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Need Help with Purchasing an LCD Monitor for my PC

Posted on 05/27/2006 5:55:07 PM PDT by Coleus

 

X2gen
19" Ultra Light LCD Monitor with Speaker - Black
With dazzling 1280 x 1024 resolution, exceptional 700:1 contrast, 250 cd/m2 brightness and fast 12ms response time.
PC Mall Part #: 633245 Mfr. Part #: MG19MY
Usually Ships:
Next Day
Generally In Stock
Platform: Universal
Manufacturer: X2gen
Price:   $229.99
Rebate(s):   $90.00  (39.1%)
Your Price:   $139.99

More Monitors listed here

I'm confused with these specs.  I really don't know what they mean, this is one of the best priced I've seen.

1280 x 1024 resolution
exceptional 700:1 contrast,
250 cd/m2 brightness
and fast 12ms response time.

this pc guy likes Princeton.  And I've seen enevision listed as pretty good too. the above seems to be the cheapest so far.

Upgrading to an LCD

 The price drop is attributed to a spate of new production facilities in Taiwan and Korea, as well as to decreased demand for monitors in the first quarter of the year. And prices may dip further before they stabilize some time this summer. LCD monitors are sleek, weigh a fraction of same-screen-size CRT counterparts, have crisp displays, use very little power, and have fewer problems with glare. They also help you remain headache-free, because LCD monitors don't have the flicker that CRT monitors do. What are the best buys? My personal favorite manufacturer is Princeton. I've purchased three of them -- the most recent a 15-inch LCD -- since the Eighties. I find color reproduction is excellent, the contrast strong, and the screen well-lit. Front-panel controls (which you rarely will need to access) are not the most intuitive, but then most monitors I've seen don't seem to have mastered the art of easy-to-use adjustment controls. Aside from that, Princeton is a good choice. You can pick up a 17-inch model for about $220. Other good bets are Dell's UltraSharp 1707FP at $279 or any of the NEC MultiSync series, from $260 to about $300. The 19-inch models from these manufacturers are even better choices and are about $50 to $70 more than the 17-inch prices. If you're looking for a real bargain, Viewsonic has decent 19-inch displays for under $300. It's a good idea to visit a store that has monitors on display, and give them a test run before purchasing. If it has great specs but colors and appearance that don't please your eye, it's not worth purchasing.


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To: Swordmaker

yea i know what you're talking about, setting up the gamma can be a real chore sometimes...


21 posted on 05/27/2006 8:21:13 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Swordmaker

That's a nice trick!

RGB 159,159,159 for both squares!


22 posted on 05/27/2006 8:27:23 PM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Incorrigible
YEP
23 posted on 05/27/2006 8:40:02 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Incorrigible
my CRT is dark, I can barely read anything on the fr and can see no pictures. I'm straining my eyes on this thing.
24 posted on 05/27/2006 8:51:11 PM PDT by Coleus (I Support Research using the Ethical, Effective and Moral use of stem cells: non-embryonic)
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To: Echo Talon
The best LCD screens for graphic work are the Cinema Displays made for Apple. According to Koldenhof Grafimedia Expertise, an independent graphical expert company in the Netherlands, when they evaluated to new, improved Apple Cinema Displays (20", 23" and 30") ...

In 2003 we concluded that the Cinema Displays had great color gamuts that could match those of highend CRT displays. One of the improvements [in the new models - Swordmaker] is that the color gamut is bigger than before, so it is capable of producing even more exact color simulations than before. Therefore, we conclude that Cinema Displays can perfectly be used in various creative markets. More than 95% of all Offset printed colors, and 88% of the PANTONE swatches can be matched within a tolerance of < 3.0 Delta-E (CIE94).

Warmup and stability
The warmup time and color stability remain more or less the same as before for the 20” and the new 30” displays. The display will stabilize after a warmup time of about 90 minutes, which is normal for these types of TFT displays. The 23HD display even stabilizes in about 15 minutes! After the warmup period, the colors remain exactly the same, and will not shift over time (< 1.00 Delta-E (CIE94))!

... The Apple Cinema Displays are certified for digital softproofing by Kodak Polychrome Graphics.

...Mac OS X is the only operating system that fully supports the International Color Consortium's version 4 standard for managing color — delivering the industry’s most advanced OS-level color management system.

This is one primary reason why Apple Cinema Displays are more expensive than other similar sized LCD displays: they are engineered and built to exacting standards for the graphics industry and are calibrated to be so out of the box.

That being said, they still are not as good as the BEST (read about five times more expensive... would you believe $10,000 to $15,000 for a monitor??? ) CRT displays designed for graphical use.

25 posted on 05/27/2006 8:54:24 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!")
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To: Coleus
here if you want to know for sure you will be fine this company sells CRT's an resellerratings.com has this company highly rated...

21" SONY FLAT Trinitron GDM-5410 oem SUN X7136A Totally Flat .24mm *Free Shipping* $134

26 posted on 05/27/2006 8:58:07 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Swordmaker

I'll stick with CRT's for a little bit longer... $130-$140 for 21"...


27 posted on 05/27/2006 9:01:00 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Coleus
my CRT is dark, I can barely read anything on the fr and can see no pictures. I'm straining my eyes on this thing.

Coleus, quit straining your eyes... buy the monitor you listed. That price is a killer and for 99% of the uses most people use a computer for it will do fine.

A anecdotal story. A friend of mine worked 7-8 hours a day on a 21"CRT... when he went home, he could not watch TV, read a book, or do anything on his own TV. He always had a headache. His employer replaced the CRT with a 20" LCD... now he goes home and surfs the internet for a couple of hours, watches TV and reads before going to sleep. It was eyestrain from the flicker.

28 posted on 05/27/2006 9:01:26 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!")
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To: Coleus

Wow! Thanks for asking this question, and thanks, everybody (and especially you, Swordmaker) for your responses.

I noticed Fry's has/had some on sale for $139 and $199.


29 posted on 05/27/2006 9:01:30 PM PDT by Auntie Mame ("If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." --Grandma)
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To: Swordmaker

Im on the computer all the time with my 21" CRT, he should have turned the HZ up to 85... no flicker at all.


30 posted on 05/27/2006 9:05:22 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Echo Talon
-Dot Pitch .24 mm

That's a pretty big dot pitch for those resolutions... And at 74 pounds... at $134... most of that price is shipping.

31 posted on 05/27/2006 9:08:35 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!")
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To: Echo Talon
yea i know what you're talking about, setting up the gamma can be a real chore sometimes...

Snork, snork... not on a Mac... ;^)>

32 posted on 05/27/2006 9:09:50 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!")
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To: Coleus

Go to Tigerdirect.com. Get a 19" HP L1906 LCD monitor. The cost is $240 after rebate. You won't be disappointed.


33 posted on 05/27/2006 9:11:27 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Conservatism is moderate, it is the center, it is the middle of the road)
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To: Swordmaker

most people dont worry about it, only extremely anal people me do it, it takes about 5 minutes to do... and if he is worried about a refurbashed monitor dont be, i bought this Hitachi refurbashed over 4 years ago and its still working fine.


34 posted on 05/27/2006 9:13:08 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Echo Talon
How do the new LCD's compare to CRT monitors as far as picture quality goes?

There's no comparison. An LCD monitor is much, much better than a CRT. Your pictures and movies will be cinema-quality.

35 posted on 05/27/2006 9:13:27 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Conservatism is moderate, it is the center, it is the middle of the road)
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To: Incorrigible
I see that Costco doesn't carry CRTs anymore.

CRTs are being phased out, just like traditional TVs are in favor of LCD or plasma wide-screen. The only place where you'll find a CRT monitor is at a second-hand computer store or on eBay.

36 posted on 05/27/2006 9:14:47 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Conservatism is moderate, it is the center, it is the middle of the road)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
that refurbashed sony...
-Resolution: 1880x1400 85Hz,2048x1536 max
-Platforms: Mac and PC

1880x1400 at 85HZ!!! looks good to me...

37 posted on 05/27/2006 9:16:43 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
There's no comparison. An LCD monitor is much, much better than a CRT. Your pictures and movies will be cinema-quality.

Until you play video games or do photoshop. Unless you want to spend a few thousand $'s

38 posted on 05/27/2006 9:18:15 PM PDT by Echo Talon
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To: Petronski
Widescreen is a joke if you don't known what you're doing. Just for example, 19" 4:3 is a bigger screen than 19" widescreen (16:10 or thereabouts), so don't fall for that.

15" 4:3, 17 and 19" 5:4's ;)

39 posted on 05/27/2006 9:20:43 PM PDT by pepperhead (Kennedy's float, Mary Jo's don't!)
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To: Echo Talon
Im on the computer all the time with my 21" CRT, he should have turned the HZ up to 85... no flicker at all.

He did... but his eyes are the same age as mine... about 57 years old. There is still a flicker, especially if there is any ambient lighting at 60Hz... you get beat frequencies that can really strain your eyes. He worked in an office with a lot of fluorescent lighting. Incandescent lighting is better because the filament stays white hot despite the alternation of the current.

After the upgrade, the fluorescents were still present, but the headache and eyestrain were gone. I have made similar recommendations to my clients... including several optometrists with similar results. People really don't realize that they are frogs swimming in hot water until you take the hot water away and plunk them down in a cool pond.

40 posted on 05/27/2006 9:21:57 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!")
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