- Feb 14, 2004
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I'm looking into buying a new monitor in the next year. I currently have a 17" CRT with really bad black levels (dark purple and blue look black) and flicker. I work for long periods of time on different projects using my computer, ranging from homework to using Microsoft Office and Adobe InDesign for publishing projects (ie lots of text) to Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Rhino 3D, TrueSpace, and other 2D/3D software packages for graphics projects. I also do a bit of home video for fun, some programming, and occasionally computer games like Half-Life. I'm not a hardcore gamer, however, so a lower response time like 25ms on an LCD wouldn't bother me too much.
So, I'm debating what kind of monitor to get. I know I want something in the 20 - 22" range. I'm willing to save up for it for awhile, because I'll be using it nearly every day for hours at a time. In my opinion, LCDs still aren't as good as CRTs for graphics work, but the newer models may be better, I don't know. However, I've heard that LCDs reduce eye strain and stuff, because there's a lower refresh rate - supposedly they're much easier on the eyes than CRTs. That sounds good! I know that LCDs save space, but I have a basic rectangle desk, so a 22" CRT is not a problem - I have space to work with.
One issue I have with LCDs is the native resolution. I don't like tiny type. I've seen some bigger LCD monitors that have horribly tiny buttons and text, and I don't care for that. My old laptop's screen would look funky if I resized the resolution different that it's native setting...so is that still applicable with today's LCDs? I've heard that Windows XP has a feature where you can change the DPI for LCD screens so that the text and stuff looks bigger....any ideas about that?
I want to invest in a good, big monitor. There are two that I'm looking at:
LaCie Electron Blue 22" CRT
Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD
The LaCie costs about $700 and the Dell costs about $800. I'm willing to save up for either one, or a different one if you have a better suggestion. The LaCie CRT is supposed to be a fantastic monitor for graphics work, but I still worry about refresh rates and flicker and staring at a monitor for sometimes 14 hours while working on a long project. The Dell LCD is popular and I've read a lot of great reviews about it, but I haven't seen it in person (or the LaCie, for that matter). What would you get if you were in my situation? An LCD or a CRT? The LaCie or the Dell? Or maybe a completely different monitor? I'd like to spend less than $1,000, by the way.
Thoughts and comments appreciated!
So, I'm debating what kind of monitor to get. I know I want something in the 20 - 22" range. I'm willing to save up for it for awhile, because I'll be using it nearly every day for hours at a time. In my opinion, LCDs still aren't as good as CRTs for graphics work, but the newer models may be better, I don't know. However, I've heard that LCDs reduce eye strain and stuff, because there's a lower refresh rate - supposedly they're much easier on the eyes than CRTs. That sounds good! I know that LCDs save space, but I have a basic rectangle desk, so a 22" CRT is not a problem - I have space to work with.
One issue I have with LCDs is the native resolution. I don't like tiny type. I've seen some bigger LCD monitors that have horribly tiny buttons and text, and I don't care for that. My old laptop's screen would look funky if I resized the resolution different that it's native setting...so is that still applicable with today's LCDs? I've heard that Windows XP has a feature where you can change the DPI for LCD screens so that the text and stuff looks bigger....any ideas about that?
I want to invest in a good, big monitor. There are two that I'm looking at:
LaCie Electron Blue 22" CRT
Dell 2001FP 20.1" LCD
The LaCie costs about $700 and the Dell costs about $800. I'm willing to save up for either one, or a different one if you have a better suggestion. The LaCie CRT is supposed to be a fantastic monitor for graphics work, but I still worry about refresh rates and flicker and staring at a monitor for sometimes 14 hours while working on a long project. The Dell LCD is popular and I've read a lot of great reviews about it, but I haven't seen it in person (or the LaCie, for that matter). What would you get if you were in my situation? An LCD or a CRT? The LaCie or the Dell? Or maybe a completely different monitor? I'd like to spend less than $1,000, by the way.
Thoughts and comments appreciated!
I picked it up tonight...looks awesome.
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