It depends on the purpose of the flatpanel in question - if I were a hardcore quake III player, then an LCD would be unacceptable. However, as I mostly use my computer for doing math, and the games I do play are old, the savings in desk space afforded by an LCD just might be worth it when I go to purchase my new system this summer.

The LCD Flatpanel aren't for nerds, they are for one of the millions of home users whom, as was said earlier, don't play intense games with demanding resolutions. "Normal" consumers love the idea that you could put Flatpanels on a wall or a take up a 1/3 of the space of a normal monitor.