Shopping for a New Monitor?

Cecil asks: "Well, I've looked through the reviews and found several good displays. The problem is that quality can vary drastically from unit to unit. Just because the reviewer got a good screen doesn't mean you will. A lot of people say that it's a bad idea to buy a display device sight-unseen and from experience I have to agree. There are the big chain stores that will have monitors on display, but they will typically only have the 'value' models. So, what is your monitor buying process? What do you do to make sure you get the sort of high-quality display that'll last you through the next couple hardware upgrades?"

Comments

Re:Depends on Your Price Range

[maxpublic]

I have both a KDS Rad-5 and a Rad-5p. The Rad-5 is a good monitor; far, far easier on the eyes than any CRT ever was (even the better CRTs give me trouble after a couple of hours).

The Rad-5p was bought after the Rad-5, and was shipped in the Rad-5 box. The Rad-5p is clearly inferior to the Rad-5. Unfortunately the machine self-identified as a Rad-5 and I thought the poor display was due to my inability to get the video drivers working properly (different video card on the machine with the Rad-5p). Having determined the problem was my fault, I simply decided to live with it until I discovered, seven months later (and one month after the return guarrantee expired), that the monitor wasn't a Rad-5 after all (a new set of video drivers correctly identified the monitor). The company, of course, refused to take back the monitor and replace it with the one I actually wanted. Their reasoning: in small print it actually says that they'll ship a Rad-5p instead of a Rad-5 if the latter is out of stock, as these two are 'functionally equivalent'.

Bastards....

In any event, the KDS Rad-5 is a good monitor and worth the money. The Rad-5p sucks donkey dick. If you buy KDS, make damn sure the company that's providing the monitor actually sends you an honest-to-god Rad-5. My computers are always-on and the Rad-5 hasn't had a single dead pixel in all the time that I've owned it. I can't say the same for other brands bought by folks I know.

Max