Monitor (question for nerds only)

[Keith]

Thing is, with LCD if you don't use native resolution it looks like shit and creates input lag due to the rescaling... so most of 1080p monitors are stuck to 60hz to look good...

[Deepack]

wtf, lol I just checked and I found out that I had an old Dell CRT monitor hidden in my closet. It is probably over like 10 years old. I tested it to see if it worked and it still does lol. But I don't understand I tried 120 hz and the screen goes pitch black the highest refresh rate that seems to be working is 85hz except I have to use a lower resolution. I thought all CRTs go to 120 hz. Is there like a plug or cable I'm missing I even tried to change the hz on the nvidia control panel settings and this screen goes blank still.

This is how the monitor looks;
I even checked the specs for this monitor and it says it has over 120 hz refresh rate. This doesn't make any sense :S

[.seVered.][]

Nice, looks like it's one of the old flat screen CRT's... Probably won't find the Windows drivers for it, but look on the back and write down the Model Number on the MFG label. NOT the one on the front (sometimes it is right on the front though). Finding the right drivers for these can be tricky. spend LOTS of time at the http://support.dell.com (being a registered member of the site REALLY helps).

Change the resolution and refresh rates in UT not WINDOWS.. if you don't know it's in the Unrealtournament.ini file under the video renderending section you are using. (D3D or OpenGL or what not.) Good luck.

[Keith]

120hz can work at 640x480

[Deepack]

120hz can work at 640x480

Tried it and still says sync out of range. I think it's cause I have to find the right drivers which is almost going to be impossible.

[Cent]

Some old CRT monitors are garbage and wont go over 85 hz. Look on the back of the monitor and find out what you have. There should be a tag there telling you what monitor it is. I am still using my Dell D1226H from 1998. I found the specs online and I set mine @ 100 hz. Windows XP loaded the driver for mine. Should do the same for you.

The only way I would change this monitor out is if I got a 120 hz monitor and they cost a fortune.

[ACF]

lol im using a dell 17 inch monitor, all it has is 60hz and 75hz

[Deepack]

ACF is using a pimp monitor @ 75 hz for real Gs lol.

--- Updated ---

lol im using a dell 17 inch monitor, all it has is 60hz and 75hz

that's the realest shit right here.

[Lee_Stricklin]

Speaking as someone who knows a bit about display types, I will tell you that CRT will kick the shit out of LCD in almost every category. Period. The only true weaknesses a CRT has is size and the fact that it can be hard (but usually not impossible) to get perfect geometry on them. Here's a list of advantages/disadvantages I've come across from my own experience:

CRT
--------------------
Advantages
---------
No native resolution which means your resolution options are limited strictly by how many lines exist on your screen. Your old DOS games running at 320X240 will look as intended.
ZERO LAG
Generally higher refresh rates (minimum refresh rate on my screen is a flicker-free 75Hz)
Usually a lot cheaper
These things last for decades
Color is generally better
Best blacks of any screen type developed
Generally come in higher resolutions (at least when they were being produced, my screen maxes out at 2048X1536)

Disadvantages
----------
Pain in the ass to tweak geometry
Tweaking convergence can be a real chore, especially on shadow mask types
Dangerous as hell to work on (NEVER rip open a CRT without proper training or instruction)
Heavy
Can't really get them bigger than 30 inches
Old CRTs can take upwards of half an hour to warm up depending on how used up they are
Availability, these things are no longer in production on a consumer level


LCD/LED (Same shit, LED simply refers to the backlighting used. Non-LED LCD screens use fluorescent lighting as do CRTs)
--------------------
Advantages
------------
Less bulky
Lightweight
Perfect geometry without tweaking

Disadvantages
-------------
Locked to a native resolution (Have fun running something at 320X240 on a 1920X1080 LCD and being able to decipher any of it. Proper upscaling methods that don't look like ass are doable but require a separate box that generally increases lag.)
Motion blur and ghosting (Though they've gotten better with this through the use of DVI and HDMI, still present though but a lot of people won't notice it)
Can't display true blacks
Colors are generally not as good (They are improving here as well)
INPUT LAG (Even without scaling the screen is noticeably behind what you are doing, even 2ms is unacceptable for me)
Expanding on lag, latency increases with screen size and pixel count
Lower lifespan due to shoddy construction most of the time (one major manufacture flaw found in a lot of screens is that the screen is hooked up via a wire strip at the top of the display and is prone to catching heat build up)
Image "persistence" is more likely to happen on LCDs than burn-in on CRT (both of these are really the same thing)
Plenty of deceptive marketing ploys exist around them


Myths
---------------------------
CRTs are less power efficient than LCDs (My eleven year old Trinitron actually uses less juice than a lot of 1920X1200 displays in production right now)
CRTs don't have flat screens (actually a lot of them do, in fact a limitation in larger Trinitrons REQUIRES the screen to be flat to prevent the phosphor strips from shaking)
LCDs have brighter colors
LCDs don't suffer burn-in (it's actually called something different, image persistence, and it's more likely to happen on LCDs than burn is to happen on CRTs)
HDMI is better than VGA
HDMI is better than DVI



Watch out for/keep an eye out for in the future
---------------------------
Field Emission Displays (FED). They're essentially CRT technology put into a flat panel application, currently they're in the testing phases. Sony and a few others were working on them, but abandoned the concept, they however sold it to a company that is currently developing on it.

[Higor]

Ghosting and power efficiency of LCD's depend on the quality of the screen.

I went from a NEC 19" CRT to a Samsung 23" LCD plugged on DVI.
No ghosting, no lag (DVI), good colors, no stretching on 4:3 ratio.

That's why I say, test the screen before buying it.
Make the comparison between high quality displays on both sides to make it fair, we all know the flaws of shitty CRT's and LCD.

Moving onto LED's, has the lifetime limitation of certain colors been sorted?