Intro and Specs

LCDs for Gaming? No way!

For some time, the epitome of the luxury PC upgrade has been the LCD flat panel monitor. Besides their compact footprint, TFT LCDs are attractive for having ultra stable images, a characteristic ideal for word processing and surfing the Internet. However, when it came to graphics rather than text, the limitations of LCD technology quickly surfaced. Pictures on a LCD were never quite as inviting as those on high-end CRTs. This was due in part to the inability for most LCDs to display a complete spectrum of colors, and the subjectively dimmer picture of most LCDs. Moreover, when those images started moving, the typically dismal pixel refresh rate of most LCDs resulted in ghosting, making it unsuitable for most games.

Solarism 1503

The Backside

Mirror View

Solarism, a new startup in San Jose, has come into the market with the hopes of introducing a set of luxury TFTs for the PC market. Their plan is to obtain the highest quality LCD panels from seasoned manufacturers and then augment these panels with their custom Advanced Backlight Technology. Since these TFTs have been developed with the premium market in mind, Solarism believes that their monitors will be the gamer's choice for high-end TFTs. Solarism has addressed all of these LCD TFT issues, but will they be FiringSquad's choice for a high-end TFT?

Specs and Stats

Panel
15.0" viewable TFT Active Matrix (diagonal)
.297mm x .297mm pixel pitch
800 cd/m2 backlight
350:1 contrast ratio
Dimming Range: 100:1 in 100 steps
160 degrees horizontal view angle
Built-in 2W speakers

30-61 kHz Horizontal Scan Rate
50-71 Hz
80MHz Pixel Bandwidth

Input Bank part 1

Input Bank part 2

What you can hook up

Making a Solarism

Testing the screen

Video Inputs
(1) 15-pin VGA D-Sub
(2) Composite
(1) S-VHS

Audio Inputs
Stereo RCA Audio
Stereo Mini-Jack