LCD monitor buying help!

[jester212]

Hello to all at hexus.

Ok my question is as follows:

I'm looking to buy my first LCD monitor sometime soon but with all that is on offer i'm slightly confused, hence why i come to the experts!!

I'm looking to buy a 17" LCD and i know that the lower the response time the better for gaming and watching dvd's but all the other specs is where i get lost, i mean what would be an acceptable contrast and brightness ratio? also do they consume more power than CRT's

All info and feedback regarding my question is greatly appreciated!

[nvening]

First off you posted in the wrong place. Second, What is your budget? TFTs use less power.

[Spud1]

With TFTs, and to some extent CRTs aswell, the figures quoted can often mean nothing.

A tft with 25ms might seem horribly blurry in games to someone, but may seem fine to another. One may be nice and bright for someone, but horribly dim to another..

basically you really need to try them out first, or read a range of reviews. This is especially important now, as some monitors are rated at say 12ms but still have massive blurring - theres a thread from a few months back that explains why iirc

Also as yourself why you are buying a TFT? You obviously have a few hundred pounds to spend on a monitor upgrade, but do you really need a tft? If you have the space for a CRT then why not simply get a good quality CRT? a 21" flat screen CRT monitor will only cost you a few hundred £, roughly the same as a reasonable quality 17" tft but you will have a MUCH nicer monitor

Good quality CRTs are still better than tfts in the same price bracket. Whether you can put up with the degredaton in quality is up to you, you might not even notice a difference Thats the problem with monitors, they are too subjective.

Anyway aside from putting a downer on tfts(), my point is that trying before you buy is the best way - go to somewhere like PC World or dixons, they stock most major brands and even though you wouldnt dream of buying one there, they will normally let you have a play with their demo monitors so you can get an idea of the quality

[daverobev]

Posting budget is most important. A decent 17 incher now is no more than £250; mine cost £135 and its *ok*

CRTs personally I would only say buy if you are doing colour work and need optimum matching...ie proper graphics work, aside from that, don't go that way because they are more expensive in the long run and less reliable.

More expensive? Use more power.

Less reliable? The least reliable part of a TFT is the backlight, which fades over time. But is still "twice as reliable" as the least reliable part of a CRT (read that ages ago and have no reason to disbelieve it). Also, IMO, a TFT is less harsh on your eyes than a CRT.

That is my opinion, but I know I would never ever consider buying a CRT again.

[jester212]

Sorry for postin in the wrong place!! My bad! My budget is around £180

[nvening]

Well, for £140 (recent price reduction) these always come recomended from people, they are the same as the Arianet ones from www.aria.co.uk The lates Computer shopper also rates the Resisys TL795-RU at ***** It is available from www.savastore.com for £163.

[jester212]

Thanks for the links nvening..never seen that savastore before but i think i have found my new monitor. The reason i decided to get a TFT is i've ran out of space and i have a 17" CRT which i've had for a good 3 years and it's done me proud..no complaints what so ever, i just need a more space saving option now.

[nvening]

Savastore is good, they just bought Carrera and order247.co.uk

[StormPC]

These specs are what you want. If you can find a 712n or equivelant I recommend it highly.

http://www.shopping.com/xPF-Samsung_...el_LCD_Monitor

[Boogle]

I haven't looked into 17" LCDs for quite some time since basically you can't get a 'bad' one anymore. As long as you stay <= 20ms, the colour will be good, the motion blur will be either negligable or not noticeable; and of course text will be razor sharp. Of course you may be one of the minority of people who can really pick up on motion blur, in which case you'll need to try before you buy (tm). Me personally I'm in the minority that can see flickering at 85hz, and am really sensitive to blurry text - so LCD is a no brainer.

In fact I haven't seen a bad LCD, no matter how cheap for over a year. Some laptop screens have lacked strong colour, and brightness but thats usually due to major cost cutting and battery saving (dim = longer battery life).

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend getting a Dell 2001FP/2005FPW since they're around the price of top-end 17" LCDs from last year. Absolute bargains imo.