"TFT" Monitors, How good are they for GP3/4?

Well, its time for an upgrade. PII 400, Voodoo 3K?? hmmm bout due don't ya think

Well, I am having a look at these "new" systems that come with TFT monitors (15", and wondered whether these can run intensive games like GP4 in the same way as, say, a 21" Monitor like we know. Are they different from Laptop TFT's?. Anyroad, I hope someone has one of these so they can give me an idea as to what to expect.

A typical system (example from ARGOS catalogue) would be a Philips XP1800+TFT 256MB RAM, DVD/CDR 60 GIG HD etc. Thats £999 Qwid from Argos, but may be able to get better spec for same price else where.

Sorry for off-topic, but may be ordering one this week (hopefully with a decent GFX card


Tony

Those monitor's arne't capable of high refresh rates that today's game require to have a smooth gameplay. I'd recommend buying a regular CRT 21" instead.



Beta tester for;
Descent 3, C & C Generals, Independance War 2, Starfleet Command 2,
Settlers IV, Tzar, Allegiance, Starfleet Command,
MAX 2, Defiance

Sorry to disagree,but I have a Mitac 17" TFT from PC World,and playing GP4 and indeed any other games is absolutely brilliant compared to my old Hitachi 20" CRT.
In the end, it all comes down to having a look and ,if possible ,a trial run on a TFT to see whether you think it will suit your needs.They are quite expensive,so a bit of homework and testing a few models is the best idea.
Good luck!!

Cant comment on the TFT issue, although I also believe they aren't as good, but only what I've heard.

However, I got a new PC recently from PC World (no really) which is a better deal than the one you mention above.

Medion
P4 2.54
512MB Ram
80 GB RAM
DVD & CDRW
64MB GF4 MX420
17" VDU

£799 - only £30 a month on credit over 3 years.
Available for £999 with a TFT

I already have a GF4 4600ti, so swapped that in, and it runs like a dream - 10k on 3dmark 2001

Runs GP4 very well

TFT's don't have the high refresh rate so you will get eyestrain faster than using a CRT monitor's.



Beta tester for;
Descent 3, C & C Generals, Independance War 2, Starfleet Command 2,
Settlers IV, Tzar, Allegiance, Starfleet Command,
MAX 2, Defiance

refresh rates are higher on CTRs, that's right. However, since TFTs don't have cathode rays and Braun tubes to build up the display, they do not flicker anyway. ANd no flicker means no eyestarin. The problem with TFTs is somewhere else: It is simply a matter of how fast the transistors on the TFT can switch from one input to the next. This is the weak point with TFTs. YOu sometimes have ghost images - that means the next one is already displayed when the last one still fades away. Modern TFTs are way better.

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

I think nowadays the "better" TFT's have got rid the the ghosting problem, but like mentioned before they are expensive.

Modern TFTs are way better. That's what I said.

Another problem with TFT is the resolution. These screens work best with the default resolution. If you want higher or lower resolutions, the TFT has to resize the piczure. The quality of the output does depend on the algorithms used. It is basically the same when you increase or decrease a bitmap with a paint program. It never looks as good and sharp as the original one.

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REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS

Modern TFTs are way better. That's what I said.

Just backing up a good point

ermm...i have a TFT monitor on one machine and a regular one on my other machine

i find if i use the TFT then the CTR, the CTR makes my eyes hurt alot more.

This TFT came with the system, and its class, and much much much sharper than the CTR one i have. Also, the clearfont thing that XP has is rather kool

TFT's don't have the high refresh rate so you will get eyestrain faster than using a CRT monitor's.

no offence, but you dont know what ur on bout there do u merlin? If they dont have frefresh rates they cant hurt ur eyes




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

*CRT, not CTR!

i just done a copy and paste from vades post

refresh rates are higher on CTRs, that's right....

:P




Racing Is Life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting
Jesus may be able to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life, but he can't do shît for low fps

A high quality CRT monitor will currently always outperform any of the commercially available flat panel displays for image quality and sharpness, better contrast, resolution and brightness, colour accuracy and consistency with viewing angle.

Flat Panel displays are "stylish", and save a lot of desk space but are currently more expensive than an equivalent CRT. (or at least as equiavlent as you can get). Also their long term reliability is not as proven as CRT's.

Also their long term reliability is not as proven as CRT's.

Too right. Apparently its normal for a few of the LCD's to stop working.

We've just rolled out a load of TFT's for our Order processing department at work,

They are indeed stylish, but the viewing angle is poor and there seem to be blurred areas of the screen that come and go.

Interestingly, most of the guys in the IT dept, including me, have kept our good old CRT's

I believe TFT's are good for porn piccies though as they give a sharper image and reduce the blurryness of jpegs

Thanks guys for the replies. Better than most dedicated "PC forums" (sometimes)

Well, what a Sod. I really wanted one of these Flat panel monitors, AND to be able to play GP4, and any ganereally, as good (no compromises) as a CRT monitor. I thought todays TFT's might be able to Equal todays monitors...but seems not. I also mailny wanted a TFT flat panel for my Midi Piano (to put on top of it). A CRT will be a wee bit heavy for that sez I.

Anyroad. I've ditched the Idea of a TFT, so that gives me a wee bit more cash to spend on a Base unit I suppose!. So this week (or next), I want to get my new system in....preferably to be able to run GP4 at its best (and NO compromise there)! Is an Athlon really better for games (Athlon XP2200 Versus Intel 2.66 anyone???- which is faster?)

Anyroad, I also want a top notch sound card as well, as I use Cubase (music Sequencer). Any ideas where I can get a "Build your own" system from? (IE: if I want Abidoo, "My Barbie", Cyber-cindy"etc...I'll request them thx!) also, I dont need a DVD BUT need a CDR etc

Cheers Anyroad, off ta bed now cya!

www.scan.co.uk are good - cheap, fast and reliable - they do "bare bones" systems plus all the bits separately.

I had an Athlon last time around, plenty fast enough but it was unreliable, lots of crashes and reboots after a year or two, and it also took a long time to get it stable in the first place because of conflicts with the AGP port.

All of this could just have been bad luck, but I went for the P4 this time and so far (4 weeks!) so good.

Ali

I've currently got an Athlon XP 1700+ and elsewhere in the house there is a Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz, the rest of the specs are quite similar and the Athlon easily outperforms the P4 on games.

Go the AthlonXP i say!!



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[timblair.net]
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Homer Simpson: "Well i would like to live long enough to see the effects of global warming, cos i've got an inside line that its all a load of crap"

I hvae a TFT screen, I bought mine over 1 and a half years ago. I love it !!!!!!!! Its brilliant, there's no blurry image or ghosting or anything like that on TFT screens you get nowadays. My monitor has super sharp images all the time andthere's really nothing wrong with it, i never had any problems with my monitor.

TFT screens look stylish, they are space saving, they are light, they don't emit radiation that would end up blinding you one day lol, TFT's automatically ajust the screen size to full screen so no need to keep on re-adjusting the screen size for all resolutions, you can take pictures of TFT screens and the image looks like a poster with no interferance and etc like you get with CRT or TV's lol.

Refresh rates, my TFT screen resfreshes at 85hz @ all resolutions (from 640x480 to 1280x1024). I never have refresh rate problems and flicking on my LCD before..................

But when it comes to displaying black colour, on CRT's the black is very dark and looks shiney because of the glass screen, but on LCD's the black is black but not as black as on CRT's, and basiacally pure black lots a tiny bit different on TFTs, but its not really that bad though................

Personally i prefer TFT screens....