I have my new 1800FP sitting side by side with my High quality Hitachi CM772 19" CRT. I'm running them both off my Abit Siluro Ti4400 using nVidia nView(v41.09 drivers). The Hitachi using the Analog out and the 1800FP using the DVI out. Note that both these monitors cost me just over $400.
This allows me to really see and compare the 1800FP to a good CRT using the same video card. Here is my take on it.
My 1800FP is sitting next to my Sony G520P 21" monitor on an analog MSI Ti4200....I have been thru 4 or 5 different cards
in search of perfect 2D, my Sony G520P puts a person in a unique position , not too many monitors will show in such detail
as to show all of a video cards flaws, its gross just how many cards are under performers in 2D.
1) Text: I can't understand how folks say the text is clearer on an LCD. There is really no comparison. The CRT text is smooth and easy to read. The LCD is easy to read, but grannier than the CRT. Don't get me wrong, it is not bad, just that there is a noticable difference when sitting side by side. Even my wife could see the difference. The advantage the LCD has is that the contract is better(see contract below). So the black text on a white background looks sharp. The actual text itself is not as smooth as the CRT. (ps. I will try different freq(60, 70, 85) and see there is a difference. I think I'm running 60, but will confirm).
I feel that text is overall easier to read on the LCD because of the lack of any screen glare and the way the screen is lit but really I cannot quite
put my finger on the reason why...I am gonna have to stir this one around abit.
2)Color: I give them equal ratings here. I was able to play with the color setting for both monitors and get them to match up nearly exactly. So whatever you want, you should be able to create(assuming you have a good video card). I did notice that the LCD tended to want to display too much red(I think someone else mentioned the same thing also), but again, I was able to adjust it to my liking.
While the 1800FP is not even remotely close to coming to the color ability of my G520P it is much better than my laptop LCD..I like it.
The blacks and greyscale ability are slightly better than on my laptop LCD but again cannot match the blacks that my G520P produces.
The G520P shows the real deal, its not really fair to compare the 1800FP to it in colors and blacks. If I had to put a number on it I would
say the 1800FP is 30% of the way there. That may sound harsh but its not, there are many CRT monitors out there that would score
worse against the Sony.
3)Constrast: Clear winner here is the 1800FP. The blacks are blacker and the whites are whiter. If fact I was so surprised by how much better the LCD was I popped in my UT2003 and played with the monitors in Clone mode. Images on the LCD were flat out more clear and looked nicer. I spent about 2 hours playing with the contract and colors on my Hitachi to attempt to duplicate the quality of the 1800FP in UT2003, but only could get close. The 1800FP beat the CRT hands down here.
The contrast is really nice on the LCD but again it does not match my Sony. The 1800FP does have that quality that I cannot quite put
my finger on that makes the contrast seem more than it is. Playing UT2K3 on the 1800FP is ok but not the immersive experence it is
on my Sony. Its hard to explain but if you had my Sony for a few weeks you would understand the level of quality I am talking about.
4)Ghosting: Don't let them tell you otherwise. Ghosting the CRT is zero, perfect, none. Ghosting on the LCD is there and noticable. What I mean by noticable is that in clone mode and playing UT2003, I would move side to side with an object in my view. The object would have texture(in this case lines up and down). When I moved I could continue to see the lines clearly on the CRT. On the 1800FP, it would blur and the details of the image would be lost. It is a minor issue and would not impacts play much, but must be stated.
I am pretty happy with this dept. , I expected worse and compared to other LCDs I have seen I am very happy with the 1800FPs
minimal ghosting.
The results here shocked me because I have read that text is clearer on LCD, but color is better on CRTs. Just not the case in my set up. In all I really like the 1800FP(I like my CM772 also). It would be toss up if I had to choose. However I can see that a similar Flat Panel with say 16ms response and slightly better text quality and the CRT becomes a dinasour(which I think we already know if going to happen).
If I had to choose I would take my Sony , LCDs are a million years away from matching the video quality that a CRT can produce...I say a
million years because I do not think the technology can match it, I think its going to take something else and I believe the industry knows
that and that is why new technologies are being explored.
I love the 1800FP , the text is nice (although you do have to mess with drivers, settings etc to get it right).
The color is better than I expected and the blacks are about what I expected , the greyscale performace is worse
than I expected (2 hundred trillion miles away from my Sony in the greyscale dept).
The contrast is nice and the brightness is excellent.
An LCD could never replace a good AG CRT for graphic work and games period...I cannot believe that for a
few seconds I thought that an LCD could be all purpose.
My conclusion is that this will make a wonderful internet , data and general purpose monitor that is nice and easy on the
eyes for those long 12 hours at the PC days.
Basically I have two choices , 1 LCD and 1 G520P or 2 G520Ps which I have set-up right now...
unfortunatly I cannot afford all three so one of the dual G520Ps is going to go.
Sony G520P and a Dell 1800FP ...a perfect combination ,I cannot live without either one.