What CRT's do you like?

[sodface]

I was running a dual monitor setup with a couple of 17's and wanted to move up to 19's so I sold the 17's and bought two samsung 900DF 19" CRT's. And they suck. I took one back the next day because it fluttered really badly - very obvious on all white backgrounds. I should have taken the other one back also, but I needed something to look at so I kept it - I hate it too.

I've always liked samsungs crt's but these 900DF's stink. I got a NEC Multisync 95 for free from my grandmother to put next to it, so I'm dual monitor again but the NEC is a round tube and the Samsung is flat, having both right next to each other sucks. The NEC is not that great to look at either. Plus it's white and the other is black which looks stupid.

Oh the horror.

I like LCD's, but they are still too expensive for me, and if I don't take up my desktop with giant monitors then it will just fill up with papers and soda cans. :)

Anyway, anybody got any first hand experience with a good value/good performance 19" CRT?

[Jim]

Haven't had a CRT in a while, but I really liked my KDS 19 incher. They used to use Sony tubes but I'm not sure now. KDS 19" (http://www.kdsusa.com/product_details.asp?prod=34&sub=c) . I think a lot of folks swear by Viewsonics as well.

The model I had was a AV-195TF (http://www.kdsusa.com/product_details.asp?prod=168) . :wave:

[RotorHead]

I have this one

Viewsonic (http://www.viewsonic.com/support/crt_pf790.htm)

But they no longer sale it, I think the new version is the P90f (http://www.viewsonic.com/products/crt_p90f.htm)

I like it a lot and it works very well for what need. They shouldn't be that expensive either.

[sodface]

Thanks guys. A lot of the newegg user reviews say stuff like "don't buy this get a viewsonic instead" -- I might have to make a move soon, these are giving me headaches. :(

[NeoShowtime]

Ive always like my Trinitrons regardless of who made them. Still have a 17" dell trinitron as my second monitor. Its to bad they stoped making the smaller trinitron tubes. I was thinkin about buying a used one soon, but I dont know if I should.

[sodface]

Are the trinitrons the ones with the thin wire that's visible across the center of the screen or does that depend on the mask/grill thingy?

I've never had one but a buddy of mine did and I think it would bug the crap out of me.

[pointreyes]

Originally posted by sodface
Are the trinitrons the ones with the thin wire that's visible across the center of the screen or does that depend on the mask/grill thingy?

I've never had one but a buddy of mine did and I think it would bug the crap out of me.

You are talking about aperture grille-a far superior method of display with CRTs. BTW: It's not the center of the screen, it should be the top and bottom quarter (or third) of the screen-it's two wires. Those two wires have vertical wires going through them and hence when the cathode ray gun shots out the primary color rays the wires enhance the trajectory of the light into a more accurate color. Shadow mask is the only other type of CRT on the market. If you can't handle and by far the much more superior ;) :p aperture grille you will have to contend with the shadow mask.

[Jim]

Originally posted by sodface
Are the trinitrons the ones with the thin wire that's visible across the center of the screen or does that depend on the mask/grill thingy?

I've never had one but a buddy of mine did and I think it would bug the crap out of me.

Yes, but I could only see it on a totally white background.
And 2 wires like pr said.
Hardly ever a problem and you have to look for it.

[sodface]

Thanks for the lesson PR :) I did read up on all that years ago prior to my first montior upgrade - but I promptly forgot all the details after the purchase was made. I do recall at the time not getting a trinitron solely because of the semi-visible wires - I was overseas and had to mail order it from the states so I didn't want to take the chance of it bothering me - most of the reviews that mentioned it said it was basically one of those things where you either don't notice it or it drives you mad. :p


Hardly ever a problem and you have to look for it.

Trouble is with me, I would make a point of looking for it every time I sat down, but I guess I should take that up with a psychotherapist ;)

[mysteryman]

I love my mitsubishi diamond pro 930sb (http://www.necmitsubishi.com/products/ProductDetail.cfm?Product=250&ClassificationFamily=1&Classification=1)

$250 at dell when I got it... (with coupon)

[SupermanCK]

seriously...you wouldn't be looking for the lines...at first you might be looking for it...but after a while you wouldn't see it...the line is partically less visable than a thin hair...only shows up more so in white backgrounds...and if you play games...you won't see those 2 lines...

[buildabear]

Those sound like really OLD Samsungs. I think the new ones are like 953DF models. I've seen a couple of those and they were great. Honestly, viewsonic makes the best value in CRT's. I have 2 P90f+'s and they are awesome. Hope this helps.:rolleyes:

[mysteryman]

How's 1280x1024 text look on 'em? I run mine at that rez... my
old monitor was so blurry that I couldn't run it that high.

[buildabear]

Originally posted by mysteryman
How's 1280x1024 text look on 'em? I run mine at that rez... my
old monitor was so blurry that I couldn't run it that high.

These viesonic's are awesome. I'm running dual 1280x1024 right now at 85 hz. I write a sh|t ton of papers, and I wouldn't trade these for ANY LCD. Sorry LCD fanboys. Don't mean to **** you off but no LCD can produce true black or any other color for that matter. LCD's are great if you don't have space, but I have space so I stay with the trusty Flat CRT. Hope this helps.

[Fossil]

Just purchased a Viewsonic P95f+ and it is very nice. Of course i waited till the price dropped by $300 CAN before I made the purchase. I had a KDS low end model.

[sodface]

A bit of a follow up here...

I just upgraded my video card to an eVga 5900se and the fluttery video problem on my samsung 900df went away. The clarity seems to have improved as well.

Before I returned one of the two 900df's I bought I did just run them singly off the video card and had the same problems. I had not seen any of those problems on the dual 17"ers.

I moved the ti4200 that I was using to another box and set up two older 17's. The flutter problem appeared on the left monitor. It seems like the ti4200 may have been the culprit all along. I never had any problems with the dual monitor performance on it until I switched to the two 19's and changed resolutions from 1024x768 to 1280x1024. I wonder if the card buckled from having to run 2 monitors at the higher resolution?

At the time though I really didn't think it was the video card, I did some cursory troubleshooting like switching monitors around, running just single monitor, playing with resolutions and refresh rates...

At any rate, I just thought since I bagged on the 900DF in my first post, I will now say it is much more usable with the new video card. I may even like it. :blush:

[Jojo1971]

I switched from Viewsonic P95f+ to Mitsubishi Diamondpoint SB70 17"..This monitor is better/sharper than my Sony G200 and all the CRT's Ive owned in the past...I picked up 2 from Best Buy for $150 a piece..For now, I would still stick with my CRT's until the price of Samsung's 12ms LCD goes down..:)

[Paragon]

I had a Samsung 900NF for three years and it was a great monitor, but since I switched to an LCD I don't think I'll ever use a CRT (except at work) again.

[Snafu]

a bit late in adding my $0.02.
With my single 17" I began to see a fluttering when I pumped up the resolution. It was so bad I started to get a headache. I changed the refresh rate to a higher value and the fluttering seems to have gone away - at least I could look at the screen without causing my brain wanting to hari-kari.
I hope you are wrong about the Samsung. Just order a 955DF 19" CRT.

[c23charles]

I like my 17" Samsung 753DF alot! It runs great at 1024 X 768 @ 85Hz at least... I'm curious to hear how the 955DF is at higher resolutions. I'm running a 9800pro with it now and very pleased with the performance. I can run higher resolutions, but there's just a feeling of loss of continuity, hardly measurable, but I'm very picky :)

[Paragon]

I've bee extemely happy with my Viewsonic VP171B and since my change from analog to digital, I've noticed many less headaches and eye strain...LCDs aren't perfect yet but each revision gets a little closer...this summer 12ms 19"-21" monitors will begin to surface and should take LCDs to the next level, hopefully without any ghosting or the brightness/contrast issues the older models had :thumbs:

[Snafu]

Can post something after it is all set-up (could be a little while as I will have to download latest fixes and drivers using a 56k modem). Will let you know. The specs look okay but proof is in the pudding. I will be using a 9600XT so I hope it will work great.

[KingTermite]

I don't think I'm as fussy as others about monitor quality, but I used to love my MAG crt. I'd always heard NEC was very good...virtually the cream of the crop.

So....I got an NEC when I broke down to get an lcd and it works, but I'm not that impressed with it. I've seen others with Dell and I think Dell makes one of the best lcd monitors.

[sodface]

I like my 17" Samsung 753DF alot! It runs great at 1024 X 768 @ 85Hz at least... I'm curious to hear how the 955DF is at higher resolutions. I'm running a 9800pro with it now and very pleased with the performance. I can run higher resolutions, but there's just a feeling of loss of continuity, hardly measurable, but I'm very picky :)

I've got a 753DF also and have been very pleased with it.

[Ghostrider]

Hi!

I have three monitors.
17" CRT from Siemens (got it for free),
21" CRT: CTX Ultra Screen - EX1200, 96kHz
22" CRT: Iiyama VisionMaster Pro 512, HA202DT, 144kHz

The 21" has a shadow mask, the 22" an aperture grille.
I can see the two hairlines using the explorer or Word because of the white background. They do only disturb me while doing some image editing. During games you can't notice these thin wires.
If there would be a 22" monitor with a shadow mask, ~140kHz that would be able to do the same resolutions:
2048x1536 / max. 87 Hz
1840x1440 / max. 92 Hz
1600x1280 / max. 105 Hz
1600x1200 / max. 110 Hz
1480x1024 / max. 130 Hz
1280x1024 / max. 130 Hz
with a picture that is as sharp as it is on my HA202DT I'd buy it. ;)

[BOB.LostSoul]

I have a 21"Sony Triniton mulitiscan E540 and yes the one with the lines and the above post are right at first I noticed them but they just go away after awhile . I run 1600x1200 with cleartype and everything looks great. And I am a online game junkie. If you are going to buy a crt this model or the mitsubishi diamond pro 930sb or the only way to go. But they will leave your wallet alot lighter. good luck with your choice.
BOB-LostSoul