Computer monitor

[Eagle]

I may need a new monitor soon, anyone got any particular suggestions? My current one is a 17" flat screen (not a flat panel) by Envision thats about 4-5 years old. I run Windows XP at 1024x768, and most games at 800x600. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but I want something decent. I don't particularly want to buy online, becuase I would expect that something as heavy as a monitor would cost a butt load on shipping. Nor do I particularely like Best Buy due to poor past expierences with them. I have no particular requirements that are set in stone other than to say that I want something at least as good, if not better than what I have now. Anyone got any particular models or places they would recommend looking?

[bleachit]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824179016

not sure how much you want to spend.. this is the one I got a few months back, upgraded from a 15" 10 yr old crt monster.. I love it and shipping was only like $12..

search around on Newegg.. prices are inexpensive and shipping is not bad at all

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=20

or you could try zipzoomfly.com.. they sometimes offer free shipping

[SniperSmurf]

Do you want to get an LCD or another Flat CRT? I've got an older Sony G400 as my primary monitor, and would recommend it to anyone. Great for gaming and not too big (19"). It is, however, an aperture grill, so if you prefer shadow masks, that may be a consideration for you. I personally prefer the overall picture quality of the AG CRTs and got used to the horizontal lines long ago...

[Hexis]

My suggestion, don't buy a CRT ever again. Get a decent LCD and be nice to your eyes. They will thank you for it later (by not going blind).

[Glickman]

tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com)

Awsome service too

heres an example of some deals going on (wait for a weekly deal that you like because they are VERY worth it)

-Fuji 19" $209
-X2Gen 19" $185

[bleachit]

tigerdirects selection isnt that great... and they have way too many mail in rebates... mail in rebates = teh sux.

actually... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1818148&Sku=S197-1930

that looks like a good deal, if they brand is any good

[FactsOfLife]

I have a Samsung 930B SyncMaster 19 incher and love it.

[SniperSmurf]

My suggestion, don't buy a CRT ever again. Get a decent LCD and be nice to your eyes. They will thank you for it later (by not going blind).
I take it you're not a serious gamer? No LCD can match even a lower end CRT as far as gaming performance goes. I prefer to do digital photography on a CRT as well. The colors seem truer and brighter to me. To each his own though!

[fire1811]

I take it you're not a serious gamer? No LCD can match even a lower end CRT as far as gaming performance goes. I prefer to do digital photography on a CRT as well. The colors seem truer and brighter to me. To each his own though!

This is not true anymore IMO. There are plenty of LCD's they are better then CRT's

I just recently switched to LCD and have not complaints about it. I am a HEAVY gamer. No ghosting or any thing else.

I just purchased this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116375


But if you still believe CRT's are better for gaming
I will sell you my 22" Viewsonic P225fb

[SniperSmurf]

This is not true anymore IMO. There are plenty of LCD's they are better then CRT's
Still true IMO. ;) Some may be just about as good, but (as of yet) no LCD is better than a good CRT.

But if you still believe CRT's are better for gaming
I will sell you my 22" Viewsonic P225fb
I do, but I prefer Sony to Viewsonic. :p

Nice LCD monitor you got there! Good luck with that. :cheers:

[fire1811]

I just cant stand the two damn lines that go across the screen on crt's
Hard to see but they seem to draw my eyes for whatever reason

[SniperSmurf]

I just cant stand the two damn lines that go across the screen on crt's
Hard to see but they seem to draw my eyes for whatever reason
It's either that or the Shadow Mask. Personally, I'll put up with the lines for increased resolution, brightness and color rendering (typically) of an Arpeture Grill. For day-to-day computing, and older games, I do prefer an LCD though, and with a laptop, it's the only choice I have... unless I want to lug a CRT around...
which I don't... :D

[Hexis]

The consistent color and lack of flicker on an LCD has completely sold me. I have an older Dell 2001FP. Not the fastest grey to grey, and a 16ms response time (in the specs, have not seen tests to verify, prob higher). I can't see any ghosting on it at all. I have a friend who can, but there are much faster refresh LCDs out there. Also, the color uniformity is not all that great, but it's ok.

So LCDs have their down side. However, CRTs have far more downsides. A perfectly converged CRT looks great, but good luck keeping it that way. The last CRT I had (24" Sony) only had 5 convergence points. And the convergence changed as the monitor warmed up. On any CRT the color response will change as it warms up. It's a nightmare to keep calibrated.

On an LCD it's pretty much set and forget. DVI makes LCDs so easy to configure (aka you don't). You can get VGA too work well with some tricks. 60Hz on a CRT = instant headache. 60Hz on a LCD = just fine, since the pixels don't flicker at 60Hz (with your florescent lights).

I really don’t see a reason to buy a CRT at all. Why log that sucker around, or pay to power the thing, or give yourself headaches? Meh I say, go with a decent LCD and you will be happy.

[bleachit]

Meh I say, go with a decent LCD and you will be happy.


I couldnt agree more!

[RapidTransit]

The consistent color and lack of flicker on an LCD has completely sold me. I have an older Dell 2001FP. Not the fastest grey to grey, and a 16ms response time (in the specs, have not seen tests to verify, prob higher). I can't see any ghosting on it at all. I have a friend who can, but there are much faster refresh LCDs out there. Also, the color uniformity is not all that great, but it's ok.

So LCDs have their down side. However, CRTs have far more downsides. A perfectly converged CRT looks great, but good luck keeping it that way. The last CRT I had (24" Sony) only had 5 convergence points. And the convergence changed as the monitor warmed up. On any CRT the color response will change as it warms up. It's a nightmare to keep calibrated.

On an LCD it's pretty much set and forget. DVI makes LCDs so easy to configure (aka you don't). You can get VGA too work well with some tricks. 60Hz on a CRT = instant headache. 60Hz on a LCD = just fine, since the pixels don't flicker at 60Hz (with your florescent lights).

I really don’t see a reason to buy a CRT at all. Why log that sucker around, or pay to power the thing, or give yourself headaches? Meh I say, go with a decent LCD and you will be happy.
Top Reasons Why I'm not switching to LCD, 1. HDMI support is practicly non existent so why buy a brand new $1000 dollar LCD right now? 2. Playing games outside of the native resolution is god awful 3. Response time is still to slow for most panels 4. LCDs are known to lag I'm not talking about pixel response I'm talking actual LAG and it drives me crazy.

You need a Trinitron/Diamontron based monitor since you specificly stated you will be gaming at 800x600

[SniperSmurf]

60Hz on a CRT = instant headache. 60Hz on a LCD = just fine, since the pixels don't flicker at 60Hz
Most LCDs run native at 60Hz, although "refresh rate" is sort of a misnomer when speaking about LCD technology, so yeah, it should look good.
Who runs a CRT at 60? They deserve a headache if they do... I run mine at 85, but have the option of going a lot higher.

[Hexis]

Top Reasons Why I'm not switching to LCD, 1. HDMI support is practicly non existent so why buy a brand new $1000 dollar LCD right now? 2. Playing games outside of the native resolution is god awful 3. Response time is still to slow for most panels 4. LCDs are known to lag I'm not talking about pixel response I'm talking actual LAG and it drives me crazy.


HDMI to DVI converters are easy and cheap. I don't think you will see many computer monitors with HDMI (why bother, intergrated speakers are ususally crap, why use em). HDCP on the other hand...

Scaling is working quite well these days. Playing games off res on my 2001FP looks fine. A lot less sharp than the native res (1600x1200), but that's actually an advantage IMHO, kinda like free AA in a way. I don't think anyone could really call the scaling these days "god awful" (but it sure used to be).


Most LCDs run native at 60Hz, although "refresh rate" is sort of a misnomer when speaking about LCD technology, so yeah, it should look good.
Who runs a CRT at 60? They deserve a headache if they do... I run mine at 85, but have the option of going a lot higher.

Well it is still a refresh rate, but the pixels don't change state unless they are supposed to, even then they don't go black first. This eliminates the flicker that you see on CRTs (because the pixels are all excited bits of a coating that are excited at the refresh rate, and fade to black between refreshes). Get beyond 85Hz and CRTs looks great, at over 100Hz nearly like paper. But LCDs look like paper at any refresh rate. It's simply a design advantage of the display type.