Honestly dude, I just bought my BenQ today; picking it up on Wednesday. Feel like I got a decent deal:
I'd be happy to PM you once I actually have used it.
Response time helps but mainly it was the change in the Field of View for me.
Previously rocking the 40" 6ms response and sat approximately 5 ft away. Now I use the 24" BenQ linked below and sit about >2 ft away. Filling my field of vision while playing has really helped me to be more successful and in-the-game. Would definitely recommend if you have some supplemental income and thoroughly enjoy gaming.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007HSKSMI/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
How does this BenQ (not a lightning deal) compare?
I used to play on a 55 inch HDTV. The input lag was annoying and my controller would lag from connecting to the TV. Halfway through Black ops 3 i got a Ben Q monitor. This monitor: https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-RL2455HM-24-Inch-Console-Monitor/dp/B007HSKSMI
It has made a huge difference and everything feels faster and smoother. I don't think you're too old. I'm going to be 20 next month, you can do it if you practice. Getting a monitor isn't a must, but if you have the money, it greatly improves your experience. As for Scufs, i decided also to maximize my online potential so i got a type of scuf. It's from a reliable ebayer with nearly 400 reviews of 100% so nothing to worry about. If you send him your controller he will put paddles on it and trigger stops for $40.
It doesn't give you any hacks or anything, just scufs your controller. I have become a consistent 2KD player after i got it. I recommend choosing the X button on the right paddle and O button on the left paddle. At first you will struggle, but then you will be an absolute beast. Let me know if you have anymore questions and i'll do my best to answer them.
If you just want a screen to game on i suggest a cheap one for like 200$, no need to get a real tv in this case. Just got the BenQ RL2455HM a few days ago and its great for gaming.
PS: Ofcourse its pretty small compared to a good tv but its enough for me personally.
If you use a Wii to play Gamecube games, you can use a Wii2HDMI converter to make your Wii output 480p over an HDMI cable (after changing from 480i to 480p in Wii settings). Keep in mind that this isn't true HD (which is anything 720p and above), but it should clear up any muddy glare.
For specific Wii2HDMI converters, I recommend the Sewell Wii2HDMI brand (amazon), which has been tested in an article I will link at the bottom. However, it seems to be out of stock as of right now.
You can search "Wii2HDMI" on Amazon or whatever online store you use to find a similar model. I recommend a model that does not perform upscaling, which means finding one that outputs 480p, not 720p. Let the TV upscale the image instead. However, looking through Amazon's catalog, I don't see very many that output unscaled 480p (some don't even specify a truly 480p output), so getting a 720p/1080p upscaling Wii2HDMI converter is fine.
Also, I would recommend a gaming monitor in order to minimize display lag that can ruin timings. For general-purpose gaming, I recommend either the BenQ RL2455HM or the BenQ RL2455HM. Both are the same, except that one is 24 inches and the other is 27 inches.
If you choose a gaming monitor, I also recommend getting headphones or a stereo speaker system. The speakers in my setup is the Logitech Speaker System Z313
Here's a quote for total costs.
Wii2HDMI + {monitor} + Speakers + HDMI cable
RL2455HM (24 inch) = ~25.00 + ~180.00 + ~40.00 + ~8.00 = $253
RL2755HM (27 inch) = ~25.00 + ~260.00 + ~40.00 + ~8.00 = $333
If you're looking for details on display lag, you can refer to this Smash Bros article and this Smash Bros post. A Sewell Wii2HDMI + RL2455HM has 2 ms more display lag than a CRT TV, which is almost nothing because a 60fps frame is 16 ms per frame.