Railworks America

I'm at the point in the near future where I am going to upgrade my 20.5" Dell LCD monitor. I simply want a larger viewing area and I am trying to dedcide on one of the following:
1. Go for a 27" Computer Monitor with ~ 1 ms latency
2. Go for two ~ 21" Computer Monitors with 1 to 3 ms latency depending on total price.
3. Go for a large format viewing experience~ 52" Plasma.

So here are my thoughts/questions/observations.

Obviously the 27" will give a better vieing experience with improved viewing size and better response time than what I am currently using, so that seems like a safe bet.

But larger still would be better as necessity requires my monitor to be a around five feet away. I thought I understood that the Plasma's do not have latency issues which would tend to smear rapid camera panning, but not sure I have that right; nor am i aware of their resolution compared to Computer Monitors, or there may be other issues I am unaware of that my make them less then the best approach.

Lastly the idea of dual monitors, which I have seen work well with some games, but I am thinking may not work well with Rail Works as I have concerns about splitting the image.

Any input to the points above would be great.

27" or 30" or a little larger is probably your best bet. You need a high end video card to drive a high rez 52" monitor, plus it's probably HDMI which an older video card may not have.

I tried 2x24" Asus flatscreens in a dual monitor setup. I could never get rid of the width of the bezels and just quit the idea and went with this single 24". But it's only 2' from me on my desk.

I was afraid of the bezel thing; thanks for the input.

My video card is a GTX 580; so I think I could support a decent size monitor.

Size of tghe monitor has nothing to do with performance. A 55" HDTV will yield the EXACT same game performance as a 23" LCD. What matters is the resolution. If both panels have a resolution of 1920x1080 (1080P) they will perform the exact same with regards to frame rates and whatnot. What will be different is how the picture is presented on-screen. The larger the screen (resolution being equal) will look less sharp than a panel of smaller size and the same dimension due to the pixels being larger (look up "pixel pitch" online for reference).

2x monitors will have a bezel right through the middle of the screen and will look horrible. 3x Monitors will require more GPU power due to the increase in resolution. Also, for 3x Monitor support you will need another GTX 580. Latency will not be an issue with a Simulator due to the slower pace of the action. The only time latency is really that important is when you are playing a first person shooter. Unless you are looking at an LCD made 10 years ago the latency will not be an issue for a simulatore like TS2012, FS9, FSX, Prepar3d, etc.. etc..

The most important thing to look for in a panel is panel type (TN, MVA, or IPS), resolution, and screen size. The best looking will be a 30" IPS display, but it will also more than likely cost you more than $1000. IPS will have the best colors, best viewing angles, and highest cost. MVA will have good viewing angles, solid blacks, and poorer response times. TN will have the fastest response time but the worst viewing angles and color respresentation. However, TN will also be the cheapest. If you are looking for a large screen HDTV to game on, than look at LG and Panasonic. I do believe both of these panel manufacturers use IPS displays (watch out for a panel lottery though....sometimes manufacturers will have the same model of TV with different panel types).

I personally use a 30" Dell 3007WFP-HC and a 23" Acer H233H (Smaller panel for Netflix in my office). I love my 30" Dell but it runs at 2560x1600 which can stress my system depending on settings (4.2 GHZ with Evga GTX 480 SSC). I have used a 23" LCD, 30" LCD, 32" HDTV, 37" HDTV, 40" HDTV, and 52" HDTV as a computer monitor and the 30" has all them beat with regards to color, clarity, and sharpness. Anything more than 37", IMO, is just too big for a computer monitor. The highest resolution you will get on an HDTV is 1920x1080 and that is just way to low resolution for me at bigger than 32". At resolutiuons beyond 37" (even 37", to be completely honest), the picture just does not look very good to me. Some folks don't mind the loss in sharpness and clarity, but I just couldn't stand it.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

I didn't need my monitor for games - I wanted good color fidelity in Photoshop and other programs. I use an older HP LP2475w (IPS) because of it's (then) superior color vs price over many other similar types (it didn't hurt that HP's warranty couldn't be beat either). The unit is now discontinued, but you can still nab one at a good price on the 'bay or elsewhere - just don't expect it to perform well in first-person shooters.

Hack wrote:I didn't need my monitor for games - I wanted good color fidelity in Photoshop and other programs.

If that is truly your first priority then you need a 'Wide Gamut' monitor. Read here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamut or just google wide gamut. I have the same requirement and I use an EIZO Flexscan S2231W, for true-to-life colours and razor-sharp images, it's a great investment. http://www.eizo.com/global/

Yikes - swat a fly with a sledge hammer - at nearly $2k, it better be good!

RW modeling doesn't warrant that amount of cash outlay, so I'll settle for what I have and use the extra $$ to buy something more useful. The HP works great and it's color fidelity is superior to anything in stores. As I said, color is a priority over gameplay performance, but I don't need a Hummer to get my groceries.

Hack wrote:Yikes - swat a fly with a sledge hammer - at nearly $2k, it better be good!

RW modeling doesn't warrant that amount of cash outlay, so I'll settle for what I have and use the extra $$ to buy something more useful. The HP works great and it's color fidelity is superior to anything in stores. As I said, color is a priority over gameplay performance, but I don't need a Hummer to get my groceries.

Yes, if you want it for games, but you said 'I wanted good color fidelity in Photoshop and other programs.' So the cost is for a Professional Monitor not a 'gamers' monitor.

Hack,

If you want professional grade color like one would use professional photo-editing, the EIZO is right up there at the top. If you want excellent color with more than enough color accuracy for RW Modeling then IPS display you have or one of the higher quality Dells wold be just fine as well. If you want something relatively small and realtively cheap, you could always look at one of the smaller NEC IPS displays.

I got my Dell 30" though the Outlet Shop for $750, brand new in the box and unopened. Why was it at the Outlet Stoop? It had a gash in the box so Dell could not sell it through their normal shop. The Panel was still sealed as were all of the manuals. No damage at all. $750, marked down from $12100+. Check out the Dell Outlet Store if you are in the market for a good panel at a great price. Sometimes stock is low, but you never know when something may pop up that suits you perfectly.

Hope this helps!

Marleyman wrote:Yes, if you want it for games, but you said 'I wanted good color fidelity in Photoshop and other programs.' So the cost is for a Professional Monitor not a 'gamers' monitor.

$500 vs $2000 - hmmm...what to do with that extra $1500 (if I had it)?

I thought I mentioned price was a consideration in my original post - gee, it looks like I did! However, I also mentioned "similar types", but I meant similar among LCD displays, and not specifically IPS.

Hack wrote:

Marleyman wrote:Yes, if you want it for games, but you said 'I wanted good color fidelity in Photoshop and other programs.' So the cost is for a Professional Monitor not a 'gamers' monitor.

$500 vs $2000 - hmmm...what to do with that extra $1500 (if I had it)?

I thought I mentioned price was a consideration in my original post - gee, it looks like I did! However, I also mentioned "similar types", but I meant similar among LCD displays, and not specifically IPS.

The problem is the only thing similar to that panel will be another IPS display. lol

Check out NEC and Dell and maybe Planar if you can find one in your price range.

Methinks this should be in the Geek Speak forum.