Monitor shopping!

[Halter101]

I am looking for a LCD flatscreen monitor for a friend of mine. I know very little about them. Can someone recommend a decent 19" LCD flatscreen monitor for somewhere around $500 or less. I do not know what the price range's are either? Also can you recommend a couple of web sites I can look around in.:)

[classicsoftware]

I can't reccomend a website per se. I was in the market for a 17" flat screen and found the best model was at Sams Club of all places.

What I can tell you is there are two main faetures you look for.

1) Contrast ratio the hugher the number the better. 350:1 bad 400:1 average and 500:1 or greater the best.

2) The second is response time. Here the lower the number the better with 30 ms being bad 25 ms being average and 16 ms being very good.

As a general rule, monitors are one of the few thinks I don't like to buy on line. I like to actually see them. On my treaure hunt I went to Best Buy, Office max, Staples, Comp USA and Circit City. Not for priceing as much as to see the monitors. Best Buy was the best place as they had several models on display and all of the PC's have the same softwre running so you can view the same movie clip on each monitor adn really see the differences.

I don't know this brand from Adam but check this out at newegg (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=24-112-125&depa=1). They are a reliable vendor.

I'm on my way to get this one (http://www.necmitsubishi.com/products/ProductDetail.cfm?Product=287&ClassificationFamily=2&Classification=1) at Sams Club. It's a 17" for $399.00 that's equivalent to a 19" CRT and specs are good and I can afford it.

Happy hunting

[deddard]

I'd agree with one major point of hte above post - these are things you need to go see before you buy.
Most components can be bought by looking at their specs and benchmarks. With monitors, you should check out a few magazines, including online magazines for their reviews, and then GO SEE THEM.
This is probably the one part of your PC that is going to survive the longest - swapping Mobos/cpus or even full systems is common, but monitors tend to stay for at least twice the length of time of other components.
Trust your eyes. Don't worry about whether the monitor has built in speakers (unless you are seriously pushed for space and don't mind tinny sound)
If possible, get a look at the monitors you are interested in running several apps from games to word processors. the word processor/spreadsheet etc tends to be overlooked, but as the text is going to be in front of you a lot longer than your average game screen, it is important that it is smooth, and easy on the eye.

[saphalline]

I also agree with the above posts, so they MUST be right! :p And yes, go see them for yourself before you buy. Monitors are the one thing that need both good reviews and physical inspection (by me) before I will buy a specific model. And yes, it's because they last the longest. My brother still has a 14" CRT monitor that I gave him for his old system, so these things tend to stick around!

One thing you'll find out quickly is that $500 isn't enough to get a decent/average 19" LCD monitor! You can either get a crappy/bad 19" or a really good 17". You probably aren't going to need above a 17" LCD anyway as most of them have a native resolution of 1280 x 1024.

You also need to look closely at the warranty. The good LCD's have a dead-pixel rate of 1-5 for replacement, whereas some are 8+ before they'll replace it! You should also check the average lifespan of the backlight if you can (usually stated in thousands of hours) and do the math. Is the backlight going to last a week after the warranty is up or a year?

Then of course there's the extras. Does it connect thru VGA or DVI or both? Does it have built-in speakers (not recommended as they cost extra and are poor speakers anyway)? How about a USB hub? How far does it tilt up-and-down and left-and-right? How thick/heavy is it? How are the viewing angles? Does the brightness/coloring look uneven?

It's a complicated thing, the monitor. Just remember not to let anyone rush you thru this decision. Out of all the devices you connect to your computer, the monitor is the most used. It should get the most attention.

[Bumstedmans]

My advice would to not buy a Flatpannel Monitor unless you are really trying to save some space. Why?

1. Flatpanel monitors are much more expensive than CRTs, a decent Flat may cost hundreds more than a decent CRT
2. Flatpanels do not have the crisp picture that a CRT can give you.
3. CRTs can function under many different resolutions.
4. A Catho-ray tube is capable of higher refresh-rates, eliminating "ghost" image trails.

The bottom line is, unless you really are in a tight space.

well, I guess with all the money you save by buying a CRT, you could get a bigger desk to hold it.;)

A little advice from
-The Bumstedman

[Halter101]

Originally posted by Bumstedmans
My advice would to not buy a Flatpannel Monitor unless you are really trying to save some space. Why?

1. Flatpanel monitors are much more expensive than CRTs, a decent Flat may cost hundreds more than a decent CRT
2. Flatpanels do not have the crisp picture that a CRT can give you.
3. CRTs can function under many different resolutions.
4. A Catho-ray tube is capable of higher refresh-rates, eliminating "ghost" image trails.

The bottom line is, unless you really are in a tight space.

well, I guess with all the money you save by buying a CRT, you could get a bigger desk to hold it.;)

A little advice from
-The Bumstedman

I agree 100%. I personally do not like Flatpannel because of the poor performance when gamming. I have not found one that I like while gaming, at least not in my price range :rolleyes:. As far as what happened, she went out to COMPUSA and purchased one for around $450. I do believe she was tight on space and thats why she wanted one. Also she only uses the computer for some ACAD drafting, internet and emails so the performance we are looking for is not a concern for her. Thanks all for your help.