Monitor Recommendations

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
No one needs a refresh higher than 85-100 max. All monitor techs will tell you that high refresh rates decrease the monitors life also. If you judge the quality of a monitor by how high the refresh goes rather than picture asthetics, geometry, sharpness etc. then you are sadly mistaken.

Refresh limits are determined by a combination of hsync limit and resolution. If you go for a higher refresh at the stated resolution, you keep an acceptable refresh at higher resolutions. Personally I find the stated recommended resolutions to be consistently unacceptably low.

Personally I'm using LG Flatron 915FT Plus, 2048x1536 @ 68Hz, 1920x1440 @ 74Hz, 1600x1200@89Hz, includes 4 port powered USB hub, and all the geometry/color adjustments can be made in the display control panel thru the USB monitor tab in addition to on-screen.

Oh, and 1024x768 I can do 136Hz bucksnort. 1920x1440 looks perfect.

 

[jjyiz28]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
No one needs a refresh higher than 85-100 max. All monitor techs will tell you that high refresh rates decrease the monitors life also. If you judge the quality of a monitor by how high the refresh goes rather than picture asthetics, geometry, sharpness etc. then you are sadly mistaken.

name me a very high refresh capable monitor that is crappy..... exactly. can't think of any can you?? high refresh rate monitor's usually indicates a very good quality monitor top to bottom. low refresh rate monitor's usually are crappy top to bottom.

also, running at the maximum refresh rate will NOT ruin your monitor or decrease the life. its only if you go ABOVE the maximum that itwill. if the maximum at a certain resolution is like 100hz, running 100hz at that resolution will not lower its life. running at 85hz isn't gonna "save" it. this is a misconception some ppl have. so who were the monitor tech? best buy employees?

 

[Bucksnort]

That is absolutely not true so dont open your trap if you don't know. FYI overuse of superbrite modes will shorten monitors life also as will HIGH refresh rates. And I can name a couple of "high refresh" monitors that are crap but I do not want to get the users of those monitors upset at me, lol. If you do not believe me then email viewsonic, nec, or other supports and ask them. And I am referencing a monitors supported refresh rate, not unsupported rates.
I was told this by an acquaintance that was the vp of r&d of compaq several years ago. I contacted nec support prior to buying a 930 and I just happened to get the head of monitor support in my chat, I believe his name was Matt. My question to him was that i was considering buying the 930 and if he had any tips for prolonging a monitors life. He said yes he did. He recommended periodically vacuuming the top vents on a monitors case to reduce dust migration into the guts. Next to run at a "mid of the stream" refresh rate as higher refresh rates produce more strain, wear and tear on a monitor. He specified that he was talking about supported refresh rates. Lastly he stated that superbrite modes on all monitors will definately decrease a monitors life if not used judiciously. I said so its best not to use sb modes and he said that its fine to use but use it how it was intended and that is periodic use in gaming, videos.

 

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
If you do not believe me then email viewsonic, nec, or other supports and ask them.

Yeah, I'm sure if I call up Viewsonic and ask them "Which high resolution monitors you sell are CRAP?", they'll give me a list of their own crappy products....

 

[Bucksnort]

umm, read again. I was talking about emailing for the question of a higher refresh rate decreasing a monitors life over a lower refresh rate.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
No one needs a refresh higher than 85-100 max. All monitor techs will tell you that high refresh rates decrease the monitors life also. If you judge the quality of a monitor by how high the refresh goes rather than picture asthetics, geometry, sharpness etc. then you are sadly mistaken.

Generally the two go hand-in-hand. Higher refresh rates require higher-bandwidth signal capability, and better-designed electronics, which should also translate into better, sharper focus, and a clearer overall image, even at lower resolutions/refresh-rates.

Also, ultra-high refresh-rates like 160Hz, may well be useful for some types of people, such as those in pre-print or medical fields, and it also allows use of LCD shutter glasses for 3D viewing, with an effective refresh-rate that is still a fairly-ergonomic 80Hz, in that case.

While a higher refresh rate/resolution puts more strain on the focus electronics, higher-end monitors are designed to take that strain much better than lower-end ones. Actual CRT lifetime is more of a function of power-on time than anything else, excluding some sort of unexpected catastrophic damage due to a cascade failure coming from the drive electronics.

I also look at other factors, brand-name, dot-pitch, warranty length, and presence or absence of multiple inputs or BNC connectors. Generally one only finds those on higher-end (and thus higher-spec) "professional" monitors. (Often a good sign, when purchasing used. Always give it a personal look-see too.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
That is absolutely not true so dont open your trap if you don't know.

LOL.

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
FYI overuse of superbrite modes will shorten monitors life

That's something totally different, and is related to tube power-on hours, which is really more related to the total amount of current going through the .. err, anode, I think it is. Whichever one tends to end up getting slightly "eaten away" after a long period of time, simply due to use.

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
also as will HIGH refresh rates.

If the monitor cannot run at supported resolution/refresh-rates, for the warranty-supported period of time, then the monitor is defective, period. Yes, higher scan rates put more of a strain on the focus electronics. But monitors engineered for higher refresh rates, obviously compensate for that in their design and engineering, to handle that.

Originally posted by: Bucksnort
if he had any tips for prolonging a monitors life. He said yes he did. He recommended periodically vacuuming the top vents on a monitors case to reduce dust migration into the guts. Next to run at a "mid of the stream" refresh rate as higher refresh rates produce more strain, wear and tear on a monitor. He specified that he was talking about supported refresh rates. Lastly he stated that superbrite modes on all monitors will definately decrease a monitors life if not used judiciously. I said so its best not to use sb modes and he said that its fine to use but use it how it was intended and that is periodic use in gaming, videos.

That much is all true. But you have to understand the difference between potential failure of the control/focus electronics, vs. the actual CRT tube's lifespan. Running at a higher refresh rate, does not noticeably affect the overall CRT lifespan, that I know of. It will put more strain on the electronics, but if they are properly designed, they should be able to handle that.

It's kind of like this - use a CPU as an example. It's rated at a certain voltage, and for a certain max. frequency. Will running at its specified max rated frequency, "shorten its life"? Shouldn't everyone therefore underclock their CPUs, to maximize their lifespan? Sure, it's possible that it could increase their lifespan by running slower, but they are engineered to run at the speed that they are rated at. Otherwise, they are defective. The other question is, if you run them out of spec, at beyond what they are rated at. Will you shorten the lifespan of the device then? Most likely, to some extent or another, depending on how far out of spec you run it at.