replacement monitor recommendations

[Bre901]

The 3 1/2 year old 17" CRT on my Dell just decided it wouldn't work anymore (seems to be a power supply issue - no visible fuse - nothing on the support documentation).

This raises a couple of questions :
- is it worth it trying to have it fixed ? (knowing that some very clever litlle boy scratched the anti-glare film with a pencil or a stylus)
- if not would you switch for an LCD/TFT screen ? any recommendations ? (in the 150-200£ range)

thanks in advance.

[goates]

I'm not familiar with prices in the UK, but I would personally take the chance to go for an LCD screen. About the only drawback these days is for those who need accurate colour reproduction. For general email, internet and games, LCDs have pretty much caught up. Not to mention they also use less power and generate less heat in the room too.

I have a Dell 1905FP that is working great and is a pretty decent size. Remember with LCDs, you get the full size stated. So 19" is actually 19", not 18" like on a CRT. It costs about $550CDN, but I got it on sale for $400CDN.

If your PC has a DVI port on the video card, try to get a LCD with DVI as well as the quality is a little better.

goates

[Saab Dastard]

Bre901,

Not worth trying to fix (but do dispose of it responsibly!) - Why pay £50 to get it fixed if you can get a brand new one for not much more?

I would be a little circumspect in going for an LCD screen unless there are particularly pressing reasons for choosing one - and space & heat are very good reasons!

But if these aren't a concern, bear in mind that an LCD screen has a much narrower viewing angle, both vertically and horizontally, is (in my experience) much more susceptible to glare effects and has a (noticably) lower refresh rate than a comparable CRT.

I use an LCD screen (14") with my laptop, a 17" and 19" Mitsubishi Diamond Pro (Trinitron flat screen) on my home PCs and a Sony 17" TFT at work. I find the CRTs better in almost every respect - except for space and heat / power consumption.

The biggest annoyance with LCD screens for me is that every time I shift around in my seat I seem to need to readjust the screen angle to keep it optimised - this is the problem with the narrow vertical viewing angle.

For long periods I find it much easier on the eyes to work with a CRT, especially with text. And I'm comparing identical 1024x768x32 bit colour on a 17" CRT or 17" LCD. Text always seems fuzzier on the LCD panels.

That's my 2p, for what it's worth.

Oh, and don't forget that CRTs are incredibly cheap now!

:D

SD

[slair76116]

I have to agree with both the above posts..!

they both have what would be considerd the better versions of the LCD and CRT world.....

Cheaper alternative to a NEC/MITSU diamond would be a viewsonice P95fp i think that's the version..anywaw get the one with the aperture grille...i think...the nec and view sonic p series monitors are the only ones to have them.....and professionals say the picture quality is that much better for it...!

and if you're going the LCD way.....Nothing can beat the price for value of the Dell series specially the 2001FP 2005 FP and 2405 FP..'s

good luck...glad you got a reason to upgrade...my damn monitor just wont bust...!;)

[drauk]

Definitely not worth repairing. If you're really strapped for cash you could buy a CRT super-cheaply. I've known companies give them away, because they don't want them anymore and otherwise they'd have to pay to dispose of them.

[goates]

LCDs don't have a refresh rate in the same way that CRTs do as they don't need to keep redrawing the screen. Most all LCDs are set to a 60 Hz refresh rate in Windows, but it doesn't flicker like a CRT.

What LCDs do have that you need to watch for is the response rate of the screen. If it's too slow, you get ghosting or blurring in games and fast action movies. This isn't much of a problem with LCDs that have a response rate of 20ms or less, especially 16ms and below.

I haven't had any trouble with the viewing angle on my 19" LCD at all. The best way to check this out is to go to a store and have a look at some in person. The Samsung 193P LCD uses the same panel as the Dell 1905FP. Actually there are only a few manufacturers of the LCD panels themselves, and everyone else just puts them in their own case.

Here's a review of the LCD I have.

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2332

goates

[PPRuNe Pop]

What about TFT? How is the refresh rate on that?

[goates]

TFTs are just a specific type of LCD. And I think they have the faster response times in general.

Here is some info on LCDs. There are several links at the bottom to more detailed info as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD

http://www.lcdmonitor.org/3.html

goates

[Mac the Knife]

LCDs only look good at the one resolution that they are designed for (eg 1024 x 768) - at anything else they look awful.

[Saab Dastard]

goates,

You are quite right about the LCD having response rate rather than refresh rate, I just couldn't remember the term when posting.

I also admit that my experience of this phenomenon is mainly with older LCD displays - I simply haven't used a "new" LCD screen for games (work, work, work :hmm: ). I certainly remember FS looking quite blurry on an LCD screen, while pin-sharp on the CRT. However, that was a while ago!

[goates]

Saab Dastard,

You should try out a new LCD sometime. They are far sharper and clearer than CRTs these days. After having switched, I won't go back for my personal PC and I hope my company switches soon too. The viewing angles are also very good now for most screens and you definitely shouldn't need to adjust it if you just shift around in your chair.

The blurriness may have come from not running in the native resolution as well. LCDs don't look very good at other resolutions as Mac the Knife pointed out. This can also happen when using analog video input for the LCD. As they are digital, the conversion can reduce image quality a little. Again, this isn't as big a deal anymore, but it still shows up. Using the DVI port on that is on almost all video cards these days will solve this (as long as the LCD has a DVI port as well).

[Conan the Librarian]

Interesting... I have 2 LCD screens but have a specific use in mind, ie restoring photographs. Were it not for the space saving aspect, I would go for CRT every time (though a good one - Iiyama or LaCie)

Depends what you want. Resolution, refresh rates and colour fidelity, or what is these days called (I hate it...) a "lifestyle" solution.

Both are good and in some cases very good - but to make that distinction, I think you have to have a specific goal in mind.

Cheap LCD now sub £200 for a 19 inch and they ain't going to get pricier either.

Conan

[supercarb]

I am typing this on an Ilyama Vision Master Pro 410 17" CRT, bloody brilliant, best image quality I have ever had on a monitor, and it cost me all of £20 secondhand from my local computer fair :ok:

[Feline]

Well, my 17" monitor was getting dimmer and dimmer, so splashed out on an 17" LG Flatron last week - and am very well pleased - much sharper, satisfactory horizotal viewing angle of about 120 deg - and it takes up a damn sight less desk real estate. It has a button to select ambient lighting (day,night) and type of display (text, movie, photo). Although I don't really need to adjust it. And much less reflection than I used to get off the CRT face.

[Daysleeper]

I got a 17" LG TFT for under £130. really pleased with it.

Got it from scan .co.uk but there are loads of suppliers out there.

[FJJP]

I agree with Conan - depends what you do with your PC. Friends of mine, heavily into photography, say that CRT is far superior to TFT. And you can pick them up for ridiculous prices these days.

However, 17" TFT is superb for everyday use [the 15" is just a bit small for intensive use].

[Daysleeper]

Not wanting to breach pprunes advertising rules but the web shop whose name is the same as the jungle in Brazil is having a TFT sale just now. 17 incher for 119 quid, though I've never heard of the brand

[spannersatcx]

The best TFT is one with a DVI connection, if your graphics card has DVI out then go for that. The difference between analogue TFT and DVI TFT output is quite different (Vinyl to CD, VHS to DVD if you know what I mean) yes you can get cheap TFT's but they are mostly analogue the better ones are most definately DVI. This will make full use of your DVI graphics card, depends what you need it for at the end of the day.

[Bre901]

Having read some reviews, I chose to stay on the safe (and cheap) side (don't know for how long the computer itself will last).

I purchased a NEC FE770 CRT ( delivered at home for 131 € = 90 £). Installed it this afternoon, it's quite good for my needs (almost as good as the old Dell P793 which was actually a Sony Trinitron).

Thanks for all your answers