LCD "Input Lag"

I was just minutes from ordering a spiffy new 24-inch LCD monitor

when I read about "input lag." There's a pretty good description here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1026393

and a video of side-by-side CRT/LCD performance here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2OE6hSh00

I'm currently using a 19" Dell UltraSharp, and I don't notice any problems with latency or lag at all, though it's a frame or two behind from what I've read. Aparently, these problems are worse with the larger monitors and mostly a problem for gamers, so... is anyone here using a large (22+") LCD to play UT?

Unfortunately, I can't find any stores around here that cary these bad boys so I can't just go try it out, and of course they wouldn't have UT2K4 anyway.

Anyway, I went from totally excited to totally bummed in about 5 minutes.

I'm hoping one of you can tell me just how bad this is so I can decide one way or the other.

Interesting - I'm using a Dell UltraSharp as well and didn't notice (not that I was looking for it) any lag either... however, for the longest time I kept my 21" CTR for gaming - switched when I started playing MMORPG's and didn't need the performance or the smallest dot-pitch available for higher resolutions.

Let us know if you find out anyone that has one and can relate first-hand experiences (I was thinking of getting a new gaming computer for the holidays).

I've been using a Dell 2005FPW for two years. It's hands down the single best monitor I've ever owned by a long shot - and the newer Dell FPW models are even better. This model has a 12ms gray-gray and 16ms black-white response time (aka delay). I believe the 2407WFP's response times are 6ms and 16ms, respectively.

It's no secret that LCDs are slower than CRTs. It's just part of the technology. However, whether you personally like it or not depends entirely on your personal preferences, and how sensitive your eyes are - or how much you're willing to adjust.

With this monitor, I've never had any ghosting problems, nor have I had any lag problems. I've seen several tests indicating that the 2005 FPW is a) the worst monitor EV0R for games or b) a really good monitor for games!

So. Eh. I guess it's up to you. The LCD vs. CRT argument stirs up some really, really defensive emotional arguments in people, like it's politics or religion or something. Just read the comments in those Youtube threads.

If you're ever near Washington, DC, you can stop by and check mine out.

PS: After owning a widescreen display, I can never go back! NEVER!

Edit: Just a note. The 2005FPW is 20.1" widescreen, runs 1680x1050 resolution @60hz.

I guess I'm way behind the times. I'm still running a 21" Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 100 CRT made in 1998

Well, Demon, consider this: CRT technology has been around for 100 years, and there's a reason for it. It's dependable and reliable, and as the LCD tech now stands, there are some industries that may NEVER switch (like hospital equipment, for example, where the milliseconds can REALLY count).

Personally I would have stuck with my CRT (oh, yah, 100 hz 1200x800, mmmmm) instead of this LCD (75 hz, 1024x768 ) but for the fact of space. I don't know why, but I think the CRT gave me a much better picture in and out of game. Pictures (which are my passion) seem to be more true to life on a CRT as well. <shrugs> If we ever buy this house, there's an office in my future addition plans with plenty of space for a new gigantor CRT! (and a full surround sound system too!

The wife just doesn't know it yet though.)

I have a 19" ViewSonic LCD and think it works great. The response time it claims is 8ms. I've never noticed any problems in UT or when watching a movie. When I first got it, I tested it out with some movies that had some really fast scenes where objects would be moving across the screen fast and didn't notice any problems. The colors are bright and the resolution seems fine. Boingo has my old 19" CRT monitor, so I can see the differences in performance. I think the dark colors, mostly the black, looks a little better on the CRT, but that is what I have read is the case for basically all LCD's. I think the colors look better on the LCD, however.

(DC)DEMONSLAYER wrote:

I guess I'm way behind the times. I'm still running a 21" Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 100 CRT made in 1998

Your not behind, I'm still running a Hitachi SuperScan Elite 611. That's a whopping 17". But, it was a kickin monitor back in its introduction in 1995/96.
.22 dot pitch, 100 Htz, 1280 x 1024 res...it works for me. It's starting to go south after all these years. The pincushion is going. I have the width control to max and it's not quite to the edge of the viewing area. But I will keep it untill it completely goes.

I'm not a fan of LCD's yet. I believe in the CRT, as huge and heavy as they are, there is no question about ghosting and response time, lag and so forth. And besides, there is no industry standard on rating the response time for an LCD yet. So all the 4ms or 8ms is just the company's speculation. Though, monitor mfgs are moving away from the CRT, there are a few out there still producing them. I just hope there will be a nice one available when I'm in the market.

I'm running a Gateway X900 that I picked up a few months ago. It's a step up from my 14" CRT that I had. I am honestly glad I got the larger screen. I probably wont move to LCD unless I absolutely have to. The biggest problem I face with LCD is the refresh rate and quite possibly the dead pixels. But I have seen enough LCD's to know that isnt always the case.

OK, OK, I'll confess. I just bought an Acer 20 widescreen LCD monitor.

Critical data:

Contrast: 800:1
Display: 16.7 million
Resolution (max): 1680X1050 @60 Hz
Brightness: 300 cd/m3
Response: 5 ms

Gonna take some time to get used to, but the picture and colors are very sharp, crisp, and clear and trial runs on playing does not show any movement problems.

Yay, another member of the 1680x1050 club.

Try this and see if you like it: set your game to run windowed at 1580x950. You'll need to edit your ini file to set that number. (You'll also get a compatibility warning when you open up the options tab that you can ignore.)

a little shortcut: in-game press ~ and type in setres 1580x950. It won't be permanent though.

Guys, I will try it for a while. Remember, my eyes aren't what they used to be and the players are awlful tiny.

Shan and I bought the Viewsonic 22" widescreen LCDs recently, and they do great for UT.

I still haven't notice any problems with my ViewSonic 19" LCD. I play UT on it and I sometimes watch movies as well. I think they look pretty darn good.