Need help evaluating LCD monitors

torpid

Lifer
Sep 14, 2003
11,631
11
76
Hello all,

I have never owned an LCD monitor. I am in major need of help. I really want to reclaim some desk space without sacrificing video quality. I currently own a viewsonic 19" crt and have been quite pleased with it overall.

I have a modest system, Athlon 2400+ with (soon to be) 1.25g of ram and a Radeon 9700 pro.

My inclination is to think that I should get a 19" monitor since I currently play most games at 1280. I had assumed (perhaps wrongly?) that the dell would be a higher native resolution.

Here is what I have discovered:

Newegg has the Viewsonic 191b for $514.99

The 191b appears to have the best response/contrast for the $, but I am unsure about the brightness (both it and the dell list 250 cd/m2). I think it may be a 6 bit panel as well. The specs of relevance are: response time 16ms, contrast ratio 700:1, brightness 250/cdm2.

It also has the 912b for $559.00 I know that this monitor has gotten glowing reviews from the industry. However, I also belive that the 191b was recently upgraded so it could be that its reviews are outdated. I certainly wouldn't mind spending $44 for a better monitor. But I'm not sure about the contrast. 12ms, contrast 450:1, brightness 400 cd/m2. I have no idea still if it is 6 or 8 bit.

Then there's the old standby dell 2001fp for $639.20. It appears to have the worst specs, but then again it is 1 inch larger. 400:1 contrast, 250cd/m2. I have no idea what the response time or native resolution are. It also seems a bit pricey.

So, help me out here folks! Any recommendations of the three? What should I expect to be different? Any others I should consider? (I have already ruled out the ludicrously cheap princetons due to response time).
 

imported_jed

Junior Member
Jan 20, 2005
17
0
0
I just picked up an LG L1920P from BestBuy after looking at many 19" LCD's. It was about $600 w/ $150 in mail in rebates. It is one of the nicest monitors I have seen. Other than the Apple displays, it's the only display that has made me consider giving up my 19" Sony Trinitron CRT.