New monitor time

MikeF

So i've been using a 19" and 17" CRT setup for about 5 years now, its time to go lcd.
I know nothing about LCD monitors, i dont know what i should be looking for in terms of response time, widescreen or no, better brands etc..
i'm not even sure what kind of setup i should be looking at, i'm so used to dual monitors theres no way i can go back to one, but i dont have a huge chunk of change to get two, i've got about 300$ CAD. i can put towards this

Mark Dygert

After running dual CRT's for so long I couldn't go back to just one, widescreen or not. So when I made the jump a few months ago I coughed up the cash for two. Its great and since you're roughly at $300CAD I'd say buy one really good one, and have your second be a CRT for a few more months until you can afford another LCD. OR check out payment plans...

On Adams recommendation and after some searching around I found the Samsung 226CW to be the best I could afford.

At work I have dual ViewSonic VX2235wm. Pretty decent, not my first choice. The Samsungs match perfectly side by side when set to the same settings. The viewsonics are off and have more bleeding around the edges. It also seems like the viewing angle is slightly more shallow. But that would be a differance in office decor/egronomics.

It's best if you can buy them at the same time, but its no gaurentee that they'll be from the same run, so the color/brightness could be varried. I lucked out with the Samsungs, they match perfectly.

StJoris

http://www.behardware.com/html/cat/22/

This site may help a bit, I guess it's okay to link that there no?
Personally I can't cope with 160/160 viewing angle from TN-panels, something might want to take into account.

kary

So far I've had unexpectedly good results with this. It's over 300, but you can catch it on sale at NCIX. It has been great on the eyes.

I could only afford one, so I'm using a 19" crt as my second monitor. At 1980x1200 I find that I don't need the CRT on all the time -- rough modelling is fine, zbrush is fine, but I turn it on when working from a lot of reference (1 pic in 'stay on top' is okay, more is crowded), or have to use a lot of palettes. The CRT runs at 1600x1200, so it lines up nicely and seems like a nice stopgap until the far flug day I can afford the second LCD. Monitors can last a long time, so it's something to put a decent bit of money into.

There was a big thread on LCDs around march that you could search for, it had quite a bit of info.

Illusions

Vig wrote: »

It's best if you can buy them at the same time, but its no gaurentee that they'll be from the same run, so the color/brightness could be varried. I lucked out with the Samsungs, they match perfectly.

Listen to what Vig says! I bought the Samsung 206BW (I like the smaller size, plus the fact that it has the same resolution as the 22"), but I bought them seperately by months. The manufacturing runs ended up being different. They don't line up perfectly height-wise, the have a slight tilt away from each other (so they don't line up vertically either), plus theres a very small difference in color that I haven't figured out how to correct yet (it seems like they used a backlight with a cool-white color in one, and warm-white in the other). Its still nice to have dual monitors though. :poly128:

adam

I'm running dual Samsung SyncMaster's, 20" and I love them. One of the best PC related purchases I've made. I picked them up @ BestBuy. I bought them at the exact same time with hopes that their colour, brightness, sharpness, and output values would be the same and they were. They're nearly identical.

Lore

I hate to point out the Obvious, but you can google review sites or understanding on how things work.

Educational links
http://www.howstuffworks.com/lcd.htm
http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/LCDSpecs.htm

Reviews links
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/viewsonic-vp930-lcd-monitor,1172.html

http://www.pcworld.com/browse.html?cat=2105&dsp=2

If you want two monitors, I recommend none-widescreen. And pay attention to your actual physical desk size, though the LCD take less space but on general the same size LCD screen will feel smaller than the CRT's except when it comes to screen space. I suggest finding something thats 20" or more, you'll want the upgrade so you don't feel cheated.

And look for LCD's that have great viewing angles especial the side to side which is the vertical (someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm still using CRT's). It would suck if your viewing angle forces you to sit just right in front of them, but the positive part is if you have bad body posture when sitting it might force you to sit correctly.

My last tid-bits then I'll shut my mouth. Don't discard you best old CRT when the new LCD's come in. My brother found out that some of the older games he plays don't support the Widescreen LCD he got.

And expect to pay a lot and don't cheap out. Well don't pay a fortune but you should find a good LCD that has good color, great response time, the right resolution, and great viewable screen for the right size in the ballpark of say $350 dollars.

Michael Knubben

Lore: I've gotten much more out of talking to my fellow polycounters than reading reviews, as monitors are such a large part of what we do. Still, your links are very useful as well, as is the advice about crt's. Ideally I'd keep one 19" crt around as a second screen when I finally do buy a new lcd, but their size really does make that difficult. I haven't even been able to get mine to England, and it seems unlikely that I will anytime soon. They're a pretty literal pain in the back, mine's actually hard to carry from one room to another.

Mark Dygert

It really depends on what people are doing with the monitors as to if their reviews are actually valuable to you. Most of the reviewers aren't doing anything art or game related and they could be bat sh!t nuts about their cheap ass monitor and not even know what a pile it is.

carlo_c

I used to work on a 19" monitor, thought it was great. Then I ran a dual 19" setup and that was almost perfect. They were only in the cheaper range, about £130-£150 each. One was a Hanns G and the other a Hyundai (off a friend), both widescreen and the picture quality was decent.

HOWEVER, I read a lot of hype about 24" screens and how the sheer amount of pixels on screen just makes it a pleasure to work with. So I bit the bullet, saved some cash and splashed out on a 24". I can honestly say that working on a 24" screen has been so much better than even 2 19".

The resolution is so large at 1920x1200 I dual screened with my 19" for a while but found that I only really used it for looking at reference while I'm working. The monitor I ended up getting was the BenQ G2400 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014173), got really good reviews about the quality of the image output for the price.

If you've never used an LCD before like you mention, I recommend going to your local PC superstore chain and just taking a good look at the different models and what the different screen sizes and resolutions feel like.

monkeyboy_garth

I know it probably isn't the sort of advice you want to hear, but I'd bite the bullet and get dual 22 inch widescreens. 22 inch monitors are the sweetspot at the moment I think.

It's nice to have matching monitors for consistency too. That's the one thing that used to bug me about my old setup - having monitors that didn't match colour-wise.

I bought dual 22inch Samsung 226bw's a couple of months back and I'm loving it. Considering I'll probably be using them for 4-5 years, I'm happy I spent the money.

Lore

I guess my intentions where missed understood. MikeF said he didn't understand anything about LCD's or what he needed. I was mostly answer him. And Review sites do server a purpose. Don't read their conclusions or look to their opinions as being very valued, but look to the tests results as they may provide valued information that the Company that makes the LCD propaganda doesn't tell you. I never trust one source to provide me with a defiant answer.

MightyPea : Yes, CRT's are larger and cumbersome to their counterparts and that is one of the negative aspects or those monitors. We can go in to detail about the Pro's and Con's here. But these arguments have been done.

Murdoc

Just got a Syncmaster 245b and I have to say it's probably the worst monitor I have ever purchased, very . Colors are crap, brightness is all off(yes I have adjusted all of it) view angle is pathetically bad that I cant even slouch in my chair without noticable difference.

Next to my Dell it's a sorry beast I am trying to return or will pawn off to a family member as a gift.