I need help choosing a new LCD monitor since my Computer Fu is weak.

I play games and currently use an older sharp 17" DVI lcd screen.

It works okay but when watching movies sometimes the screen goes "blocky"

I would primarily like to know what distinguishes a good lcd from a bad lcd for playing games.

Also, if you guys have any recommendations that would be nice too.

For gaming you want the lowest response time that you can get.  As for the video being blocky I'd be inclined to look at the DVD software, the monitor will only show what the video card pushes to it.

The best DVD playing software I've seen is TheaterTek.


Oh and if you are going to be gaming on an LCD then make sure your video card can handle (in games that is) the native resolution of the panel.  Then it will look it's best.

Okay, that sounds good.  What about refresh rates.  Is there anything other thant he responce time that controls how well the screen refreshes?

Thanks

Yeah, a low response time is what you're looking for.  Make sure the time is stated in gray to gray (the one that typically takes the longest).   I think 12-15 ms and under will be good for most gaming applications.  

What video card are you running?

I'm running a Dell 2005FPW (20" LCD) and a XFX GeForce 7800GT.  I don't watch DVD movies on my 'puter so I can't help you with the blockiness issues.

Low response time, or 'pixel response' is critical.  Sometimes it's listed as 'Black to White' or 'Grey to Grey'.  You want the lowest 'Black to White' response.  I'm running on an LCD that has a 12ms response, and it works fine for games.  It looks the best at the screen's native resolution (1280x1024, that means there are 1280 actual pixels horizontally and 1024 vertically in the LCD.  Anything else needs antialiasing running, which can slow down your video card's performance).