19" CTX Monitor at Sam's club for $174 after $20 Rebate

[Smiley2000]

Hey guys,
Just came back from Sams club and bought a CTX 19" 18"V monitor for $174. Features are:
.26 DP
1600x1200 at 75 HZ
Model # is PL-9/VL95

 

[Banshee Mullet]

I've got one PL9 and one VL950 in front of me right now as a dual setup. Both from Sam's.

They're decent monitors for the price. For under $200., you can't really go wrong and Sam's is pretty bulletproof on rebates.

I don't think you'll find the VL950. The PL9 is usually what they stock. I bought and returned 3 VL950S (short neck version of the VL950) that had major screen geometry problems, so I advise you stay away from those if they happen to be in the pile. Other than that, the other models have made me happy.

 

[Unclemo]

sounds good... too bad I just bought the other 19 inch monitor from buy.com the other night. tempting to buy another...

 

[WoundedWallet]

Banshee Mullet, what is the difference between the PL9 and VL950?

I have a VL950 and I'm happy with it. On the other hand, the other part of my dual, Optiquest71, is a pos.

Also how much does it cost to be a member of Sam's club.

Thanks,
WW

 

[ElDiablo]

I've got a VL950S and it's not the greatest monitor but it is definitely better than my 14" I had.

Banshee How much bigger is the VL950 than the s??

I'd love to pick up a 19" for 175

 

[Banshee Mullet]

Wounded, to answer your question, The VL950 is only bigger in front to back length by about 2 or 3 inches and I think the tubes are the same. The PL9 is only different in that the front of the monitor is flush faced (rather than having the cutout for the controls on the VL950) if that's a way to describe it. I have them side by side and they work great together.

The VL950S is essentially identical to the VL950 but it is a short tube and as I said, I tried 3 different ones and didn't have any luck (they all had the same type of geometry problem; bad batch?) I ended up grabbing a PL9 to replace the bad VL950S's and haven't had any problems for almost a year.

I'm very happy with the CTX monitors from Sams's and I also have a 17" that I used before getting the dual 19's. Other than that one type, no problems.

Probably not the greatest picture in the world, but I'm still on my computer 20 hours a day and survive. Flat screens are nice, but not worth the money for everyone.

All I need is dual 25" LCD's. Maybe next year. Once you've had dual, you can never go back.

 

[db]

<< All I need is dual 25&quot; LCD's >>


duel?--not!

 

[CheapoMan]

Hey,

How do you setup a dual monitor? do you have to buy a special vidoe card?
PLease share the details, I am interested cause monitors are cheapnow.

Thanks in advance.

 

[gotbeef]

Dual monitor = dual vid card...
So basically you jus plug in a PCI card in addition to your AGP card and Windows takes care of the rest.

By the way.... Every CTX monitors I've bought stopped working properly after 4 years.... Their color seems to be much crisper than many other monitors at first but it's actually to the point where it stains your eyes..... I personally haven't had that great of experience with CTX monitors. I think with monitors you get what u paid for.

 

[CheapoMan]

SO basically, windoz display one app on one screen and so on?? or one app in two monitor?
BTW, we are talking win 98/me and NT right?

 

[broadwayblue]

I thought that in order to run multiple displays you had to have two identical video cards. can someone clarify exactly how you set a multiple monitor configuration? Thanks.

 

[Krenotenze]

nope, you just need two video cards in a setup like:
AGP + PCI
PCI + PCI
AGP + ISA
PCI + ISA
AGP (GeForce 2 MX with &quot;TwinView&quot; or Matrox G400/450 with &quot;Dual Head&quot; capabilities)

basically any two videocards or a GeForce 2 MX or Matrox G400/450

 

[TimTran]

In addition, don't dual Voodoo 3 3000 AGP and Elsa Synergy PCI. These two don't go together.
I bought a Voodoo 3 3000, did not work, so I have to buy another Voodoo 3 2000 PCI. They working fine.

 

[ffej]

I may be wrong but I don't think an isa video card will work in dual monitor setup unless microsoft has changed something.

 

[Banshee Mullet]

Yes, It all depends on what cards you have (some are incompatible, but most work) and you have to be running Win 98 or better. It's really cool cause it treats the two monitors as if they were one big monitor. When you move your mouse from left to right, it just goes on to the next monitor as if it were one big screen.

You can have separate apps running on both sides and the advantages are tremendous.

For instance, I do a bunch of web page editing and while using Dreamweaver, I can keep the wysiwyg side on the left side and full screen the html on the right side and switch back and forth just by moving my mouse. Both windows are visible all the time. That's just one possible advantage. I feel like I'm handicapped if I have to use a single monitor now. It's similar to the feeling you get when you have to use a mouse without a wheel. Once you've had it, you can't live without it.

The only bad part is that you have to designate one card as primary and that is the only monitor which can run full screen dos, multimedia stuff (avi, mpeg, tv card, etc.) The secondary card won't run it.

In my machine I've got a ATI All in Wonder PCI as my primary and a Diamond TNT Ultra AGP as secondary. If I want to play a game, sometimes I'll switch the AGP card to primary to use it for the games. No big hassle, just a reboot.

I'll be happy if I get 4 years out of these monitors. They were pretty cheap comparatively.

 

[broadwayblue]

Krenotenze, thanks for the info!

Now I need some help. I just picked up a voodoo 3 3000 agp cheap ($38 a little while back, but haven't opened it yet.) I'm building a system from scratch and thought I'd use it for a little while until I save up for a better card. But now I'm thinking I should probably switch it for a pci version so that when I upgrade in a couple of months I can keep the 3000 as the secondary card and put the new one in the agp slot. Does that sound like a good idea? Thanks.

 

[abracadabra1]

decent...pictures ok, but great for the money

 

[mclori]

If you got the $10 off $50 coupon for Sam's Club in your Discover statement last month, you can use that on the purchase, also.

Lori

 

[Banshee Mullet]

Forgot about that coupon, still on my desk. It was in your Sept. Discover card statement. Expires 10/31/00.

 

[CheapoMan]

I guess the monitors has to be the same size or same specs?
Can you configure different resolution? one more thing, can we do this in NT 4.0?

Thanks.

 

[WoundedWallet]

Anyone here that lives in LA and is a Sam's member?

WW

 

[MiniDrag]

NT supports dual monitors, but if I remember correctly it is only with a dual head video card. It doesn't work with 2 cards like 98/ME.

 

[Zap]

<< I personally haven't had that great of experience with CTX monitors. I think with monitors you get what u paid for. >>


I've encountered two CTX lower-end monitors. Both had to be repaired TWICE within 2 years. I've also know of someone who had a CTX 17&quot; with Trinitron tube, seems pretty reliable.