The advantages of an LCD over a good CRT monitor are size, power consumption, flicker free operation (because their response time is too slow for perceptable flicker), and weight. (Does coolness factor count here?
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They are inferior to a good CRT monitor (like an NEC Multisync) in actual refesh rate, contrast ratio (black to white contrast), resolution, response time, price, viewing angle, and color accuracy (depends on contrast ratio and also backlight type and spectral response). They also can have dead pixels, so be sure to check them out when buying them. Nearly every LCD will have a few.
The refresh rate on an LCD is not the same as a standard CRT monitor. Just do the basic math and figure out the maximum actual refresh rate given the stated response time figures.
A 25ms response time LCD monitor can only draw 1/.025 = 40 complete frames/second. (More accurately, each pixel can change 40 times per second.) This is easily noticible for gaming and is generally unacceptable. The picture will appear to smear when objects move quickly on the screen.
A 16ms response time LCD can theoretically draw 1/.016 = 62.5 complete frames/second. This is acceptable, but not great, when it comes to gaming.
Obvously setting the LCD refresh rate to 72 Hz is only important to determine maximum framerate when vertical sync is enabled for the game itself. (Even though the LCD will not and cannot display that quickly.) The LCD itself is only physically capable of displaying (at best) 62.5 fps if it actually meets the stated response time figures for a 16ms LCD. (As an aside, at least one typically used onboard LCD controller only actually refreshes the LCD at 60 Hz when using the analog connection. This is, oddly enough (sarcasm intended), the DVI-Digital update frequency.)
I realize this post might sound a bit negative toward LCDs; I didn't intend for that to be the case. On the contrary, I like LCD monitors for an office machine, because they are very easy on the eyes. For a gaming machine, they are still a bit too expensive for an LCD with an acceptable response time IMO.
In case any of you wanted to know -
An LCD display works by the liquid crystal fluid polarizing the light passing through it. Applying an electrical signal to the fluid changes the polarization angle. A polarizing filter is used to polarize the incoming light, and the adjustable polarization of the fluid allows the intensity to be changed. If the fluid is polarizing the light passing through it at an angle of 90 degrees off from the polarizing filter, theoretically no light will pass through. (If you ever break an LCD, be careful, the liquid crystal fluid is extremely hazardous stuff - extrememly carcinogenic)
