I was reading on caliburforum.com - and saw mention of LCD's needing at least 8ms or better to avoid lag...
...is this true?
With Black Friday close to upon us, and well, the rumor that LCD's are going to be dropping, more and more people may look into purchasing monitors to travel with to events, etc. I'd like to get the facts straight so we can have an informed decision for tournaments, as well as players. If anyone has info - let's get going.
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8ms is nothing to complain about. Back in the day LCDs were only running at 20ms refresh rate, which translates to roughly 50hz CRT refresh rate. 8ms translates to 125hz!!!
These are roughly the same measurement without getting too technical. I know some will say they're not a direct comparison and that's somewhat true but it's about as close as you get. Motion problems start happening around (blurring etc) 20-25ms, to get rid of eyestrain you're talking at lease 12ms, so 8ms is pretty nice.
You might want to make sure to set your "refresh rate" under the monitor properties to something higher than 72hz otherwise you won't fully benefit from the 8ms response anyway. To do this go to Display Settings | Settings tab | Advanced | Monitor tab.
Pretty much any LCD monitor you see now will far outgun a CRT unless the CRT is really nice and the LCD is cheap and shoddy. With LCDs you have some clear benefits, brightness will be much better than a CRT, contrast is comparable, and refresh rates are now better. The downside is if you get a cheap one the colors aren't quite as rich as high-end CRTs.
The main thing you want to be really careful to watch out for is INTERLACED or 1080/720/540i monitors/TVs. You want to be absolutely sure what you get is an all digital LCD (HDMI/DVI input) that can support a progressive refresh. If you don't what you end up with is a choppy picture and blocky looking motion. Monitors should pretty much all be progressive, but they don't always advertise it one way or the other on those so I'd want to see the sucker on before I bought it. TVs however are advertized as 1080, 720, or 540 p or i and you want p. 720p is better than 1080i in every way imaginable as far as picture quality so don't waste your time or money with a 1080i tv.
The deal is that the circuitry for running analog-digital interlace is cheaper than the same equipment for progressive scan. Long story short, we're at a point between analog and digital video where most devices are made to support analog AND digital. In order to do this manufacturers cut a lot of corners. So look at it before you buy it is the best advice.
The short answer to your question: 8ms is probably better than the CRT you currently have, look out for color clarity, you want a monitor or a progressive tv - no exceptions, and you should try to see it in use before you buy it.