Monitor Question (different than previous dicsussions I think)

[TXTiger]

Hey Guys,

I've been following the monitor questions for a while so I don't think this has been covered, my apologies if I'm wrong. I'm thinking about getting the Dell 20in LCD, but I'm also considering a 23in. This is where the ? comes in. Running 60Hz at 1600x1200 kills my eyes. I have always had a problem with low refresh rates, I guess my eyes are just sensitive to them. I measured the Empire table at 1280x960 and it was about 10.3in diagonally. Can anyone confirm for me that I could run 4 tables at 1280x960 on a 23in LCD? My goal is to stay at 75Hz refresh.

Also, if anyone else has eyes sensitive to low refresh but moving to an LCD fixed the problem, even at 60Hz, I'd like to hear your comments.

Thanks

[Wayne]

In a CRT, the electron gun lights up the whole screen every refresh. Basically the entire screen flashes 60 times a second (faster for fast refresh rates). This is too fast to notice, but can cause eye strain. The higher the refresh rate, the less stress it is on the eyes.

In an LCD, the light is always on, no flashing. As the picture changes, the crystals are rotated to block some or all of the light. Much easier on your eyes.

At 1280x960 you will not be able to run two tables without some overlap.

[astroglide]

refresh rate is a complete non-issue on lcds

[DrSavage]

Refresh rate for LCD monitors doesn't have nearly as much value as for CRTs.

[ThePopinjay]

The standard Party/Empire tables measure 800x600 not whatever you said. I would NOT suggest getting a 23" that only runs 1280x960, thats huge. Standard for a 20" LCD is 1600x1200, so a 23" should be bigger. The 20" LCDs at 1600x1200 can comfortably fit 4 tables with no overlap.

Like others have said, refresh rates for LCDs don't matter because the image is based off of crystals on the screen that you're looking at, not a flashing image. Anyway, the important thing for LCDs is response time. Which is basically how fast a crystal in the LCD can change colors. This can be a significant eye strain if you do any gaming/dvd watching. For standard internet browsing/poker slower response times are fine (dont get anything lower than 40ms though). If you do do any gaming or DVD watching on your computer then I highly suggest getting a 16ms response rate LCD monitor. That is the generally agreed on rate upon which there will be no "ghosting" (when a crystal doesn't change fast enough and streaks appear on screen). That is why the Dell 2001FP 20" LCD monitor is so great. It's 20", it's LCD, it's 1600x1200 (4 tables), it has 16ms response rate, and it's cheap (frequently goes on sale at the Dell Small Business site for $750).