Selecting the right monitor for your gaming computer is vital to your overall gaming experience, but knowing how to choose the right one can be the difference between a terrible experience and a fantastic one.
If you're looking for information on LCD vs CRT monitors, stop looking. With LCD monitors as cheap as they are nowadays, there is no reason to go with a similarly priced CRT monitor (and you'll have a difficult time finding a CRT monitor to purchase).
LCD Problems
When you're gaming, you're generally pushing your system to its limits, and that's true of your monitor as well. When you push hardware to its limits you tend to run into some problems. Although most of these problems can be handled internally, any problems on a monitor are going to be visible which reduces your overall gaming experience.
There are two common types of problems presented by LCD monitors: tearing and ghosting.
Tearing is usually caused when your monitor is unable to refresh itself as fast as the video card is able to draw the graphics.
Ghosting occurs when an LCD monitor is able to keep up with the video card, but the monitor itself is unable to switch pixel colors fast enough, so the previous image appears to be drawn on top of the new image.
Both of these problems can be fixed by simple looking at the specifications of the monitor you're going to buy. By choosing a monitor with the lowest possible refresh rate (we recommend getting a monitor with a response time of 8ms or below. Also, make sure that your monitor has a connector that your graphics card supports (in most cases the video card and monitor will both support DVI connectors, but make sure, just in case.
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Recommended Monitors
Tight budget
I-Inc 19" Widescreen LCD - $179.99 - While it may be a bit expensive for a really tight budget, this 19" is worth the investment. It has DVI connectors, built-in speakers, a 1440x900 resolution, and a 5ms response time that will eliminate ghosting and tearing.
Average Budget
Acer 22" Widescreen LCD - $259.99 - While clocking in at over $200, this monitor offers a lot for the price: near-1080p resolution, super-high contrast ratio, and a 5m response time to eliminate ghosting and tearing.
Big Budget
Acer 26" Widescreen LCD - $649.99 -This monitor has a native 1920x1200 resolution, super-faster response time of 5ms (which is especially impressive for its size), as well as a high contrast ratio and support for DVI and VGA inputs.
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