Introduction

LCD, or "Liquid Crystal Display", monitors are typically significantly thinner, and lighter, than their CRT, or "Cathode Ray Tube", counterparts.

This is because they employ an completely different technology, which does not require a bulky CRT – the component that accounts for the depth, and weight, of traditional "tube" monitors – but use the behaviour of liquid crystal molecules to control the behaviour of each picture element, or "pixel, in the display.

LCD's also tend to be brighter, flicker-free and use up to 50% less power than CRT monitors.

LCD Monitor Features

The first characteristics that you should be interested in, when it comes to choosing an LCD monitor, are its physical size, and its "resolution", or the number of individual pixels of which it is composed.

LCD monitors typically start at a minimum of 15", measured diagonally – aside, that is, from those smaller model specifically designed for use with games consoles, such as the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Ninetndo Wii – and range in size, through 17" and 19" models, to 22" and 24" models popular with ardent computer gamers.

You should, however, make sure that an LCD monitor is capable of a resolution to match its size; 1,024 x 768 pixels for a 15" monitor, 1,280 x 1,024 pixels for a 17" monitor, and so on.

Many LCD monitors, nowadays, have both standard, 15-pin SVGA, and DVI, connectors – in the latter case, for the transmission of uncompressed digital video – but some may have only DVI inputs. It is therefore worth checking that your computer does, in fact, possess a DVI output, or that the LCD monitor is supplied with a DVI converter.

LCD Monitor Examples

• Edge10 W223 – a 22", widescreen aspect ratio, TFT ("Thin Film Transistor") LCD monitor, offering a maximum resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 pixels (WSXGA+) and viewing angles of up to 170°. Includes integrated stereo speakers, and VGA and DVI connections as standard; ideal for multitasking in a home or office environment.

• Samsung Syncmaster 225MW – a not dissimilar 22" widescreen TFT monitor, again with a maximum resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 pixels, but equipped with a TV tuner, allowing the monitor to double as a television, if necessary. A video response time of 5ms makes this monitor suitable for DVD movies, or gaming.

• HP L1908W – a 19" widescreen LCD monitor, offering clear, sharp resolutions – up to 1,440 x 900 pixels – and a contrast ratio of 1,000:1. Ideal for detailed work, such as graphics, or data analysis projects.

• GNR TS702D – a 17" TFT LCD monitor, offering up to SXGA, 1,280 x 1,024 pixel resolution, 800:1 contrast ratio, VGA and DVI-D inputs; suitable for a wide range of applications, from word processing to first person gaming.

• Acer AL1512 – a value for money, 15" TFT LCD monitor, with a slower response time (23ms), but, nevertheless, offering a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 pixels for text and graphics, and a 450:1 contrast ratio.
  

LCD Monitors for Gaming

If you are considering an LCD monitor predominantly, or exclusively, for gaming you should look for a model with a very fast response time and minimal input lag, but, nevertheless, decent colour rendition, and as wide a viewing angle as possible.

TN, or "Twisted Nematic", LCD panels typically offer response times between 2ms and 5ms, and are cheap to manufacture, while VA, or "Vertical Alignment", technology allows higher colour accuracy and viewing angles, and IPS, or "In Plane Switching", technology, although expensive, is generally considered to provide the best all-round quality, colour and viewing angles.

If you are tempted to employ an LCD television as a gaming monitor, remember that what televisions lack, relative to their size, is resolution. This is because LCD televisions are not intended to be viewed from distances of 2`, or 3`, as is typically the case with an LCD monitor.