I want your opinion on monitors!!

[TheFuzzer]

I'm moving off to college next year and I want to know what you guys think I should do for a monitor. Should I buy a 20(or so) inch CRT monitor or go for the space-saving 15.1inch flatscreen monitor? I will probably play a couple games on it and will probably use it to watch movies. Thoughts?

 

[flamethrower205]

the 15" will take much less space. In a year, FFD technology will be coming out, which will make the LCD practically as good as CRT in motion video, so I think by then, LCD will definetly be great for gaming and everyday use. Also, then, prices will hopefully go down after their recent rise, so u may be able to get a 17 or 18" LCD. Also, the image on LCD is much sharper, and I must say that my eyes get much less tired when using LCD.
Sig of the week.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by flamethrower205 on 03/12/02 07:00 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Arbee]

LCD still have a few disadvantages comparing to CRTs - higher price, fixed resolution and video motion quality. For desktop work they are great - but for gaming you'll have to settle for one resolution - usually the scalling is pretty bad. I'd go for a 19" flat CRT (LG Flatron anyone), and wait a couple of years - it seems that great things are coming to the LCD area (plasma at CRT prices would be interesting ).

How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise

 

[reptilej]

depends on the college that you go to. i kow that i wouldn't want to bring a light weight attractive LCD moniotr to college for soemone to steal(you's be suprised how much of what gets stolen at any college (except BYU)). if i was you i'd go for a 17" or 19" crt. they are cheaper and you get a pretty kick ass one for under $400. also keep in mind that if you live with a roomate and your stuff is better than his then he might be using your stuff all the time, so maybe you don't want to invest that much money until you live by yourself or with a signifigant other.

repeat after me, we are all individuals!

 

[TheFuzzer]

Arbee, what do you mean by fixed resolution? Are you saying u can only run your comp at one resolution. And for the first poster, I'm planning on buying the monitor within the next2-3 months, so will those advances in LCDs have taken place by then most likely?

 

[Oni]

LCDs have a "native" resolution. Its the resolution that the LCD looks best at, when running in non-native resolutions the screen has to re map the pixels to the screen and on some screens its done better than others. My Compaq LCD does it extremely well and when I run 800x600 games (I know, but my Geforce 4 hasn't arrived yet) it looks just fine.
Native res for 15 inch LCDs is 1024x768 and for 17 inch LCDs its 1280x1024.
If you have the money for a nice LCD go for it, I get almost no eye strain from my LCD after several hours of Tribes, where on my old CRT my eyes would get tired. If you don't have the money and think you would have the desk space then go for a CRT.

"Why can't I be the man? I mean, I DO have harmony balls..." -epoth

 

[siliconjon]

CRT. I'm just not impressed with the performance capabilities of the LCD's, not enough refresh power for my use, and I'm not even pushing the limits (just minor video and intensive gaming usage mostly). As the market is now, at least in my opinion, an LCD will limit the usage of any high end video card, making them not of much use versus a budget card. So if you like graphics, go FlatCRT for now. You'll get a larger display, much nicer picture, AND save a few bucks (so what if she's a little heavy & bulky, if you want portable, go laptop).


If I don't get my 90THz AMD Quadraplex system soon, I'm afraid I may just combust right here.

 

[Cstew77]

I would recommend holding off on the LCD route. Your monitor is your eyes to your computer, so I always recommend going with a quality monitor. A 19" CRT would work just fine - and at under $400 for a good one, they're tough to pass up.

Mitsubishi came out with a break through earlier this year that virtually eliminates ghosting - the response time of the LC's to voltage differences. This advance will have a trickle down effect that should hit Q2 or Q3 this year.

 

[flamethrower205]

What LCD did you use? There are many LCD's out there that suck, and if you don't choose the right one, it'll look real bad. Plus he's talking about some time from now, so technology will improve, especially w/ FFD. LCD certainly doesn't limit the power of a vid card, it's not like u have a refresh limit really- u can still run at 100+ fps. Scaling isn't a problem in games either- the graphics still look great.

Sig of the week.

 

[TheFuzzer]

Well from what I've read I think I'll go with a flat screen CRT monitor. Unless there is a great change in technology, I'll go the CRT route. So now my question is what brands? Is Sylvania any good? Because there's a warehouse store in my city that sells Sylvania monitors for good prices. Thoughts?

 

[flamethrower205]

Exactly how long till u buy it?

Sig of the week.

 

[Arbee]

As Oni said, TFT screens have a fixed native resolution - anything else it will have to use scalling (or a smaller part of the screen). It used to produce a awfull image quality, it has been improving, but AFAIK it still isn't the real thing.

For the past year or so several technogical breakthroughs have been anounced - but still are in test or proof of concept stage - no products.
The market promises to be huge - not only computer displays but also HDTV thin screens - therefore the investments are also enourmous - fast moving technology. My next screen will probably not be a CRT - but it still is at least a couple of years away.


How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise

 

[TheFuzzer]

2-3 months until I buy the new monitor prob

 

[flamethrower205]

What will be your price limit. Right now, the L365 is good, but in 2-3 months, I'm sure something better will be out.

Sig of the week.

 

[Crashman]

If you have to move the thing around, I'd go for a 17" CRT monitor. Have you ever tried to lift a 20"+ monitor off a table? Then carry it down three flights of steps while opening doors, etc, to your car? These thing weigh like 75 pounds!

Besides, if a 15" DFP is big enough, a 17" CRT is just a little bigger in actual viewable area.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[phsstpok]

Here's my 2 cents.

Depends on your budget and if you feel theft is a problem, buy a high quality 19" or 20" monitor is a good investment. A good monitor is the only piece of computer equipment that you are likely to have for years. In my opinion, you can't beat displays with a Trinitron tube. Get one with higher resolution than you actually need that way you can put extra information on the screen in pinch even though you normally use less.

A 19" monitor is so flexible, pretty good on the eyes, and doubles for DVD and TV viewing, assuming you have a TV card or an outboard TV box.

I'm considering upgrading to a 19" monitor, myself, and combining it with the <A HREF="http://" target="_new">Viewsonic VBR50HRTV standalone TV tuner</A>. This way I will get a better monitor and replace my aging television with hi-resolution computing and superior DVD viewing, all in one package, and all for just about the cost of quality television alone. For you this might even be a space saver, just one monitor instead of a monitor AND a TV.

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[phsstpok]

Three flights of stairs with a 20"+ monitor. I hope that's not why you are called "Crashman".

<b>We are all beta testers!</b>

 

[Willamette_sucks]

Fuzzer, CRT's are cheaper and better looking than LCD's. I just bought a 19" MAG from Best Buy for $200(before rebate) with a $50 mail in rebate. Thats cheap. Ive never had a monitor bigger than 15", but ive used mostly 17"s at other places, when i got this thing and hooked it up it was HUGE!!! This thing is awesome, it has a lot of features and looks great. Says it supports resolutions up to 1600x1200 but i put it higher than that and it still worked fine. It would probably just cut the life significantly if i left it like that. Anyways i suggest you buy the exact same monitor i did. It is a MAG 986FS, and check your local best buy for pricing.

The first LAN I went to was at a PETA convention. They booted me after I shot a zombie in HL DM!

 

[flamethrower205]

Now how can u say pic on LCD always looks worse than a CRT's? Also, what u say is a good monitor may suck for someone else. I suggest he waits a little bit.

Sig of the week.

 

[Willamette_sucks]

Because unless you pay over $3000 for one they do look worse. (i read about some IBM LCD in Popular Science that was like $3300 it was like a 21" or something and it supported resolutions of like 3*** by 29** or something super huge like that, but definately over 3000)

The first LAN I went to was at a PETA convention. They booted me after I shot a zombie in HL DM!

 

[TheFuzzer]

My budget is anything up to $400 bucks, I won't go higher than that. Hey Willamete.....you hate that school? Cuz I was thinking of attending because I could play football there hehe, I said no though cuz I'll prob go to a big school

 

[pike]

`'Willamette' might be his gf's name

<i><b><font color=blue>She had charcoal black hair and deep blue eyes, she was divine</i></b></font color=blue>

 

[pike]

no no no, he called "Crashman" cause he drive teh car with no brakes or steering

<pre><b><font color=red>Good-bye Kyoto, but this is just an "Au revoir"!</font color=red></b></pre><p>

 

[Oni]

Because unless you pay over $3000 for one they do look worse. (i read about some IBM LCD in Popular Science that was like $3300 it was like a 21" or something and it supported resolutions of like 3*** by 29** or something super huge like that, but definately over 3000)

I'm sorry but thats just completely wrong. Having been to several lan parties and having over 100 people gawk at my LCD for hours they have all told me how much more they like the quality of my LCD over their 17-21inch CRTs. I even made them play games and all sorts of other tests and everyone thought it was perfect. Not one person complained of ghosting or any other problems and they were all hard core gamers (it was at lan parties).
If you have a nice video card and can run video through DVI a nice LCD would give a good quality boost there too. But a quality LCD is going to cost money so thats basically why a CRT might be the way to go. Its not a quality or FPS issue, a perfectly fine LCD can be had today there is no need to wait a year for newer technology (although it would give you a better monitor). Heck 5 years down the line who knows what kind of technology will be in monitors....you can only wait so long before making a purchase.

"Why can't I be the man? I mean, I DO have harmony balls..." -epoth

 

[bront]

I've worked with several LCD and CRT monitors.

In general, an LCD is much more expensive compaired to the appropriately sized CRT. However, and LCD run in the mode it was built to support natively, or an even multiplier of that, will look very good. Modes it doesn't support as such tend not to look as good due to pixilation however.

An LCD tends to be easier on the eyes as it is a flat screen. The exception to this are the CRT Trinitron monitors (I love my 19" Trinitron). Rounded screens, even if slightly so, do distort the immage a bit, especialy if you are looking at the monitor from an angle, and can cause some eye strain.

My personal oppinion, is that unless you are buying a top of the line monitor (LCD or CRT), you are better off actualy having seen the monitor in person.

You want to look for things like Refresh Rates or Latency (CRT or LCD), maximum resolution, recomended resolution, keeping in mind what resolution you like to use. A high end 15" monitor can look better than low end 17" and even 19". My first 15" was a trinitron, I ran it at 1024x768 most of the time with great refresh rates (Rated better than many low end 17" out today). It even did 1600x1200, although in interlaced mode.

Remember, a good monitor can last you 5-10 years, so don't be afraid to spend a little extra.

I do not like it Tom you see,
I do not like green PCB.