So, I'm thinking about buying the 37" Westy

[deadseasquirrel]

My budget isn't near that high. But I just don't see another option that makes as much sense.

My Mitsu 2070SB 22" is dying on me. Picture is looking bad, so I need something.

A widescreen 20" doesn't seem like a big enough upgrade compared to the 22" CRT. And a good 24" is $600+.

So I see the Westy at Costco for $799 (plus shipping, tax, and membership fee) and it seems like it's too good to pass up, even though it's a bit out of my budget.

I want a good display though. I've been used to the 22" for quite some time and it's hard enough for me to make the move to an LCD period, much less one that might end up not being much of an upgrade over the 22" CRT.

My concerns about the Westy are-- price, text at 19x10 from 3 or so ft away, black levels, and being able to run 19x10 since my aging x19xtx has trouble running 16x12 with today's games (though a GPU upgrade is in the near future).

So, my choices seem to be:
1) Just get a cheap 19" LCD and wait as long as I can til prices drop or something much better comes along
2) Get the NEC 20WMGX2 for like $520 AR (not as big as I'd like, and pricey, but still a very good all-around display)
3) Get the BenQ FP241W for $680 AR (would seem like a good step up from my CRT)
4) Shut up and get the Westy 37" and enjoy it, regardless if it's $300-$400 more than I planned to spend

Help!

 

[ArchAngel777]

If you are going to buy a display anyway, then there is absolutely no reason why you should not go with the Westy.... I came in here to convince you not to buy it until I seen that you were buying a monitor anyway... So, if you HAVE to get a display, then get the westy, it will be WELL worth the extra.

 

[tdawg]

Is that Westy really 1080p? If so, that's a great deal for a 1080p tv. If you're willing to spend $520 on a 20" or $680 on a 24", I'd suggest just biting the bullet and getting the 37" @ $799 if it is in fact 1080p (otherwise you're stuck at 1366x768).

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: tdawg
Is that Westy really 1080p? If so, that's a great deal for a 1080p tv. If you're willing to spend $520 on a 20" or $680 on a 24", I'd suggest just biting the bullet and getting the 37" @ $799 if it is in fact 1080p (otherwise you're stuck at 1366x768).

It is 1080p... a lot of people on this forum have it and love it... Great monitor and even I am tempted to trade in my 30" for it... Though, the pixel density is about the same and it takes up my field of vision - the only reason I haven't gotten the westy.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

With my 22" CRT, I preferred gaming at 16x12, which looked great. But we kept our desktop res at 1280x960 because my wife preferred it. Moving to a 20-24" LCD hurts my chances of keeping her happy with native desktop resolutions (she doesn't game). But the Westy fixes that pretty much. 19x10 text should still be very readable for her with the screen size being so much bigger than a 24" LCD. And, for me and gaming, 19x10 is *too* much more stressful on the GPU than 16x12.

I'm totally sold on the set (after reading many of the posts from users on the various forums) and think that it's a flat-out steal at this price (given it's $1300 at BB and others), and with Costco's return policy, I feel comforted that if I am not happy, I have no worries. I'm just having trouble getting by the overall price being higher than my current budget for one. Steal or not, it's still a lot of money.

 

[nullpointerus]

Why not pick up another CRT? Prices have really come down in the past few years.

 

[fern420]

ive heard the dot pitch on the westy is atrocious for gaming but ive never personally seen one in action. if you ask me nothing beats a sony fdw-900 but thats just me, everyone has their own opinion. best bet though is to make sure you can see one in action, ask someone at costco to hook up a ps3 to it and take a peek.

 

[allies]

I'm kind of in a similar position. I just can't see myself using a 37" monitor for everyday use. I'd be sitting at max 3 ft away, and I just think I'd have to turn my head constantly.

What I really want is the 30" Dell LCD to fall in price.

 

[ra990]

Ha, let me just say that once you start using the 37" Westy for everyday use, you are going to be spoilt. I come to work and have to squnt to see my tiny little 19" lcd. LOL.

I love my Westy, +1 vote for it, especially at that price and Costo return policy.

Go for it.

 

[MrWizzard]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: tdawg
Is that Westy really 1080p? If so, that's a great deal for a 1080p tv. If you're willing to spend $520 on a 20" or $680 on a 24", I'd suggest just biting the bullet and getting the 37" @ $799 if it is in fact 1080p (otherwise you're stuck at 1366x768).

It is 1080p... a lot of people on this forum have it and love it... Great monitor and even I am tempted to trade in my 30" for it... Though, the pixel density is about the same and it takes up my field of vision - the only reason I haven't gotten the westy.

There is the 1080I westys out there so be sure you are looking at the 37 1080P and not the 37 1080i.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
Why not pick up another CRT? Prices have really come down in the past few years.

Originally posted by: fern420
ive heard the dot pitch on the westy is atrocious for gaming but ive never personally seen one in action. if you ask me nothing beats a sony fdw-900 but thats just me, everyone has their own opinion. best bet though is to make sure you can see one in action, ask someone at costco to hook up a ps3 to it and take a peek.

Unfortunately, Costco doesn't stock them instore. So I can only use what others have said when it comes to gaming and dot pitch.

I'm a huge CRT fan and have considered the fdw. In fact, when my dad's CRT died, I recommended he get the fdw, which he did. Flexible resolutions get a +1 nod from me. I just don't want to drop ~$400 for another used monitor. (I paid $300 for this used 22" 2070sb almost 3 years ago.)

I've got til June 10th to pull the trigger, and I'm pretty tempted. Worst case is that it doesn't work out at all, I return it, and go with something cheaper.

 

[RussianSensation]

I was in a similar position except I had a 19 inch CRT. I checked out 22 inch LCD panels in store and they did not impress me at all. The increase in size was underwhelming for me. The 24 inch seemed pretty good but it costs nearly $600. For just $200 you get 37 inch LCD which will work perfectly well for Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. At the same time I didnt want to sacrifice movie watching experience where I knew the 37 inches would have an advantage over a 24 inch monitor.

I used my CRT since 2001 and I knew if I upgraded, I'd want to keep the next screen for another 5-7 years. At the very least, if you dont like the monitor you can always return it due to Costco's 90 day return policy. But for $800 getting a true 1080P LCD which also runs 1920x1080 computer rez seems like a great value. I couldn't pass up this deal especially when in Canada BestBuy sells 1080P 37 inch LCD for $1800 (and our exchange rate is almost 1:1). So just think how great you guys have it in US

 

[thegimp03]

I would get it. There's definitely that "wow" factor using a 37" lcd as a computer monitor. It's not that much more money, and is well worth it for the price. Just look at all the people who have them on this forum, not to mention avsforum, and all the reviews on newegg.

If you're not happy with it, Costco gives you 90 days to bring it back to the store for a full refund. I think it's a win/win situation.

 

[imported_Tick]

Mmm Mmm good.

 

[garkon]

OMG, i'm seriously about to bite the bullet here. I thought it would be TOO big for a computer monitor, but i wanted it for my xbox very bad. But if i get it from costco i get to take it back to the store if i'm not happy sitting close to a 37" screen(which is about 5 miles away, couldent get any easier than that! and if not, i just get to keep it. Is their return policy really this lax, like if i said, "i wanted to use it for a computer monitor, but it was just too big." they'd take it back?
What do you guys who own a westy and use it as a computer monitor think? Are the pixels obnoxiously large? How close is too close? If i pushed it back against the wall i'd be 3 feet away when i sit back in my chair.

 

[n7]

Dell 3007WFP.

It's a ton better as a monitor, big enough to sit way back & watch movies on, & i believe i've seen refurbs/used ones going for around $1k on eGhay.

 

[biostud]

what about a 22" WS LCD, like the HP w2207?

 

[Jaanpunjab]

How bout you just get two dell 20" widescreen monitors. They're only $219.00 each,
so that is a resolution of 3360x1050 for $440.00 + shipping.

Also, I believe the westy requires an external tuner for TV if you were planning
on using it for that.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: fern420
ive heard the dot pitch on the westy is atrocious for gaming but ive never personally seen one in action. if you ask me nothing beats a sony fdw-900 but thats just me, everyone has their own opinion. best bet though is to make sure you can see one in action, ask someone at costco to hook up a ps3 to it and take a peek.

http://tvcalculator.com/index....c0cf3fad7998f662a548f0

its about as bad as setting a 17" to 800x600. not too bad if you ask me. and you have the luxury of sitting a little back.

 

[Qutlass]

You can listen to us all day telling you to get it or not to get it.. But until you see if for yourself, you can never really appreciate how good this monitor is.. I've had it for about 3 months now with no problems running as my primary PC monitor. If I had a choice to do it again, I'd get the 47 Inch if it were as good as the 37inch for gaming. Greatness!

Check out the super Informative Thread at Hard OC.

Qutlass

 

[Jaanpunjab]

What do you mostly use your PC for?

 

[Qutlass]

Stalker, armed assault, Grand Prix Legends, IL2, Rfactor and sometimes Need For Speed - Porsche Unleashed... Surfing the web from about 4 feet away and of course Movies... For my use the monitor doesnt do anything bad and paired with a 8800 GTX and E6600 (both still stock settings) i'm having no probs pushing 1920 x 1080..


:edit: I did also pick up a Pantone Huey for calibration, so i should be covered if i do get into graphics editing.
Qutlass

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Jaanpunjab
How bout you just get two dell 20" widescreen monitors. They're only $219.00 each,
so that is 40" at a resolution of 3360x1050 for $440.00 + shipping.

Westinghouse is 37 inches diagonally. Having 2x20 inch monitors in widescreen is not the same as 40 inches diagonally. Although 2x20 is probably more useful for work, the size comparison is misleading. Just visualize it in your head that if you had 2x19 inch monitors diagonally you'd actually have top left corner "empty" and bottom right corner "empty". So logically you cannot say 19"x2 = 38" monitor. In fact a 37 inch westinghouse is almost the same size as 4 19 inch widescreen monitors.

 

[Jaanpunjab]

Yeah, that diagonal size reference was completely wrong, my b.

But yeah, if you game/watch movies/xbox mostly on your monitor, go with the 37" westinghouse,
but if you do work on it, two 20" monitors ftw.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Ah, didn't realize this got bumped back up. Yes, I ordered the Westy the same day I posted this. There were very good arguments from all camps, but, in the end, I decided to give the Westy a try (especially since Costco's return policy is so good).

I'm a little worried about it being too big for my wife's casual surfing, and a little worried about my x1900xtx handling 19x10 in most games, and a little worried about its stability sitting on the stand in case my 2 y/o decides to knock it around a bit.

I'm also a little miffed at my Mitsu 2070sb 22" CRT. The whole reason I was looking at a new display was because it started getting flaky. Well, the *minute* I placed the order, my Mitsu shapes up and has been perfect since, giving me a bit of buyer's remorse.

I'll report back once I receive it and have a chance to test it out. But, honestly, if my current monitor behaves itself, I'll be left with a tough choice and might end up selling the Westy to my dad. All in all, I'll probably love the Westy, but, right now, I'd rather have the cash and a perfectly fine 22" CRT. With my luck though, as soon as I give the 37" away, my CRT will go flaky again.