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proximiti99

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What are the pros / cons of using an LCD TV as a PC monitor? Assuming I get a 32" LCD, would I lose alot of quality in gaming? What should I look out for? Thanks ;)
 
Lol, nice title man :P
If I recall the refresh rate aint so hot and you get some ghosting. This was at least what happened when last I tried which was a very long time ago :/
But will leave it up to one of them to answer, Im just a lowly noob :/
 
The "guru" is here :D And I have no clue :p But I'm sure postmanpot will be in here as fast as lightning recommending you a plasma screen. I'll go do some digging and get back to you
 
dpi is probably too low. It'll look rubbish & you won't be able to read text well.

For gaming & movies it'll be fine though.

TV = designed to be viewed from 2-5m PC monitor 1m.
 
This is what I have found so far - nothing relevant to gaming, sigh.
The few things I consider (in order of importance) are response time (5ms or less), contrast (static 1,000:1 or dynamic 50,000:1) and brightness (300 or more, cant remember the units). Contrast and brightness will be fine, so it basically the response time that will be an issue.
Do you have a laptop? Take it to the store, plug it in and see for yourself. What distance will you be using the screen at? But whatever you do, do not get a screen with motionflow!! That screws everything up (input lag). Unless you are able to turn it off of course
 
Archer said:
The "guru" is here :D And I have no clue :p But I'm sure postmanpot will be in here as fast as lightning recommending you a plasma screen. I'll go do some digging and get back to you
Click to expand...

Hiya!

Nope, plasmas aren't good for PC - unless they're being used strictly for gaming/media, in which case they will generally be superior than LCD, due to deeper blacks and better colour accuracy. Oh, especially because of plasma's fast response time.

Doing "work" on a PC connected to plasma, that has static images like the Start bar and other windows etc. for long periods of time, are a no-no as they will cause the plasma to get image retention and furthermore image burn-in, where the screen will permanently display a residual image of the static image.

LCDs offer better value for money as LCD full HD screens (32", 40") enter the market cheaper than full HD plasma - which only enters at 50" and R12,000.

That said, a customer of mine bought a mid range LG 32" LCD with 100Hz motionflow (±R6000) for use with PC, and is not very happy at all. Says that fonts aren't sharp, and IIRC there is input lag as well.
 
xeo57 said:
What are the pros / cons of using an LCD TV as a PC monitor? Assuming I get a 32" LCD, would I lose alot of quality in gaming? What should I look out for? Thanks ;)
Click to expand...

Hey bud,

I've been using a 32" Sinotec LCD tv (720p) as my main Pc monitor since '08. I run it at 1280x1024 and excel / explorer / firefox etc. all read perfectly. Gaming is quite nice if you keep it at that resolution and lower. Bf2 / WoW etc. is quite fun and going back to 19" lcd's seems too sharp for me now.

The bad side obviously being the contrast issue, but now after 3 years my screen shows signs of pixel burn from static areas in games (i.e. action bars / etc.) It burns into the screen but is gone by the next time you start your pc.

I would recommend getting a large LCD monitor with a TV tuner addon instead though. Mine works fine as a TV / PC monitor / Xbox & PS3 monitor.

Oh ... and the HDMI is borked. :/
 
Voicy said:
The bad side obviously being the contrast issue, but now after 3 years my screen shows signs of pixel burn from static areas in games (i.e. action bars / etc.) It burns into the screen but is gone by the next time you start your pc.
Click to expand...

It's true folks - LCDs burn-in, too.
 
Have you considered a larger monitor with a sound system and TV card - like say, a P2770h or even a 30" LCD monitor? My friend uses his P277 as a media centre for the house - it's plenty big enough in the centre of their living room and perfect for gaming.
 
Archer said:
This is what I have found so far - nothing relevant to gaming, sigh.
The few things I consider (in order of importance) are response time (5ms or less), contrast (static 1,000:1 or dynamic 50,000:1) and brightness (300 or more, cant remember the units). Contrast and brightness will be fine, so it basically the response time that will be an issue.
Do you have a laptop? Take it to the store, plug it in and see for yourself. What distance will you be using the screen at? But whatever you do, do not get a screen with motionflow!! That screws everything up (input lag). Unless you are able to turn it off of course
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Distance around 1m from the panel.
 
PostmanPot said:
Hiya!

Nope, plasmas aren't good for PC - unless they're being used strictly for gaming/media, in which case they will generally be superior than LCD, due to deeper blacks and better colour accuracy. Oh, especially because of plasma's fast response time.

Doing "work" on a PC connected to plasma, that has static images like the Start bar and other windows etc. for long periods of time, are a no-no as they will cause the plasma to get image retention and furthermore image burn-in, where the screen will permanently display a residual image of the static image.

LCDs offer better value for money as LCD full HD screens (32", 40") enter the market cheaper than full HD plasma - which only enters at 50" and R12,000.

That said, a customer of mine bought a mid range LG 32" LCD with 100Hz motionflow (±R6000) for use with PC, and is not very happy at all. Says that fonts aren't sharp, and IIRC there is input lag as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks Guru!! Planning to get one without motionflow. Will a decent GFX card make a difference? Maybe a 6970 or similar?
 
SharkBait said:
Same can be said for your post. ;)
Click to expand...

Was it off topic?....... No. Logic fail

xeo57 said:
You got nothing useful to say... so go outside and fly a kite.
Click to expand...

ANYWAY...
The real life test is your best bet to figure this out. If thats impossible however then just remember the advice given so far. Did you have any particular model in mind? You also get LFD (large format displays) that have no built in TV tuner, and those are built to work with PCs and hence should give a better picture when coupled with a PC

edit: 1m away from the panel for a 32" sounds about right. A good GPU will obviously mean you can turn up all the eye candy, but if the screen/monitor is rubbish then a good GPU will do nothing to help that (I think thats what you were asking?). Also, rather go for the HD6950 and unlock it to HD6970 specs. Its a 100% safe thing since the cards have a dual bios
 
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Voicy said:
Hey bud,

I've been using a 32" Sinotec LCD tv (720p) as my main Pc monitor since '08. I run it at 1280x1024 and excel / explorer / firefox etc. all read perfectly. Gaming is quite nice if you keep it at that resolution and lower. Bf2 / WoW etc. is quite fun and going back to 19" lcd's seems too sharp for me now.

The bad side obviously being the contrast issue, but now after 3 years my screen shows signs of pixel burn from static areas in games (i.e. action bars / etc.) It burns into the screen but is gone by the next time you start your pc.

I would recommend getting a large LCD monitor with a TV tuner addon instead though. Mine works fine as a TV / PC monitor / Xbox & PS3 monitor.

Oh ... and the HDMI is borked. :/
Click to expand...

Thanks dude. Tell me does the graphics look decent with the lower res? I mean I really appreciate good graphics but not sure what it will look like on 32" TV panel....
 
Just watch out for input lag, otherwise a full HD 32 LCD would be sweet, using a 720p 32 samsung for 3 years and it works perfectly but it needs a higher resolution.

Just keep the resolution from the PC the same as the native res on the Tv and there should be min ghosting and what not. Plus if you just using it as a PC monitor there is no need to buy a high end tv as you will need to disable all the extra picture processing to get rid of input lag. So a series 5 samsung would work wonders, cheap as well.
 
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cerebus said:
Have you considered a larger monitor with a sound system and TV card - like say, a P2770h or even a 30" LCD monitor? My friend uses his P277 as a media centre for the house - it's plenty big enough in the centre of their living room and perfect for gaming.
Click to expand...

Was considering the P2770H but just imagine 5 inches bigger will be a much more pleasant experience.... :-)
 
Archer said:
Was it off topic?....... No. Logic fail



ANYWAY...
The real life test is your best bet to figure this out. If thats impossible however then just remember the advice given so far. Did you have any particular model in mind? You also get LFD (large format displays) that have no built in TV tuner, and those are built to work with PCs and hence should give a better picture when coupled with a PC

edit: 1m away from the panel for a 32" sounds about right. A good GPU will obviously mean you can turn up all the eye candy, but if the screen/monitor is rubbish then a good GPU will do nothing to help that (I think thats what you were asking?). Also, rather go for the HD6950 and unlock it to HD6970 specs. Its a 100% safe thing since the cards have a dual bios
Click to expand...

Makes sense... assuming I buy the 6970, what LCD panel would you recommend (or what specs should I look out for)
 
xeo57 said:
Thanks dude. Tell me does the graphics look decent with the lower res? I mean I really appreciate good graphics but not sure what it will look like on 32" TV panel....
Click to expand...

I would strongly recommend 1920x1080 resolution if you are going to sit 1m away

xeo57 said:
Was considering the P2770H but just imagine 5 inches bigger will be a much more pleasant experience.... :-)
Click to expand...

:p
 
xeo57 said:
Thanks Guru!! Planning to get one without motionflow. Will a decent GFX card make a difference? Maybe a 6970 or similar?
Click to expand...

In terms of motion - no, because the amount of Hz a LCD can do is limited to the physical spec of the screen.

That said, 90% of PC LCDs are 60Hz. Don't worry about it.
 
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