Good gaming monitors?

midnilux · Oct 7, 2004, 05:11 PM

I have a CRT that supports up to 160hz, but I have a problem when I play games like SW: KOTOR that limit your refresh rate (85hz max for KOTOR, for instance).

Basically I will swing the camera around wildly and notice a vague distortion with a horizontal line running through the middle/upper part of my monitor. When I keep still or move the camera slowly I don't notice anything, but when I swing it around (some FPS you have to swing around like crazyto kill people behind you, etc.) I notice this crap. Some games with no refresh rate restrictions I can run at 120hz and I dont notice this, so is it just the low refresh rate that causes this? Or is my monitor to blame also? Myabe there are monitors that even at low hz dont show this annoying problem...

So What kind of monitors are best for gaming? And does anyone know the problem I'm talking about, it's kind of hard to explain, I just see this tiny little horizontal line that seems to not be able to keep up with how fast the rest of the monitor is displaying stuff, and I dont see this at all when I run at 120hz, but most games cant be run higher than 85hz for some reason, it's not that my monitor cant do it, they just have that restriction on them.

ViRuS2k · Oct 7, 2004, 05:13 PM

check out the www.overclockers.co.uk forums in the hardware section check out the monitor guide... very very helpfull

loads of reviews by people that have used them extensivly rather than read bios reviews.

soon i will be getting a 21" viewsonic TFT 16Ms

very very nice gameing Flat pannel

midnilux · Oct 7, 2004, 05:15 PM

I dont really care if its flat panel or not, I don't care if its a 200lbs monster monitor as long as I dont get this problem I'm talking about

but I will check out that site

Shinjikun · Oct 7, 2004, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

I dont really care if its flat panel or not, I don't care if its a 200lbs monster monitor as long as I dont get this problem I'm talking about

but I will check out that site

Basically you want ANY monitor that has a high refresh rate at 1024x768 and above. What you're talking about is tearing that occurs at lower refresh rates. The video card is pumping out more frames than the monitor can display due to a low refresh rate (60 - 75 Hz) so you will notice tearing as the monitor tries to display all those frames, especially during fast onscreen motion.

When shopping for a monitor for gaming you want to look for monitors that have a high refresh rate (75 Hz at least, but 85+ Hz is optimal\recommended) at high resolutions. I have a Samsung SyncMaster 955DF and at 1024x768 it does 100Hz and I see little to no tearing at all. Keep on eye on the refresh rates while shopping. There are various manufacturers making good monitors like NEC, Samsung, ViewSonic, etc.

No_Style · Oct 7, 2004, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

Basically I will swing the camera around wildly and notice a vague distortion with a horizontal line running through the middle/upper part of my monitor. When I keep still or move the camera slowly I don't notice anything, but when I swing it around (some FPS you have to swing around like crazyto kill people behind you, etc.) I notice this crap. Some games with no refresh rate restrictions I can run at 120hz and I dont notice this, so is it just the low refresh rate that causes this? Or is my monitor to blame also? Myabe there are monitors that even at low hz dont show this annoying problem...

That's called "tearing" which Shinji mentioned. A way to fix that problem is to turn on VSync and also Triple Buffering for performance when you do so. Usually, I use 85 Hz and higher. I also play with VSync on so I don't get that tearing issue.

Shinjikun · Oct 7, 2004, 06:25 PM

Aye, if you feel comfortable with it and your monitor has a high enough refresh rate you can enable v-sync to get rid of that tearing effect. The negative is that your FPS is locked to the refresh rate of the monitor; all though a lot of people don't really mind with a decent refresh rate.

No_Style · Oct 7, 2004, 06:37 PM

You don't need more than 85 FPS in my opinion. Only in older Q3 games people would need higher FPS for "higher jumping" or "faster running". Damn engine exploits.

midnilux · Oct 7, 2004, 07:48 PM

I run KOTOR at 85hz and still get this tearing issue

No_Style · Oct 7, 2004, 07:53 PM

Did you turn on VSYNC?

MythicaL · Oct 7, 2004, 08:16 PM

I say the ViewSonic CRT line is the best

midnilux · Oct 7, 2004, 09:36 PM

Yeah I had v-sync on

Shinjikun · Oct 7, 2004, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

Yeah I had v-sync on

If you still experienced tearing it might have to do with the LCD on your mobile computer -- but what exactly I'm not too sure. It's strange it's still occuring with v-sync.

Geminiwave · Oct 7, 2004, 11:15 PM

indeed. It may be changing your refresh rate without telling you. Use Multires and lock the refresh rate, then make sure that you have vsync locked as well.

projectHUMAN · Oct 8, 2004, 01:23 AM

I dont think it's a Vsync issue. If it was multiple tears maybe but what he's getting is one tear close to the top. I've had it since I bought this 8500. I've tried multiple things stated above to no avail. ::shrugs::

BWX · Oct 8, 2004, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

I have a CRT that supports up to 160hz, but I have a problem when I play games like SW: KOTOR that limit your refresh rate (85hz max for KOTOR, for instance).

Basically I will swing the camera around wildly and notice a vague distortion with a horizontal line running through the middle/upper part of my monitor. When I keep still or move the camera slowly I don't notice anything, but when I swing it around (some FPS you have to swing around like crazyto kill people behind you, etc.) I notice this crap. Some games with no refresh rate restrictions I can run at 120hz and I dont notice this, so is it just the low refresh rate that causes this?

I know exactly what you are talking about- Do this- turn off V-sync and monitor your FPS.. Does this happen more when your FPS is right around the refresh rate of your monitor? Does it seem to go away at FPS much lower than your refresh rate? Does if go away at FPS much higher than your refresh rate?

Go into ATI CP and set Vsync to ALWAYS ON, not default on and look at a game where it was happening before- I guarantee you it will be gone. What you are describing is classic screen tear, and it will never happen with Vsync enabled *and working*

midnilux · Oct 8, 2004, 08:45 AM

Its not my laptop that is the problem cause I have the same problem on my desktop, they are both hooked to the same monitor though, so maybe my monitor is the problem.

My desktop is pretty much the same as my laptop except 3000+ processor, and a 6800GT, I get the same exact problem.

Note that it's not really a hardware issue, my game doesn't slow down at all, it runs smooth as hell just the display is messed up with that line, just for testing I put KOTOR and UT2004 on the lowest settings possible, lowest res. possible, etc. and set refresh rate to 85hz, the low settings obviously dont push my systems very hard, but I still get the damn display issue wether I run it at low or max settings.

My monitor has a digital control panel of sorts independent from the computer itself, I press a button and a little digital thing shows up in the corner saying what resolution i'm running at and what refresh rate is, how much brightness, etc. On KOTOR when I press the button it says running at 1024x768 85 Hz so I know my PC isn't forcing it on a lower refresh rate than that or other wise my monitor would say "60hz" or whatever.

I'm gonna try the vysnc thing on the ati cp on my laptop to see if it still happens, my desktop is not an ati card though.

BWX · Oct 8, 2004, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

I'm gonna try the vysnc thing on the ati cp on my laptop to see if it still happens, my desktop is not an ati card though.

Doesn't matter- do the same thing on the desktop- I have been experimenting like a madman with this kind of thing for about 5 years. (well, I first started about 5 years ago, after a while there are no more new things to try).. I remember it really bad in Alice with a ti4200 and 3dmark original with a gf2GTS... Nvidia cards seem to be more prone to this phenomenon than ATI cards, but it might just be my own experience..

Trust me on this one. Unless you have a hardware malfunction or some obscure hardware incompatibility, Vsync, when properly enabled and working will get rig of your problem. But I bet you discover that you notice the slight delay caused by Vsync more annoying than that line/break/tear, and go back to not using vsync after a little while...

Make sure to enable triple buffering as stated before so you don't drop down to half the FPS if the card isn't putting out enough to match the refresh rate..

Not sure if the 6800GT has the ability to use triple buffering though, can't remember but I thought I heard something about that a long time ago...

midnilux · Oct 9, 2004, 05:52 AM

Well I did what you said and I don't notice it anymore...

Odd because I turned V-sync on within games and still got that glitch but when setting it from the control panel I don't get it.

BWX · Oct 9, 2004, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnilux

Well I did what you said and I don't notice it anymore...

Odd because I turned V-sync on within games and still got that glitch but when setting it from the control panel I don't get it.

Yeah I wouldn't even bother with the game settings- just turn it to "always on" or "always off"- You may be able to experiment with "default on or off" and get the game to control it, but it doesn't always work as you found out..

Since you have such a fast card and obviously have a pretty good CRT that can run at pretty high Hz- you may be able to run Vsync all the time without noticing too much lag.. I know I still can't use Vsync because it causes too much lag, even if I'm over 80fps in games 90% of the time..

midnilux · Oct 9, 2004, 08:11 AM

Well yes apparently my monitor kicks ass, it was $700 like 4 years ago and still selling for $300-400 on ebay today, I was gonna sell it but I guess I'll keep it.

Nacht · Oct 9, 2004, 04:07 PM

the only game ive ever played where i needed vsync was doom3...it seemed to tear really bad and is the only game ive ever noticed it in. in others i either dont notice it or it doesnt happen.

midnilux · Oct 12, 2004, 05:26 PM

I only notice it with games that move extremely fast.

Doom 3 keeps my system in check but weaker stuff like UT and KOTOR is a little too fast and smooth so it starts tearing up.

Ript_Van_Winkle · Oct 13, 2004, 10:04 PM

Just get a Sharp Aquos 32" HDTV and run it through the VGA port on a ALL-IN-WONDER. It kicks ass!

Oct 7, 2004, 05:11 PM	#1
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	Good gaming monitors? I have a CRT that supports up to 160hz, but I have a problem when I play games like SW: KOTOR that limit your refresh rate (85hz max for KOTOR, for instance). Basically I will swing the camera around wildly and notice a vague distortion with a horizontal line running through the middle/upper part of my monitor. When I keep still or move the camera slowly I don't notice anything, but when I swing it around (some FPS you have to swing around like crazyto kill people behind you, etc.) I notice this crap. Some games with no refresh rate restrictions I can run at 120hz and I dont notice this, so is it just the low refresh rate that causes this? Or is my monitor to blame also? Myabe there are monitors that even at low hz dont show this annoying problem... So What kind of monitors are best for gaming? And does anyone know the problem I'm talking about, it's kind of hard to explain, I just see this tiny little horizontal line that seems to not be able to keep up with how fast the rest of the monitor is displaying stuff, and I dont see this at all when I run at 120hz, but most games cant be run higher than 85hz for some reason, it's not that my monitor cant do it, they just have that restriction on them.

Oct 7, 2004, 06:25 PM	#6
Shinjikun 第3 子供 Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nerv HQ Posts: 1,319 Rep Power: 0	Aye, if you feel comfortable with it and your monitor has a high enough refresh rate you can enable v-sync to get rid of that tearing effect. The negative is that your FPS is locked to the refresh rate of the monitor; all though a lot of people don't really mind with a decent refresh rate. __________________ Xfire: [Shinji1225 \ Status] A7N8X-E Deluxe Athlon XP 2500+ (@ 2.2 GHz 11x200 MHz FSB) Corsair TwinX XMS 1GB PC3200 Dual Channel (2-2-3-5) [color=red]ATi [/color][color=white]Radeon 9500 Pro (@ 330\310) \ [/color][color=white]Omega Catalyst Drivers v2.5.90[/color] [color=white]Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU[/color]

Oct 7, 2004, 06:37 PM	#7
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	You don't need more than 85 FPS in my opinion. Only in older Q3 games people would need higher FPS for "higher jumping" or "faster running". Damn engine exploits. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Oct 7, 2004, 07:53 PM	#9
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Did you turn on VSYNC? __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Oct 7, 2004, 08:16 PM	#10
MythicaL I like computers. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In front of a monitor Posts: 3,399 Rep Power: 87 System Specs	I say the ViewSonic CRT line is the best __________________ Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Oct 7, 2004, 05:13 PM	#2
ViRuS2k HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Uk Posts: 8,334 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	check out the www.overclockers.co.uk forums in the hardware section check out the monitor guide... very very helpfull loads of reviews by people that have used them extensivly rather than read bios reviews. soon i will be getting a 21" viewsonic TFT 16Ms very very nice gameing Flat pannel

Oct 7, 2004, 05:15 PM	Thread Starter #3
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	I dont really care if its flat panel or not, I don't care if its a 200lbs monster monitor as long as I dont get this problem I'm talking about but I will check out that site

Oct 7, 2004, 07:48 PM	Thread Starter #8
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	I run KOTOR at 85hz and still get this tearing issue

Oct 7, 2004, 09:36 PM	Thread Starter #11
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	Yeah I had v-sync on

Oct 7, 2004, 11:15 PM	#13
Geminiwave I Have lovely Breasts Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: In the closet... Posts: 5,395 Rep Power: 62	indeed. It may be changing your refresh rate without telling you. Use Multires and lock the refresh rate, then make sure that you have vsync locked as well. __________________

Oct 8, 2004, 01:23 AM	#14
projectHUMAN Subsonic Stigmata Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 136 Rep Power: 0	I dont think it's a Vsync issue. If it was multiple tears maybe but what he's getting is one tear close to the top. I've had it since I bought this 8500. I've tried multiple things stated above to no avail. ::shrugs::

Oct 8, 2004, 08:45 AM	Thread Starter #16
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	Its not my laptop that is the problem cause I have the same problem on my desktop, they are both hooked to the same monitor though, so maybe my monitor is the problem. My desktop is pretty much the same as my laptop except 3000+ processor, and a 6800GT, I get the same exact problem. Note that it's not really a hardware issue, my game doesn't slow down at all, it runs smooth as hell just the display is messed up with that line, just for testing I put KOTOR and UT2004 on the lowest settings possible, lowest res. possible, etc. and set refresh rate to 85hz, the low settings obviously dont push my systems very hard, but I still get the damn display issue wether I run it at low or max settings. My monitor has a digital control panel of sorts independent from the computer itself, I press a button and a little digital thing shows up in the corner saying what resolution i'm running at and what refresh rate is, how much brightness, etc. On KOTOR when I press the button it says running at 1024x768 85 Hz so I know my PC isn't forcing it on a lower refresh rate than that or other wise my monitor would say "60hz" or whatever. I'm gonna try the vysnc thing on the ati cp on my laptop to see if it still happens, my desktop is not an ati card though.

Oct 9, 2004, 05:52 AM	Thread Starter #18
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	Well I did what you said and I don't notice it anymore... Odd because I turned V-sync on within games and still got that glitch but when setting it from the control panel I don't get it.

Oct 9, 2004, 08:11 AM	Thread Starter #20
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	Well yes apparently my monitor kicks ass, it was $700 like 4 years ago and still selling for $300-400 on ebay today, I was gonna sell it but I guess I'll keep it.

Oct 9, 2004, 04:07 PM	#21
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	the only game ive ever played where i needed vsync was doom3...it seemed to tear really bad and is the only game ive ever noticed it in. in others i either dont notice it or it doesnt happen.

Oct 12, 2004, 05:26 PM	Thread Starter #22
midnilux DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 66 Rep Power: 0	I only notice it with games that move extremely fast. Doom 3 keeps my system in check but weaker stuff like UT and KOTOR is a little too fast and smooth so it starts tearing up.

Oct 13, 2004, 10:04 PM	#23
Ript_Van_Winkle DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Malaise Posts: 482 Rep Power: 0	Just get a Sharp Aquos 32" HDTV and run it through the VGA port on a ALL-IN-WONDER. It kicks ass! __________________ [color=red][/color]