Best 21" monitor?

[Ajay]

Thinking about doing mean things to my wallet and getting a 21" monitor (I'm a programmer and work out of my home sometimes).

So what are peoples experiences? Looking at Iiyama and Sony as top choices right now (yeah - I only do 'trons). PCWorld rated the Compaq P1100 (FD Trin) highly, but it doesn't seem to be a current model (at least at the compaq website). Would the G500 rate the same?
I would like to stay at or under about $1000.

Thanks,
-AJ

I may still just go for a 19" (a 21" will just about kill my entire 2001 computer budget), but I figured I'd do due diligence first on the 20"+ crowd.

 

[pdampier]

I got a KDS Avitron 21" just before Xmas from Amazon with free shipping for ~$700. Uses exact same tube as the Sony's. I'm very happy with it. Best warranty in the biz too. 3 full years. First 90 days they even pay return shipping.

 

[Maniac9127]

Do evil things to it and buy a Sony F500 . I don't know if it's really worth the extra thousand dollars over a lower priced monitor (MSRP $1800), but it's as high as you can go .

Or you can get the G500 for a measily 1k.

On pricewatch the F500's lowest price is 1300, and the G500's is 800. Shipping is a bitch though.

 

[dkozloski]

If you want the best 21" montor there is only one to consider, F980 Eizo. This is what you buy when money is no object. The downside is that you can spend as much time as you want tweaking the image to perfection. The upside is that you have total control over image quality.

 

[Ajay]

Thanks for the replies so far. But things to keep in mind:
1. Looking at ~$1k or less (price does matter).
2. Looking for 'trons (haven't used a shadow mask for years
maybe they are much improved, but I'm used to aperture grill
monitors).

OH, Maniac9127, I'm a married man - exceeding my budget would
result in "if looks could kill" expressions on my wife's face.
Shipping prices do s*ck, but I can't find any good monitors
locally.

-AJ

 

[Maniac9127]

Well, since you bring up the ISOD (icy stare of death), here are some options:

You can get a Sony G500 for ~900 (shipping included) from Atacom (good company). That'd probably be the best 21" monitor you can get for under 1k.

You can get an Optiquest Q110 for ~600 (shipping included) from GoGoCity (?). I have no idea on the quality of that monitor or the reliablity of the company.

Or, like pdampier, you can get a KDS AV-21TF for about ~830 (shipping included) from Atacom.

I personally would recomend the Sony, but it's your money (and your health ).

(Oh yeah, shipping is to me, so if you live in malaisia or something, it's going to be more expencive

 

[Jumpem]

Another vote for the Sony G500!

 

[Ajay]

Thanks for the updates. ISOD - great acronym!

Anyone have thoughts on the Samsung 1200NF, it's $739 (+ s/h) at techonweb.com (with discount code 6878). Looks like it uses the same Mitsui tube currently in the 2020 and 2040. Puts me under $800. But I have no idea if Samsung's hold up for the long term.

I'm leaning more towards the G500 (or G400 if I wimp out on cost). Hmmm,
I always wind up with a Sony - they just make the best CRTs.

Thanks,
-AJ

 

[duragezic]

I think the Samsung 1200NF is the best 21" for it's money. An expensive Sony or Iiyama no doubt may be SLIGHTLY better but they are so much more. The Samsung 1200NF is just a 21" version of the excellent NF series like the 700NF and 900NF. I haven't actually seen it but I assume it is the same as my 900NF except bigger (and of course higher refresh rates, higher bandwidth, etc...).

 

[JackBurton]

The two top monitors on my list are the Sony CPD-G500 and the Mitsubishi 2040U. I already have the Sony CPD-G500 and I LOVE IT! So there is only one thing for me to do...get the Mitsubishi! Can't have too many AWESOME 21" monitors (the 2040U is technically a 22" but the damn viewable is still the same as a 21&quot!

 

[AcidRainman]

I have a 21" Sony CPD-G500. It's great except for the warm up time that some Sony's seem to have. It takes about 15 minutes till the picture stretches to full screen. There's about an eigth of an inch on either side initially. I checked a few review sites and forums, and others have complained about this. I called Sony tech support and they verified that Sony's need to warm up. The time varies. The tech support guy said that Sony is working on making it better in future models.

 

[Ajay]

I like the price on the Samsung 1200NF, but don't know much about Samsung or that monitor in particular. Anybody read a review on it? The KDS has a nice price, but I'm a bit leary of them, I've seen alot of posts where they died early on (come to think of it, I've seen the same thing posted about the 900NF).

The Sony and Mitsu models seem to be very good (there's a Mitsu Diam. 200 that uses the same tube as the 2020 and 2040, but is less money, I haven't found a review on it yet though. I found a Sony 520GS being used by a guy at work, excellent monitor, except that it seemed limited to 75hz at 16x12 (maybe he just had it set wrong).

The nice thing about the monitors that go for ~$800 is that I will have room in my budget to upgrade to a 1GHz PIII later this year. If I go with $1K monitor, well, that's about it for this year*.

Iiyama seems to make some really nice Monitors (at least they get rave reviews), they use Mitsubishi tubes (Mitsu is _really_ popular this year for Flat screen 'trons).

Thanks for all the comments, I'm still taking all this in to help me make a decision. Been checking out comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video and neoseeker for user experiences and reviews, links to anyother review compilation sites would be appreciated.

Thanks for all the great comments, keep 'em comming.
-AJ


*I can always push my cpu, vid and hard drive upgrades till next year since I'm still doing ok in those departments (although UT alone takes up an amazing 1Gig of space!).

 

[Ajay]

Found some reviews of the Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200, sounds like a good monitor, with a great warrantee (48 hour replacement - no extra charge). Haven't seen anything yet on the Samsung 1200NF - anyone else know anything about this monitor?

-AJ

 

[duragezic]

900NF's dying? First time I heard that actually.

I really don't know what to say about it. It looks basically just as good as a Mitsubishi2040U. The specs are also higher (off the top of my head unless the 2040U is a new one with higher specs). The Mitsu might have a ever so slight edge, possibly because they make the tube and can test it better, they know the tube better, whatever. I really don't think you would be disappointed. The only problem the 900NF has is most of them have a slight bowing problem. It's where the top and/or bottom of the screen slightly bow towards the middle of the screen. It's very minor and within specification, usually a millimeter or two. And the thing is, this is a problem for virtually all flatscreen AG monitors. Some people notice it right off and others don't. Myself, well it was months after getting my 900NF and after people described it so I could look really closely and notice it.

edit: About the warranty, it looks very similar to KDS's. I haven't used Samsung support yet (that's a good thing right!) but I heard the replacement program is like KDS where they ship you a new one and you ship yours back once you get the new one and they pay shipping.

 

[G14]

Ajay the 2040u is the best there is IMHO. I got mine last summer. Playing Q3 and UT on it is almost as good as sex without a condom!

Click the link in my sig to see a pic of mine. No picture could do this thing justice. Don't half step with the 19" go for 21+ you won't regret it!

 

[Ajay]

Well thanks all for the replies. At this point I've pretty much decided to go with a Sony G400 (yeah, the half step thing, G14). The price premium of a 21" over a 19" is just too high. Plus I'll wind up with enough $$s left in my budget to do a few other upgrades this year (new HD, cpu and a new vid card, probably the RadeonII, if I unload my current cpu, Dec 'tron and Radeon). The G400 will probably be pretty good for programming at 1280x1024. Gaming I will be able to go all the way up to 1600x1200 flicker free (if I get the RadII, the radeon's too slow for that res IMHO).

So unless I get a bonus at work (would eliminate the ISOD), I'll cheap out on the 19" Sony. Bummer, the Sony G500 and Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200 were looking real sweet

Again, thanks for all the replies, I appreciate all the input - nice crew here at the Anandtech forums.

-AJ

eagle__2 - I found out about the 900NF problems in comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video - glad you haven't suffered the same fate as others.

 

[duragezic]

Oh no go for the 900NF or 1200NF... it's such a better value!

 

[Big Lar]

I've been running my Iiyama Vision Master Pro 502 for almost 2 years here now, and it still looks Great! I'm not sure on thier pricing of the 21" models now, but they really make a Supurb monitor, and if this 1 ever does bite the dust, I WILL go buy another Iiyama BTW, thier 450 model ( 19" Pro), is the best 1 they make.

 

[Ajay]

Well, I'm back in the game looking at 21" monitors. My computer budget for this year has been revised upwards (Always treat you wife well, it's an investment in time that pays many dividends!).

Anway, here's how I see things currently:

1. Sony G500, very good monitor, good price, no advanced replacement warrantee.
2. Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2040u (2060u the same??), excellent monitor, pricier
has and advanced replacement warrantee at no extra charge.
3. Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200, not as good as the 2040 (the crt doesn't seem to have
the same corner to corner crispness according to reviews, good price and same warrantee
as the 2040u.
4. Iiyama 520/i20a, excellent monitors (with the 520 getting slightly better reviews, but
it's being phased out and is hard to find), decent pricing till you add the advanced
replacement warrantee, then it costs just as much as the Mitsu 2040u.

5. Samsung 1200NF, good price, a bit hard to find and still no reviews, does seem to have
advanced replacement warrantee.
6. KDS KDS Avitron 21", reviews are so-so (no offense to anyone), warrantee is better than
Sony's but not a good as Mistu.
7. Eizo's look great(the AG ones), but are too pricey.
8. I'm going to get killed on shipping charges! I HATE UPS, so it's either Fedex or Airborne
for me and will cost me almost twice the base UPS shipping fee.

Basically I'd go with the Mitsu 2040u, if it wasn't so pricey. Iiyama's look good, but I'm not leaning toward them at the moment (the newest ones don't seem to be getting reviews quite as good as previous models). I think I'll avoid the KDS and Samsung for now (a monitor repair tech suggested I avoid the Korean brands, FWIW). Which leaves me deciding between the Sony G500 and the Mitsubishi 200 (in part because they are very popular and well supported brands). I like the Sony better based on reviews and the quality of my current 200PS. The Mitsubishi costs about the same but has a great warrantee (I really like the advanced replacement warrantees).

Thanks again, if anyone has further experience to off (especially comparative) please do.
-AJ

 

[Ajay]

Oh, just so people know where I'm comfortable pricewise...
I can get a Mistu 200 at Outpost.com for $950 shipped overnight via airborne.
The Sony G500 I can get from necxDirect.com for $966 shipped 2nd day Fedex (with a rebate).

-AJ

 

[JackBurton]

Dude, you can get the Sony G500 from BUY.COM for $923.40 shipped (with a $30 coupon)!

 

[JackBurton]

Oh, I just read you don't like UPS. Well, I guess if you like FedEx you can pay the $966 instead.

 

[Ajay]

Yeah, UPS is a nightmare, I've recieved several items damaged in shipping, one open box with parts stolen and a video card whose box was soaked in cleaning solution (how the delivery person was able to drop that off was beyond me, the company I bought from required signatures - just amazing!).

Anyway, I may buy a Sony G500 from monitorsdirect.com. For $1030 delivered (Fedex), I get the monitor plus a 3 year advanced replacement warrantee. And I just found the Mitsubishi 2060u for $1100 delivered (Mitsubishi includes the advanced replacement at no additional cost) - the 2040u is $50 more. The Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 200 is less expensive, but it doesn't seem to use the same tube as the 20x0 monitors (dot pitch is different). I'm not sure which I'm going to go for but I'm leaning towards getting the Sony from MonitorsDirect, the higher cost over Necx is worth it for the comfort of knowing that I can get a replacement monitor at no charge and now shipping within 48hrs.

As far as I can tell the Sony G500 and the Mitsu 2040 are very similar, with the Sony offering better color saturation and the Mitsu having more features. The 2060 has a different tube than the 2040, an is 3lbs lighter is a bit shorter, but based on the specs I would guess they have the same electronics.

Thanks for the comments,
-AJ

 

[beebernitz]

Multi Wave has the G500 at 819.00 and about 50.00 for ground shipping. Might be worth checking out.

Beebernitz

 

[Ajay]

beebernitz - good find, $905 second day air (I need to call them and find out what carrier they use), beats out necx. I may still go for the monitorsdirect deal, even though the mwave deal is $125 better than Necx, that difference includes a $50 advanced replacement warrantee add on. Deal is, if I have to ship the monitor to Sony just once, I'm even on cost, twice and I save money. I'll have to think about it.

Thanks,

-AJ