What does GP4 look/Play like on a "flat" TFT Screen? (and whats the best processor)

Hello,

I am about to embark on getting a brand new PC, with all the bells and wistles that accompany it. However, I'm still not sure if TFT ("19 I'm talking about BTW) is better/as good as/same? - as a CRT screen. Will a good TFT like IIyama, Flatron etc, with sub 25ms response rate be ok for GP4?. I was looking at the 19" CRT IIyama Vision Master Pro 454 19" CRT DiamondTron Monitor >>>>HERE<<<< and thought this might be a better choice for racing games - GP4 included.

Has anyone got a screen shot from GP4 on a Flat screen? - I know I can't judge entirely on that, but will give me a bit of a guide. I WANT a TFT screen - but worried that GP4 may be "Ghosed-out" on me. ,after all, GP4 is quite a Ghoslty game yes?

PS: BTW, are there any particular brands that "like" games such as GP4 - (or racing games in general) Like: IIyama/viewsonic/LG/CTX etc. I Would like to see if there are 16MS 19" screens about, but most seem to be 25MS - could this be a problem?


TIA

Anthony



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2004 06:13PM by Tony.

25ms is a little slow for most games, aim for 16ms or even 12ms if you can get it, I know they exist, as samsung make the actual tft panels 19" with 12ms.

You'll probably see some ghosting with 25ms, but not 16 or 12.

Also, no point taking a screenshot, as it just snaps what the gfx card sends, not what the monitor is showing (ie what the monitor should be showing, but could be to slow). A camera is also a no no, as you have to factor in shutter speed, which is probably on fastest setting, a hell of a lot faster than 25ms, so no chance of getting succes.

LG make a 19" 12ms, for around 300 (!) quid inc vat, only downside is no DVI socket, so its analogue only, which is a shame. Heard a lot of good things about the Samsung VX somethings ends in a 10 or 12), but that's only 17".

Also, remember, these tfts have a huge viewing area, its literally 17" on a 17 tft, while its like 16" on a 17" CRT. So a 19 CRT is comparable in size to a 17" tft, at least psychologically.

Watch out for to good to be trues, ie 19" with DVI, Analogue, 12ms response time, and like £280 inc vat - there'll be something going on there imo. Stick to the models Overlockers UK sell, as they're all good.

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My love’s subliminal

I also wanted a LCD thin screen/monitor. I bought a 17" Sony HX73. It has both analog and digital output, a must. Even though, I am running it on analog for now since I need a extension cable for the digital to work. My graphics card will handle both. I have a 16ms refresh. As others indicated that is the minimum. I also looked at the 19 inch Soney, its refresh speed was around 24ms, but since it was operating on digital, I could not tell the difference between the two. It was recommended to get the fasted refresh rate, so I took the 17 inch.

Initially, I had concerns since I race GP3, GP4, and play golf and baseball and other sports games. I found some washout of the colors over a normal Monitor, but got used to that. I do not find any ghosting with any of the games. Go for it.

Richard J

Thanks for replies, will look into these monitors when configuring my system (may buy the base unit/monitor seperate - and from differnet places).

cheers

Anthony

I wouldn't even consider TFTs I've seen many all and over - fast responce fast refresh whatever none even compare with a half decent CRT Just my opinion

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NickKK Wrote:
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> I wouldn't even consider TFTs I've seen many all
> and over - fast responce fast refresh whatever
> none even compare with a half decent CRT Just my
> opinion
>
>

Hmmmmm, I'm leaning a bit towards the CRT now, but are there some Super 19" displays out there that standout? I have a 17" SAMPO at the moment (Alphascan 718) What puts me off a little with flat panels, is the inability to go higher than 1280x768 res (some do but not cheap are they), because I will be having an Intel 3.4 minimum, or Athlon 3500 Minimum, along with Radeon X800XT, or Geforce 6800 Ultra, and these cards are meant to be seen (or played) at higher resolutions than this.

Oh just one more Question, will GP4 run better on an Intel 3.4 than, say, an Athlon 64 3500 (939 mobo)? - because the Athlon's real speed is 2400 no 3500, and i was wondering if GP4 ill see tit that way.

Hey Nick? - I can



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/01/2004 03:21PM by Tony.

It'll run better on the athlon (AMD) hands down, maybe 15% faster.

Screens do go above 1280, but that's their native res - ie what it looks best at.

If you get one, make sure its a decent brand, not OEM or random maker. Its worth paying the extra for it. Plus check their dead pixel policy - some will let you return it if you have 1 dead one anywhere, others wont even if you have 4 in the mddle of the screen! :|

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She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal

as much as LCD are space saving and cool looking, CRTs still have the clear edge when it comes to best image quality

but with all things going digital, this will change pretty quick

i'll be hanging onto my 19" a little while longer

" CRTs still have the clear edge when it comes to best image quality "

not true anymore

_tux_ Wrote:
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> " CRTs still have the clear edge when it comes to
> best image quality "
>
> not true anymore
>
>
>
Maybe I'm still getting my 22" CRT and you couln't name a single TFT screen that can display that kind of quality at 22" with refresh rates above 100Hz...hmmm?

(Damn need to change my sig stupid cached images )

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As much as i love Tony's sig it is about 200k over the limit :P

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CRT's still lead the way in IQ, no doubt about it. TFTs are closing the gap with every new range, but still some way off.


Defo go for the AMD mate, make sure its Socket 939, and obviously the 'Winchester' cores, as they're the 90nm ones, which overclock like crazy, and run cooler. Avcoid P4's at the mo, just not in the same league.

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She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal

I have a feeling Intel is gonna make short work of AMD quite soon because the P4 is such an old design and so far it's jsut been a slight change of core and some more clock speed whereas the AMD is relatively new but not light years ahead.

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I'd never have another Intel cpu in any computer ever

but in response to your original title question: very nicely, thanks :P

I don't think Intel have anything for 2 years in all honesty. The 'minor' core changes are actually fairly hefty design changes, and the new p4 is basically a totally different cpu from the original.

The AMD is miles ahead really, its best point is that you can buy a motherboard with any chipset because its memory controller is on the cpu, not up to the chipset (that's the biggest performance boost with other CPU chipsets). I wouldnt touch a pentium until they bring out a new cpu, but each to his own

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She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal

Back ontopic: tony, you'd better have yourself a CRT indeed, i play gp4 with a tft, and it isn't very good (however it's a high quality tft, with a very high refresh rate, but still, colors and speed is not good enough i think :P)

Thanks all for replies, I will be going CRT now I think - the resolutions they take are one major advantage, because in a year or two from now, GFX cards will be able to play (say) DOOM III at 1600 res with plenty to spare, while the 1280 limited res on a TFT will leave you "wanting".

as for processors, of all the PC's I've had, Intel have been on everyone of them. And yes, Intel seem to be a bit slow moving forward. I have a 2.66 Pentium 4 (533 Bus) which is nearly two years old, and wasn't the fastest then. Runs GP4 very well though - I must add (38-40 FPS @ 70 P/O (average).

Quote by qwerty: Defo go for the AMD mate, make sure its Socket 939, and obviously the 'Winchester' cores, as they're the 90nm ones, which over clock like crazy, and run cooler. Avoid P4's at the mo, just not in the same league.

I was thinking of getting an AMD 3500 OR a 4000 from Evesham computers (or Mesh perhaps - can't decide). Would I assume that the fastest AMD Processors are

Don't buy Athlon 64 4000+! Its just renamed Atholon 64 3800+ with double size L2 memory, only difference in speed is that its about 2% faster than 3800+ in programs. In games it's just as fast as 3800+ is.


My photo gallery: [viltzu86.deviantart.com]

Well the L2 cache will REALLY help a lot, but I agree that the 4000 is a bit pricey.

The 3800 is a fab cpu, really great. The 'Winchester' and 'Newcastle' are both socket 939, but the Winchester is '90nm' which means it is smaller die size, and will overclock insanely well. But, only issue is that some motherboards arent new enough to run them without a bios update. So if you're worried about that, go for the newcastle (130nm, socket 939).

Make sure you get some decent ram too. Good thing about AMD is they dont need super fast ram, PC 3200 (DDR 400) is as fast as you need, which keeps costs down. Make sure you get 'Dual Channel Kit' probably 1gb is best.

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She says brief things, her love’s a pony
My love’s subliminal

Hmm what do you mean by "ghosting" - is this the same as tearing? if you do this, it can be solved with vertical sync, however this is not too desireable, as you can lose some fps.

TFTs seem good to me. At first I was sceptical, but to be honest, the image quality is good, and if you complain about washing out of colours then some messing in the settings can sort it for you. The main thing is that they take up less space and also you don't get lots of electrons firing at you like CRT's do, posing cancer risks (as does almost everything these days but ah well).

H E L L O