What Monitor(s) do you use?

May 11, 2003

I've got an itch for a new monitor (tired of my 17" CRT (not flatscreen)), so thought I'd get the board's advice/opinion of what I should look into... I'm still debating whether to buy another CRT or to go with the LCD Flat-panel monitors... I'd definitely like to stay at 17" or above, and don't have a ton of money to spend, so thought I'd ask what people use and what they think would be a good choice for a new view! :)P.S. I'm using an KDS VS-7i (17") right now as well as a second monitor (Magnavox 17") that goes on my girlfriend's computer when she gets back from California in 2 weeks.

May 11, 2003

If you play any high action games, the LCD might not be a good choice.

May 11, 2003

If you play any high action games, the LCD might not be a good choice.

That is a thought, although with 2 monitors, wouldn't be too much of an issue as I can still run dual-monitors and play UT or Quake on my old one

May 11, 2003

I personally use an old viewsonic 19 inch A90. Its not a flat screen, but the picture is great. I'd personally go with a crt if I was updating, since most inexpensive lcds I've seen still can't match the picture on a cheaper and bigger crt.

May 11, 2003

I got tired of the 17" samsung 17" I had almost a year ago I could not pass upa great deal on a 19" NEC 97F. So for $157 I picked one up.6 months of near perfect use it started to get flaky when used at 1280x1024 at 75Hz so I had to scale back to 60Hz. That lasted another 4 months till the entire thing blew out. Green light was on but the tube was not. NEC Warrantied my monitor at a cost to me of almost $60 in shipping. SO now I have a refurbshied (though it looks like new) beige model. I am back to 1280x1024 at 75Hz.It is a nice flat monitor but look out it takes a lot of seriously fine tuning to get the image correctly viewed. There is a lot of parallelagram, moire and other complicated adjustments. I have 6 hours in total adjustment time to get an image that almost resembles a square, true box that fills the viewable area. My old Samsung was a piece of cake and my IBM thatmy wife uses is always correct. Best of all I did a web chat with NEC and they were even less help. The newer monitors have more controls for adjustments than this 97F has. I really doubt I will buy another NEC again. My IBM is almost 8 years old is still running great and my previous 17"er is at my parents still humming away and is nearly 8 as well. My how prices have come down. I remember the IBM P70 was $850+ when it was new.Chris

May 11, 2003

I have two NEC monitors: a 17-inch Multisync 70 and a 19-inch Multisync FP955. I haven't had any problems and I love the sharp pictures from them.

May 11, 2003

Hi GuyThis is a timely thread for me as I've been thinking about retiring my current GEM 17" DE-770 for the following *GEM* (pardon the pun)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------GEMSTAR (GEM) GM-1995 (H996) 19 INCH 0.25 DP CRT MONITOR Size, Def. Angle 19" (48.26 cm), 90 degree, Non-Glare. Dot Pitch 0.25 mm. Dpi/Invar Shadow Mask. Surface AS (Anti-Static) Silica CRT Coating. Flat Square Tube/Semi-Tint/Display Colors Unlimited Colors/Full Screen. Viewable area 18.0" viewable Maximum Resolution 1600 x 1200 Non-Interlaced. Scan Frequency 30-95 Khz (H)/50-160 Hz (V). Video Bandwidth (Dot Rate) 200 MHz--* Works With PC & Mac *-- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Would anybody have any experience\thoughts on it ?Thanks

May 11, 2003

I managed to get a sweet deal on a Microtex C783 flat monitor a few months ago. It has a nice crisp image to it. I don't do serious gaming and have not played with Premeire on it so can't answer in that respect. I just could not see the difference in price for a larger monitor. We have new Dell flatscreens at school (only 15") and I noticed that it has crisp images of photos and .jpegs but only average on the things like word processors.Happy hunting.

May 11, 2003

One nice thing about the flat panel/LCD's is the screen measurement is true. A 17 incher is exactly that, while my 19 inch CTX CRT is actually only 18.1 inches.It is amazing where the prices have gone on all monitor's. Low line 17 inch CRT's can be had for around $100 these days and they have decent specs too.

May 11, 2003

It is amazing where the prices have gone on all monitor's. Low line 17 inch CRT's can be had for around $100 these days and they have decent specs too.

Heh, I remember back in the mid 90's when I got a 17-inch monitor...over $800. Swore to myself that would be the last time I spend so much on a monitor. Now you could take all the monitors in this room and they wouldn't equal that.

May 11, 2003

To clear couple of things, first, once you go to flat screen, you will hate curved shape of your older monitor :)Second, LCD's, especially newer ones have come long way and I can safely claim that most of them are more then usable in every day environment and recommended.I am heavy gamer and I couldn't notice any difference whatsoever on my NEC MultiSync LCD 1700V monitor.I played Unreal Tournament 2003 online as well as Unreal II and as we all know these are some action packed first person shooters with heavy action and high refreshes of screen, not that it was playable but actually I enjoyed it and if you ask me, I would never go back to CRT.Advantage of LCD:- Slim, Light, doesn't occupy lot of space, perfectly flat (natural), perfect square shape, low consuming power, low generating heat, healthy (no ray tube), futuristic look (some models).Disadvantage of LCD-Colors are not realistic enough for high end graphic professional, on some older models viewing angle is not as wide so you have to look at 90 degrees to monitor surface, too addictive ( I would never go back to CRT, never) :DOlder generations of LCD's have had problems with viewving angle and backlite where you really had to look at 90 degrees at screen to see picture properly, but this is not case any more due to new technologies where viewing angles have become so wide that you can't notice it any more.Refresh rate is also part of the past.All in all I am perfectly happy with my LCD, I would never go back to CRT, don't trust someone that tells you that you can't play action games.They obviously never tried and have read some old articles from couple of years back and are not up to date.Your mileage may vary the same with CRT.If you get low end CRT that can't support high refresh rates, you might get eye-strain.Technology is progresing fast and I could safely claim that most if not all LCD produced in last two years are more then usable in gaming environments, and for every day use for browsing at cetera, you can't make mistake by buying one.LCD's will become more and more cheaper and will be dominant in a year or two probably.

May 11, 2003

Well, I'm still using my Samsung SyncMaster 17GLs that predates Windows 95 (purchased in December 1994 after rave reviews in Windows Magazine! at the wildy outrageous price of $1,300 CDN.) It has both a D-shell DB-15 connector and a 5-point BNC. Great for running two machines from the same monitor without needing a KVM. I couldn't go back to a 14" monitor after someone gave me a used 21" Digital that lasted 2 months before the tube blew. I like the reviews of the Samsung LCDs and I would buy one if that was where I was going. I'm tempted to run dual head with an LCD and my current Samsung.

May 11, 2003

don't trust someone that tells you that you can't play action games.

I resent the implication that I can not be trusted, simply for suggesting that a LCD might not be a good choice for gaming. You are obviously an expert on the latest technologies, but on the LCD's that I've seen games have a look that's not as natural as on a CRT. You may like that look, but some may not.It's very simliar to morons like George Lucas who think that shooting movies with digital cameras is better than film because it's sharper (probably just cheaper). That's a look that may be appropriate for the crap he churns out, but film it ain't.And you don't have to be a high end graphics proffessional to notice the subtle differences from screen to print when dabbling in digital photography.

May 11, 2003

I am using SamSung SyncMaster 570 LCD display for Linux. Unfortunately, Linux doesn't have much support for it, and it is truly a tough piece of cake to get it work right. I went to SamSung web site, and they don't even mention the model number I use..probably too low end to be considered as a nice LCD display? I paied $500 for it back then..heh

May 11, 2003

Sorry Gus K, I did not mean to offend you in any way.Sometimes words written looks more scary then the actual meaning.Again, please accept my apology.I will try to rephrase it and say, I have vast experience with monitors and LCD's and it hurts me when I read someones opinion that is not based on a fact.I really don't know what you mean by "not natural" look of games.Games don't have natural look, they are computer generated images and if you believe it, many games that I've played on my LCD monitor which, by the way, is not top of the line, nor is the most expensive one, look much better and more "realistic" then on any previous CRT I owned.I don't see anything moronic from Geaorge Lucas because he just thinks the time has come to replace that old thing called "film" with something more up to date.It is called progress and I belive him when he say that is the future.I don't argue if that is cheaper because it probably is.Regarding Digital photography, yes consumer cameras are not better then film ones, but are very close, however on profesional side, they have come a long way and they are actually better then film ever was.I am high end graphics professional and I can tell you difference in quality. <_<

May 11, 2003

Go LCD. I love it! I don't think i would ever go back.

May 12, 2003

Interesting discussion here... I'm sure I'd love an LCD monitor, but don't know that I can afford a 17" LCD and it's almost hard to justify, when I can buy a 19" CRT Flat-screen for half that price... At this point, desk space isn't really that important (I've got plenty of room). Next question, if I'm going to buy a CRT, who makes the best one???

May 12, 2003

NEC Accusync 90.I will always buy their products. Once I was changing screen resolution and my monitor popped and sizzled. I called them and since it was under warranty, they sent me a new monitor and then I shipped the old one back. They were absolutely first rate with their customer service. I've never, in 7 years of hard core computing, had better customer service (Gateway, AOL, Earthlink, and dozens of other companies that I've bought hardware and such from). Gateway used to tout great CS but nobody has beat NEC in my book.And it's a great monitor too!!

May 12, 2003

Thanks, Zox, for clarifying. Gus K, I hope you will accept Zox's apology.GolfProRM, you have hit upon one of my personal favorite topics. I love monitors, and in fact, would like to start reviewing more of them for the newsletter.Longtime readers know that "SFNL Labs" (where I work) has 18 computers. I don't own a single CRT that isn't a TV. Every monitor I have is an LCD. The one I spend the most time looking at is a 20-inch NEC LCD2010. I've had it for about five years. It was state of the art when I got it, but I'm actively looking to replace it. What I want is a wider, 24-inch LCD display. Megabucks, yes. But to me, it's worth it to shell out the dough on this. Because it has a huge impact on your productivity if you work with PCs as much as I do. And remember, my work PC is also my home PC, so I'm definitely maximizing its use (and I get a tax write-off).I also have a Samsung 180T 19-inch LCD. It clearly provides the nicest looking images of any LCD I've ever used regularly. But it's also two years old.I'm really looking for advice. I'm sort of partial to the Samsungs. I have several smaller Samsung and NEC LCD displays (mostly 15-inchers). But Nanao, Sony, and ViewSonic are also manufacturers I would consider.My main PC is an 866MHz Pentium III I built myself a couple of years ago. So you can see I don't splurge on everything. I'd much rather spend on the monitor! -- Scot

May 12, 2003

Next question, if I'm going to buy a CRT, who makes the best one???

Not the cheapest, but Nanao is generally considered by most computer magazine reviewers to be the best maker of CRTs and some feel LCDs too. They call themselves Eizo these days:http://www.eizo.com/index.htmI'm very partial to Sony displays myself. And for value as a comparison, ViewSonic comes up a lot. I bought a 21-inch ViewSonic monitor in 1996 and was very disappointed with it though. It had problems, and ViewSonic's tech support was not good. So I don't recommend the company personally.But I'm just passing along what I've read for years in virtually every major PC magazine. I've also personally known several monitor experts, and most would agree.Personally, next to Sony and Nanao, I would consider Samsung.What do others think?-- Scot

May 12, 2003

Well, that's a hard act to follow...especially since I can say what I use, but it doesn't count as a recommendation. Two years ago I picked up a 19" HP M900 refurbished former-workstation monitor at a local computer show for $100. It's worked great since I brought it home on the front seat of my truck (no box, no manuals, did get a power cord though!) I don't play a lot of games, but those I do (UT, Serious Sam, mostly FPS) display just fine. Didn't really get much of a choice when I bought my Toshiba laptop. Nice 15" LCD, but not so good with games. Both handle Dreamweaver MX, Photoshop and FlashMX well, too. Before I buy another desktop monitor, I'll be getting new glasses.

May 12, 2003

NEC Accusync 90.I will always buy their products. Once I was changing screen resolution and my monitor popped and sizzled. I called them and since it was under warranty, they sent me a new monitor and then I shipped the old one back. They were absolutely first rate with their customer service. I've never, in 7 years of hard core computing, had better customer service (Gateway, AOL, Earthlink, and dozens of other companies that I've bought hardware and such from). Gateway used to tout great CS but nobody has beat NEC in my book.And it's a great monitor too!!

My question is did they pay for the shipping back to them? Because if not I wouldn't really call that great customer service. I understand some machines have defects, but something that's popping and sizzling is probably sparking, which makes it a fire hazard. I think anytime a company sells a product that could start a fire it should provide for shipping as well as replacement. Becuase lets face it shipping 2 ways (or even one way) isn't that cheap considering how heavy monitors are.I had a 17 incher from pixie (do not buy a pixie) and it actually started on fire. It was sitting on my wood desk, less than 6 inches from my wood wall, in my 130 year old house. If it would've done that while I wasn't around (since I leave the pc on and the monitor on standbye) it could've literally burned down my house. So I call pixie, they'd be happy to replace it, but I had to pay shipping. I called ups and the quote I got was about $50 each way (because I had to provide for shipping back as well). So I was expected to pay about 100 bucks to get a replacement to a monitor I bought almost a year earlier at $170 (which was currently on sale on best buy for $120). I called them back explained all of this and they weren't even willing to pay for shipping the new monitor to me. So I called the cs manager 10 or 12 names shouted "you just lost a customer" and hung up. 2 days later I bought this viewsonic.

May 12, 2003

I recently purchased a Planar PX171M Flat Panel:http://www.planar.com/monitors/PX171M.aspI wanted a flat panel for the space savings, but wanted something that would work for occasional gaming such as racing sims. This monitor garnered some very good reviews, mostly based on it's 16 millisecond pixel response time. Most flat panels are in the 25 or higher range, and this is what has a tendancy to make motion in games blurry. I really like this monitor a lot.I purchased through Dell, and would suggest you watch their sale prices as they sell other monitors besides their own, and often do 15% or more off promotions.A_Sr.

May 12, 2003

Nice choice there Scot.Nanao, or Eizo was/is the best CRT monitor on the market.Barco used to dominate very high-end, I am not following any more.We at work are using 20"-22" Sony's and they work fine.If you wait a bit, there is bunch of new products announced on this year's WinHEC and especially interesting is Ultra Wide Color Gamut Nec-Mitsubishi LCD 22".

The company also presented a wide-gamut 22-inch LCD monitor prototype with Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) backlighting technology. With a color gamut that exceeds 100 percent for NTSC and maximum brightness of more than 600 cd/m2, the display reproduces higher fidelity colors without compromising the superior brightness, contrast and viewing angles that high end users demand. This model was developed in conjunction with Mitsubishi Electric and organized in part by The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Japan (NEDO).

For comparison they announced the same 22" CRT that covers 93 percent of NTSC.It is prototype and we might have to wait a bit for availability.http://www.necmitsubishi.com/newsNew/index...document_id=763Apple Studio Cinema Displays rock too, have you considered those?But my favorite would be this one, I just need to collect some 20000 bucks :D180 degrees monitorhttp://www.hammacher.com/publish/10244.asp...mo=el_computer#

May 12, 2003

Personally, next to Sony and Nanao, I would consider Samsung.What do others think?-- Scot

I would have to second that. I love my Samsung! Our second monitor for the kid's PC is also a Samsung SyncMaster 15GLsi.

May 13, 2003

NEC Accusync 90.I will always buy their products. Once I was changing screen resolution and my monitor popped and sizzled. I called them and since it was under warranty, they sent me a new monitor and then I shipped the old one back. They were absolutely first rate with their customer service. I've never, in 7 years of hard core computing, had better customer service (Gateway, AOL, Earthlink, and dozens of other companies that I've bought hardware and such from). Gateway used to tout great CS but nobody has beat NEC in my book.And it's a great monitor too!!
My question is did they pay for the shipping back to them? Because if not I wouldn't really call that great customer service. I understand some machines have defects, but something that's popping and sizzling is probably sparking, which makes it a fire hazard. I think anytime a company sells a product that could start a fire it should provide for shipping as well as replacement. Becuase lets face it shipping 2 ways (or even one way) isn't that cheap considering how heavy monitors are.I had a 17 incher from pixie (do not buy a pixie) and it actually started on fire. It was sitting on my wood desk, less than 6 inches from my wood wall, in my 130 year old house. If it would've done that while I wasn't around (since I leave the pc on and the monitor on standbye) it could've literally burned down my house. So I call pixie, they'd be happy to replace it, but I had to pay shipping. I called ups and the quote I got was about $50 each way (because I had to provide for shipping back as well). So I was expected to pay about 100 bucks to get a replacement to a monitor I bought almost a year earlier at $170 (which was currently on sale on best buy for $120). I called them back explained all of this and they weren't even willing to pay for shipping the new monitor to me. So I called the cs manager 10 or 12 names shouted "you just lost a customer" and hung up. 2 days later I bought this viewsonic.

I did not pay shipping.I guess it depends on your point of view. I tend to give companies like this the benefit of the doubt before I come down on them. Also, I may have caught the CS dept. on a good day. You never know. All I know, is that I had a relatively pleasant experience having a product replaced due to malfunction. Fire hazard?? Well, I suppose so, but remember, I was fiddling with my resolution. When you do that, the monitor goes thru a major transformation. It usually clicks, goes blank and then comes back (I don't claim to know much about monitors but that part isn't hard to figure out). So apparently mine had a small abnormality that manifested a fatal problem when I changed resolutions. CRT monitors are dangerous just sitting there when you really look at it. As I understand it, the voltage is very high for the electron gun. So actually, Scot is a lot safer than most because he has all LCD monitors.

May 17, 2003

I just bought a used 22" Viewsonic P220f CRT from my roomate for $250 and I'm thrilled with it (she got the 23" Apple LCD for her G4). To celebrate I purchased a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 128 MB for $100 and I'm in heaven now (it pays to apply the one year wait policy before acquiring new hardware).

May 19, 2003

If you have the funds I would recommend the NEC MultiSync LCD1700NXI have been using mine since Jan of this year and have had zero issues. I game online (DOD) at least three nights a week and have not had any problems with the resolution/picture.The large viewing screen provides a great picture and takes up minimal space on the desktop.I would not recommend the lower priced LCD's. You usually get what you pay for!

September 7, 2003

Hi:Its been a while since there was any monitor discussion.I'm about ready to replace my 6 or 7 year old 17" Panasonic CRT. It has served well, but its now showing a burnt-in image.I've decided to replace it with a 19" CRT - I don't feel I get any value by spending 2 - 4 times as much for an LCD.In looking around to see what's available I was introduced to an "Elements Cyclone 9S 19" " for $165. All I've been able to learn about Elements is that they are a "White box" provider, they use many manufacturers to supply their needs.Has anybody run across them, do you have any knowledge of their quality/performance? Does anybody here own someting from Elements?Thanks,Abe

September 7, 2003

I'm surprized that no-one has mentioned AOC. I've owned a refurbished 17" AOC Spectrum 7Glr monitor for almost a year now, and have been running it at 1152 x 864 @ 85 Hz for half of the time, and 1280 x 1024 @ 75 hz for the other half of the time....and it still runs great.One of the strong points of AOC is making brain-dead monkey easy-to-use monitor controls. Very simple: a control panel on/off button and a turning-knob that can be pressed (really, the CP on/off button isn't even needed). If you've ever used Sony's Jog Dial, you'll be right at home with AOC's on-screen monitor controls.I will probably use this monitor until it eventually dies on me, and then, depending on the prices of LCD's at that time, I will make a desicion on whether or not to buy LCD or a Flat-CRT.zox makes a very good point -- once you use an LCD, you can never go back (I have a laptop, so it always feels weird coming back to my CRT @ home after being gone with the laptop a while). With LCD's there's no screen bulging when you minimize/maximize a bright application, no overall "convex" look (although my AOC as pin-coushin control), no strain on the eyes at high resolutions because refresh rates are not an issue (unless your a gamer).The main disadvantage about LCD's is that they generally look sharp and crisp at only their native resolution (the screen size for which the monitor was made). Generally 15" LCD's are 1024x768, 17" LCD's are 1280x1024, and anything higher can vary. If you use an LCD at a resolution other than it's native resolution, the display will be fuzzy and unclear.

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What Monitor(s) do you use?

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