Gambit7

Okay... my new rig is on its way and I'm staring at my current 19" Gateway monitor going "hmmmm." This new rig will have the 8800 GTX and plenty of proc-juice to go with it. Soooo, this monitor is a bit lacking methinks.

In looking around I realize "entry-level" is a 22" LCD with 1650x1000 native resolution. Cheapest they go right now is about $300, which is not bad. BUT, why not go for more?

If you thumb around a bit you soon realize you can get a 37"+ LCD HDTV or Plasma for what amounts to the same money when you consider the amount of extra features you get with a TV along with the size. (inputs, tv tuner, speakers, etc.)

So, anyone in here have any experience with plasma and LCD TVs for computers? Any recommendations or caveats?

I've really been eyeballing the droves of 42" plasmas on ebay one can buy for dirt cheap right now.

And what's the real difference image quality-wise of these choices?

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sordavie

It's not the size of the screen that matters when wondering about how much processing power one needs to get things to run smoothly, it's at what resolution you'll be running those things. A typical 42" plasma has a resolution of 1024 x 768. That's lower than the typical 19" LCD monitor at 1280x1024. The apple 30" cinema display runs at a native resolution of 2560 x 1600. That's more than 5 times as many pixels as the 42" plasma.

There's a reason why those 24" and 30" LCD computer monitors cost so much. The resolution is so much higher than comparably sized LCD/Plasma TV screens.

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Gambit7

yah, thumbing around I'm coming to a similar conclusion... although there ARE a few TV models that can compare to monitor resolutions, and from what I see they're pretty pricey. The HD LCDs that are in the ballpark have the issue of having the improper inputs as well, but there also are a few standouts.

Gonna have to keep looking.

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Zoopy

If your using a TV as a monitor, you'll defenitly want one that is native 1080p (1920 × 1080). Those tend to be more expensive though.

Gambit7

Something like this would work out... and it looks like it has DVI inputs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824112174

Comparable "monitor":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16889002001

Note the drop in resolution of the monitor...
This is my point. With the 8800GTX about to be eclipsed this summer with even phatter hardware, TVs are really going to be mushed together with monitors because viable TVs for use as LARGE monitors have been around longer and are cheaper.

If you truly want to use all of the available resolution of your GPU then it's starting to make sense to purchase a nice TV instead of an overpriced monitor. If I can get a 22" monitor for $400, only to be replaced in a few years by yet another monitor of say 24 or 27" for yet another say $600... why not just drop some coin on a 37" TV and be done with it?

And what about consoles? Why get a 360 or PS3 and NOT have an HDTV?? And if you're going to purchase an HDTV for "gaming," might as well use it for your 'puter too.

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