Picked a CRT monitor over an LCD for my retro gaming setup and it was worth it

I had to choose between a 19-inch Dell CRT I found on Craigslist for $20 and a modern LCD that my buddy offered me for free. I went with the CRT because old consoles like my SNES and PS1 look way smoother on it, no lag or blur. The thing weighs like 40 pounds and takes up half my desk, but playing Super Mario World at 60Hz feels perfect. Has anyone else gone back to a CRT for older games and noticed a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

ninas701mo ago

You know, I used to think CRT people were just being nostalgic and making a big deal out of nothing. I had a flat-screen LCD for years and thought it was fine, seriously. But then I grabbed an old 21-inch Sony Trinitron from a thrift store a few months back just to see what the fuss was about. Plugged in my PS1 to play some Castlevania Symphony of the Night and man, the difference is night and day. The sprites just pop, there's no weird blurring when you move fast, and lag is basically gone. I still keep my LCD for modern stuff, but for older games, the CRT totally changed my mind.

hernandez.ben1mo ago

ninas70 said the lag is "basically gone" but that's not quite right. CRTs actually have zero display lag, not just less lag. Your LCD probably had like 30-50ms of input lag which feels fine for most things, but a CRT is literally instant. That's why old fighting game players swear by them. Once you feel that instant response its hard to go back even if you know LCDs look cleaner for modern stuff.