On the hunt for a 20"+ CRT monitor

[fustercluck]

Any recommendations for an awesome 20+" CRT monitor? There's a lot to choose from out there, and a lot of different opinions. When i say 20+" i mean somewhere around, but not under 20 inch. No real price range...but i really doubt i'd pay more than $500 for a monitor, so keep it kind of reasonable. I'm not unwilling to buy used/refurbished monitors either (i'm a gambler ) , anything i can get on ebay would be nice, though i've already scoured ebay pretty well for 20+" monitors.

Each day my current monitor dies more and more. So I'd like to find another before time runs out. I like my current monitor (Nokia 445 Pro), but they don't seem to exist anymore. I wouldn't mind trying something new anyways.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Sounds like your in the same situation I was a month ago. My old monitor (NEC FE991SB 19") was nice, but dying quickly. So I got lucky and scored a Brand New NEC FE2111SB 22" off ebay for $470.

See Here.

Anyway, I would suggest an NEC or Viewsonic. My new monitor is perfect, but it was really bright out the box, and still is even though I've turned the brightness down, but I realized it being really bright is a positive thiing.

There's also an issue with slightly blurry text on the larger NEC models, but mine only gets worse when I go to higher resolutions, and that can be fixed with some sort of tweak to the monitor, NEC and others can easily help with that.

 

[fierydemise]

azatek.com they have alot of really nice refurbished moniters for cheap, they also have a good rating on resellerratings.com

 

[nitromullet]

I know that you mentioned CRT, but I went from the Nokia 445 Pro to a Dell 2005FPW and couldn't be happier with it. Once you go LCD, you'll never go back.

 

[SynthDude2001]

The high end NEC ones are really nice :thumbsup:

 

[JonnyBlaze]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
I know that you mentioned CRT, but I went from the Nokia 445 Pro to a Dell 2005FPW and couldn't be happier with it. Once you go LCD, you'll never go back.

i couldnt agree more. my 19" viewsonic pf795 just died and i upgraded to a 2005fp. this thing is great for cad, movies and games.

i used to run my crt at 1600x1200@85hz and this dell looks so much better.


edit: if i had to get a crt i would get the 24" sony widescreen. i forget the model number.

 

[Hadsus]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
I know that you mentioned CRT, but I went from the Nokia 445 Pro to a Dell 2005FPW and couldn't be happier with it. Once you go LCD, you'll never go back.

Indeed.....you'll love the gray blacks, one size fits all resolution, backlighting (that looks especially beautiful with the 2005 in the corners), the ghosty blurry things that you see on screen with UT2004 and other frentic games, the silk screen effects that put a pretty sparkle on the face of the screen......not to mention you can walk around with the LCD panel tucked under one arm just too look too kewl. What are you waiting for d00d! LOL!

 

[Green84061]

NEC's are great my bro has the one linked to you but i must say i like my 2005fpw more than his. Not really saying one is better but LCD's are very nice dont listen to the crt fanboys.

 

[Hadsus]

CRT fanbois? When someone says when you go to LCD you never go back to CRT, doesn't that make him a fanboi? Or is fanboi whatever convenient smack term you like to use today regardless of how much sense it makes......whaddya say, LCD fanboi, LOL.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Green84061
NEC's are great my bro has the one linked to you but i must say i like my 2005fpw more than his. Not really saying one is better but LCD's are very nice dont listen to the crt fanboys.

Each has their advantages.

That said, he asked about CRTs, so I will throw out that I like my NEC FE2111SB a lot.

 

[PremiumG]

where are you located at?? i have a 21in Viewsonic for sale in LA

PM me if interested

 

[Hadsus]

BTW, I also own the NEC FE2111SB. I tried the Dell 2001fp before I returned it. So I'm one of those exceptions.....yes, I went LCD and went back to CRT. Really, we can make all this stuff simple as say reasonable people are gonna disagree. But when someone posts (actually alot of people post), 'once you go LCD you'll never go back to CRT' I have to respond with all the reasons why you can choose *not* to go LCD. And there are plenty of good reasons.

 

[CP5670]

You might actually have better luck with refurbs than new ones for the NEC/Mitsubishi CRTs, since the new ones are usually going to be recently manufactured and it seems that NEC's CRT quality control went down quite a bit just before they stopped making them. I got a Diamond Pro 2070SB a month ago, which is probably the best overall CRT available, but went through two bad ones that were both new before I got a good one. The first one had issues with vertical lines, blurry patches and sudden brightness changes and the second one had bad color purity along one edge, dead pixels (that's right, on a CRT) and a weird problem where it would go horribly out of focus all of sudden a few times a day. These were both January 2005 units, but they then sent me an older June 2004 one that was still new and it has been absolutely perfect. I have heard a few similar cases with N/M CRTs and it seems that many of these recent ones have problems right out of the box. I think LaCie has a monitor that is internally the same thing as this 2070 and might be of higher quality, but costs more.

As for the CRT vs LCD thing, you can really notice the difference in IQ in the dark, much more than in the daytime and especially in dark games (e.g. Doom 3, SCCT). Since I do all my gaming in the night with the lights off, the choice was a no brainer for me. LCDs are a bit sharper though, good for text.

 

[Mrvile]

I love my own CRT, but it's small and runs kinda slow (17", highest res for 85hz is 10x7). Next monitor I get will be an LCD though, and although I love CRTs I don't know where the future is headed for them. You can get some really nice 19" LCDs for less than 500, I saw one coming out by Viewsonic I think, 4 ms.

 

[fierydemise]

The real issue with current CRTs is as CP5670 mentioned, quality control on all CRTs have gone way down, in some cases the quality of a refurbished CRTs is better then the quality of new ones, as for good models almost any made by NEC (not the accusync line) or anything ending in "tron"

 

[Hadsus]

Yeah, NEC no longer makes CRTs....too bad. I got a good one and have had it for 5 months now with no problems. Very sweet....sure is nice to dial up whatever resolution you want and Doom3 is flat out outstanding with all the blacks which the CRTs do so well. Maybe check into the Viewsonic flat screens. And just so you don't think I'm old school, I just purchased one of the newer Panny plasma HDTVs for my home theater. Yeow! DLPs and LCDs just didn't do it for me and CRTs have brightness problems in well lit rooms.

 

[nombrecinq]

I have a Sony 19" Trinitron (Dell) in a black case that I'm going to be selling. I need the LCD for my eyes and for portability reasons.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: Hadsus
BTW, I also own the NEC FE2111SB. I tried the Dell 2001fp before I returned it. So I'm one of those exceptions.....yes, I went LCD and went back to CRT. Really, we can make all this stuff simple as say reasonable people are gonna disagree. But when someone posts (actually alot of people post), 'once you go LCD you'll never go back to CRT' I have to respond with all the reasons why you can choose *not* to go LCD. And there are plenty of good reasons.

Hey, I understand where you are coming from. I myself am a new LCD convert. Prior to this LCD, I really had not ever considered the LCD a viable option. However, the fact of the matter is that CRT's will be a thing of the past in the not-to-distant future, and LCD's are becoming very competative in price by comparison. Judging from the OP's post, I gather that price was an issue, so I was offering the LCD up as an option. The NEC FE2111SB is a very nice monitor, bit it is generally more expensive than the 2005FPW. Dell often has some very good deals on their LCD's. As a matter of fact, Dell had a 40% promo just last week on the 2005FPW ($450 total), while the FE2111SB is about $600 shipped from newegg for a new one ($438 for a refurb).

...not to mention you can walk around with the LCD panel tucked under one arm just too look too kewl. What are you waiting for d00d! LOL!

right... whatever makes you happy there sparky...

 

[Hadsus]

My NEC was shipped for $540 when I ordered it some months ago.....very similar to the 2005fpw price-wise. Believe me, I am *very* happy with it. Just got done with a Doom3 session.....glorious graphics/blacks. The Dell I returned was just laughable with that game. Price really wasn't much of an issue whichever way I went. Anyway I'm glad you like your 2005. Widescreen gaming must be pretty cool.

The way I look at it, my CRT will last a few years at least and by that time who knows what will be available but my guess is that it will be much better than the LCDs on the market now. Just way too many compromises for me. But I'm glad you first-adopters are gobbling up the LCDs now. Someone's gotta pay for the R&D, right? H*ll, I waited years until they got CD tech right, LOL. It sucked a$$ when they first came out.

 

[fustercluck]

Thanks for the help. The main monitor i was considering was the NEC FE2111SB, so i'm glad people gave they're opinions on it.

I game and read a lot on the comp here, so i'm not even going to consider getting LCD. LCDs are for some people, CRTs are for others, that's just the way it is. So i'll keep reading about the FE2111SB...wonder how it compares to the 445Pro, the quality of this monitor is really amazing as well, it'll be hard to match. Could i find the FE2111SB in store anywhere? It'd be nice to check it out. I might just end up getting a 445Pro again, pretty nice price over at overstock, though that's still $50 more than i paid for mine when i bought it 3 years ago.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: nitromullet
I know that you mentioned CRT, but I went from the Nokia 445 Pro to a Dell 2005FPW and couldn't be happier with it. Once you go LCD, you'll never go back.

Indeed.....you'll love the gray blacks, one size fits all resolution, backlighting (that looks especially beautiful with the 2005 in the corners), the ghosty blurry things that you see on screen with UT2004 and other frentic games, the silk screen effects that put a pretty sparkle on the face of the screen......not to mention you can walk around with the LCD panel tucked under one arm just too look too kewl. What are you waiting for d00d! LOL!

:laugh:
I had the 2005FPW, I sent the POS back because of all the above. Yeah, that LCD is a real winner! :thumbsup:

 

[fustercluck]

Well i might just end up getting another Nokia 445pro, even they have the worst monitor drivers of all time. Everything else about it is great.

Still open to other recommendations though, every monitor i've considered buying ended up having poor reviews around. I guess it's possible to find poor reviews about anything though

Leaning toward the FE2111SB now, it'd be nice to buy before this monitor dies, which could be any second...i'd go insane without computer use

 

[nitromullet]

I don't think you will be able to get another 445Pro. If you'll notice it is listed as out of stock on overstock. Nokia's monitor division was bought by ViewSonic a few years ago, so I doubt that there will be anymore 445Pro's coming out. Any Nokia monitor that you find will be at least 3 yrs old.

I had the 2005FPW, I sent the POS back because of all the above. Yeah, that LCD is a real winner!

Well, to each his own. However, I used to have the exact same CRT as jacktackle, and I am quite pleased with my 2005FPW. I would imagne that the FE2111SB is probably a nicer monitor than the 445Pro.

 

[blckgrffn]

Love my Sony G520P, good luck finding one though Bought it for $550 off the egg a little less than 2 years ago. It had free shipping! Had to love the old newegg...

Anyway, very nice, dual inputs, all that jazz. It is a much higher performing monitor than the Dell refurb sonys that you can find.

Nat

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: jacktackle
Well i might just end up getting another Nokia 445pro, even they have the worst monitor drivers of all time. Everything else about it is great.

Still open to other recommendations though, every monitor i've considered buying ended up having poor reviews around. I guess it's possible to find poor reviews about anything though

Leaning toward the FE2111SB now, it'd be nice to buy before this monitor dies, which could be any second...i'd go insane without computer use

I had a refurb Nokia 445 Pro before the FE2111SB- the difference is night and day, I will not ever be looking at a 445Pro again.