Keep using a Sony 21" Trinitron CRT or go with a Dell 1800FP LCD?

[Salvador]

I'm kind of on the fence about something here.. I have a Sony 21" flat screen Trinitron CRT and I'm thinking about going with a Dell 1800FP 18" LCD flat panel display. I'm looking for owners of both or at least something similar to give me their impressions. Should I stick with what I have or go for the LCD?

TIA,

Sal

 

[crip11]

If your a gamer keep the CRT, if not get the LCD i have that monitor it kicks a@@

 

[tsapiano]

Both types of monitor have advantages and disadvantages wrt each other, so it depends on what you typically do with your system. Do you work on a lot of graphics stuff (especially where colour accuracy is important)? Do you need to stare at text for long periods (word processing, spreadsheets, etc.)? What resolution do you like to run at, and do you need to be able to change between a few?

If you've already got the 21" CRT, you could always pick up the LCD and set up a dual monitor rig and have the best of both worlds

 

[Salvador]

I'm sort of a gamer. Not huge, but I do occasionally play games. Mostly racing sims. I've heard that the Dell 1800FP does well with games anyway.

Which monitor do you have btw? The 21" CRT or Dell LCD?

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[crip11]

The LCD, i also play Nascar 2003 and NFS Hot Pursuit 2 and i am amazed with the LCD but if your only a casual gamer, get the LCD, there smaller and crisper

Drew

 

[Salvador]

If you've already got the 21" CRT, you could always pick up the LCD and set up a dual monitor rig and have the best of both worlds

How would I do that? KVM switch? I kind of do a bit of everything. I work with photo editing, video editing (amatuer level) game, movies occasionally, but then I also surf the internet, emails, spreadsheets (business stuff). I would guess that the LCD would be better for business stuff and the CRT would be better for the rest of it.

One thing that I love about the LCD is that it's MUCH lighter and smaller than the CRT. My 21" CRT weighs a ton (literally). My poor old faux wood desk has seen better days.

Sal

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: crip11
If your a gamer keep the CRT, if not get the LCD i have that monitor it kicks a@@

go with it Sal oopz...what vid card you running ?..it is possible to do dual without having to go with a switch...

 

[crip11]

Originally posted by: ScrapSilicon

Originally posted by: crip11
If your a gamer keep the CRT, if not get the LCD i have that monitor it kicks a@@

go with it Sal

As we all agree go with the LCD i have it and am very very happy with it.

 

[Dug]

I've had both. I sold my Sony to get a flat panel. Tried about 10 different kinds.

Bought another Sony.

I found that I really wanted different resolutions, and 32bit color.
If you are doing mild gaming and mostly text based stuff then get an LCD.

 

[Boogak]

I use a 21" IBM Trinitron CRT on my gaming system and dual 1800FP's on my workstation. For non-gaming usage, you can't beat a LCD. It's just so easy on the eyes, I don't like using the CRT for text anymore so it's strictly for gaming now.

 

[tsapiano]

Originally posted by: Salvador

How would I do that? KVM switch? I kind of do a bit of everything. I work with photo editing, video editing (amatuer level) game, movies occasionally, but then I also surf the internet, emails, spreadsheets (business stuff). I would guess that the LCD would be better for business stuff and the CRT would be better for the rest of it.

One thing that I love about the LCD is that it's MUCH lighter and smaller than the CRT. My 21" CRT weighs a ton (literally). My poor old faux wood desk has seen better days.

Sal

You'd need a dual monitor graphics card (pretty well any modern card has that function) and then you'd be able to hook up both monitors to the same computer. The desktop can be expanded over the two monitors, so you can keep your games, photo and video editing on the CRT and your email, spreadsheet and internet windows on the LCD Of course, a dual monitor rig is still going to have the CRT taking up the space and heating up the room - however if you have the room and already have the CRT, having double the screen area is quite a nice thing

The one task that I could see the LCD being a problem with is the photo editing (although since it is only ameteur level, it may not be such a huge problem) - LCDs are very hard to properly calibrate and have a smaller colour gammut than CRT monitors. Asside from direct disadvantages with the colours, the viewing angle can be an issue as well - even with the best current LCDs, slight movement of your head can result in subtle colour shifts that can alter your perception of the colours on the display - it isn't a huge difference, but when you are working with something as colour critical as image manipulation, it can be a serious issue. If you don't use the colour management systems anyway and it doesn't bother you, then you'll probably be okay with the LCD - but the only way to get truely accurate colour at this stage in the game is to stick with a CRT.

PS I use both CRTs and LCDs for their specific strengths. Anything that requires accurate colour (graphics, photo editing, 3D, etc.) stays on calibrated CRTs and more casual stuff (business, internet, etc.) is typically done on LCDs. Neither type is overall better, although LCDs are a lot better than they were a few years ago. Given the choice of only one, then I'd probably go with a CRT - however that is mostly because I need extremely accurate colour and don't really have a space problem

 

[TheWart]

go with the lcd.

 

[Ryan]

I was in the EXACT same delimma - but I switched over to the LCD. Gaming is just as good, and I have no problems editing images, etc Go LCD

 

[Salvador]

I'm using the 1800FP as I write this. First impressions are that this thing is a lot brighter than my CRT. I had to tone down the brightness on it. The text wasn't very sharp with it until I set it to 1280 x 1024 and 60 mhz. Why is the refresh so low compared to a CRT? One of the other things that may require getting used to is that the LCD seems "textured" by comparison. Kind of like looking through a screen door compared to the CRT.

I had one bad pixel when I unboxed the LCD, but I took the advice that I read about on this forum and used a Q-tip on it and guess what? The pixel sprung back to life. I couldn't believe it. I do have one little defect in the screen and I don't know if I should accept it. It's a line about a 1/16th of an inch towards the lower left hand corner. I only see it on a light background. I see it mostly on the edge of my Anandtech Avatar. I wonder what it could be? I've never seen anything like that with a LCD monitor before.

Anyway..

Sal

 

[Salvador]

Oh man.. I just went back to work on my 21" CRT and I couldn't believe how fuzzy the text was, how hazey the whole image seemed and how dark everything was compared to this LCD. This LCD didn't blow me away the first time I used it, but after comparing it to my CRT, I'm pretty amazed. BTW.. I'm only using the Analog connection right now too. I have a DVI card, but haven't hooked it up with the DVI yet.

I don't know what to do about the defect. It's small. It kind of looks like a sliver of something inside the screen. If I go to exchange the monitor, I might end up with something worse. I guess I could see what I get as a replacement and make a decision at that time. I'd rather live with a sliver of something in the corner than dead pixels in the middle of the screen.

Is DVI much better than analog? Just curious.. I have an ATI Radeon card that's great with text, but no DVI. I also have a PNY GF4 Ti4200 with DVI. The GF4 has inferior text, but has the DVI. Would you think that the GF4 hooked up to the 1800FP through DVI would give me sharper text than the ATI Radeon through analog?

Sal

 

[Salvador]

Update.. I've been using the Dell 1800FP for a couple of days now. I'm not sure that I like this monitor because I'm having problems reading the text. The text is large enough and razor sharp if I look closely, but something is keeping me from viewing the text and reading it all that clearly. Could it be the texture to the screen? Could the text be too thin now? Does anyone else have this problem? I bought this monitor mainly to use for text and if I can't read it all that clearly, what's the point?

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Maverick]

if you're using windows XP be sure to enable Clear Type.

 

[Salvador]

if you're using windows XP be sure to enable Clear Type.

I'm not. I'm using Win2K. What is cleartype exactly? I've heard that this monitor does have problems or some of them have problems with cleartype. I guess the text turns colors or something.

Sal

 

[Maverick]

clear type is this feature in XP that makes the text a LOT easier to read on laptops and LCD monitors.

 

[Salvador]

Ok.. I've tried cleartype, I've tried different video cards and drivers and I've come to the conclusion (I think I have at least), that I can't read the text very well with the 1800fp. The text seems clear enough if I look at it close up (not as clear as a Viewsonic VG800 I'm using though), but the characters are just too thin and unreadable, especially with the texture of the screen. If I try cleartype, it makes everything fat and fuzzy which I don't like either. I'm very disapppointed because I bought this LCD mainly for text and I just can't read it as well as with a CRT. Does anyone else have this problem with LCD's, primarily the Dell 1800fp?

Thanks.

Sal

 

[Czar]

Originally posted by: Dug
I've had both. I sold my Sony to get a flat panel. Tried about 10 different kinds.

Bought another Sony.

I found that I really wanted different resolutions, and 32bit color.
If you are doing mild gaming and mostly text based stuff then get an LCD.

lcd's do 24bit, those 32bit colors you are talking about is 24bit and 8bit alpha, there is no 32bit colors

that alpha channel has nothing to do with the lcd screen

 

[AnthonyB]

I think the Dell 1800fp panel is made by LG. It's appears to be a L1810b. IIRC LG panel?s pixels are arranged differently to the way they are on most other LCD panels. This RGB/BGR arrangement is what often trips up Cleartype. Get it round the wrong way and the results are worst than not using it at all.

Gibson explains how it works here and why the RBG arrangement is important:

http://grc.com/ctwhat.htm

You need to go to Microsoft's website and seek out the online Cleartype help pages. There's an online set-up procedure that will get it working correctly for your panel. People who have used it have said it's made the world of difference.

I tried out Cleartype myself on a monitor displayed at a store and all I can say is I'm a convert. I sometimes think LCD text can look spindly and spidery but I have never seen better text on a LCD - ever.

Just a pity I don't have XP myself.

If the MS online Cleartype site doesn't fix your problem then something must be wrong with your 1800fp and you should return it to Dell.