My old trusty 17" PanaSync SL70i CRT monitor is starting to show its age; it must be nearly seven years old now, the colour fairly faded, and recently the picture is starting to wobble a bit. So I think it might be time to look for a replacement. Since it's been so long since I've bought a monitor I'm unaware of what's out there and what will be best for me. I've started reading through a few online articles to get up to grips with the basics, but I'd like some recommendations from people like those who frequent this forum who probably have similar usage to me. I use my computer for a wide range of activities, from programming and writing documents through to art work (mostly vector based cartoon style in Inkscape), watching DVDs and playing games. My computer specs are reasonable but not powerhouse; my graphics card is older AGP Radeon 9700 Pro. I tend to do everything in 1024 by 768 these days, although that's partly because it looks best on my monitor at this age. However I'd be a bit worried that games might run slower than my computer can handle at higher resolutions that LCD screens have as native. I'm also unsure as to the best place to buy a monitor; probably the closest and easiest to get to computer store near me is the local Apple store, although there are some small PC stores dotted around the area. I'm a bit unsure about buying a monitor sight-unseen off the Internet as I'd prefer to see a model in operation before buying. Thanks for any and all recommendations and advice!

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4M2B

Samsung SM931BF 19" 2ms DVI TFT

I have one and it's very nice.

Currently iam using Samsung SyncMaster 173P
17-inch flat-panel monitor, its very cool.

The Code Zone and Civilgrrl use Dell LCD's everywhere. We have a half-dozen 21 and 24-inch LCD's, and we don't have a single dead pixel in the lot. Can't recommend 'em highly enough.

I too recommend Dell monitors.

I love my Samsung, regardless you just go on Newegg and look out for common trends in the reviews (if the same thing is always reported as not working, then it's a clue that it doesn't work. That is all I gather from reviews.). I'd suggest the following priorites:

0) Size: 19 inches or better. There's little point in going smaller given the market prices.
1) Response time: 5-2ms or less
2) Vertical Refresh Rate: 75Hz or better, 60Hz minimum
3) Viewing angle: 160 or better
4) Contrast ratio: these values are inconsistent but the higher, the better (generally)

You may or may not need DVI, I've read that it doesn't make a difference for most but graphics card only has DVI out.

Also note that speakers LCD's suck, and you shouldn't pay more than $200 for only 19 inches.

I too have a 19" Dell LCD monitor and I'm very happy with it. I run everything at 1024x768. The Dell pc it came with is still giving me trouble, but the monitor has been nothing short of wonderful.

In general, you really want to get a flat-screen. It's better on the eyes, takes up far less space, and there are no real problems playing games and such (I've been playing games on flat-screens for over a decade and have no complaints about the graphics). And bigger is better. I can't use my old 16" at all anymore after getting used to the bigger one.

And yeah, like T1Oracle said, you can forget the internal speakers. Mine doesn't even have any, as far as I know. If you don't have a decent sound setup already, grab at least a 2.1 external configuration.

I've used Dell monitors in my research department and I agree they're very nice. My main concern is that it might be hard to for me to accept delivery of a monitor; I'm currently living at a grad. college and our package system isn't the best; but I might be able to get it shipped to the research dept. instead.

I have a question about the 19" LCD monitors however. I've looked up the specs for the Dell monitors and they seem mostly better than the 17" model, except the native resolution of both models is 1280 by 1024 (except the 19" model has a lower refresh rate). Wouldn't that mean the display is effectively similar, except slightly more pixellated on the larger 19"?

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
I've used Dell monitors in my research department and I agree they're very nice. My main concern is that it might be hard to for me to accept delivery of a monitor; I'm currently living at a grad. college and our package system isn't the best; but I might be able to get it shipped to the research dept. instead.

I have a question about the 19" LCD monitors however. I've looked up the specs for the Dell monitors and they seem mostly better than the 17" model, except the native resolution of both models is 1280 by 1024 (except the 19" model has a lower refresh rate). Wouldn't that mean the display is effectively similar, except slightly more pixellated on the larger 19"?

1280 x 1024 on a 19" monitor is far from pixelated. Some people care about pixels/inch but I feel that at some point your only adding pixels which you will never notice. Also, with smaller pixels you have to upscale the font to keep it at a readable size. Regardless, most 19" LCD's are at that resolution and they look just fine.

Quote: Original post by T1Oracle
1) Response time: 5-2ms or less
2) Vertical Refresh Rate: 75Hz or better, 60Hz minimum

1) Only follow this if your main priority is gaming. LCDs with response time lower than 6ms utilize TN technology. TN panels are the most low-end LCD tech available today with only two things going for it; fast response time and low cost.
If color accuracy and range, viewing angles (espcially vertically) and color consistency at different angles is important to you then I would stay away from TN panels.
Basically, if you do color critical work or value image quality over speed, don't buy a "gaming monitor" or any 22" model (they all use TN).

You can read up on current LCD panel type offerings here: http://www.pureoverclock.com/article641-3.html
(how the hell do you make clickable links here anyway? My BBcode's not working)

3) I was under the impression that all LCD are 60hz? Maybe somebody can enlighten me on that one?