![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Buying a CRT - need advice on specific models
- Thread starter Scyles
- Start date
mathesar
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,590
sethk said:
The washed out blacks can be fixed on Sony monitors if you dont mind buying the appropriate service cable (I paid $35 from this site) the software can be easily obtained if it doesnt come with it (its only 1.4mb) I fixed a 6 year old Sony G400 monitor with it recently ,it looks damn near like new again and has very deep black levels. I took a few before and after pics here.
I also used it on my Sony FW900 to bring the black levels down a little bit although it didnt need it nearly as bad as the G400.
UnrealCpu said:You are for real right? I just wrote a huge paragraph on my experience purchasing an G520 SGI new overstock from accurate IT Services
Are YOU for real? Have you posted anything about buying a refurb? No.
Even if you had posted about your experience about a REFURB unit (which you haven't) I would want to hear from more than one person, especially when the one person who posts makes such wonderful contributions to this thread as:
UnrealCpu said:
and
UnrealCpu said:
Your giant paragraph could be summarized by 1 sentence about how you bought a new overstock SGI rebrand from accurateIT, and the colors and blacks are better than any LCD. The rest of it was about the CRTs vs LCD, SED, FW900s blah blah blah, buy from AccurateIT.
In any case there's no need to be so rude and angry - chill out, we're just helping each other out.
As always (except for CPU's and RAM) you get what you pay for. The reason they sell cheap is they are used and all the risk that goes along with that. I've already mentioned capacitor failure due to age but CRT's go bad in other ways from use. They go bad as cathod uses up all it's electrons - color, blacks and sharpness deteriorates. Also phosphor aging due to short half life also weakens electron conversion to photon coversion making monitor darker. CRT's start changing from day one they are turned on beleive it of not.sethk said:
Now maybe you will get lucky and get a CEO's monitor who never turned it on but to check his stock portfolio once a week, that's awesome, practicaly brand new for 1/4 the price! OTOH you may get a secretaries who all-day-long 260 days a year was typing memos and form letters and has about 1 year left on your desktop.
Its a risk and the price reflects that. I'm not a lucky person so I would'nt order.. Feel lucky?
I picked up the same monitor as you Scyles. Sounds like the same day too. I'm really looking forward to it, I'll get the best of both worlds; a widescreen LCD and a nice big CRT
I've been reading about how it doesn't play well with DVI to VGA plugs and its making me kind of nervous though. I hope I don't get that problem.
I've been reading about how it doesn't play well with DVI to VGA plugs and its making me kind of nervous though. I hope I don't get that problem.
ho72 said:
Yeah how about a group buy striaght from you travbomb you could make some money we could save some money...I will buy two NIB 2141's as long as thier reasonable.
And no, newegg never showed them on thier site, I checked every 4 hours since you mentioned they were getting them.
I would buy a NIB NEC 2141 as well - please PM me if this is possible, travbomb.
tightline: You noted the exact issues I was worried about, which is why I was asking about people's experiences with Azatek. AFAIK these refurb companies use a machine to grade the CRT and can do things like adjust the black levels and color / gamma at a service menu level that end users usually can't (there are ways for us to do this as someone pointed out above for Sony monitors.) There's not much you can do about sharpness though, once the phosphors age enough, which is something these machines measure, AFAIK. They may or may not measure screen geometry at the recommended resolution / refresh rate, and area specific screen discolorations. I expect Grade A is reasonably sharp and picture defect free, but only as far as the machine cares to grade it - it does not know how sharp a new monitor of any paricular model was. Compared to a NIB, who knows how sharp it is, or how good the colors are. There is also a temptation to relax your grading standards as Grade A monitors sell for more, which is where the reputation of the seller matters.
I'm still tempted to try a refurb, because they are much cheaper, but I'll check to see if I can find a backup buyer first where I can take a small hit and sell it if I don't like it. The "new" overstock units are tempting too, despite the caveats about mass storage and bezel / case damage and higher prices.
tightline: You noted the exact issues I was worried about, which is why I was asking about people's experiences with Azatek. AFAIK these refurb companies use a machine to grade the CRT and can do things like adjust the black levels and color / gamma at a service menu level that end users usually can't (there are ways for us to do this as someone pointed out above for Sony monitors.) There's not much you can do about sharpness though, once the phosphors age enough, which is something these machines measure, AFAIK. They may or may not measure screen geometry at the recommended resolution / refresh rate, and area specific screen discolorations. I expect Grade A is reasonably sharp and picture defect free, but only as far as the machine cares to grade it - it does not know how sharp a new monitor of any paricular model was. Compared to a NIB, who knows how sharp it is, or how good the colors are. There is also a temptation to relax your grading standards as Grade A monitors sell for more, which is where the reputation of the seller matters.
I'm still tempted to try a refurb, because they are much cheaper, but I'll check to see if I can find a backup buyer first where I can take a small hit and sell it if I don't like it. The "new" overstock units are tempting too, despite the caveats about mass storage and bezel / case damage and higher prices.
ButterFlyEffect78
Weaksauce
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2006
- Messages
- 92
Ohh my bad, the NEC guy in here was RIGHT !! I apologize , maybe i was too high when I wrote those things to you. But anyways, Ladies and germs , i present you;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002091
I just ordered mine , ahha suckaas
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002091
I just ordered mine , ahha suckaas
In my searches for CRT monitors, I did find a stock of new, end of life (i.e. discontinued, but never used) under warranty 22" Diamondtron .24 AG monitors OEM'd by HP at a fairly low price, but only available for shipping in Canada. I called the company and they will not ship to the US. I did verify that the items are brand new, discontinued and carry HPs warranty.
Oh well. I guess I'm taking a chance on a refurb, if that is less than satisfactory I'll shell out 2x the cost for a "new" overstock unit.
I'll still be doing my web browsing etc on a LCD so my main concern is that the monitor is not blurry, splotchy or have bad geometry, so I can game without glitches.
Oh well. I guess I'm taking a chance on a refurb, if that is less than satisfactory I'll shell out 2x the cost for a "new" overstock unit.
I'll still be doing my web browsing etc on a LCD so my main concern is that the monitor is not blurry, splotchy or have bad geometry, so I can game without glitches.
sethk said:
I bought a used but perfect condition FP2141SB last month from a local craigslist ad for $100. It definetly wasn't very sharp (out of focus and bad convergence) but after scouring the net i found a site selling the service manual, and since it was only $5 i snapped it up..
Must say that was money well spent, it showed me how to enter the factory mode which has a ton of extra adjustments. In there i was able to fix up both problems nicely, although to get the focus sharp across the whole screen i also had to adjust the focus pots on the FBT. Which was super easy since this monitor comes with 2 holes drilled in the side of the casing so all you gotta do is stick a long screwdriver in there. Now the image is nice and crisp, although i would still say my Trinitrons (FW900 and G520P) are a bit better for overall text quality.
Anywho i uploaded the service manual to a free site if any of you guys want it.
http://eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/23453/Mitsubishi_DP2070SB.html
Yes it is the DP2070SB service manual but its good for the FP2141SB as well. The factory mode unlock procedure is slightly different so i included a text file with instructions.
sethk said:
What really worries me although I think it's remote is they rejuviniate the Cathods just to get them out the door. This is a blast of electrons back into the cathod and very temporary... Nah new for me. If I could'nt afford that I'd buy those cheapy LCD's. Beleive it no they are some of the fastest because cheap TN is the fastest display tech.
Good Luck on your quest
I only saw one at aztek that was temping was a NIB HP with diamondtron U3 gun inside.. having the orginal box, and if it's sealed really makes it more probable it's actually new. But I don't like that gun.. much inferior to U-NX inside 2141
escapist13
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2001
- Messages
- 149
Wow I didn't know there was still a big following for these monitors.
I've got one that I bought new in late '03 if someone is interested. I agree with what everyone is saying here - it's a top notch display. But I'll be moving soon from the Bay Area to NYC and it's a little unweildy for my situation right now...
I've got one that I bought new in late '03 if someone is interested. I agree with what everyone is saying here - it's a top notch display. But I'll be moving soon from the Bay Area to NYC and it's a little unweildy for my situation right now...
TwistedMetalGear
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2005
- Messages
- 2,200
Holy crap newegg is actually selling new arperture grille CRT's? I would've been all over that in my CRT nightmare days. (bought 2 FW-900's, one broke during shipping, and the other was blurry and would turn itself off on a full white screen) So finally I bought a brand new Compaq P1220 22" CRT with the mitsubishi arperture grille for only $200 from a local shop in Jersey which had a whole batch of them. They all still had the arperture grille sticker on the screen. And $200 for that is a steal!
CRT's are so awesome, I just can't deal with LCD's for anything other than reading. Depending on the height that you view them at the colors completely change! How can anyone deal with that? Ughh...
CRT's are so awesome, I just can't deal with LCD's for anything other than reading. Depending on the height that you view them at the colors completely change! How can anyone deal with that? Ughh...
mathesar
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,590
Wow I might have to order one of those NECs. I always liked the extra brightness they had over standard Trinitron CRTs
tightline said:
What do you think of a NIB (not from Azatek) HP P1230 ? Azatek only has refurbed units but I found a NIB HP P1230 elsewhere. If I was getting a refurb it would be the NEC 2141 but since this is brand new in a sealed HP box (with HP warranty as new), I am tempted.
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi oem Hewlett Packard
Tube Type: CRT 22 inch Perfect Flat Color Screen
Dot Pitch: 0.24 mm Aperture Grill Pitch
Viewable Size: 19.8 inch
HSCAN / VSCAN: 30 kHz to 140 kHz / 50 Hz to 160 Hz
Refresh Rate - Max/Recommended: 110Hz / 85Hz
Resolution - MAX/Recommended: 2048x1536 / 1600x1200
(specs from Azatek)
The $700 for the new NEC 2141 is a little rich for my blood, since this is display number 5 for me at home, and I'm still saving for my new projector. $450 or so would be OK, I guess. This new HP is even cheaper.
tightline said:travbomb a little OT but can I buy the stand for 2170NX and put on my 20WMGX2? I hate not having height adjustment
If you woulda posted this yesterday I coulda mailed you as many as you wanted on monday at the cost of shipping. Just changed a bunch of stands out with some ergo mounts. I dont think I can get to the stands before they do whatever it is they do with them.
Just call 800-632 4662 and tell them you need a stand. THey should be able to get you one no problem.
I've set up my FE2111SB and my first impressions are bad. Its very blurry. Is there anything I can do other than adjust the convergence? That only helped a little. The manufacturing date is 2003.
There are minor scratches and one hairline scratch on the glass that I can only see with a flashlight pointed at it. Also, there is a piece of dust or something underneath the glass - it looks like a red dead pixel. I really can't say anything further for this monitor until I can fix this sharpness issue, if that's even possible.
There are minor scratches and one hairline scratch on the glass that I can only see with a flashlight pointed at it. Also, there is a piece of dust or something underneath the glass - it looks like a red dead pixel. I really can't say anything further for this monitor until I can fix this sharpness issue, if that's even possible.
There was a reference (earlier in this thread?) about a down-loadable service manual. I think there are two holes in the case that allow you to access the on-chassis focus adjustments. It seems like many of these units are not so hot out of the box, but they respond well to tweaking.
RE the manf. date of 2003, that is probably a good thing. Later runs (toward the end of the life-cycle) of CRTs saw the internals cheapened considerably. I don't know if this particular model suffered such a fate, but if it did, yours should be from a lot that still contained the good stuff.
RE the manf. date of 2003, that is probably a good thing. Later runs (toward the end of the life-cycle) of CRTs saw the internals cheapened considerably. I don't know if this particular model suffered such a fate, but if it did, yours should be from a lot that still contained the good stuff.
Yes the FE2111SB should also has the 2 focus holes on the left side, tweaking those made a WORLD of difference on my FP2141SB. I went from complete blurry crap focus to extremely sharp all acoss the screen. Although i cannot say for sure how well the focus pots work on their own because i adjusted them in conjunction with a few other focus settings in the factory mode. The service manual i posted has details on how to use them all together to attain optimum focus.
I do not know if the factory mode unlock procedure will work on that model though, it could very well be different.
Oh and that spec of dust/dirt seems to be a common fault with these monitors. Though it is suprising that it showed up on a 2003 model as i've only read about it happening on 2004 models.
I do not know if the factory mode unlock procedure will work on that model though, it could very well be different.
Oh and that spec of dust/dirt seems to be a common fault with these monitors. Though it is suprising that it showed up on a 2003 model as i've only read about it happening on 2004 models.
Just got my FE2111SB in last night. So far I'm pleased. Azatek sent me the wrong color though... but they're offering me $25 bucks to keep it so it's not that bad I guess.
My impressions are: My 2005FPW runs circles around it for pictures and text. The colors seem to band in pictures on the NEC, but maybe some tweaking will help. I was originally running a DVI-I to DSub adaptor which was terrible and then switched over to a DVI-A to DSub adaptor that came with an x300 I bought and it cleared things up quite a bit. The focus pots do need adjustment as everything does have a slight blur, but nothing too terrible.
Gaming is incredible though. I feel like my 2005FPW held up to it, but it can't even begin to get close to the black levels and resolution scaling.
Edit: Scratch wrong color and try wrong monitor. 2,728 hours on? New overstock my ass...
My impressions are: My 2005FPW runs circles around it for pictures and text. The colors seem to band in pictures on the NEC, but maybe some tweaking will help. I was originally running a DVI-I to DSub adaptor which was terrible and then switched over to a DVI-A to DSub adaptor that came with an x300 I bought and it cleared things up quite a bit. The focus pots do need adjustment as everything does have a slight blur, but nothing too terrible.
Gaming is incredible though. I feel like my 2005FPW held up to it, but it can't even begin to get close to the black levels and resolution scaling.
Edit: Scratch wrong color and try wrong monitor. 2,728 hours on? New overstock my ass...
Where do you find how long the monitor has been used?
Edit: nevermind, found in factory menu... hours running: total: 20137 on: 5146
I guess that means it has been plugged in for 20,000 hours and has actually been turned on for 5,000 hours.
Also, the two focus adjustment holes on the side...is it okay to use a metal screwdriver? I'll surely return the monitor, but I'm still curious to know if I'll die for slipping up with a metal screwdriver.
Edit: nevermind, found in factory menu... hours running: total: 20137 on: 5146
I guess that means it has been plugged in for 20,000 hours and has actually been turned on for 5,000 hours.
Also, the two focus adjustment holes on the side...is it okay to use a metal screwdriver? I'll surely return the monitor, but I'm still curious to know if I'll die for slipping up with a metal screwdriver.
Bummer, Scyles. They offered me a $25 refund and then I called bs and complained that not only did I get the wrong monitor, that it was also used. So it turns out I'm being sent a new black one like I originally odered and I'm cross shipping the old one back. Free of charge.
Well, I'll have it about middle of next week supposedly. If it's anything like the one I have now I'll be pretty disappointed. I've been running side by side tests on gaming using various resolutions and my 2005FPW seriously kicks this things ass in all things except ghosting now, I'm pretty sure.
Edit:
Scyles, if you still have yours in use: get a regular-ish Philips screwdriver and adjust the focus pots on the side. I just did that and the clarity difference is night and day!
Edit:
Scyles, if you still have yours in use: get a regular-ish Philips screwdriver and adjust the focus pots on the side. I just did that and the clarity difference is night and day!
travbomb said:
Could you find out from your Newegg contact EXACTLY how many monitors they have left? The most I ever saw them have was 20 in stock and you sold them 40. Maybe you could find out if they plan on selling the other 20?
It would be greatly appreciated.