Hi everybody,
I would like to know the main differences between CRT and LCD monitors and their advantages and disadvantages. Just a brief description would really help because I don't really know anything about monitors.
One more thing:i have just bought a 17' acer AL1715(DVI,12ms). I had till now a 15 ADI CRT. I have noticed that my eyes get tired after some time, while this certainly didn't happen with my old monitor. Is this just because of the change and of the fact that the one is 17' and the other 15'. I have always thought that LCD are more relaxing and more "healthy" for eyes.
Thanks

One more thing:i have just bought a 17' acer AL1715(DVI,12ms). I had till now a 15 ADI CRT. I have noticed that my eyes get tired after some time, while this certainly didn't happen with my old monitor. Is this just because of the change and of the fact that the one is 17' and the other 15'. I have always thought that LCD are more relaxing and more "healthy" for eyes.
Thanks

It depends on the resolutrion you have set. If you are running at 640x480 or 800x600 as opposed 1024x768 it will not be as clear and may be harder on the eyes. What is your screen resolution.

As for the difference, w/o a technical explanation. LCD's take up less space, use less power, support higher resolutions and provide more actual screen per inch. Unless you are really into gaming or watching movies on your PC, LCD is better than CRT.

15" LCD = 17" CRT

17" LCD = 19" CRT

It depends on the resolutrion you have set. If you are running at 640x480 or 800x600 as opposed 1024x768 it will not be as clear and may be harder on the eyes.

Sometimes, the refresh rate might have to be adjusted. You can also increase the DPI.

Thanks for your answers. My screen resolution is 1280x1024 and I use this, and the refresh rate is 75Hz. As for the movies, I noticed that the quality is not really good- I think my 8-year old 15''CRT had better quality. Is this normal? Anyway, i don't use my PC for watching movies but I think it's not sensible. TFT are more expensive than CRT but i don't actually see an advantage of TFT over CRT. (ok,it's the less space they take up...)

From what I understand, for text and office programs, LCD is the way to go. But for games and other graphics programs, CRT is still the best hands down.

Personally, I think the space saving isn't worth the extra $300. But that's just me.

Response time is only one factor for LCD image quality, when gaming or viewing dynamic images, unlike static images such as text. Contrast is another. LCD contrast is nowhere near that of a CRT.

Another real problem for image quality is an LCD's "native resolution". Every LCD is comprised of tiny cells in a matrix. An LCD with a native resolution of 1280x1024 will have 1280 cells across and 1024 cells down. If you change from this resolution, pixel interpolation is required, thus causing pixels to be either stretched or combined, producing fuzziness or a blurred picture.

So, if one is a gamer, unless you have a powerful graphics card that can manage to run a game at an LCD's native resolution, the image will be blurry. Add poor response times, lower contrast and an LCD's inadequacies become very apparent.

Confused7, you do seem to be running your display at its native resolution. My only question is have you installed the manufacturer's monitor driver? This will make a huge difference, much more so for LCD monitors than CRT monitors.

My only question is have you installed the manufacturer's monitor driver? This will make a huge difference, much more so for LCD monitors than CRT monitors.I was going to mention it. You know, there were no drivers in the package, only a CD-ROM with a user's guide. I have confirmed that nothing was missing because it is mentioned in the CD-ROM that no other CD or floppy disk should be in the package. So Windows recognise it as Plug-and-Play monitor. Where can i find proper drivers? Do u think that there will be difference? It's not that I am not satisfied but i expected much more.

If you are using XP, get the drivers here: http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/portal.cfm?recordid=1988&formid=3394&website=AcerPanAm.com&originwebsite=AcerPanAm.com&central=1&words=all&keywords=&pupv=pu

Yes, I do think there will be a difference. A student of mine had an AGNeovo 17 inch monitor. The picture was not great, and his mouse scrolling in browsers was jerky and jumped everywhere. I discovered the shop who built his computer had just let Windows use plug and play drivers. Downloaded and installed the drivers for his specific model, and the improvement was enormous! Clear crisp image and smooth scrolling.

Just unzip the file, then go to Device Manager, right click on Monitor, choose "update driver". Choose "Install from list", then tick "Don't search.I will choose...", then click on "Have Disk" and browse to where you unzipped the drivers and choose AL1715.inf. OK out.

Thanks for your help. I have of course the Acer site and I have downloaded some drivers. The problem is, I have the AL1715msd or something like that which is an enhanced version of the simple AL1715. However, the drivers are probably for the simple AL1715 because when I install them, i can only choose 60Hz refresh rate although my monitor supports up to 75Hz. Any suggestions? One more thing:my eyes still get tired after some time(not much) of using the PC. Do u think that the change from 15" to 17" is the reason? Or generaly LCD's are more "tiring" than CRT's?

Thanks again