CRT monitor very dim

[PhoenixOrion]

Hi all.

I have a 4 year old HP p930 19" CRT monitor. I have both bright and contrast at 100% for a year now. The PC is always on 24/7 but I have screensaver after 8 min of inactivity.

This morning the monitor is still great for web surfing or other apps with bright surfaces but playing starcraft or other games it's really, really dark even though I set the in-game gamma levels to the highest. I can't see crap inside the hallways in the last level of half life 2.

How many days/weeks/years do I have left with this monitor till it completely dies on me?

 

[Malladine]

no set amount of time left but yes it is dying

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
Hi all.

I have a 4 year old HP p930 19" CRT monitor. I have both bright and contrast at 100% for a year now. The PC is always on 24/7 but I have screensaver after 8 min of inactivity.

This morning the monitor is still great for web surfing or other apps with bright surfaces but playing starcraft or other games it's really, really dark even though I set the in-game gamma levels to the highest. I can't see crap inside the hallways in the last level of half life 2.

How many days/weeks/years do I have left with this monitor till it completely dies on me?

A screensaver doesn't shut down the monitor though. That's just supposed to prevent burn-in of an image by showing a moving object. Powersaving options like standby turn off the electron guns, which helps save the life of the CRT.


Did this change in brightness happen suddenly, or was it gradual, and you're just noticing now that you're really having trouble with it?

 

[PhoenixOrion]

I did not actually see the sudden change in front of me. But the previous night, I left the pc after playing a few games and it looked great. It was just this morning, when first time turning on monitor from the screensaver, that all games look very dark, as in, "clearly visible" setting in half life 2 or cs:s is actually "barely visible."

I checked all my settings and everything looks the same. and nobody touches this pc but me.

 

[theMan]

wow, that sucks, my 8 year old crt works fine. i have the brightness on 0 and the contrast on 100.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

oh well, time to look and shop around for a gaming monitor.

 

[0roo0roo]

yup, screensaver is sorta pointless with powersaving these days. and wasteful

 

[PhoenixOrion]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
yup, screensaver is sorta pointless with powersaving these days. and wasteful

I use both. I have screensaver after 8min inactivity and I have powersaving to turn off monitor after 20min inactivity.

Either way, I get to have a good reason to the wife to replace this CRT with another LCD

 

[Jeff7]

It's odd that it'd just suddenly go dim overnight. Age-related dimming in CRTs is usually very gradual. Most of my experience with CRT problems has been caused by loose connectors or broken solder joints - simple mechanical issues. But then, search Google for Monitor Repair FAQ. You'll likely find a huge amount of information on the many possible problems that can afflict CRT assemblies.