Best 17in monitor / CRT vs LCD

[Ben50]

What's the best 17in monitor? I'm going to college and I don't think I'll have enough room for a 19in on my desk. My parents are paying for the computer (graduation present!) so I don't have to worry about price very much.

Also, what do you guys think about current LCD monitors? Are they at a high enough quality now to consider them instead of a CRT? I do a lot of web surfing and quite a bit of gaming. What are some of the better LCDs?

 

[HansXP]

I personally believe that LCDs are the way to go. They have a very sharp picture, they take up less space than a CRT, they weighless than a CRT, and you won't have eyestrain problems after sitting in front of a LCD for hours. Some people complain that LCDs don't refresh fast enough for good 3D gaming, but I've found that I can play Counter-Strike just fine on my Viewsonic VG151 LCD. For 2D work like Internet browsing, however, there is no question - LCDs rule!

If you're looking for a good LCD, make sure it is a TFT (aka Active Matrix) and uses a Digital Video Interface (DVI) instead of VGA. Make sure your video card supports DVI. Also make sure the LCD supports a refresh rate of 75 Hz or more. Good brands include Viewsonic, Sony, IBM, and NEC.

One last tip: with a 15" CRT, you get about 14" of that as usable screen. With a 15" LCD, you get the full 15" for use. So a 16" CRT is the same as a 15" LCD.

Hope this helps.

 

[LuciferHaze]

Remember, when you get a LCD monitor it's native resolution'll most likely be 1024x768. If you want to use any other resolution your looking at image distortion and very blurry text. Stick with CRTs for now. CRTs are for gaming and LCDs are for everything else.

 

[Ben50]

So basically, I think either a 17in CRT or a 15in LCD would be what I would want. Now, which ones are the best. Are there some high quality LCDs that will perform as well as CRTs in games? Who makes the best LCD monitors?

 

[T2T III]

<< Now, which ones are the best. Are there some high quality LCDs that will perform as CRTs in games? >>


Having had some experience with the KDS RAD-5 myself along with reading several positive reports on this monitor, you might want to check this one out. $396 @ Wal-Mart or $450 @ Office Depot.

 

[LXi]

I personally would get a 17&quot;. Either Samsung's or Sony's.

 

[UselessInfo]

I got in on the Planar 17.4&quot; LCD deal a couple of weeks back. I can say with certainty that all the blurriness with non-native resolutions is minimal. I also do a lot of gaming and have not noticed any difference between my old crt and my new lcd. Granted, I come from an average to low end 17&quot; CRT but I still think the LCD panel is superior for everyday applications and at least on par in terms of gaming even compared with good CRTs.
I've even noticed that the viewing angle are getting better and better. It's definitely better than the lcd on my laptop that I bought about a year ago.
All in all, do a lot of research before you throw in a lot of dough for a LCD panel and if possible, check them out at a local store. (I took a chance and order the panel based only on anandtech posters' comments.)