As my car takes up more time and money.. my computer is slowly starting to show it'* problems. First thing I want to fix, is my monitor. It'* 8 years old, and has served me well. It is now pretty much dead.. I have to hit it all the time to get it to display properly, and it seems my $80 19" tv has a better picture. It flickers all the time, and no it'* not the refresh rate. Anyways, this thing is trash, and I am not interested in fixing it. However, what I am interested in, is a new monitor. I currently have a 21" monitor, 17" viewable. I have enough room for a 19" tall monitor, and 18" wide. I'm probably going to get another 21" just because I like the space it fills.. anymore and I think it may be too big, and any less it will look empty. It is a 1280/960 @ 68hz. I really want something like 2xxx/xxxx @80-90hz. I am going all out on this setup. What do you guys recommend? I have a generic "MAG Innovations" monitor.. and I would prefer a name brand, because I want this thing to last forever.


-justin

Wow your eyes must hurt looking at that thing.

What is your budget? I think 21" is kinda overkill personally, hell if I had to buy a CRT it'd get ad damn good 17" most likely.

But i wouldn't recommend a CRT either.

My budget is $200. I have a 21" now.. and I don't want anything smaller. I had a 17" previous to this, and it was super small.

You wouldn't recommend a CRT?? These suckers are bulletproof, and they are MUCH faster than any LCD.. I wouldn't have anything else. Besides, an LCD even marginally comparable to a medicre CRT is more than my car is worth!


-justin

200 bucks will get you a nice 17 or 18" flat CRT.

I suggested smaller because sitting too close to a huge screen is very bad for you. You have a 17" viewable monitor you said, any quality 19" monitor will be atleast 17" viewable, and not nearly as deep. I've seen more CRT'* fail from friends then LCDs. CRTS have moving parts inside, and when you move your monitor (which was frequent living in the dorms) they would fail a lot more. LCD'* are plenty fast, mine has a faster "refresh rate" (LCD'* don't refresh, it'* more of a response time) then your 21".

I've never had any problem with ANY ghosting in games, DVD'* etc. a DVI connection helps, and this is a 2.5 Year old Dell LCD. Flicker Free, and Amazing colors.

But yeah, $200 bux like Sol said will get you a good flat 17-19" CRT, Samsung, Sony (or rebadged as dell), NEC all come to mind. Ebay will not work well since shipping is a Biotch for anything but a smaller LCD.

A good CRT will last longer than a good LCD. The picture quality depends a lot on the video card your running as well. If its onboard, most likely the LCD will look sharper. CRT are pretty much perfected and cheap as dirt today. If you dont mind taking up more space, go with one of those for longevity.

Well, for one I have RCA out on my video card, so I don't have DVI. That kind of deters me from the LCD as well. I have an ATI 9600 chipset graphics card, and although not top of the line, it surely isn't onboard .

I'm going to agree with Twister on this one, A good CRT will last longer than a good LCD. I have a 15" dell CRT [also 8 years old], which has been dropped several times, and it works flawlessly.. so I don't think moving is a problem. And i'm only a freshman in HS.. I won't be moving this sucker anytime soon, either; So even if it is a problem, I won't be affected by it.

I sit about 2-3 feet from the monitor, and I haven't had a problem in the 8 years i've been using a computer. My desk is deep enough to have about a 23" deep monitor.. so I have quite a bit of play here.

I've been looking at Viewsonic, because I can get those under retail, and cheaper is always better . I can also get NEC'* under retail, but I haven't seen any high end ones.

I'll be looking into the viewable ratings on 19" monitors, and comparing them to 21s.


-justin

Analog LCD'* Hurt my head, however digtal LCD'* are like warm salve for my eyes... after a long day of crappy lcds and crts at work.

my computer at home is a pleasure to look at....

that being said... digital lcd is choice one (i have an 18.1 viewable IBM that is awesome) and CRT is #2.....


my $.02

Just an update. Bonnememn, you were correct, a 19" monitor has an 18" viewable screen. Which is already larger than mine. And in a smaller form factor. I found a beautiful flat CRT for $179.99, and only $17 shipping! This is a beautiful monitor, and I'm already in love with it.



-justin

Might want to check walmart as well. Staples has some good deals also.