeah, be sure your video card will be able to run and hold that resolution. Sometimes you might not be able to chose that resolution with the slider or even in the advanced properties of your video card, but with a quick registry hack you can.

Omega drivers brother!

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

Omega drivers brother!

I would have said this before, but with new cards the Omega drivers don't give anything really worth it. They're not official so when a problem occurs it's a PITA to find help, you can't 3DMark with them and they simply don't keep up at the rate ATI is writing drivers.
You can set a custom resolution with ATITool however, if i'm not mistaken.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

Originally Posted by Mithosphere

So i have been looking at LCDs, and wondering whats the difference between a regular LCD tv and an LCD monitor? Cause if possible im thinking i should just go ahead and buy a larger LCD when they come down in price when i build a new computer

The best TV to buy is the Sharp Aquos 45" TVs. They have an amazing resolution, good for computer use, and are great HDTVs.

[Mithosphere]

is there a particular resolution for larger displays for gaming? like 1366 x768 or above?
See my thought is if i go ahead and save the money for a midrange computer, i can have a bit more money to spend on a large display, and since there arent too many cheap LCDs for computers, i may aswell go for a tv (32"-42"). That way i can not only play games at a high resolution but also on a bigger screen, also after looking at some tvs, i cant see myself spending more than a grand for one, unless of course its some huge a** display.

On a side note, is a projector any good for gaming?, because from the looks of it i can get a projector for cheaper and have a larger area for display.

Also i ahve probably asked this before but i cant recall, nor find it, but whats the deal with contrast ratio? 2000:1 better than 800:1?

[gvblake22]

The problem with the LCD TV's (like polobunny mentioned) is that they are not necesarily higher resolution, just a larger picture. In order to do this they increase the pixel pitch (distance between each pixel), and possibly even the actual size of the pixel. So you may have a really big display, but it will not look good sitting on a desk right in front of you because you will be able to see the individual pixels a lot easier and nothing will look very sharp. They are made to be viewed from across the room, not from a couple feet. And 1366x768 is not a standard gaming resolution either. If you want to make sure your resolution is gaming compatable, the most commonly supported resolutions are 1024x768, 1280x1024, and 1600x1200. Sure your video card will probably support those oddball aspect ratio resolutions, but many times the games will not.