Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) have the advantage of being a completely digital
setup, when used with the DVI-D or HDMI digital connectors. When running
at the screen’s native resolution, this can result in the most stable and sharp
image available on current monitors. Many LCD panel displays are sold with an
analog 15-pin VGA connector or, rarely, with an analog DVI-I connector. Such
displays will be a bit fuzzier than their digital counterparts, and are generally
not preferred over a similarly-sized CRT. If you want an LCD display, be sure
to choose a digital setup if you can; however, manufacturers have chosen to
use this feature for price differentiation. The prime disadvantage of LCDs is
“dead pixels”, which are small failing areas on your monitor, which can be
very annoying, but generally aren’t covered under warranty—this can make
purchasing LCD displays a financial risk. LCDs are generally okay for fast-paced
gaming, but you should be sure that your screen has a fairly fast response time
(of 12 ms or lower) if you want to play fast games. Nearly all flat panels sold
today meet this requirement, some by a factor of 3. When picking an LCD, keep
in mind that they are designed to display at one resolution only, so, to reap the
benefits of your screen, your graphics card must be capable of displaying at that
resolution. That in mind, they can display lower resolutions with a black frame
around the outside (which means your entire screen isn’t filled), or by stretching
the image (which leads to much lower quality). Running at a higher resolution
than your monitor can handle will either make everything on the screen smaller,
at a significant quality drop, or will display only a part of the screen at a time.