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I think my Monitor is dying. Suggestions?

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oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
It flickers out quickly once in awhile like having a brownout or something.. Been doing it more and more often recently. I almost am 100% sure its not the video card as when I turn the monitor off or shut down the computer, I can here internal static snaps from the monitor.

Not sure how much time I have on it before it goes under.

It was Hitachi 19" 752 that I have had since 1998. So I guess the extra cash I paid for such a high quality monitor (back then) has paid off.

Would like to keep the same quality level if Im going to have to upgrade here shortly. Can someone suggest a replacement? Digital (widescreen?) LCD with super high contrast (and that term for the refresh/ghosting on LCD's - again super high), definition and color that maybe is a 21-24 incher (at most) across? One that hopefully will last me another eight years like this one has.

The sucky thing is I was hoping to get a new airbrush and now this... argh.

Replies

  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    It's just thirsty, pour some water on it's water vents (the ones on the upper back of the monitor)
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    While I'm all for LCDs, most artists who work a lot with color will tell you to get a CRT. Anyway, I have a pair of Sony 17" LCDs and they've served me well for over two years now. I think my contrast is 600:1 and response time (the refresh rate) is 16ns. The only downside is that they're analog monitors with no DVI option, kind of odd for 2003-era tech.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    You know, I think it might be a faulty power cap.. Wonder if I can get a TV repair to fix it?
  • gauss
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    gauss polycounter lvl 18
    check out that Daz's thread for widescreen LCDs, oxy... not sure if it's what you're looking for, but the Dell 24" is a really nice unit all around. if you're looking for a widescreen LCD, i think that's the one you should look at.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    Dell isn't high quality in my book. A total IMOHO but you get what you pay for. Thanks for the suggestion gauss though. smile.gif
  • ScoobyDoofus
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    ScoobyDoofus polycounter lvl 20
    Oxy/Gauss: I must actually take back my former endorsement of my Dell 24" LCD. Its just impossible to accuratly judge color & especially brightness, and no LCD out there is really much better than this one.

    Even the vaunted Apple Cinema display is pretty much neck & neck with this display (had em next to eachother at work for a comparison and there wasnt really any noticable difference)

    I suppose the problem is that LCD's just cannot do black. At all. Ever. (although the new one I read about with the LED backlight sounds promising...)
  • thomasp
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    thomasp hero character
    lcd's sure could be annoying if you're doing pre-press or similar or have a lot of soft gradients in your work.
    in any other case i'd say scrap the damn tubes, your eyes will feel so much better after a day at work in front of an lcd. that alone is worth it big time, imho. no wacom cursor jiggle, too.

    no recommendations here (although i'm really pleased with my 21 inch LG flatron displays - most manufacturers seem to use LG components anyway), just a doubt about durability: at least until recently, lcd screens were by far not as durable as a crt - e.g. some apple cinema display models wore out after three-or-so years of use. apple powerbook screens - even worse. i'd say 4 - 5 years of expected lifetime with good visuals are realistic if you buy a high-quality device.

    eizo perhaps? only know their tubes, but that used to be the top brand if you wanted to purchase a monitor.
  • Slayerjerman
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    Slayerjerman polycounter lvl 18
    LCDs are pretty spendy and I totally agree with all points above about the colors. CRTs are still graphically better.

    I use a 19" NEC MultiSync FE990 (CRT) i picked up about 2 years ago for about $260 new. Very good brand and monitor.

    I highly recommend NECs, Sony or the Dell CRTs (the dells have trinitron parts in them so they are basically the same as the sony ones)
  • drakino
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    drakino polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Even the vaunted Apple Cinema display is pretty much neck & neck with this display (had em next to eachother at work for a comparison and there wasnt really any noticable difference)

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Thats because Dell on their 20 and 24 inch LCDs use the exact same panels as Apple does. The difference between them comes in the case, the connectors, and the firmware, all things that really don't affect the peformance. In this case LG.Philips makes the panels.

    [ QUOTE ]
    I suppose the problem is that LCD's just cannot do black. At all. Ever. (although the new one I read about with the LED backlight sounds promising...)

    [/ QUOTE ]

    LED backlighting might help, though my true hope to a successor to the LCD is OLED technology. Wikipedia has a good description of what OLEDs are, and also the current limitations. The biggest hurdle right now to mass market is the very short lifetime of the material that displays blue, and also the patents Kodak holds on some OLED technologies. I am hoping though that next year at CES, some early model OLED displays for computers will be shown off and put out for sale, helping to start the market for them.
  • ScoobyDoofus
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    ScoobyDoofus polycounter lvl 20
    Heh, I've been following OLED development a little bit for YEARS now. Yeah the development of blue OLED tech has been the most recent, so its not surprising the tech isnt as durable or reliable as the other colors.
  • shotgun
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    shotgun polycounter lvl 20
  • CheapAlert
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    CheapAlert polycounter lvl 18
    my cheap chuntex 17" monitor from 2000 is still alive. laugh.gif
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    Jeez, I read the thread title as 'I think my mother is dying. Suggestions?'.
  • Mark Dygert
    If you are worried about color correctness I would keep a CRT monitor around to check your work and then go out and buy a LCD. Saves on space, saves your eyes, saves your desk from colapsing, all around a better purchase.

    If you have the room you might want to set up duel monitors with one CRT for textures, and one LCD for models. The color imballance might drive you insane tho =P
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Jeez, I read the thread title as 'I think my mother is dying. Suggestions?'.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    FINISH HER!

    480%20Broad%20Axe.jpg
  • Ruz
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    Ruz polycount lvl 666
    yeah take that monitor out in to the back yard and like a blind, incontinent old sheep dog, blow the mother away.
  • Major Clod
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    Major Clod polycounter lvl 18
    I use a Viewsonic VP191B, excellent monitor. 800:1 contrast ratio, 8ms response time. It is an MVA panel with Overdrive, so it has quite quick response times and excellent viewing angle, aswell as being a true 8 bit panel instead of the 6 bit TN.

    Viewsonic has replaced the 191B with a new model which has a 1000:1 contrast ratio.
  • oXYnary
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    oXYnary polycounter lvl 18
    Mmm thats sounds interesting Major.. Thanks. smile.gif
  • shotgun
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    shotgun polycounter lvl 20
    http://www.lacie.com/products/clearance/products/?id=10010

    lacie has the best monitors i've personally seen in my life.
    for comparison i think it totally kicks my home iiyama monitor in any field, particulary in terms of color depth and high refresh rate / sharpness on very high resolutions.

    i got my electronblue 21" crt off their clearnace corner for only $400
    every week or 2 they have another up for sale,
    i recommend
  • KDR_11k
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    KDR_11k polycounter lvl 18
    Remember, those contrast ratios are maximums, when you adjust the screen (I've read an article that said you don't want more than 200cd/m² brightness) that quickly goes down. Plus there's a lot of color adjustment necessary to get decent color reproduction (and I think most models don't offer that but it's possible on some).
  • Ryno
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    Ryno polycounter lvl 18
    Viewsonic P220f. CRT. 22 Inches. Best color accuracy, contrast that I've ever seen. For hardcore Photoshop work where color accuracy is important, I haven't seen anything better.

    Oh, and it ROCKS for gaming too.
  • Mishra
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    Mishra polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Jeez, I read the thread title as 'I think my mother is dying. Suggestions?'.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    me too. : /
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