And I was about to go the CRT way, primarily because I game a lot, but I lamented the sheer bulk that comes with the visual quality! A friend who’d taken the flat-panel plunge was all praise about them. I was sceptical-after all, LCDs are plagued with high response times. Higher response times translate to what we call ghosting and/or streaking-typically while gaming, and occasionally while watching movies. A decent response time should be around 4 to 8ms. LCDs also-usually-have poorer contrast ratios.
To placate my friend, however, I promised a cursory look at the very least at some of the LCDs available. Admittedly, I was yearning for something I could carry around with myself for our monthly LAN parties-I’d gotten sick of the crappy 15-inch monitors my friends used to set up.
As I discovered, widescreen LCDs have a good presence in the market now, and offer a 16:10 or 16:9 viewing experience. They are ideal for DVD and HD movie viewing (typically widescreen content), as well as gaming.
The best bang for your buck lies in the 17- and 19-inch segments, and I don’t recommend a 15-inch screen any more-simply because the extra that you pay-about Rs 2 or 3K-is worth the larger display area!
Armed with the decision to get myself an LCD, I boarded a train to that hardware den of Mumbai, Lamington Road, or Lammy as we call it. Now I didn’t want to show that I knew a bit about LCDs, and I also wasn’t sure what screen size I’d settle for, so I played the innocent “Bhaiya mujhe LCD monitor khareedna hai” stereotype.
A shop I happened to stop by had a couple of LCDs on display. The good man pointed me towards a BenQ FP71E , which at Rs 9,950 is the latest from the BenQ 17-inch stables. He was quick to mention its response time-8 ms, “which is the fastest available, and good for gaming,” to quote him. This monitor has a contrast ratio of 500:1, which should be good enough for all purposes. I noted that this one had inbuilt speakers, not bad at all if space constraints disallow desktop speakers. But I have an Altec Lansing MX5021, so I decided I wouldn’t shell out extra for speakers. I was shown the 17-inch Samsung 740N, which at Rs 11,500 seemed a decent purchase. What I really liked was the very thin side bezel trim, that is, the front casing of the LCD panel, due to which it’s ideal for a dual-monitor setup. The 740N has an 8 ms response time, and I found this model better aesthetics-wise than the slightly bulkier FP71E .
Popping into the shop next door, I asked to be shown 17- and 19-inch models. The shop owner promptly brought up a 17-inch LG 1730S which costs Rs 10,750, and the earlier Samsung 740N. The LG 1730S has a 16 ms response time, which can cause lag as far as games and movies go. He also had a BenQ 19-inch FP91G , which could be mine for Rs 13,750. BenQ models seem to be cheaper than their Samsung and LG counterparts. I also checked out an LG 1950S-a 19-incher-at
Rs 14,750. This monitor has a relatively slow 12 ms response time, but what put me off was the stand, which looked too boxy. I like to flash my hardware around-so I just dropped this one!
Shop #3 was a high-fi dealer who showed me a 19-inch ViewSonic VX924, priced at Rs17,000. The VX924 has a claimed response time of 3 ms. He also told be that he could arrange for a Dell flat panel; I enquired further, and got a whopping quote of Rs 40,000 for a Dell 2407. This is an amazing display, widescreen and 24 inches! That’s 1920 x 1200 pixels of pure bliss. Lamenting my meagre resources, I shook my head, deciding against donating a kidney.
It had started to drizzle by the time I walked up to shop #4. Irritating-I certainly didn’t want my new monitor to get wet; in fact, I wouldn’t even settle for the carton catching a few drops of H2O! The shopkeeper was rather enthusiastic and even chatted a bit with me. He showed me two Samsung models-the 940B and 940BW, both 19-inch models. The “W” model is widescreen, and supports a 16:10 resolution of 1440 x 900. These two are priced at Rs 15,000 and 16,000 respectively.
I really liked the 940BW-the display area of this monitor is huge! It has a response time of 4 ms. He also showed me a couple of 17-inch models, one each from Samsung and LG-the same models that shop #2 had shown me. It was a no-contest, really. I bargained a bit, and managed to cut 500 bucks off the price. So my 940BW cost me Rs 15,500, and I was overjoyed! But drat-the drizzle had become a downpour. Well, we can’t get what we want all the time, now, can we?