[burns]

Refresh rate or contrast?

I'm thinking of purchasing a new monitor.
One has higher dynamic range but also slower refresh rate.
The other has less dynamic range but faster refresh.

My friend's computer allows him to see enemy aircraft long before I can. His monitor has both faster refresh and better contrast dynamic range. Hence my delema. Which is more critical?
Refresh or dynamic range?

[Junkers]

I'm not sure but how much are you spending and which monitors are you looking at?

[GeneralPsycho]

i have a 24 inch samsung at 1920*1200

what size are you thinking to get?

[md_wild_weasel]

i have a samsung syncmaster t200 20 inch wide screen, this has a re-fresh rate os 2ms and a 20000.1 dynamic contrast.. all for 150 pounds. cant go wrong if you ask me 8)

[burns]

I was hoping for a generic reply that I could apply to any future purchase.
At the moment I was considering my friends Samsung 24" SyncMaster 2442BW.
response time: 5ms
Contrast ratio: DC 20,000:1 (typically 1000:1)

The second choice is an I-INC 28".
response time: 3ms
Contrast ratio:800:1

So if contrast were the key I'd lean toward the Samsung.
if contrast were the key I'd lean toward the I-INC since its larger.

But I'm not sure yet what I'm going to get.

[tityus]

As it generally goes with games, the lower your resolution is, the easier you will spot the enemy.

I don't know what rig you have right now, but I know of players that use their 24inch monitors with 1024 x 748, even 800 x 600, in order to see the enemy first - filtering, lighting, details... usually things that improve your image, make enemies harder to see.

Some of my fly mates see things before I do, but I decided not to lower my resolution and other variables and I keep it at 1680 x 1050, and every video option in its highest notch. It's a price I'm willing to pay for a little bit more immersion.

If the idea is just to make enemies more visible, you may already have a suitable monitor.

... my two cents

t

[burns]

My friend is flying with higher res than I. I'm also building a simpit which will use a widescreen monitor. Since I'm going to replace my current monitor, I thought I should get one that would take into consideration all the factors. I don't know why he sees the enemy first: refresh or contrast.

I have an older lcd with a refresh of 8ms and a contrast ration of 550:1.

[md_wild_weasel]

higher responce times are generally not good for gaming, lower responce time reduce blurring and eye strain.. check my previuos post, great monitor(small by some peeps standards) and a fantastic price for very high responce time.

[burns]

So you think response time is more critical than contrast ration?

[tityus]

My friend is flying with higher res than I. I'm also building a simpit which will use a widescreen monitor.

Are all the other settings at the same spec , specially visibility distance?

Instead of extracting info bit by bit, let me give you what you've first ask... but bear in mind that to be able to spot enemies first is on the contrary route of producing the better image possible. I personally, prefer a realistic image than a "practical" one where I can locate the enemies faster. That's up to each pilot. That said:

I was hoping for a generic reply that I could apply to any future purchase.

Display resolution: the number of pixels the monitor employs to show the image . The native resolution gives us the best perception one can get. If you set your monitor to something else, it will have to do some number crunching in the image to accommodate it on its native resolution at the expense of moving away from the best quality possible. Displaying more pixels in a smaller area makes the image much clearer. The higher the resolution - the more points it has - , the more detail it will convey [clearer perception].

Display area: this is the easier to decide and a direct consequence of aspect ratio and how many inches you decide to go for. The larger your monitor, the larger display area you have. What you should observe is: if you have a 1024x768 jpg image and look it on a 24" display, side by side, with a 15" display, you will perceive the image in the 15" monitor as clearer, because you have the same amount of pixels in a small area, therefore you have more pixels/inch.

Image resolution or input resolution - that's what your game will send to your monitor. The higher it is, the better you can discern details, clearer image. What those that want to get an edge on detecting the enemy do is lower the image sent out to the monitor, so when it interpolates the pixels, it accentuate the differences - plane to background - making them more pronounced and easy to spot. (they also tweak the gamma)

Aspect Ratio - proportion of the display - square or rectangular. It affects the number of pixels in the display for the same size. Usually a 19" widescreen display has more pixels than a 19" fullscreen (square one 4:3)

Response time - it is the time the monitor takes to respond to a change in the pixel it is displaying. Faster is better, specially for games.

Contrast Ratio - a ratio between the brightest and darkest pixel the display can produce. The higher the better.


Wrapping up...

If it were my choice, since I'm one that prefers the best image my monitor can show (that's not in the same direction as seeing the enemy first, it is contrary), I'd get the wide screen display with the largest native resolution I could afford, lower response time and higher contrast ratio.

GenPsycho and WildWeasel provided good suggestions.


good luck,
t

[burns]

Yes I understand. But, if you had to choose between two monitors, one with faster refresh rate and the other with better contrast ratio, which would you pick?

That is the question.

[tityus]

It depends on the numbers, but:

Samsung 24" SyncMaster 2442BW.
response time: 5ms Contrast ratio: 1000:1

or

I-INC 28".
response time: 3ms Contrast ratio:800:1

I'd go door number one: SyncMaster 2442BW

t

[GeneralPsycho]

yep, syncmaster

i have syncmaster T240 with built in USB, Tv tuner, and HDMI support

[md_wild_weasel]

yes fatsre responce times =better much better. Faster responce times( 2ms as apposed to 5ms ) would mean les blurring. for example, waggle your mouse on your desktop, if you have a lower responce time your mouse pointer will blurr , the higher this will become less appaernt. If you dont believe me or think im talking out of my arse look at all the gaming monitors,(yes they do make them but they are very expensive) this is what i did when choosing my monitor. Also lower responce times reduce eye strain , which is a must if your spending long periods playing Il2. The 20in monitor i brought (from p.c world) i think has the best of both worlds for a reasonable price. fast responce time 2ms and a 20,000:1 responce time all for 150 pounds sterling. however this all depends on what budget you have. Remenber raster responce times does = a better monitor, they are always the mot expensive.

oh and another point to consider before you rush off, the bigger screen you have the better graphics card you will need to run it