What is the best price/performance monitor?

[eyor]

Right now I have an old Mitac 15" low-res crappy monitor. I would like to upgrade to anything better than that for gaming purposes. I am thinking of spending ~$150, but then I thought that I could get the $150 amazon gift certificate(check the hot deals forum) and get a $300 monitor from amazon for $150 and free shipping.
The question now is: Which one do I buy? Is it worth it to get 19" or a higher quality 17"? Flat screen or normal screen? I do not keep up with the monitor market, what is reccomended?
Thanks!

 

[eyor]

¶

 

[Looney]

I would definitely recommend getting a decent 17" instead of a crappy 19". But for $300, you could get a decent 19". I'm on a Samsung 950p right now, great monitor. For $300 and some rebates, you could probably get one of the newer ones. But don't go for a crappy 19".

 

[shawn_16]

just buy a 21" from bummer for $319

 

[rmblam]

I prefer shadow mask type monitors. I also prefer the "short neck" design in the 19 inch because I have limited desktop space. The short neck KDS case is shallower than my old 17 inch was. It fits very nicely on my slim desk in my kitchen.

Very good 17 inch KDS vs-7i ~$175 shipped
Better 17 inch KDS vs-8i ~ $230 shipped

Very good 19 inch Samsung 955sl ~270 after rebate.
Better 19 inch KDS vs-19sn ~$330 (bummer, I paid $299 shipped)


I would consider these ideal choices for a home user/gamer. A CAD or graphics design person will prefer a flat tube (ex. trinitron) type monitor. I personally have no need for those and I dislike the aperature grille construction (2 fine lines).

 

[Ultima200]

I have a Viewsonic PS790 and like it, other than the fact that that refresh rate is not OUTSTANDING.

 

[eyor]

hmm... thanks for the responses. Here's what I'm seeing:
KDS-VS-8I-$217
KDS-VS-71-$169
Samsung 955sl???? -- $349
KDS VS-19SN shortneck -- $325

Lowest price 21"+ is over $600! eek!

BTW: Space is not a problem for me, I just made myself a meassive workstation out of a big door. Also, I will use the monitor mostly for internet surfing, gaming, and some photoshop work for my website and such.

 

[eyor]

I am hearing bad things about the KDS monitors now. Is it true that they often break after several months of use?

 

[LXi]

KDS VS line sucks, and their AV line is a lot more expensive. Get either

Samsung SyncMaster 955DF $350 with $30 Samsung rebate
NEC AccuSync 95F Currently out of stock, but last time I check they were $330

Both Samsung 950P and 955SL are worth considering if Flat screen is not your priority.

 

[chuckieland]

or try ACER 99sl it is shawoller then 17" monitor
it is great monitor

 

[eyor]

thanks for the advice... that samsung looks nice! where is the rebate?