The answer to your question is totally subjective. It is a fact that LCDs in their current state of technology cannot refresh the screen as fast as a regular CRT, but LCD refresh limitations are steadily being overcome. I have seen games that I thought looked good on an LCD and someone else did not, and vice versa. You know what you do and do not like. Go check out a few LCD screens and decide for yourself.

The "blurriness" of an LCD monitor is dependant on the rating of its response time. The response time is a measure of the time it takes a pixel to change color and is composed of both a rising time and a falling time. Typically, an LCD monitor with a total response time of 25ms or less will not have the blurry effect known as ghosting when playing games. The latest "gaming LCDs" have response times of 17ms. Although response time is a general good measure of ghosting in an LCD, it is not absolute. The only way to be sure if an LCD will ghost or not is for you to go into a store such as CompUSA, start up a game on the LCD, and play it for awhile to see if there is any noticeable ghosting for you. However, if you don't have this luxury, I have heard very few complaints with people who have gotten LCDs with a 17ms response time. One more thing. When you look for the response time of an LCD, make sure that the specifications are giving both the rise and the fall time. Some companies will rate only the rise or the fall time in order to get a more favorable rating.

The other answers to this question are very valid, and another thing to bear in mind though is that many LCD monitors (at present) aren't _quite_ as crisp in terms of sharpness as even budget standard CRT monitors - but the standards are improving, as mentioned before, and in terms of portability alone, AND the much more conservative deskspace usage, having an LCD screen far outweighs (for me at least) having a CRT monitor. I'm completely used to this LCD monitor, and I'm dreading the day when I have to pass this screen back to my Dad (I've been borrowing it while I've moved house)... Having a flatscreen then going back to a big bulky monitor is not something I'll enjoy at all. Of course, LCDs still cost more money than comparative CRT screens as well - but bear in mind when the diagonal screen sizes are quoted, for LCD screens a 17" screen will actually HAVE 17" of viewable area, whereas nearly all CRT monitors are marketed as 17" (15" viewable) - so you get back those 2 inches which are conned from you via crafty marketing ;)

Today's LCD monitors typically have a refresh rate of 55-75 Hz, which is plenty fast enough for games. But comparing refresh rates between CRTs and LCDs is like comparing apples to oranges. CRTs are refreshed to re-illuminate a phosphor on the screen; they usually require a 70 Hz or higher refresh rate in order to appear truly flicker-free. LCDs are flicker-free by design, and are refreshed simply to show updates, such as "motion" in movies or games. Probably the main cause of a "blurry" LCD is that it is simply set to the wrong resolution! Unlike CRTs, LCDs are designed to operate at a single, optimal resolution and refresh rate (e.g. 1024 x 768 pixels and 60 Hz). If set to anything else, the display will be noticeably poorer.

I have owned a 15in CRT, a 17in CRT, and my favorite before my newest monitor was a Samsung 19in TruFlat CRT monitor. I am currently using an Envision EN9110 19in LCD Monitor. It is by far the best monitor I have owned to date. ((Only cost around $400 when most other monitors in its class costed $600+) and has a better picture for gaming than my Samsung CRT ever had) Another personal experience answer... but I hope it helps. The only thing I notice that isn't that good is when I have tried to use the monitor as a display for my consoles. I have hooked up my PS2, Xbox, and GameCube all to my Envision monitor and there are alot of square jaggies visible in all the games. PC Games on the other hand, if configured right with the right drivers, Resolution, Refresh Rate, Anti-Aliasing, and Anisotropic Filtering all set to reasonable levels, have all looked the same if not better than when played on a CRT.

If you are looking to purchase - it is VERY good advice to check out a certain monitor at a local retailer before buying (online or off). If you are looking at specs online though, look very carefully at the refresh rate of an LCD. What is good for gaming is around 12ms-16ms (milliseconds). Anything higher than that (25ms>) won't do you any good. But, it is very subjective, and the ms rating is only a guide telling you that it is probably good for gaming. Also, don't forget to check out the contrast for a certain monitor, good values are 600:1 or 700:1 - ie. blacker blacks and whiter whites. I hope that helps!

Actually, there's this new (they just introduced it) LCD monitor that's 4ms, which is the fastest in the world....ViewSonic VX924, which is really awesome for gaming because there's virtually no difference between the VX924 response time and a CRT response time. So basically, this new LCD gets rid of ghosting, streaking, and blurring that's freaking annoying for gaming and stuff...

I use a 17in LCD monitor from dell, yes they turn out a little blurry (when you dont configure it) Use the ClearText Tool to make it perfect. my monitor shows so true right now. I recomend a monitor that has a refresh rate above 70Hz (i hacked mine out to 72Hz where it usualy works 60Hz. faster refresh rates show the picture more clearly than slower ones, and as for response time, the faster the better. LCD's are great for gaming, its just prefrence. Matter of fact, my Laptop's LCD (which is 5 years old) is better than my desktop! its all in the company. they make you pay 2,000 bucks for ubercrap. Stats Desktop: Type: LCD Refresh Rate: 75Hz (hacked) Resolution: 1280x1024x32 Stats Laptop: Type: LCD Refresh Rate: 60Hz Resolution: 1600x1200x32 Bigger resolutions show MUCH better than smaller ones. thats the problem, when people buy LCD's they just look at the refresh rates and response times when what really counts is the resolution. its useless to have a 800x600 LCD that refreshes at 72Hz and hasa response time of 5ms when you can barely see the true texture of the ground. I recomend the new samsungs. they have a 1980x1200x32 resolution, 6ms response rate, 1000:1 line ratio and run on DVI and standard VGA hookups. Heres a link to their new one which is 24". very nice and in the "good quality good price" catagory.. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details-print.asp?EdpNo=1649089&Sku=S203-2406 Hope this helps!

I don't know who told you that, but LCD monitors "ARE NOT BLURRY." LCD monitors are much better than plasma tv's because there isn't as much glare.

July 2nd, 2003 Question number 93!