CRT vs. LCD

[cretinbob]

I am building a new system to replace my 5 yo machine I am running now. I ordered a pretty good CRT monitor , paid for it, money taken out of account, but it's backordered and did not ship. In looking at specs of other monitors that this distributor has, nothing else comes close, even for a lot more money.
See my expectation is that they would/should offer me a similar product, or ship what I ordered overnight at their expense when it does become available. That's what I would do if it were my company, for the sake of customer satisfaction.
Anyway, I'm kinda old school and think that LCDs suck. They look like crap. If offered an LCD should I take it, and what should I look for in an LCD to get the image quality of a CRT?

 

[TheRyuu]

So what monitor you getting? Linky?

CRT's arn't dead (at least not yet ), and LCD's don't suck. How does a nice sleek LCD thats nice and thin and dosn't way a ton suck? And it dosn't look like crap IMO, in fact I'll go as far to say it looks better than MY CRT.

CRT=fat, bulky, heavy, and FAST <-The only good point, no stupid response time to worry about
LCD=Sleek, stylish, thin, etc. But the response time could cause a problem (but not really).

IMO if you are offerd a DECENT lcd then go for it, but make sure it's DECENT and the SAME SIZE.

 

[cretinbob]

samsung 997mb
I think the big problem is that I have Y2K lcds stuck in my head. I am sure the tech is better, but I still don't care much for the image quakity I've seen, which granted has probably been mostly lower end models, or the lower resolutions thana CRT can offer.

 

[aggressor]

I picked up a refurb 22inch at Azatek instead of buying an LCD. If you are a hardcore gamer, I'd stay away.

 

[kmrivers]

LCD's have come along way. Not to mention the size difference. I doubt you will be offered an LCD in the price range of a CRT however. That is if you are looking for something to game on.

DVI is a must. (compatible video card required)
If you are gaming 8ms and faster on the refresh.
High contrast ration i.e. 500:1 and greater
At 19" you max native res is 1280x1024. You have to go to 20" to pull 1600x1200.

Most of those are more for the gamer. If you are general application user any LCD would be fine for the most part. Plus you save space and probably a little energy as well.

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: cretinbob
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=9973400">samsung 997mb</a>
I think the big problem is that I have Y2K lcds stuck in my head. I am sure the tech is better, but I still don't care much for the image quakity I've seen, which granted has probably been mostly lower end models, or the lower resolutions thana CRT can offer.

I think your link is bad. And I can't seem to fix it?

Anywho, Like the others have said, I doubt thell offer you an LCD in the same price rang. If it's on backorder then can't you just canel it? It all comes down to personal preference. If you want a CRT then get it.

 

[TheRyuu]

nvm

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: wizboy11

Originally posted by: wizboy11

Originally posted by: cretinbob
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=9973400">samsung 997mb</a>
I think the big problem is that I have Y2K lcds stuck in my head. I am sure the tech is better, but I still don't care much for the image quakity I've seen, which granted has probably been mostly lower end models, or the lower resolutions thana CRT can offer.

I think your link is bad. And I can't seem to fix it?

Anywho, Like the others have said, I doubt thell offer you an LCD in the same price rang. If it's on backorder then can't you just canel it? It all comes down to personal preference. If you want a CRT then get it.

Fix: http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=9973400

Edit: I didn't mean to post the other one, it was an accedent. I thought I hit the edit button.

 

[CP5670]

Get a used FW900 off ebay. Those are still easy to come by and are going very cheap. You would be hard pressed to find any good CRT brand new these days.

 

[Zebo]

. I ordered a pretty good CRT monitor

Really? I thought they stopped making U-NX Diamondtrons and FD trinitrons. I call shens.

 

[Chode Messiah]

im hardcore, and i see no difference running fear on max settings. same goes for BF2, gun, hl2/cs:s, doom 3, quake4, guildwars everquest 2, and every other grphically intense game out there.

 

[Gstanfor]

As far as I'm concerned CRT's are superior to LCD's. The only two advantages an LCD can claim are physical size and power consumption.

As I've said before, those who complain about AA quality and shimmering would do well to compare problematic scenes on a CRT and an LCD. They well be shocked by the results...

 

[n7]

For the quality purist, a CRT is still the better choice.

Myself personally though, i'm more than happy to live with LCDs' imperfections, as overall, i much prefer them to CRTs...

 

[yhelothar]

www.accurateit.com
Look for overstock(not grade A refurbs).
LCDs are pretty much at the level of CRT IF you don't mind their crappy washed out blacks.
CRTs have nice, pleasing blacks. The image generally looks more solid on a CRT. LCDs still seem to have the "screendoor" effect. However, many LCDs with the flat glass(sony optibrite, or some NEC ones), seem to solid CRT images with more vibrant CRT-like colors. If you must get an LCD, I'd look into those.

 

[cretinbob]

Originally posted by: Zebo

. I ordered a pretty good CRT monitor

Really? I thought they stopped making U-NX Diamondtrons and FD trinitrons. I call shens.

lol yeah a trini would be nice.

Well, I meant good according to the specs I was presented with I guess.

Thanks for all the replies. some good info here.

 

[DeathscytheHELL]

Okay, I am in the same situation as this guy.

My 6yr old $100 KDS AV7f from walmart CRT is dying and I need something new.
I obviously want better than what I have.

There aren't a lot of good CRT's around in stores, not new in box condition. And the ones that are good online, they are just as or more expensive than LCDs, especially since the dell monitors are on sale almost all the time.

I cannot find a place where I can test out LCDs to see if I notice "ghosting" and the negatives of LCD's
Every store I go into, they are hooked up to static Desktops or at best have either Pinball or Solitare running on some crappy integrated video card.
Can Anyone give me some Ideas of where/how I can test out monitors?

However, At the dell kiosk at the mall, I got to mess with the 2005pfw playing Need for Speed Underground demo, but it was on an x300 integrated video setup.

It was a better experience than I thought it would be, I could notice somethings that could have been considered "ghosting" but I am unsure whether that came from the LCD monitor or cheap video card.
Can someone give a Link to a real definition/description of "ghosting"?
Colors and light, were nice enough.
That's a $450 monitor though, the one I would want is the 2001fp($600) or 2405fpw($900)
I want the 1600x1200 resolution, not that I need it.

How much should I rely on statistics(Response time especially), to decide on a different LCD monitor? Since there is no place to test monitiors around here, and there isn't much to choose from, I will have to order online (even from dell) without testing.

Only MicroCenter had the Samsung 730 and 740 lines on display, they were discontinuing the 204T they once had. And even so, I couldn't really play with them, the windows landscape desktops looked pretty though.:roll:

A link to a place where we can get new and good CRT's would be nice too.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: DeathscytheHELL
However, At the dell kiosk at the mall, I got to mess with the 2005pfw playing Need for Speed Underground demo, but it was on an x300 integrated video setup.

Doesn't that game already have motion blur in it as part of design? Quite clever of Dell to cover up LCD blur by using that....and kind of lame.

 

[Bananadude]

It's unfortunate that the best LCD's out there are not visible in shops so that you can give them a test run. And of the ones that are, they are all set up running static desktops and Windows rolling demos. You were lucky to try NFS on that Dell you mentioned. You can gain a very good understanding of good models if you research all the forums and tech websites though. I've been doing this myself for the last week or so since my Iiyama CFT went bang.

I noticed though, having never even looked much at monitors since I got my Iiyama about 4 years ago, that the presence of CRT's on the web has diminished hugely. When I was researching my Iiyama before I bought it, there were countless websites reviewing and selling CRT's, but these days the TFT dominates. There is nothing like the range there used to be. Considering 3 out of 4 monitors sold these days are TFT's though, I guess that explains it.

You mention the Dell range, and the 2005FPW/2405FPW. Here's some reviews;
Dell 2405FPW
Dell 2405FPW
Dell 2005FPW

They are not terribly complimentary when it comes to games. In fact, most of the 20" and above TFT's seem to suffer a little bit when it comes to gaming, atleast compared to the 17" and 19" models. The response times are worse than 17"/19" models, and you always get ghosting to some degree. It does depend very much on the game though, and some are far worse than others. I think the reviews always make this problem out to be much worse for the gamer than it actually is though. I've never seen anyone complain that games are unplayable and awful on their TFT - everyone always rages about them and says how they could never go back to a CRT. Whatever you choose, you will be happy I am sure. Just do plenty of research. Maybe narrow it down to a few models, and then ring around and try to find a shop that has one you can see in the flesh.

Personally, I'm seriously considering getting this Eizo model;
Eizo S2110W
Eizo are a very well regarded brand, and by many accounts this seems to be one of the best models out there at the moment. It is expensive though, but the 5-year on site guarantee is a real bonus.

I'd say forget CRT. Unless you are an incredibly anal perfectionist, and want absolute perfection in terms of colour, response time, contrast, brightness etc. in games, applications and movies, as you'll never get that in any TFT.

 

[The Sly Syl]

Originally posted by: wizboy11

Originally posted by: wizboy11

Originally posted by: wizboy11

Originally posted by: cretinbob
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=9973400">samsung 997mb</a>
I think the big problem is that I have Y2K lcds stuck in my head. I am sure the tech is better, but I still don't care much for the image quakity I've seen, which granted has probably been mostly lower end models, or the lower resolutions thana CRT can offer.

I think your link is bad. And I can't seem to fix it?

Anywho, Like the others have said, I doubt thell offer you an LCD in the same price rang. If it's on backorder then can't you just canel it? It all comes down to personal preference. If you want a CRT then get it.

Fix: http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_techspecs_full.php/masterid=9973400

Edit: I didn't mean to post the other one, it was an accedent. I thought I hit the edit button.

What's the difference between the 997MB and the 997DF?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Bananadude
I'd say forget CRT. Unless you are an incredibly anal perfectionist, and want absolute perfection in terms of colour, response time, contrast, brightness etc. in games, applications and movies, as you'll never get that in any TFT.

Never say never... once LED-backlight LCDs become cheap enough, which may take a while, they may dominate in terms of color quality. Until then, I'd say you're right. My only gripe with colors is that darker tones tend to have a light 'tinge' to them, but this can definitely be attributed to the green-tinted CCFL in them. LED backlights should be a surprise and also increase half life to 100K hours vs. the normal 60K hours.

Both CRT and LCD have too many shortcomings in my mind and I wouldn't ever drop more than $500 on current tech, except maybe if Plasmas ever become desktop displays. I'm looking forward to SEDs and OLEDs. I predict SEDs will be to AG CRTs as AG CRTs were to normal shadow mask CRTs, to put it in perspective. In terms of color brightness, that's probably not far off. The great thing about SEDs is you will never have to worry about them losing focus/convergence/landing/etc. (same with LCDs/OLEDs). Plus, they should be able to ratchet up the refresh rate very high on SEDs.

 

[firewolfsm]

with the new 8ms and lower LCDs, there shouldn't be any noticable ghosting, it's like that with my samsung 740n

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Originally posted by: Bananadude
I'd say forget CRT. Unless you are an incredibly anal perfectionist, and want absolute perfection in terms of colour, response time, contrast, brightness etc. in games, applications and movies, as you'll never get that in any TFT.

But if you are an anal perfectionist, you couldn't live with the non-perfect geometry of tubes

 

[Sonikku]

A LCD would be nice if I had to move my monitor every 5 minutes or if I had little to no desk space. (which I don't)
I'm pretty satisfied with my FW900 As it is. It has not had to budge since I got it in last year, and for $300 I think it's a better value then LCD's twice it's cost. It can do anything from 640x480 at 120htz+ to 2304x1440 at 80htz which provides quite a bit of headroom in games where extreme scaling can become an issue. It has no ghosting and response issues, and gets true blacks and colors. Not to mention games, HD content and DVD content alike all look stunning on it. It is a simple matter of changing the resolution. It might not be as slim as a 2405, but it sure gets the job done just fine for what I paid.

 

[BenSkywalker]

except maybe if Plasmas ever become desktop displays

Plasmas have issues with burn in- not a good idea for a PC.

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
with the new 8ms and lower LCDs, there shouldn't be any noticable ghosting, it's like that with my samsung 740n

8ms black to black doesn't say that much outside of how much the manufacturer wants to inflate their numbers