PC hardware: Which LCD should I get?

19" vs 20.1"

Even an x1900xtx can struggle with some games at 1600x1200 with all the effects turned on. Since the size difference is so small, a 19" at 1280x1024 may give you a better gaming experience since you should be able to use a higher AA/AF setting and get higher frame rates in tough games.

Depending on your eyesight, you might find the 19" easier to read also. 8pt type will be much smaller on the 20". Conversely, if you have excellent vision, you may appreciate the higher res of the 20" in your CAD apps.

As for viewing angle and general "performance", I find that a personal choice. You should demo each monitor to see how they look to you and if you can notice/tolerate any deficiencies.

Go with the Samsung

I would go ahead and buy the 20.1" monitor. It sounds like an excellent monitor, and for $30, there's really no reason not to go for it. The higher resolution will definitely be worth the extra money, and if you choose not to use that resolution, I'm sure that that particular monitor will be able to scale down the resolution to something a little lower. Most modern quality LCDs can do that these days.

However, if you choose to get a 19" monitor, and save a little money, I would highly recommend the Dell 1907FP monitor. You can get it for $247 (purchase a $15 off coupon on eBay to make the price even better) with free shipping. It got a much better review than the Viewsonic as well (7.5 rating vs. 6.4 rating). If you have the money, I would even recommend getting dual 1907FPs over a single 20.1" monitor. But I'll leave that decision up to you. Good luck!

(NT) samsung

Two technical factors to help your decision

I see two differences in the specs listed for the LCD's that might affect your decision.
The Viewsonic has a 2 MilliSecond response time versus the 5MS for the Samsung. What that will affect is how fast your gaming scenes change and, even though anything below 8MS is supposedly acceptable, the Viewsonic will be faster.
Second, is a note that using a resolution other than the native one on an LCD results in a marked decrease in the clarity of the screen. Unlike a picture tube, an LCD is a gazillion, fixed, pixels. I have very good eyesight and the 1600x1200 Samsung display would not bother me a bit; but, the 1280x1024 on the Viewsonic will result in physically larger text and icons, even though the display is slightly smaller.
I would suggest that you go to BestBuy, Office Depot, or Circuit City to do an eyes on evaluation of the difference in resolutions, especially.

Go Samsung

I have the 204B and its an outstanding monitor. Its my first LCD. It replaced a 21"NEC and it actually has a little bit bigger screen. It runs native 1600x1200 and I haven't had any problem in games. I play a lot of online FPS games and it works great. The only caution is I'm not able to use the magic swivel program that comes with the monitor because its not compatible with my 7900GTKO512 video card. But thats the software not the monitor. The monitor is amazing and I highly recommend it. I got it for $285 and couldn't be happier.

Monitors

I had an Avitron 19 inch monitor that finally bit the dust last week, and went to CC after some shopping online and purchased the Acer AL1916 (19" LCD). The resolution is 1280 x 1024. I do graphic design work and it is absolutely great. No lost pixels at all. The Acer was on sale for $219, which was $40 less than anywhere else I could find it. Very pleased with it, and no side angle distortion.

http://www.questgraphicsdesign.com