Help Me Find a Monitor

[Insomniak]

It's that time again. Building a new system, and I want a good solid gaming CRT to match. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding a monitor that will meet my standards. Here are the MUST HAVE features:

- Black
- 17 inch, CRT
- Must support 1600x1200 @ 75Hz or higher
- Must support 1024x768 @ 110Hz or higher
- Must have aperture grille dot pitch at .25 or lower


NOTE: I am not flexible on any of these features. If the monitor is lacking any of these, please do not even bother posting it. It will not be considered.


I have already found two models that meet this standard:

The NEC/Mitsubishi FE791SB-BK
The ViewSonic P75f+B

And of course, being that they are AWESOME monitors, they are discontinued and I can't find an e-tailer with one in stock.

I am open to comparable suggestions. However, I would like the monitor to be from a branded, well known manufacturer (Samsung, NEC/Mitsu, ViewSonic, etc.) Budget is around $250 shipped, but that is flexible.

Please help! I'm going out of my mind trying to find a decent 17 inch CRT...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bucksnort]

17" crt's are a dying breed. May I ask why you do not want a 19" if your budget is 250.00? May I ask why you want Must support 1024x768 @ 110Hz or higher

 

[Insomniak]

19 inch is bulkier than I really want. I have a 17 inch now, and it's plenty large enough. As for the refresh rates - that's the REAL reason I want a 17 incher supporting high resolutions - they also support very high refresh rates. I'm extremely sensitive to screen flicker - I like my 1024x768 to be at least 100Hz, and the higher the better.

 

[Zap Brannigan]

Newegg.com has some great offering that you might be interested in.

 

[Harvey]

Never buy a monitor on specs, alone. Your monitor is probably the most important interface choice you'll make because you're always looking at it, and, unlike your keyboard, mouse, etc., it's not cheap to change if you don't like it. One reason I try to save bucks shopping for most of my system is so I can spend a little more on a monitor that won't make me sorry I bought it after a couple of weeks or months.

Once you've narrowed down your choices, if possible, take the time to go out and look at them side by side. If you're as picky as I am, once you're down to a couple of choices, you'll ask the salesperson to allow you to hook each one up to the same computer, directly, instead of through a distribution box. Any distribution system distorts the image quality in some way. To test the monitors:

1. Set the vid card to the highest resolution you intend to use. You mention 1600x1200, but as a practical matter, 1200 x 1024 is about the highest you'll be able to use with a 17" monitor.

2. Set the contrast at max, and adjust the brightness for the best balance. If you can't get good brightness, high contrast, good color saturation (colors not looking washed out) and sharp, well defined edges on images, move on.

3. For each monitor, adjust the edges of the pic so you can see about 1/8" of black around the edge. Otherwise, you'll be overscanning, and the bezel will mask imperfections at the edges of the pic.

Use all the controls, incluing pincushion, pincushion balance, corner adjust, rotation, trapazoid, parallelogram, etc. to see how straight and true the picture is at the edges. If you cant get a good rectangulear picture with no warped edges, pass on the monitor.

Check for any sagging across the top of the picture. This is like pincushioning at the top or bottom, but most monitors don't have any adjustment for this. It is particularly a problem in short neck monitors, but I've seen good ones so just make sure the one you choose is good for this.

4. If the monitor uses a conventional shadow mask tube, check for color ghosting or fringes at the sharp edges of objects. This is called convergence.

If the monitor uses a single gun "tron" tube (Trinitron, Diamond-tron, etc.), check to see that the horizonal shadow lines across the front are not objectionable.

My favorite manufacturer is ViewSonic. Their "G" (graphic) and "P" (professional) series are knockouts for picture quality, and both are available in black. Their "E" and "A" series monitors are OK for the price, but their better lines are not that much more expensive, and IMHO, they're well worth it.

I've also had personal experience with ViewSonic's customer support, and it was excellent... and NO, I don't work for them. I just really like their monitors. 😎

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: Harvey
Never buy a monitor on specs, alone. Your monitor is probably the most important interface choice you'll make because you're always looking at it, and, unlike your keyboard, mouse, etc., it's not cheap to change if you don't like it. One reason I try to save bucks shopping for most of my system is so I can spend a little more on a monitor that won't make me sorry I bought it after a couple of weeks or months.

Once you've narrowed down your choices, if possible, take the time to go out and look at them side by side. If you're as picky as I am, once you're down to a couple of choices, you'll ask the salesperson to allow you to hook each one up to the same computer, directly, instead of through a distribution box. Any distribution system distorts the image quality in some way. To test the monitors:

1. Set the vid card to the highest resolution you intend to use. You mention 1600x1200, but as a practical matter, 1200 x 1024 is about the highest you'll be able to use with a 17" monitor.

2. Set the contrast at max, and adjust the brightness for the best balance. If you can't get good brightness, high contrast, good color saturation (colors not looking washed out) and sharp, well defined edges on images, move on.

3. For each monitor, adjust the edges of the pic so you can see about 1/8" of black around the edge. Otherwise, you'll be overscanning, and the bezel will mask imperfections at the edges of the pic.

Use all the controls, incluing pincushion, pincushion balance, corner adjust, rotation, trapazoid, parallelogram, etc. to see how straight and true the picture is at the edges. If you cant get a good rectangulear picture with no warped edges, pass on the monitor.

Check for any sagging across the top of the picture. This is like pincushioning at the top or bottom, but most monitors don't have any adjustment for this. It is particularly a problem in short neck monitors, but I've seen good ones so just make sure the one you choose is good for this.

4. If the monitor uses a conventional shadow mask tube, check for color ghosting or fringes at the sharp edges of objects. This is called convergence.

If the monitor uses a single gun "tron" tube (Trinitron, Diamond-tron, etc.), check to see that the horizonal shadow lines across the front are not objectionable.

My favorite manufacturer is ViewSonic. Their "G" (graphic) and "P" (professional) series are knockouts for picture quality, and both are available in black. Their "E" and "A" series monitors are OK for the price, but their better lines are not that much more expensive, and IMHO, they're well worth it.

I've also had personal experience with ViewSonic's customer support, and it was excellent... and NO, I don't work for them. I just really like their monitors. 😎

Yeah, I was favoring a ViewSonic P series above all - the problem is I can't find one to buy :\

 

[us3rnotfound]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: Harvey
Never buy a monitor on specs, alone. Your monitor is probably the most important interface choice you'll make because you're always looking at it, and, unlike your keyboard, mouse, etc., it's not cheap to change if you don't like it. One reason I try to save bucks shopping for most of my system is so I can spend a little more on a monitor that won't make me sorry I bought it after a couple of weeks or months.

Once you've narrowed down your choices, if possible, take the time to go out and look at them side by side. If you're as picky as I am, once you're down to a couple of choices, you'll ask the salesperson to allow you to hook each one up to the same computer, directly, instead of through a distribution box. Any distribution system distorts the image quality in some way. To test the monitors:

1. Set the vid card to the highest resolution you intend to use. You mention 1600x1200, but as a practical matter, 1200 x 1024 is about the highest you'll be able to use with a 17" monitor.

2. Set the contrast at max, and adjust the brightness for the best balance. If you can't get good brightness, high contrast, good color saturation (colors not looking washed out) and sharp, well defined edges on images, move on.

3. For each monitor, adjust the edges of the pic so you can see about 1/8" of black around the edge. Otherwise, you'll be overscanning, and the bezel will mask imperfections at the edges of the pic.

Use all the controls, incluing pincushion, pincushion balance, corner adjust, rotation, trapazoid, parallelogram, etc. to see how straight and true the picture is at the edges. If you cant get a good rectangulear picture with no warped edges, pass on the monitor.

Check for any sagging across the top of the picture. This is like pincushioning at the top or bottom, but most monitors don't have any adjustment for this. It is particularly a problem in short neck monitors, but I've seen good ones so just make sure the one you choose is good for this.

4. If the monitor uses a conventional shadow mask tube, check for color ghosting or fringes at the sharp edges of objects. This is called convergence.

If the monitor uses a single gun "tron" tube (Trinitron, Diamond-tron, etc.), check to see that the horizonal shadow lines across the front are not objectionable.

My favorite manufacturer is ViewSonic. Their "G" (graphic) and "P" (professional) series are knockouts for picture quality, and both are available in black. Their "E" and "A" series monitors are OK for the price, but their better lines are not that much more expensive, and IMHO, they're well worth it.

I've also had personal experience with ViewSonic's customer support, and it was excellent... and NO, I don't work for them. I just really like their monitors. 😎

Yeah, I was favoring a ViewSonic P series above all - the problem is I can't find one to buy :\

url

 

[us3rnotfound]

you have to get the "b" one though, b/c its the only one w/ 118 hz @ 1024. the other is only 85 :<

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: us3rnotfound
you have to get the "b" one though, b/c its the only one w/ 118 hz @ 1024. the other is only 85 :<

Not according to viewsonic. The +B simply denotes the black color AFAIK.

 

[Steve]

That is my understanding too. It is also my understanding that refresh rates above 85Hz have no advantage and can in fact be detrimental to the eyes. There was a big discussion about here, I think around a year ago.