Every couple of days we get a post on our forums involving a guy who just wants to find a good flat panel monitor to buy for his computer. He’s looking for something that will look good in games but is reasonably priced. At this point he gets about one helpful response and thirty that say “get a CRT.” We all agree with this standpoint, assuming there’s an option between the two. But if someone poses this question, chances are CRTs aren’t an option. So that being said, Samsung has provided us with a sample of their 940BF LCD monitor, which is their flagship in the 19” form factor. Thanks to Samsung, we’ve been able to experience for ourselves what gaming is like on a high-end LCD. We were also able to experience other important things such as watching videos as well as the crispness of characters while chatting or typing up papers, like the one currently being written. Before we go any further, we want to make it clear that a CRT is a better solution for any situation where it’s feasible to use it. If you can’t use one, though, that’s where the 940BF comes in to play. Before we get into the review itself, let’s go over the basics.

In an earlier article, we discussed the primary differences between LCDs and CRTs from a fundamental point of view. We went over the specifications that are important when selecting an LCD and CRT. Though there’s more detailed information in that article, here’s a quick recap:

1. Response time – This is the time that it takes for an LCD to change the color of one of its pixels. The question, though, is what color to what color it’s changing. There’s no standard for it, and some rate it as black-to-white-to-black response time, and others rate it at a more deceptive gray-to-gray. Gray-to-gray will always have a lower response time than black-to-white-to-black, so be aware of how the rating was determined. It is measured in milliseconds.
2. Contrast Ratio – Contrast ratio is the difference on a color scale between the whitest white and the blackest black. The higher the better, and is usually reported as a several hundred to one ratio (e.g., 400:1).
3. Pixel Pitch – The amount of space between individual pixels, in thousandths of a milimeter.
4. Native Resolution – The resolution that the LCD looks it’s best at. LCDs don’t scale resolutions very well, so keeping them at their native resolution is recommended.
5. Brightness – The amount of candelas per square meter that the LCD produces.
6. Viewing Angle – For most gamers, this isn’t that critical. A limitation of LCD monitors is that from obtuse angles the colors can get inverted or otherwise distorted. This spec lists the maximum amount of degrees off-center a viewer can be without seeing distortion. Since most gamers look straight at their monitor, this is a bit of an afterthought.