Budget CRT

[KoolDrew]

I am building a new budget rig and I need a monitor. The computer will mainly be used for basic tasks, but will be used for some very light gaming (mostly older games).

I was looking at this one:
http://www.techonweb.com/products/productdetail.aspx?id=B24105

If you guys have any other recommendations please tell me. I am looking for a very cheap CRT.

 

[PCBliss]

I dunno how much shipping will be on that, but walmart has a "flat" CRT for like $105 plus tax. KDS. I have used a couple and it seems decent for the price.... you may want to check ebay too. I got a like new HP 7500 CRT for like $50 shipped.

 

[habitual geek]

I was looking at this one:
http://www.techonweb.com/products/productdetail.aspx?id=B24105

If you guys have any other recommendations please tell me. I am looking for a very cheap CRT.

1280 x 1024 / 60 Hz

ouch......60Hz makes my eyes bleed.....thats the problem with cheap CRT's, they only support low refresh rates

my suggestion, find the cheapest one you can afford that will do 75 or 85Hz at the resolution you will use the most

my brother in law bought one of those cheap CRT's and he hated it because of the low refresh rate

 

[scottatwittenberg]

seriously check out the thrift stores.. i have gotten 3 different flat screen 17inch trinitrons ranging from $13 - $25 at thrift stores in the DC area.. some places don't have shit.. some do.. i am using a 19 inch dell that isn't flat, but its black and does 1600X1200 @75 and it was $19...

 

[karmasore]

also, check the craigslist.org listing for your area. this evening, i scored a dell P991 19inch true-flat crt for 25 bucks!

 

[swatbat]

Another option is to see if your county/city has surplus sales. I live in henrico(same one with that ibook thing a while ago) and they do them like 2 times a month. 17 inch monitors are like 10 bucks now I think. I bought a 21 inch crt from there like 4 years ago for 20 bucks that I used like 2 years and is now used at our office for one of the employees. I also got a 19inch touch screen for 20 if I remember.

 

[KoolDrew]

Thanks for the recommendations. I checked out the albany listings and there is a 22 Inch Diamondtron for $75. However, I'm afraid this will be too big. I'm not doing very heavy gaming since I will be getting a motherboard with onboard 6100 video. I may upgrade later though. Does anybody use a large CRT and does not game on it?

I will probably love the large CRT once I finally got it, but a 22" does sound a little big. Convince me it isn't.

EDIT - There is also a 19" Sony CPD-G410R for $100 and a Sony G500 for $45. You can see the listing for the G500 here:
http://albany.craigslist.org/sys/126461653.html

After reading abit about that Sony G500 I think that is what I will go with? What do you guys think?

 

[SJetski71]

Thanks for the recommendations. I checked out the albany listings and there is a 22 Inch Diamondtron for $75. However, I'm afraid this will be too big. I'm not doing very heavy gaming since I will be getting a motherboard with onboard 6100 video. I may upgrade later though. Does anybody use a large CRT and does not game on it?

I will probably love the large CRT once I finally got it, but a 22" does sound a little big. Convince me it isn't.

EDIT - There is also a 19" Sony CPD-G410R for $100 and a Sony G500 for $45. You can see the listing for the G500 here:
http://albany.craigslist.org/sys/126461653.html

After reading abit about that G500 I think that is what I will go with? What do you guys think?

There's a misprint with that Sony G500, it should be categorized as a 21" monitor, not a 20" (though it is 20" viewable). That G500 owner also reports "yellowing" on the corner of the screen, which if i'm not mistaken means the monitor is aged or dying, somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

That 19" sony CPD-G410R actually looks like a high end 19" crt, a little pricey for a 19" on craigslist but the specs do look great for a 19".

Personally, i would recommend you get a 21" or 22" crt (both are only 20" viewable for reasons i won't get into here) because it's *almost* human nature to long for a bigger screen. Bigger screens also offer higher resolutions and refresh rates not possible on 19" crts. Personally to my eyeballs a 19" crt looks like a dinky 17" crt, and only a 21" was able to satisfy me for awhile....though i'm now seriously considering a 24" crt so my point still stands.

I would normally advise that you monitor craigslist for a week or two, but your area doesn't seem to get many listings, and it might be a month or two before something good crops up (?). Do you have any mom-and-pop computer shops or computer fairs in your area? They often carry large crt monitors for $50~$150 so maybe keep an eye peeled.

 

[KoolDrew]

Yes, I do have a computer store in my area. I am going to check them out on Friday or something. What should I be looking for in a CRT? It should be flat, be a trinitron or diamondtron and run my desired resolution at an acceptable refresh rate (85Hz). Anything else?

 

[scottatwittenberg]

i have a g500 that my sister got off the curb and gave to me.. it is too bright.. (even with brightness at 0, black = grey).. but i like it still.. i use it in my kitchen to watch family guy episodes and shit while i cook.. but check any monitor out you are3 looking at in person..

that diamondtron soudns good too

 

[mathesar]

i have a g500 that my sister got off the curb and gave to me.. it is too bright.. (even with brightness at 0, black = grey).. but i like it still.. i use it in my kitchen to watch family guy episodes and shit while i cook.. but check any monitor out you are3 looking at in person..

that diamondtron soudns good too

Yea the overbrightness is a common problem with the G500 and other similar models, apparently there's a way to fix it pretty cheap, this link explains how: http://www.hutzelman.com/home/hardware/mods/monitor/ ,you could also try running the Image Restoration option on the monitor but this doesn't always help.