My monitor nightmare story...

T

TwistedMetalGear

2[H]4U
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Jun 19, 2005
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I'm so stuck it's not even funny. If possible I would like someones advice on this. I would much appreciate it. Without further ado, here is my monitor nightmare story:

The whole truth is that I am stuck with a very old 17" CRT monitor that I am desperate to replace. I've been researching these forums for MONTHS trying to find that perfect monitor. I thought I came to a conclusion when I decided to purchase my first Sony FW900 off of ebay after reading the huge thread on these forums. That was mistake number one. It arrived with the screen scratched to hell from being placed directly against plywood but not only that, it didn't even work!

So then I found a place in New Jersey that sold off lease FW900's that I could pick up(~50 miles from my home)... So I bought an apparent "Grade A" one for $450... Pricey, but I wasn't going to risk getting one shipped again. So I see it powered up in the store, and decide to buy it. Mistake number two. After taking it home and playing around with it, I found that at high resolutions and refresh rates, while displaying full white screens, such as the google webpage, the monitor will shut itself off and continue shutting itself off until it warms up 30+ minutes later. Not only that, but I was told that it was a 2001 monitor but upon checking the rear of the monitor after I got it home, it turns out to be a 2000 monitor. And the focus isn't so hot either.

At this point I am depressed as hell from wasting $800-$900 on defective monitors. There is an insurance claim going on for the first FW900 which has been going on for almost 2 months now so I don't even know if I'm going to get my money back. The second one has an "exchange only" warranty and to be honest I don't even want another one.

But since I have to, I've been calling up the Jersey shop owner and apparently the guy has no more "grade A" FW900's in stock. For about 2-3 weeks, he's been telling me "We were supposed to get them in this week...blah blah blah"... and apparently they never came. It's been over a month now since I purchased the monitor. I called again yesterday and the guy tells me that he doesn't know when or IF he will get more in. But he tells me that he has "grade A" HP monitors that are the same as the FW900. He says he will switch the casing with the Sony one if I would like.

This disappoints me because I know that the HP monitors, despite being the same as the Sony ones, are not worth no $450... just check ebay for that. So now I am stuck with exchanging my defective Sony that I payed a whopping $450 for with an HP. I asked if there was any possible way for a refund and he told me exchange only. He also told me that he "might" be getting more Sony's in next week, but I highly doubt that will happen.

So what can I do here? I really don't want an HP FW900, I wanted the original Sony. But it looks like I have no choice. Should I argue with him that the HP is not worth as much as the Sony? I doubt it will get me anywhere.

I'm thinking about just making the switch to one of the new 2ms LCD's, such as the BenQ FP93GX. I've had about enough with used CRT's with their focus issues and the fact that people don't know how to take care of them. If I could find a really good quality NEW CRT I would be happy, but apparently no one makes quality CRT's these days. I'm EXTREMELY reluctant to buy an LCD too, because with my luck I will get the one with the most dead pixels and backlight bleeding, and I will probably obsess over ghosting if I manage to see any.

It looks like I'm just about out of options until SED comes out. :(

Thoughts, suggestions on what I should do? Thanks a lot guys.
 
ncix.com (Canadian company) has the Samsung 940BF 19" TN (2 to 4ms response time) LCD display for $420 U.S. dollars (yeah I know it's expensive) and they do offer for an additional $16 a 30-day zero-dead pixel policy where you can get up to 3 product replacements, read more at http://www.ncix.com/article.php?mode=expresscoverage. If after 3 replacements, you still haven't got a good one, you must choose a different model.

the 940BF is a great display (for a TN panel) in my opinion, and response time is extremely fast, obviously no LCD will be as fast as a CRT, but it's one the fastest LCDs today.

see the end of http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1007875&highlight=940bf for pictures I posted.

I was lucky I guess, I didn't need to use the zero-dead pixel policy.
 
If you're buying crts from 2000 and 2001 and NOT expecting focus issues you're going to be disappointed. LCDs suck for gaming, but for general usage are wonderful. I guess it depends on what you play and how much it bothers you. It wouldnt bother me at all to play something like WoW on an lcd, but playing an online fps is a horrible experience. Single player, probably not as much.
Put it this way, you've wasted $800 already and have nothing to show for it. Getting an lcd cant be worse than that :p
I highly recommend samsung.
 
Well then I got pretty luck with my used 21" IBM p275 then. It was manufacture in 2002 and it is used plus I only paid $237 with free shipping. I got it from azatek.com and they really packed it very well. Although I was worried about ordering the monitor I felt I did make a very good decsion since there are really not any good 21" new crts around anymore.
 
LCD's do NOT suck for gaming. I'm so dang sick of hearing that BS.
 
tc17 said:
LCD's do NOT suck for gaming. I'm so dang sick of hearing that BS.
Click to expand...
to each his own...


to the op: sorry to hear about your misfortune with the FW900. it does seem kinda hit and miss with these monitors(age related?). i truly hope you can find a monitor that works for you.
i got a grade a "factory refurbished" FW900 from www.azatek.com and it is in pristine shape except some scratches on the bezel.
its too bad the people you bought your FW900s from aren't willing to work with you. if you got a good one of these im sure you would love it very much.
i wish you luck.
 
dubbyah said:
The hp ones ARE worth around 400-450, just get one of those man.
Click to expand...
Ya, it's just a name on the plastic. I can almost assure you HP placed none of those electronics inside. A 50 mile drive may be a pain but it's definitely better than throwing $450 in the toilet. Seriously, just go and grab one....but maybe bring along your computer tower + keyboard to go test it out (hopefully he'll let you test it for longer than 30 minutes).

If it's futureconection you purchased from, they have new 22" mitsubishi 2060U's in stock for $200 and are definitely high end. Not sure how you'd work out that exchange though ($$$).
 
I wanted the Sony one too! However, he was out and I got the HP. No issues with the display. I got a good one and I find I'm not too concerned about the casing color. Take the HP-FW900! It is 1. Cheaper (you already paid so just switch the defective one out out) 2. Scalable for your resolution preference (no native resolution problems) 3. A historical piece (significant as the last great CRT). That's pretty much my take on your dilemma. Good luck in any case ;)
 
I'm most likely going to go back this week to have it exchanged. The only thing that pisses me off is that even though the HP one is the same, they still sell for at least $100 cheaper than the Sony ones on ebay. Oh well, what are you gonna do.

If I find myself to be disappointed with the next one I get, I might just break down and buy a brand new 22" CRT, most likely this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824133165

Even though I've heard little about it, the feature set and insane refresh rates and resolutions seem to make it worth it. And even though it might not be a trinitron or diamondtron, I never had a problem with shadow mask CRT's, hell I'm on a 2002 Samsung 17" CRT right now and text is still very sharp.

I can get it for $395 on techonweb.com

We'll see what happens... hopefully something works out.
 
jaguax said:
We'll see what happens... hopefully something works out.
Click to expand...
wish ya better luck with the next one.

btw, while you're sitting there bored testing out your replacement monitor, ask about their brand-new compaq p1220 aka mitsubishi 2060U they're offering. I wanted to stop down there myself and check them out. $200 for a brand new higher-end 22" mitsubishi tube is something that intrigues me...

BTW, try to give your replacement monitor a good long test before lugging it into your car and taking it home, hopefully save yourself another trip that way.
 
Hrm sorry to hear about all the bad luck. My FW900 (original Sony model) was manufactured in 2002 and still has *razor sharp* focus in fact it reveals more details than my 2 week old 34" Sony XBR960 HDTV. Are you sure the VGA cable is in good condition?
 
If you don't want the hp monitor ask the shop for a refund. If they say no and you bought it with a credit card file a charge back saying the shop refuses to honor the warranty on it. The bank will contact them and in most cases the store will return the screen. Personaly I would get the hp one and be done with it.
 
SJetski71 said:
ask about their brand-new compaq p1220 aka mitsubishi 2060U they're offering. I wanted to stop down there myself and check them out. $200 for a brand new higher-end 22" mitsubishi tube is something that intrigues me...
Click to expand...

Well guys, my monitor nightmare is pretty much over (aside from the insurance claim on the other one still being worked on...)... I called up the shop and they agreed to exchange the FW900 for one of these new 22" Compaqs. Not only that, but they also refunded the difference in price, so I got $250 bucks back.

So now I have a brand new 22" monitor with a diamondtron tube, running nicely at 100Hz. :)

And honestly, as nice as the FW900's are, I'd much rather have this brand new monitor than a 2001 Sony model with focus issues, case blemishes, and who knows what other future problems that might arise.

I can't comment much on this Compaq yet as I have only used it for 20 minutes, but damn do games look nice compared to my 17" Samsung.

Thanks SJetski71, by the way, they do appear to be brand new... I was skeptical at first, but they even have the sticker on the screen that says "Thank you for choosing a Compaq monitor... This monitor features a state of the art diamondtron tube.... because of this you might notice two faint lines blah blah blah..."

Finally happy with my purchase. Let's just hope that I get the insurance money back on the other FW900 I have($480) and then I'll be real happy. :)
 
Isn't there any warranty policy?
Just use some crap CRT and have the guy replace your LCD when he gets em ib stock.
Frankly I really don't get you, YOU PAID for that LCD, and that means he OWES you minimal support, if he doesn't come through threaten to SUE HIM, that usually works.
I know whatever I buy I make sure the warranty is there, and in Hardware, Ive had to use those warranties many many times...
:rolleyes:
HE HAS TO REPLACE IT, its not a choice but an obligation!

EDIT:
MENTAL NOTE: finish reading thread b4 making a fool of yourself....
 
Glad to hear that you finally got something good out of this whole situation.

As for the insurance issue you have to press the company. My wife worked for an insurance company for a few years, they were one of the better in the area but they "took their time" with certain cases (basically the ones they knew the could not protest). Best bet is to contact the primary company and tell them that they have until X days of X month to have this resolved by. If not you will report them to the BBB, each infringement that you have experienced ( and i mean single phone calls that lasted longer than their stated time) will be reported as SINGLE COMPLAINTS WITH THE BBB. Let them know that if this is not resolved by the date given that you will not only pursue legal action through the BBB but will contact their parent company to lodge X complaints and pursue legal action against both companies.

Though it is a large bluff most of the time, most companies dont want their names tarnished so they will settle quickly.

Hope that helps
 
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