Good 21" CRT for gaming

[kaishaku72]

I want a good 21" AG CRT for gaming. I don't want the 24" fw900 sony beast.
If there is a good reason for me to get 22" I might consider it, but I
believe 21" will be enough for me, if not too large. That's just me.

I've been looking at azatek, ebay, and some other sites, but was just
hoping someone has already done all the research for the best off-lease
21" crt for gaming.

Is azatek reputable? I'd prefer original brand, but if someone knows their
stuff I wouldn't mind settling for a decent looking NEC/Sony/etc rebadge.

 

[CP5670]

Get the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070SB or one of its numerous clones. I have one and it has the best overall combination of characteristics of any CRT of this size. They are sold on ebay pretty regularly. I've seen Azatek recommended around here, although www.accurateit.com seems to have a slightly better selection. Getting a CRT these days is actually something of a lottery wherever you buy from and it can be difficult to get a properly calibrated one. Also, there is no difference between 21" and 22" ones, as the viewable areas are the same.

 

[jotosuds]

i got a 21" Dell P1130 off of ebay for $120 total since i picked it up. it kicks ass in general.

 

[kaishaku72]

What are its numerous clones, aside from those stating 2070SB, like the SGI I saw.

 

[BFG10K]

Those Viewsonics looks quite nice.

 

[concernedsophist]

I bought a 21" dell trinitron from azatek and it is running like a champ. Good service, good moniter. The shipping added quite a bit to the price, but hey the beast is about 60lbs.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: kaishaku72
I want a good 21" AG CRT for gaming. I don't want the 24" fw900 sony beast.
If there is a good reason for me to get 22" I might consider it, but I
believe 21" will be enough for me, if not too large. That's just me.

I've been looking at azatek, ebay, and some other sites, but was just
hoping someone has already done all the research for the best off-lease
21" crt for gaming.

Is azatek reputable? I'd prefer original brand, but if someone knows their
stuff I wouldn't mind settling for a decent looking NEC/Sony/etc rebadge.

Besides price, any good reasons to pass on the 24" fw900? Seems like a great deal, but I guess if you can get a great 21" for like $200 shipped it could be an option.

 

[BenSkywalker]

NEC FP2141 or Mitsu 2070(same monitor).

 

[kaishaku72]

Monitors can be too big.

The way I sit at my desk, though completely average,
ergonomically demands a certain range of monitor sizes.

I have never used more than 18" viewable, but now that
I am older I think I could use an inch or two. However,
going up to 24" would probably be a huge mistake.

I have always considered "huge" monitors rather silly.

 

[CP5670]

What are its numerous clones, aside from those stating 2070SB, like the SGI I saw.

There are several companies that make monitors that use the exact same tube and electronics and have the same specs. The NEC MultiSync FP2141SB is completely identical (aside from the company logo on the front), while the HP/Compaq P1230, LaCie Electron 22" IV, iiyama Pro Vision HM204DT and the SGI branded 2070SB you mentioned have different exteriors but identical internals. There are probably more but those are the ones I know of.

 

[mrkun]

Any Trinitron or Diamondtron monitor should be fine.

 

[Sunrise089]

Originally posted by: kaishaku72
Monitors can be too big.

The way I sit at my desk, though completely average,
ergonomically demands a certain range of monitor sizes.

I have never used more than 18" viewable, but now that
I am older I think I could use an inch or two. However,
going up to 24" would probably be a huge mistake.

I have always considered "huge" monitors rather silly.

Right, but the Sony is a widescreen display, so I would not think the overall footprint, at least in terms of depth and height, would be that much larger than a 21" 4:3.

 

[kaishaku72]

I might have to check that out, but then the 30% added weight may be a factor.

I can imagine lugging around 66 pounds, but maybe not 96... and I don't have
"wide" anything in my house. Plus, since any 21/22" is nearly too large, I guess
a wide 21/22" would in fact be too large.

I'll think about it for a bit today at work. Thanks..

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: CP5670
Get the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070SB or one of its numerous clones. I have one and it has the best overall combination of characteristics of any CRT of this size. They are sold on ebay pretty regularly. I've seen Azatek recommended around here, although www.accurateit.com seems to have a slightly better selection. Getting a CRT these days is actually something of a lottery wherever you buy from and it can be difficult to get a properly calibrated one. Also, there is no difference between 21" and 22" ones, as the viewable areas are the same.

Nec/Mitsubishi Diamond Pro are the best gaming monitor and i have one .

 

[CP5670]

Nothing beats the combination of superbright mode and 2048x1536 at 85hz.

Although that FW900 is certainly worth considering given how cheap and plentiful they are on ebay. I haven't seen one in person but the people who have it like it a lot. 2070s are harder to find and tend to sell for more these days, although the FW900 was originally much more expensive.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Nothing beats the combination of superbright mode and 2048x1536 at 85hz.

Amen

 

[Brian48]

Originally posted by: jotosuds
i got a 21" Dell P1130 off of ebay for $120 total since i picked it up. it kicks ass in general.

Ditto. One of the best investments I've made thus far.

 

[SonicIce]

First of all, do you have a price range you're aiming for? I'm going to say the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070SB is the best gaming CRT.. no wait.. I mean monitor ever. But it's pretty expensive still. You can probably find an NEC FE1250+ (diamondtron) or IBM P260 (trinitron) for $199 shipped. Both look pretty much the same acording to the specs. I love my FE1250+
Here is a list of all of NEC and Mitsubishi monitors.

 

[kaishaku72]

I'll have to grab one of those if the 2070 I just got for $450 doesn't work out. :evil:

Edit: s/got/ordered

 

[OnEMoReTrY]

Originally posted by: jotosuds
i got a 21" Dell P1130 off of ebay for $120 total since i picked it up. it kicks ass in general.

I have one as well and i must say im in love <3

 

[kaishaku72]

Well, the new 2070 I got from accurateit most definitely did NOT work out.

I received a monitor with major issues. After a lot of work I finally convinced
accurateit to permit me an RMA. They required high quality photographs of
the problems and I provided, something I don't think most people could do.

The one tech support person I dealt with was rude and degrading. The sales
person I eventually talked with gave more of the same attitude. The funny
thing is they did it by DEFAULT, as if they are USED to dealing with irate
customers. I was entirely pleasant, logical and emotion-free during all this.

In the end I paid for the shipping and a restocking fee for a monitor they
can not and should not restock. I have photos and well documented email
and phone conversations. If I get free time I may post them somewhere.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: kaishaku72
Well, the new 2070 I got from accurateit most definitely did NOT work out.

I received a monitor with major issues. After a lot of work I finally convinced
accurateit to permit me an RMA. They required high quality photographs of
the problems and I provided, something I don't think most people could do.

The one tech support person I dealt with was rude and degrading. The sales
person I eventually talked with gave more of the same attitude. The funny
thing is they did it by DEFAULT, as if they are USED to dealing with irate
customers. I was entirely pleasant, logical and emotion-free during all this.

In the end I paid for the shipping and a restocking fee for a monitor they
can not and should not restock. I have photos and well documented email
and phone conversations. If I get free time I may post them somewhere.

Did you get one of their brand new overstock ones or a refurb?
What problems did your monitor have?

 

[xtknight]

Any NEC/Mitsu AG Diamondtron with SuperBright mode should look decent but unfortunately you'll have to jump through some hoops to get them (maybe ebay, bad refurbs, bad price, etc.)

IBM (Lenovo) still sells some new AG monitors such as these:

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=+P2...tnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=unknown&sl=on

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=thi...tnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=unknown&sl=on

But remember it's not the end of the world if you can't get your hands on an AG-based CRT. Shadow mask CRTs are good, and SEDs (100000:1 contrast) are right around the corner (somewhere ).

 

[kaishaku72]

It was a brand new overstock unit.

Painstaking adjustment of convergence lessened ONE problem
by less than 10 percent. Still, this was the MINOR problem..

Here is part of one mail to AccurateIT:

> As noted, there are two problems.
>
> 1) There is a "blemish" 6.25 inches from the top and 2.75 inches
> from the left. The blemish is a pervasive red dot. The fact
> this "blemish" manifests itself as visually reminiscent of
> a "dead pixel" can most accurately be described as such.
>
> 2) Everything is blurry. Convergence adjustments help some, but
> the monitor is still more blurry than any CRT I have ever seen.
> Even the OSD will show a pinkish outline on the left and bright
> cyan on the right, particularly noticeable over a white backdrop.
>
> Problem 1 is a clearly a defect. I believe problem 2 is as well.
>
> I humbly request a refund. I own two Invar Shadow Mask CRT, one
> Aperture Grille and an LCD. I have stared at monitors for 8-12
> hours a day for over a decade. I have never seen either problem
> on a CRT in use. I can not use a CRT with either problem, let
> alone an Aperture Grille CRT.

AccurateIT admitted the problems after their techs took a week to
investigate them. Conversely, when I had the monitor they demanded
professional quality photographs of the problems by the end of the day.

Both the tech support and sales persons I dealt with were alarmingly
rude and incompetent. I do a lot of business and shopping online and
have for many years. I cannot think of a less pleasant experience.

P.S. I will not be spending a lot of time trying to convince people the
problems were real again. They were hilariously beyond obvious.
I don't know why xtknight is replying above, especially so quickly.

 

[xtknight]

For the blurriness you probably have to adjust the dial inside the CRT. It's not necessarily defective. It's like how monitors are shipped without being calibrated. For the first problem I had something like that on an old NEC MultiSync shadow mask CRT...it was a weird dead pixel thing. Probably dust in the shadow mask. Sorry you have not had a good experience, but like many a user here has noted, AG CRT QC has gone down the toilet as of late.

P.S. I will not be spending a lot of time trying to convince people the
problems were real again. They were hilariously beyond obvious.
I don't know why xtknight is replying above, especially so quickly.

I posted that before I read your above reply (didn't notice). I never said your problems weren't real? I have noticed both myself.