Monitor or Video Card?

[NosBoost300]

I'm having a tough choice thinking what to get first..... get a monitor or a new video card... cuz my current monitor can only handle 1024x768, which really sucks..... cuz i wanna play on 1600x1200.... dammit, i am having a tough choice.... i just passed up a good offer on the 7800 gtx cuz i was short on money... but i will have enough this upcoming check, so i'm wondering what to get, the 7800 gt oc (not the gtx ) or a newer 17 inch flatscreen... don't care what brand.... any suggestions???

 

[forlorn_ronin]

Go with the card. Always the card!

 

[Adam123]

I'd say the card. Get that, and you can enjoy it on the 1024x768 for a while. And when you get the next check, you can get the monitor!

Adam

 

[jolancer]

1) a 17" monitor will not go up to 1600x resolution, only 1280x res.

2) if your buying a monitor for mostly just gaming... CRT's perform better have a higher contrast ratio, allow multiple resolutions without image quality loss, and are much cheaper.... only the super expensive LCD's come close to CRT performance for multimedia.

3) im not taking the time to look these up, but heres probably what you would pay for these monitors in general.... 19" CRT - probably about $150 , 19"LCD UXGA with descent Rate and Contrast - probably $300 or higher. EDIT: the LCD is probably a higher price then what im guessing.

So its realy just your preference and what you can afford.... you could get a CRT and a 6800GS for the price of that 7800GT.

 

[beedubaya]

Get a CRT if you care about playing games at 1024x768, which is pretty much the standard for gaming. Get an LCD if you don't mind being stuck at 1280x1024 on a 17" or 19". Ghosting isn't a problem with LCDs anymore, and the contrast ratio is actually getting better on an LCD, in fact I find it more pleasing to the eye than a CRT. The main problem is 1024x768 appearance, so if you don't care about that, you can't go wrong with a good high-end LCD. Viewsonic or Samsung makes the best ones.

 

[vaderpro]

I say get a monitor first for sure. People dont get that the monitor is the most important thing, cause its what you look at. I love my LCD and its way better than any CRT ive ever seen. If you want 1600 res though, youll have to go CRT or spend an insane amount on a LCD to get that res.

 

[beedubaya]

Vader is right, you don't want to have a nice fancy video card, then have a crap monitor that can't display the beautiful picture being rendered.

I don't know if anybody else has noticed this, but the colors are far less briliant on a CRT. You don't notice it till you have a CRT and an LCD right next to each other, but when you do, you will notice how washed out the colors on a CRT really are. Not that they are bad, they just are much better on an LCD. Thats if you get a good LCD. There are plenty of crap ones out there.

 

[vaderpro]

Vader is right, you don't want to have a nice fancy video card, then have a crap monitor that can't display the beautiful picture being rendered.

I don't know if anybody else has noticed this, but the colors are far less briliant on a CRT. You don't notice it till you have a CRT and an LCD right next to each other, but when you do, you will notice how washed out the colors on a CRT really are. Not that they are bad, they just are much better on an LCD. Thats if you get a good LCD. There are plenty of crap ones out there.

Exactly. Brighter, more vivid color. Thats the big difference. Im staring at the bannner of TF and it 'sticks' out of the screen. The blues are so distinct and deep and the text is so freakin clear.

 

[jolancer]

beedubaya - are you positive about good LCDs being more Colorfull then CRT?... i have never used a LCD besides my bro's laptop screen and what iv seen around stores... But there are a couple settings that need to be considered in a compairision like that... and i honestly dont believe you... I will need to check that out for myself... Did you have the contrast all the way up on the CRT? and Brightness set at about 60... and on my CRT i can also manually control R/G/B color temp, witch i can use to make one or all of then dimmer or brighter.

 

[vaderpro]

beedubaya - are you positive about good LCDs being more Colorfull then CRT?... i have never used a LCD besides my bro's laptop screen and what iv seen around stores... But there are a couple settings that need to be considered in a compairision like that... and i honestly dont believe you... I will need to check that out for myself... Did you have the contrast all the way up on the CRT? and Brightness set at about 60... and on my CRT i can also manually control R/G/B color temp, witch i can use to make one or all of then dimmer or brighter.

"Ah, he has much to learn Obi-wan".....