lcd monitor: 120hz worth the extra $$?

[Loituma]

Hello, i have a old crt screen and I'm thinking of buying a larger newer lcd. I've read lots of reviews of many monitors so I have a good overview of my options (I'm looking at a 22 to 24", either 1680 or 1920 wide). But the reviews are by pixel counting tech heads and I'd like some feedback from normal gamers on this matter:

-There's several well rated monitors for around $150, all 2ms, but in 60hz.
-I also found the samsung 2233rz for $220, more or less the same qualities as the $150 monitors I'm looking at, but it's 120hz.

Do you think 120hz is worth the price difference? For people who play with 60hz lcds, does the refresh rate ever bother you?

My problem is that I never played on a lcd. My crt displays 75hz and it's fine. When I set it to 60hz my eyes do notice the refresh flicker and after a few minutes I'm getting headaches, even while just displaying the desktop. I understand that 60hz on a lcd is different and the refresh process isn't so noticeable, but I'm still wondering if it would be good enough.

So I guess the short question is:

do you notice some refresh flickering on your 60hz lcd monitor?
do you have some really noticeable motion artifact in your games?

thanks for the feedback

[Jan Kyster]

Having a LG L2000CN here. No flicker at all and no motion artifacts neither, You won't regret swapping, but do get a decent one.
I would recommend 1920x1200 aka 16:10, imho the nicest ratio.

Samsung 2443BW is a good and fairly cheap choice.


There are myths out there reg. 120HZ - should be good for very fast fps games, but it's a myth :D

Think it's AnandTech that has some threads about 120Hz mythical monitors.

[Castout]

LCDs are not like CRT monitors, they don't tire your eyes and emits no radiation. A 60Hz LCD is fine as LCDs don't flicker like CRTs.

[Penguin]

yep, I can affirm that you don't get flickering when your LCD runs at 60Hz. I am quite sensitive to this issue, when a CRT runs at 75Hz I notice the flickering.

There is the matter of 3D glasses however. If you consider to get one in the future then 120Hz should be your option. 60Hz monitors are not practical for this, basically because you get only half the refresh rate when using these goggles.

[antikristuseke]

LCDs are not like CRT monitors, they don't tire your eyes and emits no radiation.

What is light?

[onelifecrisis]

Same here. I notice no flickering on my 60Hz LCD, but I do notice it on my CRT unless I crank the refresh rate up to 100Hz or more.

[CaptainHaplo]

No, not unless every florescent light you see you can detect it flickering. If you can, then yes. But most people can't. So save the money.

Here is why. The human eye can only see so many "frames" or "cycles" per second. That number varies between each person, and also varies on what your looking at. For an interesting article on the whole thing, read here:

http://www.100fps.com/how_many_frames_can_humans_see.htm

Any screen that can do 80-100 hz is probably going to be fine for you.

[Arclight]

Aye, 85Hz is generally the point considered as cross-over point. Personally I notice the flicker at 75Hz but not at 85.

120Hz is for 3D gaming/video. Thanks to differences in design, you'll never notice any flicker in a LCD panel. Getting higher HZ does have a point though: a lot of games use V-sync to limit a games fps to the monitor's refresh rate (often optional; it's to avoid "tearing" of the displayed image). So, with a 60Hz monitor that limit is 60. Some gamers prefer higher maximum framerates, so they'll want a display that can do more Hz.

[onelifecrisis]

True, if you play multiplayer shooters then you might want more than 60fps, but for any single player game (and for MP games that don't require twitch aiming) I think 60fps is more than enough (most console games run at just 30!).