Response rate is only important if the monitor is being used for
gaming/video watching. For office machines it doesn't matter as much. (You
mentioned both).

I have use for games - my computers are for work. I do some minor video editing
on occasion, but I suspect response time won't be that big a deal.


It's my understanding that contrast ratio is partly a function of brightness
as well. It's difficult to acheive a high contast ratio if the 'whites'
aren't bright.

I wish I could afford an LCD, I'm down to using a scratched 15" CRT as the
missus' old 17" gave up the ghost and I gave her my new 17" CRT as her eyes
aren't as good as mine. (She runs the 17" at 800x600, I use the 15" at
1024x768) I'm reduced to using the old Philips 105/S that we had as a spare.
shrug

Hi brightness (other than the connection with contrast ratio) can be very
important if the screen is in a very bright room. Otherwise, as mentioned,
you'll have it turned way down anyway.

I'm always surprised when I hear of people using 15 inch monitors. 17-inch CRT's
are 60 bucks, and I can buy a good 19-icn CRT-based monitor for 200.