CRT Monitor

[donco]

hey guys, i need a good monitor for everyday use but mostly for gaming. im searching for a 19inch CRT, but i dont want to spend too much on it. i know that a lot of people will recommend me an LCD (VX922) but even if it has a low response time it seems like it has poor picture quality.

thx

 

[shadowduck]

hey guys, i need a good monitor for everyday use but mostly for gaming. im searching for a 19inch CRT, but i dont want to spend too much on it. i know that a lot of people will recommend me an LCD (VX922) but even if it has a low response time it seems like it has poor picture quality.

thx

Price is relative, so "I don't want to spend too much on it" means nothing. What is an exact dollar amount you want to spend? Due to shipping, its better to pick up a CRT at your local big box store. Go to Best Buy look at their monitors and buy the flat CRT that looks the best to you. Remember in CRTs, Sonys are probably the best brand handsdown.

EDIT- Good luck FINDING a CRT.

 

[JonathanDeane]

EDIT- Good luck FINDING a CRT.

I dont know if thats supposed to mean they are hard to find ? Almost any store that has LCD's also carries CRT's Best buy will have the most as you will actualy be able to compare brands (just make sure you fiddle with the controlls becouse some of the cheaper ones actualy are better then they apear.....) I got a nice ViewSonic from them for a decent price. Costco/Sam's Club they have some nice ones but again less of a selection then Best Buy. Hmmm cant remember if Kmart has them but I know WalMart does. Just shop around there are plenty still to be bought and probably will be for some time as alot of people prefer them over LCD but to be honest I would say in the next 5 years they will be phased out completly or switch to specialized use and the price will jump up.

 

[KlaasVaak]

A lot of people are buying LCDs these days so you might be able to get a cheap second-hand CRT monitor. Look around your town and/or place some adverts and you might get lucky.

 

[donco]

ok thx for the replies, im willing to spend around $150-200USD on it. what should I look at when im buying one: resolution?dot pitch?

 

[Mondoman]

A lot of people are buying LCDs these days so you might be able to get a cheap second-hand CRT monitor.

Jackpot! I just picked up a high-quality flatscreen 17" CRT with real 1200x1600 resolution for $25 from my local craigslist. A similar used 19" should run $50-75.

When shopping for a CRT, your eyes are the best judge. Whatever max resolution you want to use, make sure the monitor can display it at 75Hz or higher, to prevent obvious flicker. You want the dot pitch small enough so that each pixel gets at least one 3-color "dot" at your max resolution. You also want the top and bottom, and left and right sides of the image to be parallel, and good focus (a white pixel being white, not different color pixels not quite on top of each other) even at the corners.

 

[donco]

thx Mondoman, u seem to know what youre talking about, i think i found 4 good ones, telle me which one would be the best:

Viewsonic E90FB ---$229CAD
Viewsonic G90FB ---$245CAD
Samsung Syncmaster 997MB ---$269CAD
Philips 109B65 ---$225CAD

E90FB

G90FB

997MB

109B65

any other suggestion would be appreciated
thx

 

[ethel]

I have an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 19" monitor. It was the A list 19" monitor for PC PRO (in the UK) for ages (infact up until they removed CRTs from their A list), and has a truly superb picture.

Mine also has a powered USB hub, which is very useful.

 

[shadowduck]

EDIT- Good luck FINDING a CRT.

I dont know if thats supposed to mean they are hard to find ? Almost any store that has LCD's also carries CRT's Best buy will have the most as you will actualy be able to compare brands (just make sure you fiddle with the controlls becouse some of the cheaper ones actualy are better then they apear.....) I got a nice ViewSonic from them for a decent price. Costco/Sam's Club they have some nice ones but again less of a selection then Best Buy. Hmmm cant remember if Kmart has them but I know WalMart does. Just shop around there are plenty still to be bought and probably will be for some time as alot of people prefer them over LCD but to be honest I would say in the next 5 years they will be phased out completly or switch to specialized use and the price will jump up.

Well I told him to go to a big box store and then went to their websites and realized they do not carry CRTs online cept for 5 models between 2 stores. Newegg only has about 20 in stock also. The second hand idea is the way to go though.

 

[Mondoman]

...
Viewsonic E90FB ---$229CAD

Viewsonic's E series is not as good as the G series (note lower "bandwidth" spec)

Viewsonic G90FB ---$245CAD

I've been very happy with Viewsonics in the past and am writing this on an old Viewsonic GS790, which only has 150MHz b/w and 0.3mm horizontal dot spacing (and I'm still happy with it!). The G90FB has a real flat screen, and fine-enough dot spacing that 1600x1200 should have about 1 dot/pixel, and 250MHz b/w. This is one of the 2 I'd choose between.

Samsung Syncmaster 997MB ---$269CAD

I've also had good experiences w/Samsungs, so this is the other one I'd choose between. Pretty much same specs as the G90fB, looks good.

Philips 109B65 ---$225CAD

I have no experience with Philips monitors, which is why I'm not suggesting it, but its specs look pretty similar to the 997MB and G90fB.

If you can actually see the monitors in person to see how you like them, that helps a lot.

 

[Nitro350Z]

I have a Viewsonic "UltraBrite A90f+"

it was on sale one day at staples a year or two back, so I got it.
Its a really nice monitor, max res is ~1792 X 1344

The "UltraBrite" mode is nice when playing games and watching video. It just boosts Brightness and Contrast I think

I would recomend it, Should be within your budget.

 

[Plekto]

Well, let's see - a fraction of the brightness, a fraction of the contrast, only looks perfect in one resolution, no better than 30fps without tearing...

Yes - 30fps. 1000/60=16.77ms response. Your LCD must be this fast throughout all of its range AND have less than one frame latency for color stabilization/overdrive correction. But wait - you say thwat's 60fps. Well...

Unfortunately, only a couple do. And none in the 19 inch range. If its slower that that in any way, our eyes tend to see it as an interlaced monitor(or like a CRT with flourescents nearby). If it doesn't look perfect, it looks barely better than a TV set. And many don't even do better than *30* fps if you look at the reviews here.

A good CRT - crystal clear, 100fps+, and looks perfect every time. The better ones use the Hitachi Diamondtron technology. This uses a diamond shaped grid, so you get .20 dot pitch along one axis and .23-24 along the other. KDS uses this in some of their monitors, and they are inexpensive as well. Sony are also good, but overpriced. Viewsonic is like a Sony close for certain models, and a good second choice over the KDS.

Despite the marketing, LCDs are still a decade away from replacing CRTs in terms of technical specs and quality.

 

[JonathanDeane]

I have a Viewsonic "UltraBrite A90f+"

it was on sale one day at staples a year or two back, so I got it.
Its a really nice monitor, max res is ~1792 X 1344

The "UltraBrite" mode is nice when playing games and watching video. It just boosts Brightness and Contrast I think

I would recomend it, Should be within your budget.

I have a A91f+ I wonder what the difference is ? anyway it is nice I enjoy being able to change brightness with one button (three settings for you too ?) The only down side I have found to it, is that my cell phone causes some distortion in the picture if its closer then 12 inches or so and its about to ring (like 2 seconds before) I dont think its iradiating me or anything just anoying

 

[Nitro350Z]

I think the only difference is the product number
The cell phone thing is a bit weird, I used a cell by mine and nothing happened.

Must be something with that phone or service provider.

 

[llama_man]

You dont want to hear it I know....But......

You would be soooo much happier with a nice 19" dvi LCD......Trust me, I would never go back to a CRT, no friggin way.
By the way I bought a BenQ FP93G, read the reviews on newegg. The colors are unbelievable compared to a CRT. It games great too, no noticeable anything. Once you go LCD, you never go CRT :lol:

And what if your PC can't run games at your LCD's native resolution? Then you get an awful picture.

 

[cme2c]

<snip>

A good CRT - crystal clear, 100fps+, and looks perfect every time. The better ones use the Hitachi Diamondtron technology. This uses a diamond shaped grid, so you get .20 dot pitch along one axis and .23-24 along the other. KDS uses this in some of their monitors, and they are inexpensive as well. Sony are also good, but overpriced. Viewsonic is like a Sony close for certain models, and a good second choice over the KDS.

Despite the marketing, LCDs are still a decade away from replacing CRTs in terms of technical specs and quality.

I have a 7 year old Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 17" CRT on my home PC. It uses diamondtron technology and is STILL perfect. The only drawback is the faint shadow of the horizontal charging wires.

I have a 17" mitsubishi LCD at work. This gives a fine picture in default resolution but suffers fom the drawbacks mentioned in previous posts.

The advantage of the LCD is in power usage and weight ( the crt weighs about 25kg (55lb) and can warm up a small room )