Computer monitor advice

AdamZ said:
My Secretaries 4 year old Dell Flat Panel monitor died yesteday. What do you techies think of this as a replacement? Is it a good monitor?

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?Sku=7131919
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It's not going to be the sharpest thing going. The most important thing is that you know you're going to be happy running at 1280x1024 in 17", which will be reasonable for most eyes. You will not want to run any other resolution.

It's cheap enough that you're paying $29 a year for the three years it has a parts and labor warranty for. Can't knock that price and warranty no way. Now if they actually honor the warranty...PCConnection might.
 
Mike as I see it the main things listed for monitors are

1) Resolution

2) Response time

3) Contrast ratio

4) Dot pitch

Is one more important than another? I assue that the higher the resolution, contrast ratio and dot pitch the better and you want lower for response time.

This monitor will not be for gaming or home use but at a secretary's work station.
 
Adam,

I can't comment directly on this brand but when I bought my first LCD I purchased an off brand from Circuit City and it was horrible I couldn’t look at it for more than an hour without it driving me crazy. I returned that unit and have since purchased and used Viewsonic, Nec / Mitsubishi and Sony lcd's and all of these have been great. I would try to stick with a name brand, some of these can be found at a very reasonable price.

Good Luck,

Jon



AdamZ said:
Mike as I see it the main things listed for monitors are

1) Resolution

2) Response time

3) Contrast ratio

4) Dot pitch

Is one more important than another? I assue that the higher the resolution, contrast ratio and dot pitch the better and you want lower for response time.

This monitor will not be for gaming or home use but at a secretary's work station.
Click to expand...
 
I have learned from experience that going cheap on video equipment is almost never satisfactory in the long run. Still, for $80 bucks? Not bad - should be quite adequate for a secretary's duties provided you run at its optimal settings.
 
Lets say I was looking for a good monitor perhaps not the one to break the bank but a decent one none the less, what Kind of parmeters would I be looking for?
 
In my opinion, LCD's really took a lot of the hassle out of choosing a monitor, particularly for business uses (gaming is another thing). If you're not doing work with rapidly changing images (video or gaming), then you need to be concerned with resolution, size, and clarity.

Viewsonic make very good units as far as clarity goes, but all the OEM ones are fine too, particularly if the user is using email and word processing and such.

You just don't have to deal with the vagaries of the analog process of magnetically steering a beam of electrons to excite phosphors on a glass shell anymore, so things like focus, aspect ratio, and so forth don't apply to any decent LCD.
 
Adam,

My recommendation is to take a few minutes and go over to your local neighborhood CompUSA, Circuit City, and Sam's Club/Costco and do a visual evaluation of the monitors yourself. Most places will have them set up for display on a computer system.

For most of these machines, the LCD panel itself is made by one of 2 or 3 manufacturers. So the key differences will be in the interface/driver electronics.

bill
 
wsuffa said:
Adam,

My recommendation is to take a few minutes and go over to your local neighborhood CompUSA, Circuit City, and Sam's Club/Costco and do a visual evaluation of the monitors yourself. Most places will have them set up for display on a computer system.

For most of these machines, the LCD panel itself is made by one of 2 or 3 manufacturers. So the key differences will be in the interface/driver electronics.

bill
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Bill's advise is spot on. Same thing with TVs. Go look at them, pick the one that looks best to YOUR eyes, and then go home and find that model online for a good price from a name-brand company, or buy it at the store.

For what it's worth, I like the Dell 1905FP I have at work so well that I bought 3 for home. Fantastic monitor.

Dell's got some good deals in their outlet/refurb store. http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&lob=MON&s=dfh
 
TMetzinger said:
You just don't have to deal with the vagaries of the analog process of magnetically steering a beam of electrons to excite phosphors on a glass shell anymore, so things like focus, aspect ratio, and so forth don't apply to any decent LCD.
Click to expand...
Actually, you do have to deal with analog vagaries a little, just in a different way.

Adam, if you're planning on driving this LCD with the analog VGA port, make sure your video card can support the native pixel resolution of 1280x1024. Otherwise, the scaling will make you want to poke a fork in your eye. And as Bill mentioned, if the mfr. went cheap on the interface circuitry, it could still look awful. This is one area where you should try before you buy. Or have an iron-clad return policy.

Using the DVI port from a video card that can run at the native resolution is your best bet.

I've heard all good things about Dell LCD's.


-Rich
 
How about a real Viewsonic LCD for $138 after rebate? [URL="http://www.dpbolvw.net/5k117ar-xrzEHGMJLKOEGFINMMGO?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.buy.com%2Fretail%2FProduct.asp%3Fsku%3D202989024%26SearchEngine%3DCJaffiliate%26Type%3DCJ%26Keyword%3D202989024%26Category%3DComp&cjsku=202989024" ]ViewSonic Optiquest 17 Q171B LCD Monitor 8ms 1280X1024 500:1 - Black[/URL]
 
Not to confuse things, but I've had good luck my NEC LCD 1760v; company bought; so not my choice. It's a good 17" monitor which works well with word processing and other business apps while still able to handle picture viewing and light gaming. I've been very pleased with NEC products.
You might look here for a new monitor. The prices are pretty good and the shipping is free!
 
Were it me, Adam, I'd default to a 19" LCD; that's what I have been buying for my staff lately, and the difference is huge. Less eyestrain, and she'll think you really care (as, no doubt, you do).
 
SCCutler said:
Were it me, Adam, I'd default to a 19" LCD; that's what I have been buying for my staff lately, and the difference is huge. Less eyestrain, and she'll think you really care (as, no doubt, you do).
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That's what I was about to write, the difference between a 17 and a 19 in price is not that much but I personally appreciate the added desktop space.

I use a LG L1920P at home, can't remember what I have at work though it is probably a Dell.
 
silver-eagle said:
I've had good luck my NEC LCD 1760v; company bought You might look here for a new monitor. The prices are pretty good and the shipping is free!
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Adam:

I'll second the NEC, have the same monitor but the 19". Very good resolution and color. May be priced a bit more, but very good quality, haven't had a lick of trouble, and it's been bounced around a bit over the last year.

Gary
 
Of my LCD's, I have a 45" Sharp widescreen, two Hyundai 17", a 17" Envision and then there are the two 17" wide screen in both laptops.

Whatever you do, avoid the Hyundai products. They have temporary burn-in and mess with the image. The sharp products are awesome but expensive as ever. I can't wait to wire up FSX on the Sharp wide screen. The Envision does well and was a great price at the time I bought it eighteen months ago. The HP laptops are great screens so I can't help but think they build a great stand alone monitor.

If you live near Microcenter, they've had some great deals lately on Acer and Viewsonic monitors. If not, I'd still recommend them for buying online. CompUSA is great if you know what you want and go there for price but between the young geeks who work there and the seasoned tech pros at Microcenter, I'd go with the latter.

By the way, if you do have a Microcenter nearby, they have a special deal on Friday for three sizes of Olevia LCD HDTV screens. For starters, the 32" is $369 after a $150 rebate. There are also 37" ($499) and 42" ($799) models.
The specs are:
• 1366x768 resolution
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• 1600:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• 8ms response time
• 178° viewing angle
• Integrated ATSC/NTSC tuners
• Integrated Stereo Speakers
The connections vary between each one but all have S-video, HDMI, component and composite inputs.
No, I don't work for Microcenter. I run drugs for a living! (I get high on the weekends :goofy: ) I just think it's a great deal for someone who want's to go for it. I've bought quite a lot from the two Microcenter's in Atlanta. They have an excellent track record on handling rebates. I'm feeling very tempted to get out of bed in the morning and go for it.
 
KennyFlys said:
Of my LCD's, I have a 45" Sharp widescreen, two Hyundai 17", a 17" Envision and then there are the two 17" wide screen in both laptops.
...

If you live near Microcenter, they've had some great deals lately on Acer and Viewsonic monitors. If not, I'd still recommend them for buying online. CompUSA is great if you know what you want and go there for price but between the young geeks who work there and the seasoned tech pros at Microcenter, I'd go with the latter.

By the way, if you do have a Microcenter nearby, they have a special deal on Friday for three sizes of Olevia LCD HDTV screens. For starters, the 32" is $369 after a $150 rebate. There are also 37" ($499) and 42" ($799) models.
The specs are:
• 1366x768 resolution
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• 1600:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• 8ms response time
• 178° viewing angle
• Integrated ATSC/NTSC tuners
• Integrated Stereo Speakers
The connections vary between each one but all have S-video, HDMI, component and composite inputs.
...
Click to expand...
I have a Microcenter a few miles away. If I buy in a store it's the one to buy in. At least they don't seem to demand that the rubes buy $500 worth of crapware and $39 cables for their new $499 bargain PC.

There are going to be a lot of HDTV LCDs on sale Friday, Buy.com has one, Costco has a Sceptre,. All are 32" 16:9 widescreen HDTV LCDs for $600-$700.

I was tempted but I think I'll wait a little longer. I want a 32-40 inch but I'll see when 1080p becomes affordable which isn't going to be too far off. 1080p is 1920x1080. The only sources there are for that now are HD DVDs and some of the new games, but that will change.

The collective wisdom of guys who work retail is that the prices will be even cheaper after January. Come to think of it they'll prolly have to get rid of what didn't sell after the Superbowl.
 
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When I first looked at the Sharp LC-45GX6U, it was up around seven grand. Then, I saw it slowly drop to six grand. Then when it was still $5400 at most sources, the local high-end chain, Hi-Fi Buys (Tweeter), discontinued Sharp to gain favor with the "priced by the name" Sony Company. They had a floor model they would sell for $3400. I couldn't resist and I didn't. I've enjoyed it immensely. The movies are fantastic. HDTV is awesome but you learn quickly that some female news broadcasters should not allow their face to be shown in high definition. It offends the senses and causes the waste of coke and popcorn when their picture appears. But, there is another show with beach settings and bikinis that do make up for it. Forgive me if I don't recall the title; that was not the part I was paying attention to.

It's on the wall and has been for a few months. I'm sold and have (almost) no regrets having spent the money. Four months after I had it, Microcenter who previously offered the same TV for $5400 was then clearing their floor model for $2400. I had all kinds of thoughts on what I could have spent that thousand bucks on. It would surely had paid for the Dennon receiver I bought soon after the TV.

That's OK. I'll hold out and settle for the puny 45" as soon enough the Sharp 65" LC-65D90U will come down in price. It varies from $7,300 to $10,000. Now, if I could just talk a bank into the money for a plane, too! All I want is an Extra 300. The banker asked, "An extra three-hundred grand?" "No, I'm afraid it's a bit more than that." But, I digress. :cheerswine:
 
Yeah, I've been tempted by the plummeting prices on the LCD HDTV's. Haven't pulled the trigger yet. I've noticed that some of these ~$500 32" Black Friday jobs (i.e. Westinghouse and Syntax Olevia) are completely new model numbers. I wonder how much "engineering" they did to them to get to that price point and how long they'll end up lasting.

-Rich
 
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