I am going to get a CTR not a LCD one, that I have already decided.
Not sure if I trust the LCD ones yet when it comes to gaming, and the ones that run with a low ms and 1600x1200 resolution is still expensive.
So now I look for a 19", or MAYBE 21" I will have to see how much money I can cough up now, but I wonder if you guys\girls have some suggestions.
I also wonder if there are any US based shops that would ship international, though the shipment would be crazy , but at a much cheaper price still I guess since I live in Norway.
My beautiful Trinitron just started dieing a week ago (it's overheating, I have to run with the cover off). I also decided to get a CRT at the time until I picked a few models that I would accept (and not be a downgrade from what I have) and found out NOONE carries CRT's anymore. Sure they will have the token craptacular ones but pretty much everyone only had LCD's.
I've decided to try to keep this one going until LCD's get better. There are very few LCD's that support 1600X1200 and the ones that do are 20"+ and cost $700+. Hopefully by the summer (I think the heat of the summer will kill my current monitor) they will get better.
I have a flatscreen 19" Viewsonic P95F+ (I think that's the model name) which I love. I really really hope CRT monitors are still being made and carried, because I don't think the LCDs are really up to snuff yet. Also, wouldn't you get the whole "burn-in" problem that you supposedly get with LCD TVs playing games with static parts of the interface on the screen?
Call me crazy but I've never had an issue with my LCD monitor over the past two years. It's looked good with every game I've played. Maybe I'm just easy to please, I dunno.
I have the viewsonic VP912b 19" LCD with a 12ms response. Yep, no ghosting in FPS's here. I have never seen a negative user review of this monitor, but I have seen some so-so company reviews, but I always take those with a grain of salt...most never even mentioned the response time on this baby, which I thought was odd as it's so fast. This was the first monitor I believe to be at 12ms with a 19" LCD display. I bought it as soon as it came out and a few reviews were checked. I haven't looked back since.
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.
There was an article on slashdot that said thin-screen CRTs were going to be sold sometime this year. I'd wait for those to come out before buying anything. Even if they are mega-expensive they should at least drive down the price of existing LCDs.
Yeah shipping is a pain. Im in the uk and have a almost new 21" Samsung CRT monitor which is superb. Paid £500 but the wife didn`t like it in the lounge so got me a 19" LCD instead. So i have this monitor sitting around, boxed and doing sod all.
I have a 5-year-old 17" MagInnovision, which is an off-brand Trinitron. It's excellent. Only expensive LCDs have the color depth and contrast of your average CRT, although they might have an edge in image sharpness...at least that's my take. If I had a lot of money, I might get a good LCD, but CRTs still have the value edge.
I just couldn't stand the heat my 21" CRT put off, plus it was so large as to make positioning difficult. My 19" LCD gives me close to the same screen acreage, and it's simply wonderful to be able to place it almost anywhere I want. I can even turn it sideways if I want, not that I can foresee a need for it, lol.
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.
I too was pessimistic about ever switching from a CRT to an LCD, but ended up doing it anyways thanks to an amazing deal. And now I have to say I am a happy camper. The amount of space a good 20" CRT takes up is tremendous compared to my LCD.
Right now the Dell 2001FP 20" LCD that I have is on sale for $600 at Dell (25% off sale, happens pretty regularly, never buy one at full price, I got mine for around $350 in an amazing online coupon system deal I found on gotapex.com). 1600x1200, fast response time (I have not seen ghosting yet while gaming), great connections including S-video, DVI, and high contrast. My only nit with it is that the black is a bit faded looking, but it's not really bad. I use Photoshop all the time which is really why I wanted to go CRT, but now that I went LCD I have no issues and overall love the screen. It's sooo much easier on your eyes for extended staring. That alone has permanently switched me to the dark side. The gamma has been plenty good enough for photo-editing, I am easily able to distinguish all the shades of gray/black I need.
My blog (mostly photos): Fort Ephemera - My Flickr Photostream
“You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn’t waste either.” ―Galen Rowell
I've been using a Dell 19" LCD (E193FP) since October and I have had zero problems playing HL2, Doom3 and Farcry. I don't really know how great the Dell monitors are, but I would say that the whole ghosting phenomenon is a thing of the past with modern response times.
I have to agree with enough that the black is a bit washed out but it was more of an "oh well" than an "oh shit" in my book.
Kelric wrote:Call me crazy but I've never had an issue with my LCD monitor over the past two years. It's looked good with every game I've played. Maybe I'm just easy to please, I dunno.
Wow..thanks for all the responses, I didn`t think there would be that many.
I would buy a LCD if the ms would be lower, but even if it would then I would still want a 19" and that would be $$ compared to a CRT.
The Dell Ultrasharp 2001 would cost me approx 1125 US$ here in Norway
in retail for example.
For now I have my eyes on Viewsonic CRT monitors, seems like the best bargain for me regarding what I can find in Norway.
The one I have seen is Viewsonic 19" G90F+B.
I will see what I will do, I`ll most likely order early next week.
I'm also eyeing a Viewsonic CRT for my next system build in a couple of months or so.
Here's an incredible deal on a 22" Viewsonic, although it's out of stock at the moment. I also looked it up on Pricewatch and seem to recall that shipping was about $50 within the U.S.; no idea what it would be to Norway (probably prohibitably expensive, but you never know). You might want to search around on that site a bit; they have a bunch of really nice deals on CRTs, including B-stock/refurbished models (if you are interested in going that route). Good luck with the shipping!
oh boy...flat/thin CRT monitors? Count me in baby!
I switched from a 19" CRT (highly rated Samsung, don't remember model) but I never liked it because I could never get a uniformly sharp/clear image...if I made one corner sharp , the rest of the screen looked terrible, if I fixed the rest of the screen, that one corner looked terrible.
Anyway, I now use a Dell 17" LCD at home and I love it - except for games that are dark.
Lack of "black blacks" is what keeps me from loving LCD technology.
Response times? Meh. I agree with poster above that thinks that response times are too much focused on these days. The LCD I use at home is an older model, and I am sure does not have a response time below 25ms (and it's probably higher). Never had a problem with ghosting in FPS.
Get the blacks in Half Life 2 tunnels to look dark instead of "bright black" (you know what I mean if you have an LCD) and I will be sold.
Carpet_pissr wrote:
Get the blacks in Half Life 2 tunnels to look dark instead of "bright black" (you know what I mean if you have an LCD) and I will be sold.
Alright, dark black is the one complaint I have with my monitor, I admit it. But it sure beats having a giant behemoth taking up desk space better used for other purposes.
Bertran wrote:I'm also eyeing a Viewsonic CRT for my next system build in a couple of months or so.
Beware Viewsonic. Worst customer service of any company I've ever dealt with.
And hang onto the box. If you have any trouble with the monitor, they'll expect you to ship it back in the original packaging - even if it's 3+ months after the purchase date.
They have great prices, but I will never buy a ViewSonic product. YMMV.
Bertran wrote:I'm also eyeing a Viewsonic CRT for my next system build in a couple of months or so.
Beware Viewsonic. Worst customer service of any company I've ever dealt with.
And hang onto the box. If you have any trouble with the monitor, they'll expect you to ship it back in the original packaging - even if it's 3+ months after the purchase date.
They have great prices, but I will never buy a ViewSonic product. YMMV.
Interesting.
I have a 5 year-old Viewsonic A90 19", and love the actual monitor. Never a problem with it ever.
But I have to agree about the service. I never did get my $50 rebate which I sent in properly as I always do. Then I forgot about it. When I finally remembered and called 4 months later, they told me the check was still being processed and I should get it soon. Never did get it. Called one more time and don't remember what they told me, but in the end I just wrote it off as another reason to avoid rebates like the plague.
Not sure if I'd ever buy another one for that reason alone, even though I do love the product. That $299 22" Bertran linked to up there is terribly tempting however. Glad they're out of stock, or I'd be seriously thinking about it.
"I've been fighting with reality for over thirty-five years, and I'm happy to say that I finally won out over it." -- Elwood P. Dowd
Hm I did find a way I could get a monitor to Norway, but the shipping on
20-25kg and an additional 25% VAT (yes that is correct) might be to expensive.
Besides that I forgot that in Europe we have different voltage then in the US and I`m not sure if I trust those adapter things.
However I have my eyes on a USED monitor called:
21" Eizo F930 (TCO99)
I looked up on the web and found out that the model was released around March 2000 I think, this monitor don`t have to be that old though.
It says it has not been used alot, and is sold by a company that gives
a 3 month used guarantee.
I can get it for around 350US including shipping.
For a new 21" monitor I would have to cough up between 700US-900US
I sent an e-mail to the company asking where it has been used, I hope it might have been in lmited use at an office and changed due to a shift to LCD monitors.
I`m in doubt as I could get a nice monitor and it runs 1600X1200 in 104hz and 2048X1536 in 80hz which is more then enough for me.
Anyone got any experience with this screen, I know Eizo is one of the top brands...well so I`ve heard.
I usually buy my monitors at local computer tech shows. I bought a 21" HP1100 flat crt (like a Sony Triniton with the 2 faint lines across the screen) for $180 with 1 year coverage...about 4 years ago. Even better deals now.
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.
Isn't LG a European company?
I had an LG monitor until very recently (when I got an LCD) and I thought it was very good. My spousal unit also has an LG monitor and it's great.
I went to an LCD so I could sit perpendicular to the desk instead of sideways, and so I could have a bigger screen (went from a 17" CRT to a 21" LCD) and because it would be easier to move.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire
lokiju wrote:I usually buy my monitors at local computer tech shows. I bought a 21" HP1100 flat crt (like a Sony Triniton with the 2 faint lines across the screen) for $180 with 1 year coverage...about 4 years ago. Even better deals now.
Hm two faint lines, how does that effect your eyes\consentration when using it?
I have noticed some negative remarks regarding those lines on reviews of Viewsonic monitors among others.
My Trinitron just died, but it had those faint lines. Unless I looked for them, I never noticed them. You only notice them when looking at fairly uniform color screens (like a word doucment or something). During a game I almost never saw them, they didn't bother me and these lines are what enabled the monitors to get such rich and vivid colors so it was worth it to me. Of course since my monitor died, I can't reccomend buying a trinitron. :/
KiloOhm wrote:My Trinitron just died, but it had those faint lines. Unless I looked for them, I never noticed them. You only notice them when looking at fairly uniform color screens (like a word doucment or something). During a game I almost never saw them, they didn't bother me and these lines are what enabled the monitors to get such rich and vivid colors so it was worth it to me. Of course since my monitor died, I can't reccomend buying a trinitron. :/
How long did you have it?
And I agree that the lines are of little consequence...barely seen unless you view a light colored background.
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play
Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, if he gets angry, he's a mile away and barefoot.
lokiju: I have been eyeing the viewsonic VP912b for a while. However, I haven't been able to find any reviews on it. I was trying to compare it to the Sony SDMHS94P. Can you point me towards any reviews on the Viewsonic? Did you find any particularly good deals on it? I have read that some of the new fast 12ms panels are 6bit panels as opposed to 8bit. I am not even sure I completely understand what this means (something to do with color), but people seem to think it is bad. Any idea if this is an 8bit panel?
, but at a much cheaper price still I guess since I live in Norway.
