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Asking for HELP in Monitor Decision

F

Fisher999

Golden Member
I am fielding opinions on the "way to go" for a 19" monitor purchase for system I'm
putting together. BTW, the display card is a Gigabyte GA-GF256OT (nVidia GeForce 256).

ALL the candidates are 19", some are "flat screens" denoted by FS, some utilize aperature grille technology denoted by AG and the rest are shadow mask-based denoted by SM.
I have owned two Sony Trinitron-based monitors, 17 and 19 inch and am well aware of their superior color saturation and brightness, as well as the visibility of the damper wires.

Unfortuneately, Sony products are out of the price range.

The candidates are: (All currently available through a trusted Online Vendor)

Hitachi CM771 SM,FS
LG Studioworks\Goldstar 995e SM
NEC FE950P AG,FS
Samsung SynchMaster 900NF AG,FS
ViewSonic PF790 AG,FS
Samsung SynchMaster 950P SM

They all have very similar bandwiths (around 200 MHz; 240 for the Samsung 900NF)
and almost identical refresh rates at coinciding resolutions.

The warranty details and tech support hours varies among the candidates but
LG Studioworks\Goldstar has an excellent warranty (they pay shipping BOTH ways
for repairs the first year of the 3 year warranty). I WAS able to talk to one
of their repair technicians and one of their custormer support representatives
and they appear to be very knowlegable and "satisfaction-oriented". I have not
had that opportunity with any of the OTHER manufacturers.

I have scouted the web, including www.reviewfinder.com, and did not come up
with many review matches.

I would appreciate ANY input as to the "preferred choice" of other forum members.
Maybe some of you have actually SEEN some of these monitors in action. I have not
had that opportunity.

Thanks for ANY suggestions.

Greg
 
Greg,

You have picked some fine choices, imo.

Fwiw, I just ordered the Samsung 900nf for a system I'm should receive next week.

(1 Gig Tbird | 256Mb PC133 Mushkin Cas2 | 30Gb IBM 75 GXP | Leadtek 32Mb GeForce2MX | SB Live! value |Plextor 12/10/32a CDRW | W2K | and other goodies)

Picking a monitor was a tough choice for me too. I could not find many to look at locally. And when I could find them, they were basically in a video bank with the signal split many ways... and they all looked the same to me. SM and AG. I looked hard.. but could see NO difference betwixt, say, the Samsung 955df (similar to 900ift, SM), Viewsonic PF790 (AG), and Nec FE950 (same Diamondtron screen as 900nf.. AG).

I started out looking at Viewsonic PF790 and Samsung 955df. I graduated to the 950p, and lastly the 900ift vs 900nf. Finally ordered the 900nf sight unseen due to superior specs and recommendations here.

I found the video bank comparisons to be essentially useless. If they all look the same, buy the cheapest SM. But I *think* the video bank HW and splitters take away the diffs of the various monitors, especially the AGs.

So I closed my eyes and pulled out the Visa and ordered the 900nf. It struck me as the best value. [shrug]

Not much of a way to choose/buy a monitor, is it?

 
Speedlever, THANK YOU, you have been EXTREMELY HELPFUL. You're NOT going to believe this, but BEFORE returning here to read your reply 6-8 hours AFTER I originally posted it, I had just spent 2 hours reviewing specs again and realized that for the same money, the Samsung 900NF BLEW AWAY the competition when it came to maximum display resolution and refresh rate and recommended resolution/refresh; highest Res/Ref 2048 X 1536 @ 69 Hz, hits VESA recommended minimum refresh rate (72 Hz) even at 1800 X 1440, and it's recommended resolution is 1600 X 1200 @ 85 Hz. Now THAT'S OUTSTANDING for a monitor I can have for $413 before shipping charges added. It also has the highest video bandwith of 240 MHz!!!!

I think you said that the 900NF and the NEC FE950 share the same Diamondtron tube. I found that "interesting" because the specs for the Samsung 900NF are superior to the NEC FE950. I DID, however, note that the resolution/refresh rates for the NEC FE950 and the Samsung 900 IFT (one that was on my "short list" but I don't think I mentioned it in the thread) ARE virtually IDENTICAL. However, I KNOW they can't have the same tube as the Samsung 900 IFT is a SM and the NEC FE950 is an AG. I guess it just shows (in the case of the 900NF and FE950, that different manufacturers can achieve different results with the SAME tube using their own "support circuitry" and "testing methodologies".

I can usually "see" the difference in color intensity and brightness with AG's but like other reviews I have read, I have seen with my own eyes that AG's do not always display TEXT as sharp as an excellent SM. SM's seem to excell in THAT area. But I DO LOVE AG's, despite the damper wires being noticeable on light backgrounds.

So unless I go the "save money" route, which is the LG StudioWorks 995e (which was once recommended by Sharkey's Extreme and one which I can have forv$103 LESS than what I will have to pay for the Samsung 900NF), I will probably go with the 900NF.

Thanks SO MUCH for being the ONLY PERSON to respond to my cry for help and for being so HELPFUL. It was REALLY reassuring to read that you had decided on the 900NF when I was already "leaning" that direction BEFORE I came online to see if their were replies to my thread.

Greg
 
<<the Samsung 900NF BLEW AWAY the competition>>

We dont call it the best performance/price ratio 19&quot; for nothing. Highly recommended.

If you want a shadow mask instead of AG, you might want to look into the Samsung 900IFT also, its as good as the Hitachi ErgoFlat.
 
Lxi, I didn't know that the Samsung 900NF was so highly respected in &quot;these parts&quot;. Thanks for your input.

I was just about to click the &quot;buy now&quot; on the Samsung 900NF but I realize I SHOULD give the 900IFT another consideration. I would only &quot;save&quot; $17 to go with the 900IFT and $15 MORE to go with the Hitachi CM771, hardly good reasoning for deciding one monitor over another. I guess it narrows down to: Does the owner (me) want an AG monitor or a SM, right?

THANKS AGAIN LXi...

Greg
 
Yes now you've narrowed it down to AG or SM. Unfortunately we can't answer that question for you, you'd have to go to a store and take a good look at them so you can decide. My guess is that you'll still end up getting the 900NF, because most people tend to like the look of AG, and the 900NF has higher specs than the IFT.
 
In a nutshell, that's it EXACTLY LXi. And because I have spent MOST of my computer time viewing aperature grille monitors I guess this decision has finally come down to a NO-BRAINER....... the SAMSUNG 900NF.

THANK YOU and Speed.... Greg
 
No reports on it huh? Get this, ALL flat AGs tend to have this geometry problem. And same specs? The 900NF does 2048x1536 max, the PF950 does 1920x1440. Not worth the $30.
 
I just read all the actual user reviews and chose what I thought was the best monitor. It was a tight race between the FP950 and the 900NF. The reasons for which I chose the FP950 are as follows:

*Higher video bandwidth (270 v. 230)

*Software monitor adjustments through a usb interface

*From my own research, I found more geometry problems reported with the 900NF

The good things about both monitors are as follows:

*High resolutions and refresh rates

*BNC inputs

*Flat Diamondtron AG screen
 
They do have the same specs. They both do 1600x1200 at 85hz. The FP950 actually has a higher refresh rate at 1280x1024. Above 1600x1200 they both drop below 85hz, which for many people is unacceptable.
 
I would still recommend the 900NF, the PF950 does not seem to have any significant advantage over the 900NF. And being $30 cheaper, it gets my vote. And should I also mention the stylish look of the Samsungs and the bulky look of the NECs.

Also, the video bandwidth of the Samsung is 240 not 230. To be absolutely precise, Im gonna nit pick:

NEC PF950:
1024x768 max 136Hz
1280x1024 max 102Hz
1600x1280 max 88Hz
1920x1440 max 72Hz

Samsung 900NF:
1024x768 max 119Hz
1280x1024 max 100Hz
1600x1280 max 89Hz
1920x1440 max 73Hz
2048x1536 max 69Hz
 
Thanks for the posting the specs. Like I said, they are almost the exact same. I also omitted a very important tidbit. The FP950 allows corner corrections, and area convergence controls. Since all AG's tend to have slight problems, this could be an important tool which the 900NF does not have. I feel that the extra $30 was worth it, but choosing a 900NF is an excellent choice as well.
 
Where did you get this info about NEC have corner corrections and Samsung doesn't? And where can you get the PF950 for $470?? I just checked Onvia and its $543.
 
FP950:

Power, degauss, brightness, contrast, vertical size
and position, horizontal size and position, auto
adjust, geometry (sides in/out, sides left/right,
tilt, align, rotate), AccuColor® control system,
moir&eacute; canceler, basic convergence, area convergence,
corner correction, linearity, GlobalSync®,
sharpness, factory preset, language, OSM? position,
OSM turn off, OSM lock out, IPM, Edgelock?, refresh
notifier, display mode, fitness tips, monitor info

900NF:

Brightness, Contrast, Position, Size,
Pincushion, Barrel, Pin.Balance,
Trapezoid, Parallelogram, Rotation,
Linearity, Moire, Zoom In/Out, Focus,
Purity, Convergence, Color
Temperature, Color Select, Sync-
Select, Video Level Select, Language


Click on my link above. $487 - $15 coupon = $472
 
There is no &quot;beaten.&quot; They are both fine monitors and I was just trying to justify the extra $30-50 I spent 🙂
 
The 900NF is only $420, -$15 coupon you were talking about, very sweet deal for around $400.
 
One more NEC on my list.

I really like their AccuSync 95F, its the same as the Samsung 955DF, but with higher specs and lower price.

How the hell do you browse the amazon.com products anyway? There are only 14 19&quot; monitors listed, what a shame, it doesnt even have a next page or show all option.
 
300MHz video bandwidth, only $450. Btw, I think that 1920x1440@85Hz is a typo, can't be possible, not even their 19&quot; flagship VisionMaster Pro 451 can reach that high of a refresh rate.
 
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