Best 19" Monitor under $600

[LXi]

Captain Ginyu: Have you seen them all in person? If not then you are the one who pulls info out of the a$$. I have seen most of them and I repeated many times its my opinion that the bigger brands look better than the smaller ones. Im not denying the fact that Samsung is good. Goddamnit, would you people gimme a break already, I should've just posted my regular list:

If money is no object, I would go:

1. Sony G400
2. Mitsubishi DiamondPro 900u
3. Mitsubishi DiamondPlus 91
4. Samsung SyncMaster 900IFT
5. Samsung SyncMaster 900NF
6. Hitachi SuperScan 776
7. KDS AV-195TF

Happy now? Im not a biased person going around telling false information, I was simply expressing my opinion base on what I saw. Purely my opinion that you have the option of taking it or not.

 

[LXi]

Please, please dont take this any further now. Its not very fun when your brain is about to explode. ViewSh*t is just out of frustration, thats what I usually call them in real life, they do suck IMO and thats why I call them that, no personal hatred. KDS, it was a speculation that turned out to be kind of true according to a friend of mine whose a reseller who carries KDS. Sure I havent bought his word yet, Ill have to gather more info on this before I claim anything. Until then I've always noted that it's my speculation, no hard fact.

You on the other hand, havent made any ridiculous attempts like I did, but it did show your dislikes towards Sony and Mitsubishi, whenever I or somebody else recommends them you comes out of nowhere telling everyone more expensive doesnt mean they're better, then you go on and recommend ViewSonic and KDS.

 

[KarlHungus]

Not in this case, please reread. I recommended Viewsonic and Samsung - one large and one small company. I don't particularly like KDS because I hear they run hot, but I don't share your view that they use defective Sony tubes.

 

[Captain Ginyu]

lxi: A guy that works at kds canada posts over at ars and he has never mentioned that kds uses defective tubes. I dont have sony and mitsu i'm saying that the cheaper products are better in some cases. The samsung is better than the mitsu(Check cnet for all the complaints) and the ctx is better than the g400 because it has bnc and is cheaper. Sony and mitsu cost so much because people are foolish enough to pay for the name. You've never seen any non sony trintron tubes so dont comment on them. I've seen sony g500 and it didnt look better than the kds trinitron but it didnt look worse. The customers g500 had a bad shaking problem though. Lore had 3 g500's and all had the same problem which means its a defective in all g500's and they werent lemons.

 

[LXi]

So let me get it straight, even if you have cash to burn, you would rather settle with ViewSonic/Samsung instead of Sony/Mitsubishi?

Just a quick note, Samsung is a lot larger than ViewSonic. I use to like ViewSonic, but after seeing my friend's ViewSonic go blurry and fuzzy after about 6 months of use, my doubts poped up. To be totally honest, Im still in the doubting position right now since I havent witness a decent looking ViewSonic shadow mask in a long time. If you have seen Samsung and Hitachi's flat shadow masks you'll understand why. Do you know if ViewSonic has plans to start using flat shadow masks?

And the defective tubes, I never meant to say defective, but rather rejects, meaning not meet up their requirement(just like Intels dont sell a 500MHz CPU as 600MHz even if its capable of doing it). However, my view is just my speculation, thank you for understanding me.

 

[LXi]

Captain Ginyu: Yes I agree, if you're talking about the bang of the buck, Samsung/KDS/CTX do seem to have an advantage over Sony and Mitsubishi. And no, I've seen almost every Sony model, every Mitsubishi model, every Samsung model, every ViewSonic model, and some KDS models, and Im right in front of my Sony Trinitron right now, a 17" sucker. Again, I never said defective, but rather rejects, two different things.

If money is no object, why not buy Sony or Mitsubishi?
This person has $600 for a 19"! Which is a lot, why not opt for the big brands? Like I said, I have nothing against KDS, I suggested him to spend $100 more and get the KDS 21".

 

[Captain Ginyu]

lxi: I see your view point but most people are happy with viewsonic products. Lets end this meaningless discussion, its getting no where.

 

[LXi]

No doubt, ViewSonic has great quality, and did I mention the impressive specs. Its just IMO that the flat Samsung and Hitachis look better than ViewSonics. So lets end it here in a good note.

 

[andrey]

CTX is superior than Sony? Yeah, riiiiiiiight... I'm more than sure you say that just because you own or using CTX at the moment. Sony so far is best in monitors, including quality and visual appearance. It comes at the premium price though, but you probably remember good old saying.."you get what you pay for"

 

[Captain Ginyu]

andrey: You're biased because of the sony you own. I dont own a ctx monitor. I've seen reviews of the ctx tritron and one review said it did the best out of any monitor they've ever seen in displaymate. Another review said it was just as good as a g400. A guy here at anandtech got one and is happy. CTX makes solid products. Andrey haha you're funny. Goto www.ctxmonitors.com and check the links to the reviews. Sony is not the best because its expensive. Andrey: Give me reasons why the sony is better than ctx. Reasons that you have PROOF to back up.

 

[dennilfloss]

"you get what you pay for"

The problem with taking this statement as an absolute is that it probably originated in a brothel. What you pay for might have a lot to do with labour practices & regulations, union strength, taxes, subsidies and currency involved, etc..., not just material components. That is a major reason why Korean cars, for example, are generally less expensive that Japanese equivalents.

 

[Lore]

I've seen sony g500 and it didnt look better than the kds trinitron but it didnt look worse. The customers g500 had a bad shaking problem though. Lore had 3 g500's and all had the same problem which means its a defective in all g500's and they werent lemons.

Just to add to this:

I remember mentioning that my office recently (read: 3-4 months ago)purchased about 5 Sony G200 monitors (17" FD Trinitron) for our linux workstations. Just today I was in the office and I noticed a HORRIBLE quivering problem on the one I was using to write an email. I had not been working in the office for these last several months and today was the first time I actually sat down in front of a computer. Boy was I surprised - apparently the quivering had slowly developed from bad to worse. When the monitor was first bought, it had a slight quiver on the bottom left hand corner (where it usually is) - today it was practically the whole screen. And yes, everyone in the office noticed it.

I also mentioned that my friend @ Central Computers in Santa Clara was finally convinced that Sony's G500 is a poorly manufactured product. Why? Well, one weekend I went in to say hi to him and I noticed they now had the Sony G500 on display. We went up to it and I explained to him that the display unit was having the same exact problem as my 3 old units - he looked and confirmed it.

Just an interesting point... This is really why Sony monitors are no longer on my list. They can't seem to fix it and it seems to be consistent.


[edit:] The office has G200s, not E200s as I previously mentioned. The computing center has the E200s.

 

[prontospyder]

wow...never knew monitors would spark such heated debates!

 

[LXi]

<<That is a major reason why Korean cars, for example, are generally less expensive that Japanese equivalents.>>

Is this the major reason why Hyundai isnt beating Honda in sales? I dont think so, their low price has something to do with their low quality and poor performance. I know its a lot different in the monitor market, but ask anyone, given that the Hyundai has &quot;the best&quot; warranty(Hm... a lesson taught by KDS?), still nobody buys them because they're crappy cars, they're no where near the reputation as well as quality to the likes of Toyota and Honda.

<<labour practices &amp; regulations, union strength, taxes, subsidies and currency involved.>>

Yea, this applies to cars, but not necessarily monitors. If Sony had to pay extra because of the above reasons, then KDS should be no exception because KDS is an Asian company, as you know, US set tarriffs on almost every Asia produced product.


Lore: So what you're saying is Sony has the worst quality among all monitors, and they're highest priced, and thats why we shoud avoid them? Gee, wonder why Sony isnt about to go bankrupt anytime soon, or at least make them close their monitor department. If your claims are true Sony will be long gone. Also, if they're having problems with their own tubes, you can already guess how good the KDS can be.


Captain Ginyu: Get over it, CTX is not superior to Sony. Just because those stupid reviews says so doesnt mean a thing.

 

[pdag]

with all this arguing i've decided on getting a samsung 900NF. I was leaning towards the mitsubishi 900u before i posted but now ive changed my mind. It seems as though one thing that most of you agree on is that the samsung 900nf is a great monitor for its price..and that is exactly what i need. It also does 1600x1200 at 85hz which is something i really wanted. Id like to say thanks to all who has responded... now to onvia to get my monitor =)
-pdag

 

[Lore]

First correction - the ones in the office are G200s and the ones in the computing center are E200s. My bad. The quivering one I saw today was a Sony G200.

Lore: So what you're saying is Sony has the worst quality among all monitors, and they're highest priced, and thats why we shoud avoid them? Gee, wonder why Sony isnt about to go bankrupt anytime soon, or at least make them close their monitor department. If your claims are true Sony will be long gone. Also, if they're having problems with their own tubes, you can already guess how good the KDS can be.

If I said that then I better spank myself hard and revoke my privileges to AnandTech Forums.

Oh.. whew. I didn't.

I merely said that the monitor was off MY list, and the QC was bad for all the monitors *I* have seen. I do wonder why Sony isn't receiving more reports of defects - I suppose it's because people are so caught up with the brand name that when they do find a defect, they think to themselves - &quot;Naw! Can't be a defect! It's a Sony!&quot; Of course, that's mere speculation, but I really think that's why a lot of people haven't said much about the quivering.

I'm sure the Sony gods wanted to make sure I appeared a fool on AnandTech so they purposely dug up crappy monitors for me to look at so I can falsely report them to everyone here.

Sarcasm aside, I want everyone to know I am about as unbiased about a monitor as anyone can be. Having gone through just as many monitors as I'm sure you (LXi) have gone through, I can generally spot trouble in an instant. I guess I just know where to look - edges, convergence problems, etc. And when that quivering problem with the G500 did not show on the KDS (I expected it to when I first bought it) you can understand I was thoroughly amazed. I also didn't expect to see the quivering on the G200s in the office or the E400 my co-worker just bought for herself - so you can also understand my disappointment when it was indeed apparent in the monitor.

By the way - I never said they were having problems with their tubes - as you mentioned yourself, a monitor is a lot more than just the FD Trinitron tube in front of it. The maze of electronics all join forces to create what we see in front of us. I belive (read: personal opinion) the electronics the Sony uses WITH the tubes simply are not as well-designed as one would think. The tubes are beautiful - both Sony's own and the ones that KDS buys from Sony - defective or not.

 

[Lore]

pdag: chalk up another one for LXi Enjoy your monitor, I'm sure it'll bring years of computing enjoyment. Let us know how the quality is - and of course, if you have any qualms about it.

 

[BiggieN]

can anyone tell me the difference between the sony g series and the e series. i have the e400 but everyone refers to the g400 when they mention a good 19&quot; monitor, so what's the difference on the two? thanks.

 

[LXi]

pday: The Samsung 900NF will actually go up to 1920x1440@73Hz. Good pick up.

Lore: Great post and I agree completely, I respect your opinions and views and I thank you for respecting mine. Lets hope we can keep it this way.

 

[LXi]

BiggieN:

The E series stands for economical, value line moitors.

The G series, use to stand for Graphics, dont know if it's still the same today, is a professional/performance line monitors.

The difference isnt big, usually the refresh rate and resolution is lower with the E series. And price difference, as far as I've seen is only about $30-40. The tubes are the same, same 0.24 dot pitch, same virtually flat screen. The controls on the G is a little bit more advanced than the E.

 

[BiggieN]

ok, hopefully i can trade it in for a g then cuz if its only 30-40 more then i want the top of the line. any idea which retail stores sell the g series cuz i don't see it at any best buy or compusa. just the e's. thanks for the info LXi.

 

[LXi]

Dont bother trading it in, its not gonna be that big of a difference. I have never seen a retail carrying G series, I've been to Fry's, BestBuy, as well as CompUSA, they all tell me they only carry E series, dont know why, maybe the price tag of the G series is gonna scare everyone away or something.

 

[Iilac]

How about the IIyama Visionmaster 450 pro? I have one in front of me now and I love it.

 

[BiggieN]

since you're here, i got another question. i tried changing the refresh rate but then i get some incoherent image. it's currently running at 1280 x 1024 at 65 hz refresh. i can't set it any higher. would this be a video card problem? i have a really old video card that i haven't upgraded yet.

 

[dennilfloss]

LXi,

I wasn't hinting at tariffs but rather at the cost of labour, Japanese labour being more expensive I believe than its Korean equivalent. Also, there may be substantial tax breaks for Korean companies exporting their wares and thus enhancing national pride. The relatively high value of the yen also brings prices up. These are but a few things that can influence prices. The playing field is not all level for the different monitor companies because of such national differences.

I'm old enough to remember a time when 'Made in Japan' meant cheaper and sometimes, not always, crappier goods. I'm just trying to make people realize that price and quality correlation is not always straightforward.