Apple Cinema Displays and Gaming

[Topper]

I've been told that LCD displays are not that good for gaming because of their slow response time.
I will be purchasing the next generation Mac Pro with the most powerful consumer video card available when it comes out.
I would like to purchase a large 30" LCD monitor but if it isn't very good for gaming, I'll stick with my 21" CRT monitor.
Any opinions? Thanks.

 

[barr08]

My roomate recently went to some hardcore gaming competition, lanwar or something like that, and I asked him about the displays. He said almost everyone had lcd displays, but the really really intense gamers are sticking with CRT.

That being said, you are spending all that money on a mac pro, you might as well get the slick 30" display if you have the funds. I have neevr ntoiced any sort of response time issues with my iMac, and I tend to look out for these sort of things. I think you'll be more than OK with the apple display.

Edit: I was curious about this, and found an article/review about a cinema display. From the review:

After watching the movie on the display I fired up Oblivion for some game testing on the display. Again I ran dual display mode with the same game images on each screen. The Apple display performed flawlessly with no ghosting, despite that rather slow 14ms response time. I still preferred the image on my Eizo CE240W for the sharper contrast and brighter image, though it was very close.

14ms isn't a great response time, but it isn't terrible either. I would do some more google-ing about this, as I am sure there is more out there about this topic.

 

[Ringo]

No problem whatsoever on my 23'' Apple display. Just love it, great for movie and pro apps too. Playing WoW, CoD2 and other stuff both on XP and OS X.

BTW, lucky you can afford a 30'' im just drooling for one.

 

[Mr. MacBook]

get a gaming display that isnt a apple cinema display. ViewDock has some really impressive displays. And same with samsung.

 

[Topper]

BTW, lucky you can afford a 30'' im just drooling for one.

I don't have one yet. My CRT is failing, I hope I can afford one when the time comes.

Thank you to everyone for your input!

 

[BlankStar]

got a 20" cinema display and play all sort of games from first-person shooters till world of warcraft. And they all run fine, no ghosting whatsoever. Colors are vivid and birghtness is fine.

Join us in the 21st century and kick out that CRT...

 

[Topper]

Join us in the 21st century and kick out that CRT...

My CRT is a 21 inch Sony which was quite expensive in it's day.
But it's time is just about over so, yes, I will be getting a LCD display in the near future.

 

[Kosh66]

Haven't had any problems gaming in UT2004 on my 30" Apple Cinema Display. I keep the resolution a little lower than the native to keep my framerates up - haven't tried a higher resolution.

 

[BlankStar]

My CRT is a 21 inch Sony which was quite expensive in it's day.
But it's time is just about over so, yes, I will be getting a LCD display in the near future.

your eyes will be happy aswell... Got a CRT at work here, a Sony @81Hz, and man... My eyes hurt like hell if I have to watch that screen for more than an hour... While I can work with my macbook all day long, or play world of warcraft for hours and hours at home, without ever getting a headache or painfull eyes...

CRT is evil!

 

[wako]

With todays LCD screens and the average response time is 10ms, you wont have to worry about the "shadowing" effect or whatever you would like to call it. I personally play FPS games where things do move fast, and I dont see any motion shadowing effects.

The only problem with 30'' screen is that you wont be able to play games at the native resolution. Instead you will have to scale the game, and with such a big monitor if you played it at 1440x900 for example, it wont look too good when it is suppose to be 2560x1600.

The graphics cards that is offered for the Mac Pro that is designed for gaming are all pretty bad by todays standard. The best they have is a x1900xt and I doubt some of the new games will be able to pump out much frames for you, especially any of the DX10 games.

 

[Mac.Jnr]

With todays LCD screens and the average response time is 10ms, you wont have to worry about the "shadowing" effect or whatever you would like to call it. I personally play FPS games where things do move fast, and I dont see any motion shadowing effects.

The only problem with 30'' screen is that you wont be able to play games at the native resolution. Instead you will have to scale the game, and with such a big monitor if you played it at 1440x900 for example, it wont look too good when it is suppose to be 2560x1600.

The graphics cards that is offered for the Mac Pro that is designed for gaming are all pretty bad by todays standard. The best they have is a x1900xt and I doubt some of the new games will be able to pump out much frames for you, especially any of the DX10 games.

Yeah you're right, you'll need atleast a 8800gtx/s to run games at that resolution. Do you really need to game at 2560x1600? Why not settle for a nice Samsung 226BW or something, it's a 22' screen and I've heard that it is one of the best gaming lcds.

What games will you be playing?

 

[phanboyjohn]

your eyes will be happy aswell... Got a CRT at work here, a Sony @81Hz, and man... My eyes hurt like hell if I have to watch that screen for more than an hour... While I can work with my macbook all day long, or play world of warcraft for hours and hours at home, without ever getting a headache or painfull eyes...

CRT is evil!

BlankStar, have you tried changing the refresh settings? It might be the 81Hz that's hurting you, not the CRT. Also, sitting close to your monitor might be causing the strain--far away is better, if possible.

 

[Topper]

Yeah you're right, you'll need at least a 8800gtx/s to run games at that resolution.

Okay, that's it then. I'll go buy that 8800 card today.
But wait a minute, there's something wrong here, what could it be?

 

[Mac.Jnr]

It's not Mac compatible, well it kind of is but you'll need to do some modifications and switch cards to boot in OSX

The Nvidia 8800 GTX is pretty darn expensive too.

 

[Topper]

It's not Mac compatible, well it kind of is but you'll need to do some modifications and switch cards to boot in OSX

The Nvidia 8800 GTX is pretty darn expensive too.

I love that card. Expense would not be a hindrance.
But I wouldn't try modifying it.
So I can only hope it may be an option for the next Mac Pro.

 

[HiRez]

I haven't noticed much ghosting, but I can tell you that WoW is absolutely gorgeous on a 30" Cinema Display, if you have a card that can handle the native resolution with good settings. It really elevates the game in an amazing way that I didn't really believe until I saw it for myself. It's immersive. Make sure you properly calibrate the display (I recommend ~6500K @ 2.2 gamma) and set your game's gamma appropriately. The Cinema Displays are somewhat expensive and yes, they don't match a lot of other monitors spec regarding brightness, contrast, etc. However, I still find them to be among the very best displays, they are just very smooth and rich to look at, with very accurate color. Compare them by trusting your eyes, not the numbers.

 

[Mac.Jnr]

Let's put it this way:

If your a professional gamer and want the edge over fellow gamers, don't get the Apple Cinema Display but if your just a casual gamer and don't need the edge just get the Apple Cinema Display. There are also alot of other choices. It also depends on what games, if they are FPS you'll want a lower response time.

Are you just getting a Mac Pro for gaming? Why not just build a nice gaming rig and get a nice iMac or MBP to do your work.

I'd doubt you'll play any recent games at 2560x1600 even with the ATI x1900XT but since you waiting for updated Mac Pro it might just have a 8800GTX or a ATI HD2900XT.

 

[Topper]

Are you just getting a Mac Pro for gaming?

No, using the Mac Pro for 3d rendering, video editing, and games.

but since you waiting for updated Mac Pro it might just have a 8800GTX or a ATI HD2900XT.

Purely a guess on my part but I am guessing it may have the HD 2900XT.
I would rather have an 8800 series card but I serious doubt that will happen.

 

[Kosh66]

I'd doubt you'll play any recent games at 2560x1600 even with the ATI x1900XT but since you waiting for updated Mac Pro it might just have a 8800GTX or a ATI HD2900XT.

You don't have to play games at the native resolution of 2560x1600. I play UT2004 at 1280x800 on my 30" ACD and looks beautiful. Gets great framerates too with the X1900XT.

 

[apfhex]

I think the ghosting issue is really only relevant with older or just plain crappy LCDs. It's a little noticeable on my 2002 PBG4.

But there's definitely no reason not to get an ACD for gaming if that's the display you want. I've played Half Life, UT2004, Halo, WoW on mine with no issues. I don't stress the specs too much — the ACD has been stellar so far (if you dismiss the backlight bleeding plaguing the 23" models).

 

[Mac.Jnr]

You don't have to play games at the native resolution of 2560x1600. I play UT2004 at 1280x800 on my 30" ACD and looks beautiful. Gets great framerates too with the X1900XT.

I know you don't have to play at native resolution, wouldn't it look bad though? UT2004 is a pretty old game..... I've never played it but have you tried running it at 2560x1600? Does it even support that resolution? Run it at that resolution and tell me if it's better looking or not. Why do you play at 1200x800? Sorry for all questions.


Topper Oh then get a Mac Pro If you were just getting it for gaming then... Hmm doesn't it look like Apple gonna use Nvidia? Plus the ATI HD2900XT requires tonnes of power even more than a 8000GTX and runs hotter than fireball.

So you need the ACD 30" for video editing as well.

I'd say get the ACD! It looks stunning but I'd never get one, there too expensive!

 

[Topper]

I'd say get the ACD! It looks stunning but I'd never get one, there too expensive!

Yes, I agree, too expensive.
I am starting to look at other brands. The Mac Pro is expensive enough. Sorry, Apple.