How long do monitors last?

[Merlin5]

I was at a family get together today and the son of my sister in law's brother was interested in buying my 23" LG Flatron w2361v monitor and was prepared to pay £70. I said I'll drive home and get it. He wasn't even interested in the box I had for it, just the monitor and cables. The mother said to him that she has the cash on her, but then his father who works in IT said "how old is it?" I said 2 and a half years, and he said oh that's no good, it's the time when they start flickering and going wrong, so he put the son off buying it. The monitor is perfect, so do you think he was right?

 

[Merlin5]

Well it's LCD. 2ms response, 1920x1080 and I reckon it would have lasted him at least another year, but I could be completely wrong.

 

[Merlin5]

They don't fail but rather gradually deteriorate as the backlights or phosphors lose brightness over time.
I think the minimum half-life, time until 50% brightness is 50,000 hours or similar.

So that would be about a 5 year life span I guess.

I always love this part when people in IT think they're experts. You'll definitely not be the type that ups the brightness and contrast to max. Most people would which definitely kills it's life.

Did he even see it in action? I'm betting no as it sounds like soon as you said 2 years old, not interested. Surprised a guy thats in IT doesn't realize there are people out there that looks after their gear.

+1

Nope, he didn't see it in action, I was about to drive home and fetch it before he was advised not to buy it. Personally, I think he made his son miss out on an opportunity of a very nice monitor that has performed flawlessly for me and as you rightly assumed, has not had anything close to brightness and contrast maxed.