General Mac hardware discussions forum: Best value for a LCD monitor ?

I found this link to be helpful and disconcerting at the same time...

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7610_7-5084364-1.html?tag=dir.tp

I sold conventional CRT TVs along with RP CRT TVs and a few plasmas for about 6 years but got out of the biz about 2 years back... just as the LCD TV's were really starting to come down in price and more models were available. Can you believe we sold a 20" sharp aquos for around $1500.00 just 3 years ago ? Standard definition at that price as well ! I know many of the tricks for calibrating TVs but little about monitors so your advice is helpful. I can relate to the customers messing with the adjustments all the time... I was often amazed at what most people thought a "good" picture was ! Overdriven, Over-saturated, Black levels ignored in favor of a super bright picture... Basically everything a Sony TVs picture looks like right out of the box. LOL

If desk space was not such a deciding factor right now I would definitely go with the CRT monitor. Unfortunately, I've decided to get another degree to enhance my current market value and half the classes need Winbox for CAD drawing and half use Macs. Of course my 12" iBook has its own screen (BTW... what is the quality of the G4s LCD screen anyway). The 19" CRT is just way too big on my desk since I now have $400.00 worth of text books that need to be open as I work on the various class exercises. Ambient light is not an issue as I have black out curtains courtesy of my IATSE work in the bedroom. Why the office in the bedroom ? So I can study without interruption from the rest of the house... Feels like I'm back in the dorms .

I look at the darn fish-tank screen savers in every Bloody store and wonder if it's the monitor, the video card, or just the #&%$ screen saver that makes the things look so bad. The link above points out that even 2 of the same model may not perform the same. Flaws in the technology or just bad quality control ? Then you have the extra perks like TVs built into the monitors... of course I could always get a TV card for the winbox tower instead but wheres the fun in that. Really... I need to study... but then again with college football on right now...

The Samsung syncmasters seem to get good reviews. Is this across the board or just for certain models ? Reason I ask is Sam's club seems to have quite a few of these at low price. I know you get what you pay for but sometimes you do find a deal so as long as it doesn't distort color I'm fine with it right now. Anyone have any pros and cons about this manufacturer's product ?

grim

http://www.epinions.com/Dell_UltraSharp_1704FPT_17_inch_Flat_Panel_LCD_Monitor_with_Height_Adjustable_Stand/display_~reviews

Check out the follwing link.

Actually I will be using this monitor on both an iBook, a Win98 machine, and an XP box that I have most of the parts for but have not assembled yet. (reason for the multi boxes is since I started on a 2nd degree I have run into a few required classes that do online testing that only is compatible with MS... B #^%$* DS)

Still, aside from the analog vs digital connection issue... is there anything else that might stop a LCD monitor from being used on one os machine but not the other ? Driver issues maybe? Or even same monitor performs better on one OS but not the other. I can't think of any reason for this to be the case but stranger things have happened... Like not being able to take an online test on a mac (figures since its a required class on MS Office 2003)

grim

I was just recently down this same road and the options made my swirl.

Wanting to stay away from "house brands" and looking at NEC, LG, HP, ViewSonic, Samsung and a couple of others, I finally settled on and purchased the ViewSonic VA702b for $309.99 Canadian (about $265.00 give or take).

It's a full 17" 12ms response time, with a refresh rate up to 85 Hz (keep the bare minimum of 75 Hz in mind for reduced "screen flicker", the higher the better). I've been using it for a month now and I am amazed at the quality of such an inexpensive monitor. The reason I bought one was originally to do with severe eyestrain from my old CRT monitor. I now no longer have shoulder aches as I am able to postion this monitor within my workspace better, and my eyes no longer feel like they're burning.

I'm very pleased with the VA702b

Best 17" available, 724 better response time @ 4ms; 730b better contrast @ 600
agree Tigerdirect.com has good deals

First off, i tend to agree with the 2nd post (the really long one). The 'perfect' LCD, other than its price, can only be determined by whether or not it looks right to you. Walking into a retail store is a good way to determine some of this, but not the onlly way, and can sometimes be misleading

If possible, get an 18"+ LCD. Tom's Hardware Guide mentioned that 17" LCDs are in shortage, so while they're still cheaper than bigger sized LCDs, 18"+ LCDs will get you the best bang for the buck for screen size.

Some LCD attributes like response time can only be judged for yourself. U may not notice ghosting on a 20ms LCD while others notice it on a 16ms LCD.... both using the same specifications fro everything else (game, vid card, etc.)

Finally, u'll need a 18"+ LCD if u want native res higher than 1280x960. Native resolutions on LCDs is also the max, so go bigger sized native res if u want more pixels

If you want a consistent reference to compare monitors with, try this.
Find a DVD that has elements which will test a screen. Colors, contrast, etc. Take it and your i-Mac with you when you shop. This way, you are seeing the same picture, from the same source, every time.
Since you brought up quality differences among identical monitors, you may want to test the one out of the box, not the floor model. Also, it will be factory adjusted, not "yahoo tuned". If they don't want to open a box, tell them you want to check for dead pixels before you take it home, You can download a free pixel checker here. http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11661

Lampie

I used to use Sound & Visions home theater test disc when I ran a sideline business of home theater installation. I just never thought to bring it with me as a reference disk to check out monitors. It has many of the pro reference test patterns but cost half as much.

thanks LtC

grim

Just like how I used the same blue, 6o watt light bulb when I did lighting for "electric company on ice" eight days in a row !

SCIENCE !

grim