I need some help choosing a monitor. Since I'm not entirely sure what I am looking for, any advice is greatly appreciated.

I'm running a 1GB Radeon HD5870 and I would like to give it long legs (i.e. keep using it for as long as possible) for running games at high settings. Would I be running it out sooner if I go with a 1920x1080 resolution, or is this now the standard res for the early 2010's monitors? I figure anything more than that is too high for a single card setup. But can I actually get anything lower in a larger panel size (like, for instance, 1680x1050 @ 24"-27") and would this result in too large of pixels? Also, would it be better to go with CCFL or LED lighting? I appreciate any feedback from those in the know.

Also I am probably looking to stick with TN panels. It's for a bedroom/desk so off-angle viewing is not a priority, and I don't need the super color accuracy as I won't be doing any photo/video editing.

I don't know why it's worth it to pay for such a big monitor and not get an IPS panel. A matte IPS panel is going to look so much better than a TN panel you'll be amazed. If you're getting a TN panel, just get the cheapest one with the best warranty, they really aren't very nice to look at so I'm not sure the manufacturer is going to make much of a difference.

Here's a pretty good list of IPS panels http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php

As you can see some of them ring up for under 400 USD (sometimes even less!), they really are worth it if you're going to lay out the cash for such a big monitor anyway.

I'm no LCD expert, but wouldn't limiting yourself to 1680x1050 on such a large screen be like, say, limiting yourself to 800x600 on a 17" CRT? Don't 24" LCDs come cheap enough even with 1920x1080?

I'd guess you're on a budget since you wonder about those things but I'm not sure if it'd even be worth it.. But then what do I know, I still own CRTs. :D

I"m a fan of Samsung monitors. If you're willing to settle for 1920x1080, you'll save money over getting a proper 1920x1200 monitor.

You might consider getting and HDTV/monitor as the premium for that is fairly insignificant, assuming you're not ruling out the possibility of using it as a TV.

IMO, LG LCDs have the best (most saturated) colors.

A while ago I went to an electronic store that displayed a few dozen LCDs side-by-side on store shelves. All were showing the same videos and images. I spent some time watching and comparing the different LCDs. LG, especially the "IPS" LCD, produced the best images and colors. And the IPS LCDs were not just "a little" better; they were a lot better than Samsung,Viewsonic, and all those other LCDs. All the other brands were pale in comparison.

Unfortunately, I don't need another LCD right now, but I really wanted to get a LG IPS LCD when I was entirely impressed by it.

I bought a LG W2252TQ around 3 years ago.. it has much better colours and a clearer picture than any of the 3 monitors I've bought since then (for other computers).