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

Buy from reputable sources

[dtolton]

Being a programmer I spend a lot of time staring at the screen. As a
result I spend a lot of time making sure I have the proper setup.
The monitor is typically the most expensive single component on any
computer setup I get. However it also has the most longevity, so
it's very imporant to get it right.

My favorite monitors are the View Sonic series. It's possible there
are better monitors out there, but I am incredibly hesitant to switch
from a brand that I know very well and trust implicitly. I now own
my seventh ViewSonic (multiple computers) and I've had a good
experience every time except once. On the most recent setup I have
two computers on a monitor switch, on one of the computers the
letters were slightly blurry. It was very apparent because the
letters were crisp on the other computer. Getting a new video card
fixed the problem.

In short here is my advice:

- Buy a brand well known for quality
- Buy from a store with a good reputation
- Go for good resolution and high refresh rate
- Pick a video card that is compatible with your monitor
- Talk extensively with people who have experience with the brand
you are considering.

Trinitron

[Door-opening Fascist]

Get a Trinitron. They're pricey, but you won't regret it. They're brighter than regular monitors, as sharp as LCD screens, have excellent color and long life. The new ones have a special screen that is externally flat, but internally concave. This reduces glare but prevents the annoying edge distortion of normal flat CRT monitors.

Sony has an interesting description of Trinitron technology here.

If you're not adverse to looking on eBay, you can find some good deals there. Remember that many Dell, Sun, IBM, and SGI monitors are actually relabelled Trinitrons, so don't forget to check on them as well.

Re:Trinitron

[meowsqueak]

I agree with you. I have two Mitsubishi Trinitron monitors at home (one about 2 years old, the other about 4 years old) and both work flawlessly and still look great. After working on crappy Viewsonic CRT's all day it's a great relief to come home and stare at a fantastic display for a few hours...

The technology that Trinitron monitors use is called 'Aperture Grille' which, IIRC, consists of high-tension wires strung across a loom, of sorts. The two semi-noticable horizontal lines characterising Trinitron displays are actually the shadows from two horizontal wires used to space the vertical ones (or so I am led to believe). You don't notice them after a while, but occasionally they 'reappear'.

Aperture Grille gives a much sharper picture than traditional 'shadow mask' monitors, because the pixels are arranged in a rectangular array rather than triangles of RGB. This gives a distinct and crisp look to on-screen right angles, such as the corners of desktop windows.

The tube is also blacker, giving much better contrast. And it's flat :)

Anyway, I would certainly recommend Mitsubishi trinitron monitors. I've heard some bad rumours but my personal experience has been 100% good. And besides, everyone has a bad story to tell about anything.

You can also do that ClearType/sub-pixel rendering trick with trinitron monitors (which you can certainly do on LCD monitors with startling results!) because the pixels are laid out differently from those on a standard monitor.

Re:Buying an LCD?

[200_success]

So, first go to about:blank, then to javscript:void(document.bgColor='red'), javscript:void(document.bgColor='green'), and javscript:void(document.bgColor='blue') with Full Screen (F11) after each color.

A Bit of Research

[iMMo]

I just went through the entire process of buying a monitor two months ago - from idea in head to hooking it up on the day it arrived. I had two objectives: get a high quality display and pay as little as possible.

Research was the first step, so I checked out the stock at my local Fry's - pretty much everything was a flat panel, and what wasn't was garbage. I have a dual 21" setup at work, so I wanted at least 21" at home - plasma display was not an option for me. Local compter shops didn't have much better to offer - some Viewsonic or Optiquest models that I found were relatively inexpensive, and had good specs. Most of the monitors in the 21"+ range in my local shops were either too expensive or had crappy specs.

Out of all of my local research, I made a couple of brand decisions, and went to the net to get more info. I spent some time comparing between manufacturer's sites to get a good idea of what was 'state of the shelf' at that time. Using pricewatch, I was able to find a feature/price point. Then, I hit epinions.com and consumer reports online to get some further information on the brands.

At this point, I had found the monitor that I wanted - 22" NEC MultiSync FE1250+. I then began to shop around for the best price I could find. There were several retailers that were (relatively) highly rated on pricegrabber that had decent prices for this item. I picked one and followed their order process to see how much I would pay in shipping. The total seemed acceptable (~600USD) so I confirmed the order and moved into the buyer's guilt stage of the purchase.

Here's the big D'oh. As most people do, I went searching to see if I could find a better deal after the fact. I went to some of the larger computer retailers like Gateway and Dell, and wow! they had huge sales and free shipping deals. Not only that, but Dell's price on the same NEC monitor with no shipping charge was nearly 200USD cheaper than the retailer from pricegrabber. I promptly cancelled my order with the smaller retailer and placed an order with Dell. The next week I was bathing in the glow of my new 22" monitor!

So I guess the moral of the story is to research, research, research. Get info, then reinforce it with opinion and testimonials. You don't necessarily have to see it to get a good deal. Oh, and don't rule out the big guys - they often can beat out everyone else, even on stuff they don't normally sell individually!