LCD Input Delay

[curtisbouvier]

This is really getting on my nerves, I cannot get or find a straight answer from anywhere, so lets try here.

Are LCD screens in charge of or process specific input information that is fed into the computer?

You'd think ALL input information, keyboard and mouse, is processed by the computer itself, and sent out at the same time to the appropriate devices. (speakers / monitor)

I have a Samsung 215TW, and for some reason ONLY the mouse movement is delayed, and its different for every game.

Clicking the mouse buttons are Always 8ms, that never changes. you see the muzzle flash and hear the gun shot 8ms later. but the cross hair is sporting a Full 1 second delay???

some games are around 1 second delay, completely unplayable (ghost recon / rainbow six)

other games are around 40-60ms
and some games are 8ms,

the monitor itself is specified for 8ms.

I hooked up a CRT, used the same DVI output on the video card, the same DVI cable, simply with a VGA adapter on the end of it and the delay is completely gone.

How is it that my LCD screen is delaying only a particular set of information it is receiving?

I could understand ALL or None.

This doesn't make any sense whats so ever.

there's NO way this lcd screen should be able to effect the signal it is receiving, let alone have that signal change from game to game.

does anybody have any idea how or what is causing this?

could it be a combination of things?

A lot of people say it's the screen, but there's no way this screen would know the difference between ghost recon and World of Warcraft, or assorted games being played on it, which all have different input delay timings.

this is incredibly frustrating!

any help / info would be appreciated!

thanks

 

[Buck Armstrong]

You've got response time confused with input lag. The 215 has a response time of 8ms, but about 47ms (3 frames) of lag average. 8ms is a decent response, and means you probably won't have any ghosting or smearing issues. But with 3 frames of lag, you're going to get a big delay in input regardless of speed (response).

The lag can vary from frame to frame; so when you measure 8ms, that's showing only the response time, which is good (ie, no lag). Usually on the 215TW, it ranges from 33-63ms (2-4 frames), with 3 being the average. Also, for some reason its only really noticeable on certain games, like very fast-paced "twitch" type FPSes. For instance, I never had a problem in FEAR, but it made CoD4 absolutely unplayable. This is why you might not notice it in WoW, but you do in Ghost Recon.

Samsung monitors are beautiful, but they're infamous for having some of the worst input lag in the business.

 

[curtisbouvier]

yea, they are absolutely the best for color and contrast. i've seen alot of screens and not one of them compares to mine that isn't a similer samsung.

but I just don't see why Half Life 2 and call of duty 4 is very quick responding (as quick as it gets anyway 20-30 ms delay)

but ghost recon is literally about 1 second input delay, its incredible.

why would some shooters be fast and others be laggy? maybe there is a combination of things going there.. who knows.

my buddy got a new ATI card and he says when he turns on VSinc, counter strike has about 1 second input delay, then when he turns VSinc off its entirely gone.

maybe when I upgrade my computer to a Q9450 and GTX280 some things might change.

Ati has had really flakey drivers.


Do you guys know anything about that new 27 inch Samsung 275T Plu?s, I might be getting one of those with my new computer but I definitely want to see how the input delay is going to compare to this, =\ !!

 

[BassBomb]

215TW is known for having high input lag

 

[Harabec]

I installed a new HD4850 today, connected to a SyncMaster T190 monitor (wonderful colors and brightness, no other monitor in the store was even close) and loaded up WoW.
With vsync on there was a noticeable input (mouse movement) delay of about 1/4 sec. Turned vsync off and everything is instant. Strange.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

VSync forces your card to purposely delay sending frames to your monitor until it is ready for the next one, which is why it eliminates tearing. But when you're already dealing with a laggy LCD, it can really increase the delay depending on how fast your monitor is processing frames. To alleviate this somewhat, make sure you use Triple Buffering when using VSync...it will help with the VSync delays, but it can't fix a laggy LCD.

In Harabec's case, what is happening is that the input lag is present even without VSync on, but its low enough that he can't notice it (which usually means 2 frames or less). When he adds the additional delay from VSync, the total input lag now rises above his threshold for noticing it, and it becomes obvious. Some people claim they can see even 1 frame of lag, others claim they're not even bothered by 3 or more. On my NEC 2470WNX, I didn't notice it at all on FEAR, Rome Total War, or some other games, but it was absolutely intolerable in CoD4.

My opinion is that, if I can notice it in even one game, I'm going to pick another LCD. I don't blow all that cash on video cards just to have my monitor ruin the whole show, especially when games like Crysis and Call of Juarez are already hard enough on my system even without input lag.

 

[curtisbouvier]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
215TW is known for having high input lag

I just hope that new 27 inch samsung 275T Plus isn't nearly as bad, because that's gonna be my next screen !

 

[Buck Armstrong]

Originally posted by: curtisbouvier

Originally posted by: BassBomb
215TW is known for having high input lag

I just hope that new 27 inch samsung 275T Plus isn't nearly as bad, because that's gonna be my next screen !

Sorry...its a gorgeous monitor, but it averages 2+ frames of lag. So its better than the original 275T or the 215, but its still there. Google it and you'll find some tests. 2 frames would make it about equal to my 2470WNX, and like I said, the lag was only a real problem in certain games.