Poor man's LCD?

S

signmeuptoo

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
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I live on a fixed income, life is a bit hard, I am disabled.

Well, my CRT is aging and seems to be getting dim. I won't have money until maybe a few months from now for a new monitor, but I really want an LCD.

Well, is there such a thing as a 20"+ monitor that isn't bad for less than $250? Are they all TNs? Color quality and response will matter most, and blacks after that. Gaming and online use are the two priorities. I see the Sticky and I really appreciate that list made, I just wish there was a site or a way to know what every panel is before you lay down money. It seems like the manufacturers are taking advantage of people by keeping it unknown.

If I am stuck having to settle for a TN panel, what should it be?
 
It will definatly be a TN at that price range, as far as lcd's i think ill let someone else recommend something. though if you looking @ bigger than 20/22, i think that soyo 24" was around 250. dunno.
 
If you can find the Soyo 24" on sale it's usually about $300 (I think, check the soyo posts for sure). I picked mine up on ebay for $315 w/ shipping. The Westinghouse 20" usually retails for about ~ $279, picked mine up on ebay for $208 w/ shipping. Both were new.

You can find a few 20" under $200 (+shipping), and a few 22" under $250 (+shipping) at various e-tailers.

Your best bet is getting a good deal on a new monitor on ebay if you want that size at that budget.

All the 22" will be TN's (I don't think there is a 22" that isn't a TN, but if there is it will be over $300). Not sure on the 20" - I know my Westie is a TN, but I've been happy with it so far.

Hope this helps.

Kevin
 
Thanks for that wonderful information guys. At least the TNs, while the cheapest, are also generally best for gaming, right?

What would it be like to go from a CRT @ 19" to passable LCD @ 22"? Is it an effective 4" increase? Will it help my aging eyes some?
 
signmeuptoo said:
Thanks for that wonderful information guys. At least the TNs, while the cheapest, are also generally best for gaming, right?
Click to expand...

Define 'best' - not meaning to be flippant here, some people will prioritise screen size or viewing angle above latency.

If latency is the be all and end all then yes, there are a couple of 22" TNs (Acer & iiyama) that have 0 delay compared to CRT, though there may still be a hint of perceptible motion smearing. I think that's the reason people tend to associate these type of display as the best for gaming.

Personally the view angle on TN drives me nuts - it's like there is a permanent shadow across the top of the image. Lots of people don't care about it though...


signmeuptoo said:
What would it be like to go from a CRT @ 19" to passable LCD @ 22"? Is it an effective 4" increase? Will it help my aging eyes some?
Click to expand...

The screen height will be roughly the same, just a little taller with the 22" 16:10 widescreen. If helps to visualise - imagine stretching your 19" CRT sideways to add a couple of inches either side.

This tool is pretty good for working out the size difference
http://www.silisoftware.com/tools/screen.php

If you feel you need a bigger screen to help your eyes then really you need to go up to 24" though that is pushing your budget somewhat i.e. the budget 24" TN panels seem to start around $350-$400
 
Physical size the 22" roughly the same height as a 19" crt (random picked monitor: 20.2"w x 16.0"h x 7.8"d for LCD, 17.6"w x 16.7"h x 18.3"d for CRT). The 7.8" for depth on the LCD is from the stand.

Resolution depends on what you run on your CRT... 1600x1200 vs 1680x1050 should look about the same (refresh will be 60htz on the LCD), but the pixel density should be better. If you run 1280x1024 the 1680x1050 will be a bit smaller, but again pixel density should be better (for poor eye sight) on the LCD.

You might check the "Show your LCD" or "Show your Workstation" and see if there are any 19" + 22" comparisons.

Kevin
 
If you have thrift stores or Salvation Army thrift stores around, they sometimes have 17" LCDs for $20-$50 or less. Here in North Florida anyway.


Whoops, I just posted based on the thread title. You can get a Used/ Refurb Dell 2005fpw on e-bay for around $200. Just be sure it's insured when shipped, and original packaging is a major plus.

For bieng on a fixed budget though, you are bieng quite picky. If you want something new, you will probably have to settle for something cheaper.
 
Hey, I got mine for $230 some. Bought it at Samsclub.

The biggest problem with its little brother?

The stand does not stay on. Scares the Bejeesusbub out of me. It pops
off, and I'm afraid of some unsuspecting idiot like me a 2 a.m. picking it up,
then the whole thing going down, after the warranty expires, even.

I assume there are going to be deep discounts on this stuff before and after
Christmas, so if you can hold on that long ... however, if you've got a few extra
dollar fishes swimming around in the cold cash pond, the difference probably
isn't going to be THAT much.

I wanted another monitor, I was lobbying for a more expensive one, but my
girlfriend got out the heavy weaponry. Slung the Chaymen 5000 Buttcrackblaster
to her shoulder, and I was toast. The two things I like most about it are the
HDCP (I assume you can use one of those Comcast digital cable boxes with it-
if not, it's going back-I just took back another Acer, the AL2002W, that
doesn't do HDCP-the guys down at Wal*Eye were laughing at me, I took back
TWO monitors, the other that said it had a "Wide" aspect ratio, but I stupidly
didn't look at the fricking AR on the box) and the real screen estate. -- Well,
I like THREE aspects: I like the fact that it'll do 1080i for such a low price. My last
monitor did 1080i, and this one is a whole two inches bigger. Wow.
I heard a guy somewhere else say "It'll do 1080p, but with an error
message". I assume it's displaying it at a lower resolution.


It hasn't gotten here yet, but I've got her main monitor here,
its VGA little brother that she got down at Wal*Eye as part of a system,
and it's just great. It looks like a good twisted neumatic panel.
The thing about he last one that was bad was that the viewing angle
suffered from top to bottom, even. This one is great. I will have to see
if the 22" one (with the same design) is similar.

You seem to have a pretty good command of Englash, you might try transcription
at home, as we do, you say you game, so I assume you can type.
We can work all night :eek: on these files, it's better working on them in
the daytime than in the night because of the infernal diurnal,
and you can double-team on them with anyone who's got halfway
decent grammary, and the money isn't
that good, it sucks, but it beats gummint droppings.

I enjoy this work, it's fun, it's better than the alternative.

Humanculus
 
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