monitors...

[duckingzebra]

whats some good brands, i got a viewsonic, and i havent had any trouble with it, and i was looking on newegg and like half of them were made by view sonic, so im assuming there pretty good? correct me if im wrong. ans which would have a better picture for like gaming, the lcd or the crt

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by duckingzebra

whats some good brands, i got a viewsonic, and i havent had any trouble with it, and i was looking on newegg and like half of them were made by view sonic, so im assuming there pretty good?

I would say it depends on which kind of monitor you are buying, CRT or LCD. With that said, if you are considering a CRT, I would reccomend any monitor made by Sony (Trinitron), Mitsubishi (Diamondtron) or NEC.

Originally Posted by duckingzebra

...correct me if im wrong. ans which would have a better picture for like gaming, the lcd or the crt

I would choose a CRT monitor over an LCD any day. LCD monitors just simply lack the contrast and brightness that CRT's are reknowned for. While the refresh rates for LCD's have improved over the years, (fast refresh rates help reduce the ghosting effect you get with fast moving objects on screen) they are still not on par with CRT's as far as I am concerned.

The other reason I do not suggest purchasing an LCD (at least for gaming) is cost. For the money you spend to buy an okay LCD monitor to game on, you can purchase a kick ass 21" CRT that simply blows everything else out of the water. Sure, CRT's are bulky. Sure, CRT's are heavy. But what would you rather invest your money in? Awesome picture quality with a CRT, or an LCD that still doesn't quite match that level yet, but is lightweight and has a small footprint?

If you are a true gamer, and are really concerned about getting the absolute best bang for your buck, you would do yourself a disservice by investing your money into an LCD monitor for gaming. The cost and convienience associated with an LCD just simply does not outweigh the pure performance of a quality CRT. Especially when it comes to gaming applications.

[drew and not u]

LCDs have improved to the point that all but the most hardcore CRT enthusiast will have switched over. The color accuracy, contrast, and sharpness are almost indistinguishable from a CRT, without the glare from a glass screen. Plus, the convenience of flat panel technology is great. CRT vs LCD is an old dispute however, and a bit of googling will provide looks at both arguments.

As far as good brands, Dell definitely tops my list. They offer some of the best mainstream LCDs around, and usually at unbeatable prices (especially if you get a coupon code from one of the many coupon sites out there). As long as you stick with their ultrasharp series you can't go wrong (I myself have two of their 2007FPW 20.1" widescreens and love them). Viewsonic and Samsung are two other excellent brands.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by drew and not u

LCDs have improved to the point that all but the most hardcore CRT enthusiast will have switched over.

I am not a hardcore CRT enthusiast!

Originally Posted by drew and not u

The color accuracy, contrast, and sharpness are almost indistinguishable from a CRT, without the glare from a glass screen. Plus, the convenience of flat panel technology is great.

Lies! You shall NOT convert me you HEATHEN! Back to the fiery depths of hell with ye!

[duckingzebra]

lol so for i got one vote for crt one vote for lcd...idk what to believe, lol.

[OCNoob]

You have more options with LCD. IMO, LCD's positives far outweigh the negatives. As long as you get the quality displays, all that's left that's worth beating yourself over is the price.

Do you value desk space? Widescreen or 4:3 aspect ratios? Want a longer display life? Is weight a trouble? Energy costs? You want it to be wall mountable?

[Hitman]

Garet, You really need to check out the newer LCDs. My Dell 2005FPW whoops up on every CRT I have ever owned. I used to own the Sony F520 til it crap out on me a couple of years ago. I never thought an LCD could have a nicer picture then my F520. The Dell 2005FPW has a brighter picture, and a sharper image.

The biggest plus is I no longer have to haul a 100lb 21" Monitor to LAN Parties any more. I just pick up my 16lb 20" Widescreen LCD and go.

Fact of the matter CRTs are slowly going away. A lot of the top manufactures don't even make CRTs under 21" anymore. The price gap between CRTs and LCDs is beginning to narrow. The old excuses for using CRT aren’t really valid anymore. About the only excuse that works now is "I just like CRT better, because I prefer old technology".

[gvblake22]

I agree with drew, LCD technology has advanced enough that I can hardly recommend ever getting a CRT monitor. As mentioned by polobunny, they are extremely bulky, heavy, and eat up more power than an LCD. You can get a great LCD with a high contrast ratio (which makes the darks darker and the lights lighter) and a fast response rate (lower number is better, basically this is how fast the monitor can switch from black to white then back to black again. Or as some companies list, gray to gray. A faster response rate will reduce the "ghosting" effect.) Any LCD with a response rate 8ms or less and a contrast ratio of 800:1 or higher is gonna look beautiful.

As for brands, Viewsonic is very well known, but I feel like I've read about more people getting those with a dead pixel or two than any other brand. Samsung is always a good choice too, as is Acer, BenQ, and Sony. Make sure you get a monitor with DVI input though, VGA seems as if it slowly being pushed to the back burner to make way for DVI and eventually HDMI. But good luck trying to find an HDMI monitor, there just aren't very many yet, but HDMI will be the new standard with Vista and all the HDCP and DRM stuff.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by Hitman

The old excuses for using CRT aren’t really valid anymore. About the only excuse that works now is "I just like CRT better, because I prefer old technology".

Excuses? Why would I make excuses for CRT technology? Please, by all means, I invite you to tell me what "excuses" for CRT's exist and are not valid anymore. Please refrain from using words like "almost" or "nearly" and expressions such as "as good as" or "just about" when describing the advantages of LCD monitors over CRT's.

[Mithosphere]

I would have to agree with these guys, LCDs are like the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Well maybe not the ugly part, although that would have to be placed upon the CRTs, but like the good ones are name brand - Dell, View Sonic, NEC, Sony . . . and the bad are those off brand ones, not necessarily bad, but just not as much recognition as others, but none the less as good as any other LCD. As for the ugly, well CRTs are for pretty much anyone with an old computer these days IMO, hence the uglyness.

Anyway, i myself have a Hanns-G 19" Widescreen LCD as does one of my friends, and then a few others that i know have 19 or 20 inch LCDs from Samsung, all of which were bought around the same cost (180-190). Although for a long time i had only a 15 inch from Sony. But yea, i would go with an LCD, especially if you are going to be going to any large LAN parties, I attend many, and its sorta aggrivating when someone takes up and entire table because of this massive CRT and a keyboard, where as the little footprint of the LCD take up barely half the depth of the table allowing for another person to sit behind. So there thats my input for the night