Hitachi CML174SXW

The Hitachi CML174SXW is the first of this new breed of TFTs, and we’ve got to say that we loved it.

While TFTs are undoubtedly make sexier display than the gargantuan CRTs that have been stealing our desk space since the year dot, there still aren’t many hardcore gamers who have made the switch to the anorexic side. It’s all because of pixel response times and native resolutions. Until now, TFTs have had pixel response times around the 26-30ms range, causing a blurring effect in fast-moving games. And their native resolution of 1024 x 768 simply can’t compare to the higher resolutions offered by CRT monitors. Oh yeah, the fact that they cost around double the price of an equivalent CRT monitor hasn’t helped their cause either.

But gamers are set for a shake up with the imminent release of ultra-low pixel response time and higher resolution TFT monitors from several high profile manufacturers. The Hitachi CML174SXW is the first of this new breed of TFTs, and we’ve got to say that we loved it.
 
While other reviewers would be happy to run a five-minute DisplayMate benchmark and base their review on the results, as Atomicans we felt it was our duty to spend at least five or six hours playing real games on this monitor. Up until then, we’d been firm in our stance that TFTs totally suck for gaming. Not anymore. . .

Thanks to the 16ms pixel response time of this monitor, blurring is almost a thing of the past. We say almost because we noticed a tiny bit in Battlefield 1942, but it is a vast improvement over TFTs we’d seen before. Raven Shield and RTS games exhibited absolutely zero blurring, as these have a slightly slower pace than the frantic Battlefield. Desktop quality was absolutely amazing, with the 400:1 contrast ratio making the monitor measurably brighter and clearer than even our beloved CRT monitors. The RADEON 9700 PROs that are the current card of choice have a sweet spot resolution of 1280 x 1024, which just happens to be the native resolution of this monitor. Talk about a match made in heaven.

If there is one thing that is going to hold you back from purchasing this monitor, it’s the price. At $1,199, it’s certainly not cheap, but it’s worthwhile to remember that a 17in TFT has almost the same viewing area as a 19in CRT. If you hadn’t noticed yet, we were very impressed with this monitor, to the point where many of the Atomic staff members are now seriously considering making ‘the switch.’ To TFTs, not Macs.