a Monitor thread :)

[Jeff7181]

I'm just curious what all of you look for when choosing a monitor. I'm using an $80 Samtron 76DF 17 inch that does 1024x768 @ 85 Hz. I'm wondering if I upgraded to a higher quality 17 inch, would I notice a difference. Like if I got one that could do 1024x768 at say... 120 Hz. Is the difference between 85 and 120 noticeable?
LCD's are out of the question because they're so expensive... gotta spend around $400-500 for one that's decent enough to play games.
Was also thinking about stepping up a size again to a 19 inch. If I do, I'd want something that can do 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz at least.
Any suggestions or experience with particular models would be appreciated.

[ThugsRook]

honestly ~ forget CRT and get a LCD.

(i know, too much $, but its worth it) :beer:

[JayisunJ]

Hey Jeff :) You might want to check out the Hitachi CM721FB 19". It does pretty close to 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz. Plus it has a completely flat screen and according to the reviews at newegg.com the picture is bright and crisp. If I were to get a monitor, this would be it for it's good price/performance ratio. Here is the link to newegg's listing: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=24-134-019&DEPA=1 This one is black, but I am sure there is a beige version.
honestly ~ forget CRT and get a LCD. If you play games Jeff, which I am pretty sure you do (Morrowind) I would get a CRT. In all actuality, you would have to spend $600- $700 to get an LCD with similar performance/size to this $279.00 CRT monitor. Good luck!

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by ThugsRook
honestly ~ forget CRT and get a LCD.

(i know, too much $, but its worth it) :beer:
Ok, sure... as long as you pay the difference =) I'll even settle for a 17 inch LCD, as I was looking at 19 inch CRT's =)

Seriously though... for an LCD that does well in games, I could get two 19 inch CRT's, or a big ass 22 inch CRT.

[ThugsRook]

...and think of all the heating $ youd save with those 2x 19" during winter time ;)

sorry, couldnt resist ~ just tryin to help :wave:

[Mikki]

I've been shopping for a long time for a pair of lcd's to match up with my Viewsonic 21" Pro monitor (I'm going for a tri setup on a Parhelia)...Tom's has pretty much the best reviews/comparisons I've found on the latest lcd's...Linky (http://www6.tomshardware.com/display/index.html) :)

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by ThugsRook
...and think of all the heating $ youd save with those 2x 19" during winter time ;)

sorry, couldnt resist ~ just tryin to help :wave: Hey man, two birds with one stone... if I can't pay my gas bill next winter, I can just huddle up next to the computer at night.

[JayisunJ]

(I'm going for a tri setup on a Parhelia)... Hey, by the way Mikki, I have been wondering about Matrox and whether thier drivers for the Parhelia have matured much (performance/bugs)? When they did all the reviews for it the drivers were pretty buggy and/or unoptomized for games. Just curious.

[RotorHead]

I picked up a Sceptre X7g-Naga for my Wife, and for a budget priced LCD it's nice, $335 at newegg.

http://www.sceptre.com/Products/LCD/Specifications/spec_x7gnaga.htm

RH

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by RotorHead
I picked up a Sceptre X7g-Naga for my Wife, and for a budget priced LCD it's nice, $335 at newegg.

http://www.sceptre.com/Products/LCD/Specifications/spec_x7gnaga.htm

RH Horrible for gaming... it has a 25ms response time

[JayisunJ]

Horrible for gaming... it has a 25ms response time Yea, you need at least 16ms for decent gaming. DVI connection would be nice too... this one has VGA only. And the resolution doesn't reach as high as most CRT's (1600x1200). For that price though, it seems like a deal that would be hard to pass up.

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
Yea, you need at least 16ms for decent gaming. DVI connection would be nice too... this one has VGA only. And the resolution doesn't reach as high as most CRT's (1600x1200). For that price though, it seems like a deal that would be hard to pass up. Hmmmm... 335 for a poopy gaming LCD, or $250 for a good gaming CRT... tough choice =)

[JayisunJ]

Hmmmm... 335 for a poopy gaming LCD, or $250 for a good gaming CRT... tough choice =) Very good point. :)

[RotorHead]

I have to admit, I didn’t play a lot of games on it but I did run a few benches like UT and 3Dmark2001. The overall blurring was not that noticeable and the picture quality was vary good at native resolution (1280x1024). The worst blurring occurred when scrolling light text on dark background but still not that bad. The best thing of all was not having to adjust the picture to fit the monitor….ie pincushion/balance, size/position, hooking…etc

I do agree that a CRT will out perform a LCD in games, but not for much longer. As the technology advances I think we will see some good stuff coming our way.

RH

[Mikki]

Originally posted by JayisunJ
Hey, by the way Mikki, I have been wondering about Matrox and whether thier drivers for the Parhelia have matured much (performance/bugs)? When they did all the reviews for it the drivers were pretty buggy and/or unoptomized for games. Just curious.
Yeah, they're fine now...I browse the Matrox forum here and there since I have an RT2500.....:)

[JayisunJ]

Yeah, they're fine now...I browse the Matrox forum here and there since I have an RT2500..... Cool. Maybe someday thier driver support will be on par with nVidia's and ATI's driver suites. . . LOL :lol:

[JayisunJ]

Hey, since this is the only monitor thread, I was wondering if yall could help me out with a monitor prob instead of starting a new thread. My brother has a Samsung Syncmaster 955DF (black) and it works wonderfully. Except for one thing. When it goes to 1600x1200 (68 Hz which is max refresh) by 32-bit color (or 16-bit for that matter) the screen only takes up about 4/5 of the viewable monitor area. So I tried messing with the size settings. I expanded the screen, but the desktop was too big to fit onto the screen. Now I have to move the mouse to the edges of the screen to navigate it - kinda like an internet window - I have to scroll aroudn to see the entire desktop. I don't know if I have a setting screwed up or what, but I tried all of the settings on the monitor and nothing worked. It is fine at 1152x864 which is what I usually have the desktop at. But he wants to be able to play games at 1600x1200, but just like the desktop, the image is blown up so you can only see about one fourth or one corner of the game on screen. It looks like it is trying to fit an 40x40 image on my 19x19 screen. Sorry if I don't make any sense- it is hard to describe in words. Thanks. :(

[Jeff7181]

So, lemme get this straight... at 1600x1200 it wasn't using the full screen... so you used the monitor's on screen controls to stretch the image to fill up the viewable area, correct? Does Windows look fine? Is it just games that are messed up?

[JayisunJ]

Hey, nevermind, I just reset the monitors properties and started all over. Setting up the color scheme on this thing is really tough to get it just right otherwise I would have just tried reseting it sooner. Thanks anyway!

[Jojo1971]

honestly ~ forget CRT and get a LCD.

not yet... im still waiting for the ones with 16ms response time or faster to get cheaper...

so far im happy with my Mitsubishi Diamondpoint SB 70 17"....

[Jeff7181]

The only advantage to an LCD that I see right now, even with 16ms response times is that pretty much anything above 30 frames per second looks very smooth on them. Whereas with a CRT, I can definately see a difference if it's running at 60 fps vs. 85.

[eva2000]

i'm using a Samsung 15" 152T LCD monitor right now - love lcds so much decided to develop a site for them http://lcdmonitorinfo.com/ work in progress :D

[oldfart]

I recently upgraded to a NEC/Mitsu 1760NX-BK (http://www.necmitsubishi.com/products/home/ProductDetail.cfm?product_id=266&division=NEC) Really sweet! 16ms resp is great for games too.