Best TFT Monitor 17" or 18"

[StrikerJJB]

Was wondering in your guys opinion what the best TFT Monitors are?
I was also thinking reasonably price 1300 or less.


LMK - Post away

 

[karmasalad]

Don't think you can go wrong with the 17" Samsung SyncMaster 770TFT, priced at about $950 depending on where you look. I've heard nothing but good things about this monitor. In fact, I'm planning on picking one up for my new rig later this month.

Check out the reviews at CNet and Epinions to see what people think.

 

[TheHorta]

I have five (5) TFT LCD displays, all 18.1" or better, in my home office. They are all NECs.

I compared, face-to-face, side-by-side, the following displays before finally settling on the ones I eventually purchased:

NEC 1810X - $1,600
NEC 1830 - $1,000
NEC 2010X - $3,000
NEC 2110 - $5,500
IBM T86D - $1,800
IBM T85D - $1,350
Viewsonic VG181 - $1,600
Sony M81 - $1,200
KDS L-2F - $1,200
Compaq TFT8000 - $1,400
Samsung SM800 - $1,550

I feel uniquely qualified to respond to your question. Since you're predominately motivated by price, I would select the NEC LCD1830, which you can get for about $950. It's 18.1" viewable, 1280 x 1024 and has NEC's "XtraView" which gives you a 170-degree viewing angle. I can be at the most extreme angle and still read small text on the screen. It's precisely the same screen used in the higher-end 1810X, only that the unit doesn't have "Ambix" (NEC's name for accepting both analog and DVI in the same input) and the screen doesn't "pivot" into a portrait display. I do have one 1830, in black, and its picture is just as sharp and bright as the 1810. I even like the design a little better than the 1810 as well. The cables (power and video) are concealed in the neck of the stand and come out at the very bottom whereas with the 1810X they dangle out of the rear-side of the screen. Also, the power button is a real button that has to be depressed. There is no turning it on or off accidentally like you can with the 1810X. Our new kitten seems to get her kicks whacking the button until the display goes off (or on). It's a little bit of a pain, but if I were in my right mind I wouldn't allow her in a room with $200K worth of high-end computer equipment. The NEC LCD2010X is the next step up. At $3,000 it's a little outside of your specified price range. They're 20.1" viewable and have all of the bells and whistles. I run two of them off of an Oxygen GVX420 dual DVI board and let me tell you, you'll never go back to CRT once you experience this. They're the bigger brothers to the 1810Xs that I have on another system. They're big, bright and beautiful and worth every penny in my estimation. Granted, $7,500 for a video board ($1,500) and two TFT displays ($3,000 each x2) can price a system out of the solar system, but you'll have the displays for a LONG time to come, through many different systems.

If I can help it, I'll never go back to CRT. Also, out of every Flat Panel Display I reviewed, the NEC 1810X or 1830 was the best bang for the buck.