[RESOLVED] Help me pick a new LCD display.

[conipto]

Ok, so I have roughly, a hundred thousand options on the system I am building. I've pretty much got the PC all set in my head, but I have decided that my 19" viewsonic CRT, as much as I love it, is just too damn big. I would like to buy one of those uber-LCD widescreens, but, since I've always been a proponent of the tube, I'm not sure where to start. I have seen things that look nice in the stores from HP, Apple, and Sony.. But what are factors to consider? So far, these things are all I know that may or may not be important.

Response time - lower the better
Native Resolution - Should be what I want to run in, or greater? (i.e, is it gonna look like crap in 1280x800 if the NR is higher than that? or more is always better?)
Aspect ratio - What is this and is it important?
Connectability - Is DVI the standard, or should I look at something with component VGA in as well?
Brand / Manufacturer - So who's good with LCD's? I've always liked Viewsonic and Sony CRT's.

Links to good value examples would really be appreciated.

Bill

[si_the_geek]

Response time - anything under 10ms (which is pretty standard now) is fine for virtually everything.

Aspect ratio - this is width vs height, so widescreen has a higher aspect ratio than a standard display.

Connectability - DVI used to be the best, but when I bought mine (almost a year ago) I heard from several reliable sources that there is no longer a clear favourite. Just pick whatever works for you - don't pay extra for connections you wont use.

Brand - it all depends on taste... I have a Sharp, which IMO is as good as my friends Sony (and was half the price).


One important thing is the class of the monitor, if it is Class A (or is it 1?) you are guaranteed to have no defective pixels.

[Rattlerr]

everything si_the_geek said is all very good info...You have too ask yourself what your plan on doing??

Gaming,Video Editing,Graphics Design,3D Rendering???? So its all about what you plan on doing is what you need to get when considering a LCD...Gaming well you want a really good responce time like si said...Faster the responce time you dont get no Video Lag time between the LCD and the rest of the computer...

So think about all the Options and plan ahead... ;)

[conipto]

Mostly general win-stuff. Alot of programming, so I want the desktop real estate for toolbars and such. I do know that with my CRT's, I used to get headaches when I used 60 or 65 hz display modes, and the screen really seems to wobble and bother my eyes at those refresh rates. So, I guess I need it to be able to use 75 hz or better with whatever display I want it to be. I don't game much, but with the powerhouse I am building, I am sure I'll want to fire up some 3D game now and then.

Bill

[dglienna]

I was checking out a 65" HP monitor. It looked pretty nice, but gave me a headache after a few minutes. A doctor had it in his studio apartment, Talk about over-kill! I thought 19" monitors were big, before seeing this thing!

EDIT: Inches, not feet!

[tr333]

if you want quality, you can't go past Samsung LCD screens.
http://www.samsung.com/products/monitor/index.asp

i have heard that SONY lcd screens do not last as long as other brands.

[conipto]

Well, I've been happy with the quality of other Samsung products over the years, but they don't appear to make a widescreen model :( I don't want a 65 foot model like David suggested, but I am pretty set on a widescreen (or possibly two standards if there is a good deal in it.

Bill

[RobDog888]

Maybe he was talking about a movie theater size. You know how the rich have those mini movie theaters in their homes. :)

Why may I ask are you set on widescreen? Planning on watching alot of movies or ?

[conipto]

It, and a video capture card, will be doubling as my TV, for one. for two, I like the widescreen from a desktop point of view. When I use my gf's widescreen laptop, I like the extra desk top real-estate, without having too much (like two monitors) Is there a reason to not get a widescreen display, aside from price?

Bill

[RobDog888]

I dont know as I am curious too as I am going to be upgrading my LCD from an 18" to a larger one and was seeing some members mentioning widescreen LCDs.

When you view a webpage doesnt it leave alot of blank realestate since webpages are already usually designed for 800x600?

[conipto]

Not really.. most pages display fine for me in 1280x1024 on my current monitor.. Sometimes with things like this reply box, there is wasted space, but in general, for example forum browsing, news site reading, etc, it helps alot because I cut down on vertical scrolling.

Bill

[RobDog888]

Yes, that is true. I was considering a widescreen so I can write code more easily without having to do any horizontal scrolling. .NET takes up alot of horizontal code real estate. :(

[zaza]

My brother has a Dell laptop with a widescreen display - I find it sometimes has issues, particularly with webpages, because the resolution is not "square" enough and things get horizontally stretched or vertically compressed. For watching DVDs, widescreen may be the way forward but I have to say that I find it rather irritating for general working.

As far as LCDs go, in my experience LG do some very good monitors and I can thoroughly recommend them.

zaza

[DaveBo]

How about a projector?
Then all you need is a flat, white wall.

[Dillinger4]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824006084 It's the bomb. :lol:

[conipto]

Well, I settled on this one, and I'm pretty much in love with it so far. VGA/DVI/S-VIDEO/COAX/RCA/Composite inputs, switchable with one button, 1650x1025 res, gorgeous picture, 6ms response time.. for around 700 on sale..

http://www.necdisplay.com/products/ProductDetail.cfm?Product=438&ClassificationFamily=2&Classification=1

Bill

[dglienna]

Oops. I meant 65" HP not 65 foot! Sorry :blush:

[gigemboy]

Wow.. that 1600:1 contrast ratio is excellent :) along with the 6ms response time... I do notice that there isnt a price on that???

[thegreatone]

Wow.. that 1600:1 contrast ratio is excellent :) along with the 6ms response time... I do notice that there isnt a price on that???
$1.1k ;)

[szlamany]

It's getting good reviews:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/30/nec-multisync-lcd20wgx-20-inch-widescreen-display/

http://www.dvhardware.net/article7670.html

[conipto]

$1.1k ;)

For that much I would have bought a projector ;)

It was about 700 USD after a 50$ rebate from Fry's Electronics.

None of the pictures show it, but it's also got a removalbe set of stereo speakers on the bottom of the monitor, which you COULD use for all your PC Sound (but I like my subwoofer ones better) but the nice thing about them, is that for the inputs that have sound along with the video (like Coax TV/Cable, and the RCA L/R jacks), the sound comes out of them, but for my PC I still use my SB Live and the PC Speakers..If you have a better set of PC speakers than I do, with a secondary input, the monitor has a stereo output (and comes with a 6 foot cable) to use instead of the built on speakers (which are removable with two screws)

There's always going to be something cooler and better, so I figured this had everything I wanted, at a decent price, with a fairly known brand, and I'm tired of shopping ;)

(this pic is my favorite part :))

Bill