Need a new monitor,, Help picking??????

[LaRue Medlin]

My Sony 21" crt is failing, each week the brightness keeps getting brighter and brighter.. I corrected it about as much as I can. The monitor is 6 years old and stays ON 98% of the time. I have a 17" lcd, but going from 21 to 17 really sucks. So, anyone have a suggetstion on what would be a good replacement? Don't want to spend an arm and leg for one, just a good quality replacement; 19" would be ok I guess. Do I want a wide screen or a "regular" screen? Comments and suggestions please... Thanks

 

[Todd Z]

21-17 is a big drop, I went from a 17 to my 19 inch Dell ultra sharp flat and I am very happy with it...

I say get a nice 19 inch... I sit too close to the 19 as it is, I think a 21 would hurt after a while..

Todd Z

 

[Thomas Rogers]

I got a Viewsonic 19" a few months back when it was $279. It's $209 ($229 less $20 rebate) now.



I got it from NewEgg.com and picked that one due to it's speed (8ms), DVI input (and VGA), and its overall good reviews. The built-in speakers are a little under-powered but will do if you don't have any for most desktop stuff. If playing games or watching movies (which is when this monitor shines) then you will want better sound.



I recommend it. I only had 1 dead pixel (not uncommon to get one or two for an LCD that size). NewEgg's dead pixel return policy is 8 pixels or more, but most people get no dead pixels, or one or two at most based on the reviews.



See the link below. I love NewEgg. I order and they have the stuff at my door the very next day most every time.



TJR

 

[Casey B]

You can find numerous 19 inch LCD's @newegg.com for around $200. Read the reviews, they are helpful in decision making.

 

[Deleted deleted]

The Dell Ultrasharp 19" LCD digital panel is a highly rated monitor. Costs a bit more, but at $300, it's worth it for my eyes.

 

[Matthew Chelette]

I like the Dell Ultrasharp. I have dual 19" Ultrasharp monitors at work and use them all day and they are easy on the eyes. They are very adjustable and have usb ports on the side.

 

[Mark S 3]

I finally settled on buying one myself. Here's the information that I dug up while researching.



With LCD monitors you want to pay attention to what the native resolution is. You will want to run it in that native resolution (or a multiple) most of the time. Any other resolution and the montitor may appear blury as the pixels don't match up to the video source.



The 17" and 19" monitors tend to have the same (1280 * 1024) resolution. Going to the 19" doesn't gain you any more physical space on the screen. The pixels are all just a bit bigger. If you want extra pixels, go with a 20".



Make sure you get both VGA and DVI inputs. VGA so it will work with your current computer, DVI so it will work with your next.



Pay attention to viewing angle. If they have a demo working in the store, make sure you tilt it every which way as LCD viewing angles tend to vary alot from each brand.



The widescreen VS regular format is a bit of a mix. Widescreen looks way better IMHO and is the defacto upcoming standard. Regular format does give you a bit more bang for your buck as they tend to be cheaper and have slightly more pixels. Guess it just comes down to what you plan to use it for.



I ended up going with a 20" widescreen one myself (Samsung 205BW) as I want to do a fair bit of video editting and things just fit better on the widescreen. So far it's been great, but I've only owned it for a few weeks, so not nearly enough time to really recommend it or not.



As for where to buy it? I avoided mail order (Dell, Apple, Tiger Direct...) simply because I wanted to ensure that I got one with 0 dead pixels. I went with Staples as they have a no questions asked return policy. That way I didn't have to worry about the 8-9 dead pixel rule mentioned above.



Good luck with your search,

Mark

 

[Jared Strube]

I just recently got the Dell Ultrasharp 24" widescreen and love it. The thing is HUGE! There is one dead pixel and one stuck pixel, which is annoying, however, at a resolution of 1920X1200, thats 2 pixels out of 2,304,000 (since I am a nerd, that is 0.000000868% badness, which isn't too much badness). I bought it on eBay brand new for $800, which was, I thought, quite a bargain.



strube

 

[The Ape]

Check these out. I have two in my office and they rock.



Ape Out.