Which Monitor? Viewsonic vs. Sony

[GoodRevrnd]

I'm looking to get a good solid performance monitor for high-end gaming. How well it will interface w/ my current video card (Voodoo5) is irrelevant, I'm going long term -- GeForce4/5, Radeon 9500+. I'd say my pricerange is about $300-$450 give or take, and I must get at least a 19" for this. Resolutions above 1600x1280 aren't necessary. I've more or less looked over and going by brand reputability and the little I've seen have narrowed it down to a few Sony and Viewsonic monitors, though I'm open to other excellent suggestions. I'd prefer a flatscreen, and antiglare is good too. Also, a minimum 3 year full warranty is an absolute must, 5 preferable. I'm more partial to aperture grill, though if its a case where the damping wires are grossly visible I'd much rather go shadowmask; but from what I've seen the Viewsonics are pretty good at keeping their visibility minimal. I know the monitors can vary individually, and I read that whole THG article, but I'd still appreciate input on specific models. It's extremely difficult to find a good store w/ a wide range of monitors, especially a wide range of quality monitors!
Here's what I'm considering so far:
Sony CPD-G420S
Viewsonic GS790
Viewsonic PF790

Thanks for the help!

 

[GoodRevrnd]

This one also looks quite good, esp. for a shadowmask (and it's the cheapest of the bunch).
Hitachi CM721F

 

[Maxpane]

I have a REAL SYNC 19" flat screen .21 dot pitch and the 2 lines that the viewsync has aren't their. A friend of mine has the viewsinc and aside from the 2 lines on his moniter I like them equally well. I got my real sync for $265, I couldn't find a monitor that compared for that price.

 

[Gov51]

sony

 

[Wolfsraider]

sorry but this is like comparing a pinto to a mercedes IMHO

go for any you want but sony is great

 

[Speedy3D!]

Sony is the best.

 

[nagger]

My rig @ home has a 17" Multiscan 210ES and at the office we all have 17" CPD-G200 so Sony definately has got my vote.

 

[Insidious]

I use the PF790 and like it very much.... can't really do much to help you on comparison though :/

(The damping wires are very subtle)

 

[SnowPunk98]

Ive allways stuck to Viewsonic however you can get a 21" Nokia 445Pro Trinitron monitor for that much

 

[cleanerPA]

If you're looking for a 19", I don't think you'll fit a G420 under your budget- they're around
$500, aren't they?

The L400 that is usually shown w/ the VAIO PCs is lousy- gigantic bezel, non-adjustable stand. Yuck.

I bought a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 920 because I couldn't find anyone that had a Sony on display
to play with. I'm happy w/ my monitor- excellent picture quality.

The Mitsubishi I have looked better than the KDS XF-9e, Samsung 955DF, NEC FE950, Sony L400
and Viewsonic A95.

I always buy monitors at a local store- shipping is a pain, esp. if you get a bad monitor. The KDS that I had
for a week was fine when I bought it, then exhibited some diagonal wavy lines after a few days. If I had to
ship that monster back to the vendor, it would have been a major PITA and expensive. Only bad thing about
buying big monitors is that they're hard to fit in your car unless you have a hatchback, wagon or SUV. I had
to take mine out of the box and break down the box to bring it home.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

The Viewsonic G790 is about 350, the PF790 about 380, the P95f about 440. The G420 is about 400 I believe. All prices are per MWave, which has a good monitor selection, and more importantly is local for me. KTHX willcall!! Only problem is their return policy w/ Sony is it must be returned/RMA'd directly to manufacturer, which would be HUGE pain in the ass. That in and of itself is probably enough to get me to buy Viewsonic. May be able to return the Sony at a retail store, but then I get price gouged.

 

[Pogs]

Sony's got my vote but to get the best you have to spend a bit. You have to get the higher end model which are probably over your budget because the lower end models aren't worth it (in higher res). The Viewsonic PF790's are not too bad (what I currently have). The stabilizing wires on those are barely noticeable. 1600x1200 on the PF790 I think is not very useable because it is limited to 72Hz refresh rate at that resolution. You can sense the flicker of the screen when you go that high.

If I have one complain with the PF790 is it's text quality. Don't get me wrong, it's clearer than most brands but I expect it to be a bit better for a higher end model. I contacted Viewsonic about it and I was basically told that I purchased the wrong monitor model. They said that for text quality I should have gone for the "G" models. I don't know now but at that time the G790 weren't flatscreen. Having a vid card with good 2D will help.

If I can go back I'd shell out a bit more for a Sony. I've always used Sony's but I just thought I try other brands. *D'OH!*

-Pogs

 

[BFG10K]

My Sony CPD-G420 19" monitor can do 1600 x 1200 x 85 Hz and it's great. Those two wires do not bother me at all and I can't even see them unless I specifically go out of my way to look for them. And even then they're very faint.

The colours are very bright and the text is extremely sharp.

 

[carma]

Fortunately for you I have both brands of monitors in my room. I own a Sony F520 21" and a Viewsonic PS790 19". I'd say hands down the Sony wins, but keep in mind my Sony is the absolute top of the line and retails for around $1500. The viewsonic is a really good monitor, but the text I think is superior with an apeture grill monitor like the Sony is. I think though viewsonic has a few apeture grill monitor too. Bottom line, if you have the cash and want the ultamate monitor get the top of the line Sony. If you want the best bang for the buck get a 21" Viewsonic and save a lot of $$$.