Advise me on buying a 19" monitor.

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Losstarot

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Hello all. I've been looking for a new LCD to replace my current monitor for a while now, and I haven't really been getting too far. I can't seem to find much good information.

I've mainly been looking at Viewsonic monitors, namely the VX922 and the VP930b. At one point I was close to buying the VX922, because people like it and it's not very expensive, but I never did because I could never totally convince myself that it was a good deal for me. One of my friend's more knowledgeable friends has two of the VP930b model, which he apparently likes, and so I've been considering that.

I would like my new monitor to be able to perform well for the occasional game, but I also do some office-type work.

I could also use some advice on the pros and cons of a widescreen monitor. I don't think I care much either way, but if someone knows of any interesting issues (technical or otherwise), I would like to know.
 
well a couple of things to keep in mind with 19" monitors

first of all if you aren't going to go with a widescreen the majority of your 19" lcds are 5:4 aspect ratio as opposed to the standard 4:3 aspect ratio. You can run them at whatever resolution you please, but 1280x1024 will look the best. If you watch a lot of tv or movies this will leave you with black bars at the top and bottoms of the screen which is annoying. Sure you can stretch the video to fill the screen, but I don't like messing with aspect ratios. If you move up to a 20" however they will be 4:3 aspect ratio and do resolutions of 1600x1200. The only problem is that there is a noticeable price difference between 19" and 20".

For gaming you can't beat a nice CRT monitor, period end of story. If you aren't a super competitive fps player you probably won't notice any difference between your old crt and new lcd though. Ghosting isn't that big a deal with new monitors and I have never noticed it on my lcd (dell 1704fpt). LCDs tend to be easier on the eyes so you should be able to sit in front of your game of choice for hours on end without your eyes becoming all bloodshot.

As for widescreen some things to keep in mind are this. A 19" regular screen has more real estate (square inches) than it's 19" widescreen cousin. A 19" 5:4 aspect ratio lcd offers about 196 square inches, while the 16:10 widescreen is only 162 square inches. If this doesn't make sense dust off the trigonometry text book and do the math out. Also the 19" widescreens run at 1600x1050 and if you are a resolution whore like myself you are going to want 1920x1200 which only comes on monitors of 24" or higher which cost a ton. Something else to think about is a lot of games that are out now don't support widescreen resolutions. Half Life 2 and a handful of other newer games would be fine, but older games forget about it. If your game doesn't support widescreen you are forced to stretch and skew the game making it look weird. This probably will change in the future (if it hasn't already) since more people are moving toward wide screens but it's something to keep in mind.

Hope this helps you out.
 
I suggest going with a 22 inch widescreen for a replacement for your 19, if you go with a widescreen panel that is 19 inches you will lose vertical real estate on your display compared to the standard 4:3 aspect ratio,

with a 22 inch widescreen there is ONLY a slight couple of millimeters difference between the vertical viewing area of the display as compared to a non wide 19 inch monitor.

Now I know people are nuts about widescreen, personally I am not one of them I prefer the 4:3 aspect though there arent any larger monitors that come in 4:3 anymore and find it more useful in a computer environment, I have no desire to watch movies and dvds on my computer and lets face it, web pages arent widescreen.

Anyhow, a 22 inch widescreen is your best bet and are available at a very good price these days, many under three hundred dollars.
 
I agree, I would have bought 24" if it has a glossy screen.
 
Thanks for the replies. I think I understand most of the basics of LCD monitors.

As of now, I'm leaning towards a non-widescreen 19" or bigger LCD. Does anybody have any opinions on the two monitors I've mentioned (the VX922 and VP930b), or opinions on any other 19" or bigger LCD?

And another thing. I don't know many people, but these four friends of mine all own Viewsonic monitors. Are Viewsonic monitors that good, or are my friends just weird?
 
i had a bad experience with a viewsonic. the VX2035WM showed insane flickering at native resolution with any ATI card hooked up to it. at first i thought it was ATI's drivers, but thinking back, it had to be the damn monitor. the card worked perfectly in my friend's computer and another friend who i sold it to had zero complaints. i will not look toward viewsonic in my future LCD purchases.
 
i say again get the hp lp1965.

the other ones are inferior. the 933 is a tn panel u definitely dont want that junk. i'm not sure about the other one except that the stand sucks.

I wish i had my monitor next to your "buddies". I have mine next to a VA912b and it blows it away. I had that monitor for a year and a half ....yeah i do admit that it had not pixel problems and its worked flawlessly. But it looks getto next to my 1965. In every way.

anything below 8 ms you dont notice a diff. the 2 ms crap is a load anyway. its just a scam to get you to buy it.
 
The best 19" WS monitor for the money http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009112


Dimensions (W×H×D) 21.1" x 16.5" x 7.6"

1000:1 contrast ratio

5 ms response

300 cd/m2

16.7M colors

160/160° Viewing angle

(Yeah yeah 1440x900, I'll take that with great image qual :p)

Just so you have more options ^

I don't know about those dimensions they seem pretty high for a 19"er, if it's true amazing. I will receive mine tomorrow I'll let you know. Read the newegg reviews in the mean time.


Here's the 22" version of this awesome model,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009111

I can't find the 20" one atm.
 
ye even im lookin for a cheap 19" or 20" widescreen ....tho im used to 4:3 ratio on my current 17" crt

how are these 2 ?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2528266&CatId=2388


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2943578&CatId=1410

i think this 20" is my best bet

the 19" acer slayer mentioned i was lookin into it b4....it had free shipping like 2 hrs back fuck :mad: .. . now its like 180 + tax + shipping = 200$ + (tax in NJ) damn

is Hanns:G any good ? im staying away from viewsonic(OPTIQUEST) even tho they come with 40$ MIR's
 
i watch a lot of movies , serials etc and also play the occasional game q3 or fifa or summin,
on my 17" 4:3 CRT ive been stretching videos to fit the screen and sumhow i dont find it wierd or elongated or anything, my frnds say how can u watch like that anyways i hate the black borders so i do that
will a widescreen be for me ?, should i jus go in for a normal 4:3 screen ? im on a budget say 180$

hows the monitor slayer ? have u got it yet :D, did u buy it when there was free shipping u lucky bastard
 
saumik_ said:
i watch a lot of movies , serials etc and also play the occasional game q3 or fifa or summin,
on my 17" 4:3 CRT ive been stretching videos to fit the screen and sumhow i dont find it wierd or elongated or anything, my frnds say how can u watch like that anyways i hate the black borders so i do that
will a widescreen be for me ?, should i jus go in for a normal 4:3 screen ? im on a budget say 180$

hows the monitor slayer ? have u got it yet :D, did u buy it when there was free shipping u lucky bastard
Click to expand...


WS is definately for you. I just recently switched from a 19" CRT to 20" WS LCD, I couldn't imagine going back.
 
flazh said:
I agree, I would have bought 24" if it has a glossy screen.
Click to expand...

GLOSSY SCREENS ARE HORRIBLE, you can use them for mirrors, you can shave in the, brush your hair or your teeth, you see every little light distraction in your background. I dont recommend them at all and I have had a laptop with one of those wretched screens.
 
I've personally never owned a monitor with a glossy screen, but based on what I've seen in stores I wouldn't want one. They look cool at first, but I think it would be too shiny for anything but a dark room. It seems like some kind of cheap marketing strategy, kind of like how some TV manufacturers are putting those color-changing lights behind their flat-panel TVs.

More monitor suggestions!
 
Losstarot said:
I've personally never owned a monitor with a glossy screen, but based on what I've seen in stores I wouldn't want one. They look cool at first, but I think it would be too shiny for anything but a dark room. It seems like some kind of cheap marketing strategy, kind of like how some TV manufacturers are putting those color-changing lights behind their flat-panel TVs.

More monitor suggestions!
Click to expand...


I have to agree, laptops often have the wretched glossy, a cheap trick to make them sharper that gets them out of the store........at home they are just awful and distracting except in a totally dark room. I dont think its any accident that you DONT see alot of desktop lcd's with glossy screens though just like with laptops, companies gloss up those big screen LCD TV's for the same reason they do it with laptop LCD's with the same bad results when you get them home if you hadnt already noticed the awful reflections they catch in the stores.
 
DC_BF1942 said:
If you looking for a 19" 1280x1024 this is the one you want....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176072

trust me on this. Its a perfect monitor. I've had mine two weeks and I love it.

Gaming looks great. Has 8 bit panel so images really look great. But the kicker is the stand. It is completely versitile and very sturdy( weighs a ton).
Click to expand...

I agree, HP has some nice LCD's and this one is very nice for a 19 inch. Personally I would save up for a 24 inch, Im glad that I did.
 
At this point I would be willing to buy a larger monitor, but I'm afraid my computer couldn't quite handle the higher resolution.
 
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