Help buying a monitor please..

IwantanewPC

IwantanewPC

IwantanewPC

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Joined
15 Jan 2006
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388
Hey guys, I have about £100 to spend on a monitor but the problem is I really don't know what to look for when buying one.

I am going CRT because they are cheaper and I'd like at least a 17" one, preferably "19.

I'll be playing lots and lots of games so it should be a good monitor for games.

What should be the minimum resolution of the monitor? 1280x1024 if it's 17" and 1600x1200 if it's 19"?

And what about the maximum refresh rate?

Anything else to look out for?

Any tips, advise or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
 
Those resolutions are OK, the refresh rate won't be a problem.

If you're local, I need to get rid of an EX700F and an S900MT1...
 
If you can find another £20-30 you should be able to buy 19", but it will be a budget model. The Hyundai OcUK sell gets decent write ups. The best CRTs are the diamontron aperture grille screens, rather than the cheaper shadowmask screens, but you won't get diamondtron for under about £180 new.

You could look at a used CRT off the bay, then £100 will get you diamondtron and anything from 19" up to 24". You may well end up with something out of warranty, but quality CRTs generally last a while. They do dull a little over the years though so don't get anything too old.

As for resolutions, 17" screens can usually do 1280*1024 but only at refresh rates that will flicker (60 to 72 Hz). Really you want to use 85 Hz to avoid flickering. In reality you'll end up using 1152*864 @ 85 Hz on a 17" CRT.

19" screens will go up to 2048*1536, but not at refresh rates that are usable. Budget 19" CRTs will do 1600*1200 at 75 Hz, which may flicker a little. Top end 19" CRTs will do 1600*1200 at 100 Hz or above. However the pixels are so small on a 19" CRT at 1600*1200 that I would strongly recommend you don't use that res. 1280*1024, 1280*960, 1360*1024 are the res's you should be using on a 19" CRT, at 85 Hz or above.

As for manufacturers, the best are usually Sony, Dell, Mitsubishi, Viewsonic, and Iiyama used to make good screens. The cheap Samsungs are pretty awful so avoid them. That applies to all companies though, the cheaper screens won't have the same image quality as the top-end ones.

I have Viewsonic P97F+SB which cost me £185 and is diamondtron and superb, but it's obviously out of your budget and I don't think it's available anymore. That's another problem - there isn't many CRTs available new anymore.
 
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