Monitor Recommendations

**Anthro** · 08-09-2006, 07:15 PM

I'm relatively new to JaguarPC, but am really liking the community here so far. I got a lot of good info out of the recent speaker recommendations thread, so I thought I throw out a inquiry about monitor recommendations.

I am looking into LCDs and was wondering if anyone has any brands they'd recommend or warn against. I'm currently leaning towards LG which seem to have some 19", 1400:1 contrast, 8ms monitors that seem good value for the money....staying under $250 would be ideal.

**Spathiphyllum** · 08-10-2006, 02:27 AM

I've only had my DELL 1905FP for a few months but it seems OK to me. I had been a strong advocate for CRTs because of their graphics resolutions, but this digital monitor is working out fine for me. I don't even remember the specs for it but it is an excellent value. DELL regularly runs "sales" on their monitors so check them out. The design and capabilities are pretty good, too.

I've not been a particularly big fan of DELL (or any bulk manufacturer), but I've been quite satisfied with this monitor.

**Vin DSL** · 08-10-2006, 03:16 AM

I'm running a Dell 1907FP -- the newest incarnation of Spath's 1905FP, and it been working fine! If I had to do it over again, I'd still pick the 1907FP...

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p... &sku=320-4568

**lloyd_borrett** · 08-10-2006, 06:26 AM

G'day,

I still can't find anything to beat the Sony 19" and Philips 22" CRT screens I use on my main system. Next to these my Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop's 17" UltraSharp WUXGA (1920 x 1200) widescreen LCD looks very ordinary.

Though I did recently get an Acer AL2032W 20" widescreen LCD on the newest system I setup for my partner.

For graphics work, including graphics related to web site design, I think a CRT monitor is a must. I work on the CRT screens and use my laptop's LCD screen to check that I've got the graphics right for LCD screens. LCD screens just don't have anywhere near the capability of a CRT to show blacks and have poor contrast by comparison. So some design feature get lost on an LCD screen without tweaking.

Best Regards, Lloyd Borrett.

**Connie** · 08-10-2006, 08:47 AM

I bought a Acer 19" from Jag a few months ago and have been happy with it.

**jason** · 08-10-2006, 09:00 AM

I'm running a 19" Samsung that I bought at Best Buy about a year ago. Since I'm not at that computer right now, I don't know the exact model or specs, but I am very happy with it.

--Jason

**Jaded** · 08-10-2006, 09:06 AM

Your computer use is a big factor in choosing a monitor...If you do graphics work, black is important and I don't know of any LCD capable of displaying blacks as well as a CRT. I was working with a new LCD once and was alerted by a visitor to the horrific graphics on the site...I checked on a different machine with a CRT and realized I had uploaded an unfinished graphic with a layer showing through the black background...a layer that was not visible on the LCD.

Any thoughts? (Be nice)

**jason** · 08-10-2006, 09:42 AM

I've seen things on my LCD monitor that I couldn't see on the old CRT, but the CRT was old and not a great monitor to begin.

Our photographer here at work finally took the plunge and upgraded to LCDs. He was opposed to them for so long because of the less-than-optimal color quality that earlier generation monitors could deliver. He bought two or three Eizo (I believe) 22" monitors at a cost of a couple grand a piece.

--Jason

**Vin DSL** · 08-10-2006, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by Jaded

Any thoughts? (Be nice)

Originally Posted by jason

I've seen things on my LCD monitor that I couldn't see on the old CRT, but the CRT was old and not a great monitor to begin...

It took me a why to figure this out, but the pic quality of a LCD flat panel is almost entirely dependent on it's adjustment. The problem is, adjusting a LCD monitor is a moving target...

I don't feel like duplicating it here, but if you find this stuff interesting, you might want to check out my comments in this thread...

http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...adid=18367 74

Might save you a LOT of grief!

=====================

Specifically, since you talking about getting a LG/Philips monitor, Anthro...

Source: (see link above)

This *might* be old news, but Dell 1907FPs are being shipped in different flavors.

Everyone knows about the Sammy and AUO panels, but LG/Philips has been added to the mix...

Here's the way it stands right now:

Samsung LTM190EX
http://www.samsung.com/Products/TFTL...X/LTM190EX.htm

AUO M190EN04
http://www.auo.com/auoDEV/products.p...=62&items_id=1

LG/Philips LM190E03
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/4...0e03pic6ey.jpg

I've put them together in a single graphic, in case the links above go stale...
http://www.lenon.com/images/1907FP_Panels.png

Everybody seems to prefer the Sammy panel, but AUO 'reviews' have been favorable as well (specifications aside). However, several LG owners have reported severe backlight bleeding problems...

**Anthro** · 08-10-2006, 03:43 PM

Thanks for all the feedback - I hadn't looked at the Samsung monitors at all, but will definitely check them out. Nice comparison charts too...thanks.

I have also been hesitant in switching to LCD from CRT for many of the reasons mentioned. I guess maybe I ought to keep one on hand just to test web design appearance.

I am considering going dual display - has anyone else got a dual monitor configuration? I hope it would boost productivity allowing coding/design on one monitor and testing on the other without doing the minimize/maximize thing or alt-tab over and over.

**jason** · 08-11-2006, 07:47 AM

Several people at work, myself included, have been doing the dual monitor thing for several years. I do a lot of work in software like Director, where I need the space to stretch out my timeline and move windows around, but it works out great for other things as well: in Outlook I keep my calendar on one screen and my mail on the other, for example.

There are a number of video cards taht support two monitors natively now (often the card has a DVI connector and a VGA connector and both can operate independently), but be sure to verify that before you buy. Alternativly, you can install two cards. My work system has an Nvidia AGP card that came with the computer and a old Matrox PCI card that I found lying around and added. By today's standards neither card is that great (the computer is about 5 years old now), but they're still doing what I need them to just fine.

--Jason

**the_ancient** · 08-11-2006, 08:30 AM

I have 3 monitors hooked to my Desktop. I LOVE it.

**Gwaihir** · 08-11-2006, 10:37 AM

I .. need to get my new (since April) boss onto this train. I have a dual screen setup at home and had so at my previous job (where almost everyone does now) and I feel quite hindered by the suddenly cramped space now, even after four months.

For development work I had one screen for the coding and the other for testing, as well as documentation (both internal project docs and external stuff like manuals).

Hooking them up is getting increasingly easy: almost every graphics board (other than the internal stuff on a mainboard) on sale can handle dual display nowadays. If you want dual DVI, you still have to search for an affordable card, but they are out there in the range of 110 euros already. (N.B. despite the exchange rate, XX euro usually translates to roughly the same in $ USD, mainly because in Europe prizes already include taxes.) The processing power in those boards is pretty much all for gaming; if you don't need that just about any card on the market works fine. (Well, vista aero might think differently.)

The monitor discussion so far is too general, IMHO. You can't just say "this is a good brand and this isn't". That's usefull to rule out B and C brands with poor build quality, but leaves plenty of A brands that are all way past that by now. Each brand usually has a few different series out of widly different specs. Add to that the older or brand new models still or already floating around and there's a LOT of difference between the screens from a single brand.

I found the Belinea 101920 ref. 111919 to be an excellent all round monitor for a fair price (note: the ref. 111919 matters). Got four of these (2 x 2) for my (now old) boss early this year. At just under 400 EUR this is no budget screen, but I do think it's good value for money. This is an overdrive MVA panel. Main problem with the cheaper TN (gamers/office budget) screens are IMHO: seriously poor contrast (grey instead of black; still a weakness of TFT compared to CRT), bad viewing angle, all round trouble getting colors right.

**Smo** · 08-11-2006, 10:41 AM

I got a LG 901B 19" CRT screen, and it's working great for me. I didn't want to move to LCD since - judging by my laptop screen - it's hard to tell the exact colors of graphics. I do use the laptop to check everything I create tho before putting it out on the net.