Is it time to ditch the CRT?

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

[TW]Fox

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Joined
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Hi guys,

Since 2002 I have had an Iiyama Visionmaster Pro 454 19" CRT. Frankly, its awesome. It's crystal clear, runs at very high refresh rates, can handle whatever resolution I want and gives me complete flexibility with resolutions which is VERY handy for gaming.

It also looks awesome when gaming.

But.. its a CRT. Am I stuck in the past? Should I upgrade it to something which doesnt look like it came from the 90's?

If so, what? Lets say £250 budget, as I've no idea what a decent TFT costs (This CRT was £360!). I dont want anything absolutely massive as they are a pain for browsing maxed out IE windows on.

I use it for gaming and general Windows stuff.

Should I?
 
If it works, then i don't see the point. You're happy with your current monitor, but you're just ashamed that it's a CRT :p
 
I'd definitely move over to TFT if I were you.

The OcUK 24" monitor is incredible value for money, and looks to be a really good performer from what I've heard in the reports from people who've bought them.

I had a 17" CRT and I absolutely loved it. Then I changed to a 17" TFT and was really dissapointed with ghosting and contrast issues (black was just grey :(). That was a pretty early TFT, and it died leaving me with no choice but to buy a 17" CRT for a fiver. I was actually quite happy with this screen, no ghosting and proper colours were welcomed, but since I've bought a Dell 2407WFP I have not looked back. I am chuffed with the sheer size of the thing, for use in windows/on the net it is amazing, and games are superb (I run the 360 through it too).
 
I still use a CRT and a TFT.

The colour vibrance is much nicer on the TFT, the CRT looks washed out in comparison.

plus it's sharper, and doesnt hurt your eyes to focus on.

Disadvantages are the TFT does have a little bit of ghosting which is negligable most of the time.
 
[TW]Fox;10699196 said:
Should I?
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Yes :) definitely. TFT's are much nicer, and I dread to think how much desk space the CRT is taking up :p plus widescreen is the new black, and your CRT probably isn't widescreen.

Personally (and I know 99% of people disagree) I'd rather go for a 19" and have better performance in games, than a larger screen and resolution which stresses the computer.

Only advice I can give though, is my small amount of personal experience. I'm on an LG L194WT now and it's really nice - makes my laptop and my girlfriends brothers laptop look like their screens are really dull. So LG are a good make going by this monitor. Good colours too.

My Belinea 1925S1W's are rubbish. They only have analoge in and need fiddling with ages before the colours look right. I have two of them from completely different stores and bought a different times, and they are pants! Cables that came with them were rubbish as they made light text on dark backgrounds 'ghost', seems to be a lot of inteference too probably due to analogue input - so go with DVI - and the colours really don't look right. The two monitors don't match each others colours if you display the same thing on both screens.

Maybe I've just got two bad ones but from my experience I certainly can't vouch for them.

Downstairs PC has an Acer monitor (not sure what model). It's only an office machine, however the colours look good and the screen looks bright. I used to do my work on that PC and never thought anything bad about the monitor.
 
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As a fellow Iiyama Vision Master Pro 454 user, I can say, hand on heart, to stick with it if you are happy with it.

True that TFT visuals can be more 'crisp' and not as washed out as a CRT, but for some reason I feel the Vision Master visuals are much easier on my eyes compared to a TFT.

Plus you are not cornered into using one resolution with games. And whacking up the refresh to 100Hz makes it so much eaier on my eyes compared to a TFT. (Yes I know that refresh rate on CRT do not equate to that of TFTs :) )

This is my personal opinion and Im sure many would disagree with me, but as I said, it is my personal opinion :)

I would like to use a higher resolution so perhaps I might invest in a 22" Iiyama eventually (cost next to nothing these day).

If desk space is an issue then you cant go wrong with a TFT but, as I said, Im personally sticking with a CRT.
 
Remember you have to run TFT's in thier native res for them to look good, while a CRT will look good in any res.

Saying that, I'd be tempted to upgrade from a 19", or maybe go for a dual monitor setup? A 19" CRT has a similar screen area to a 17" LCD.

19" crt + 19" LCD = lots of desktop area, plus it's easy to compare which picture you prefer. :)
 
No.

By the sounds of it you are very happy with your existing screen, and the only bad thing you can find to say about it is that it looks like something out of the 90s.

I'd probably still be using my 19" CRT now if hadn't of died, the only thing TFT has going for it is practicality in terms of size/weight. Obviously when buying a new screen TFT is the obvious choice due to poor pricing/availability on CRTs, but for existing owners of decent CRTs there is no reason to switch.

If you must downgrade and are still serious about modern gaming my recommendation would be to look at 22" models, you can get good ones for under £200 now. The 1680x1050 native rez will be more friendly to your framerate than the 1920x1200 used by 24" panels.
 
I'm still using a 19" CRT, perfect for gaming and much clearer and faster response times than any TFT I have seen, plus colours are much richer than the dull greys on TFT's...:cool: The only disadvantage I can see is that a CRT uses more room on your desk.. At the end of the day its the screen you are looking at not the back..;):D Once TFT's offer a better picture and performance then theres no reason to buy.
 
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For £250 I'd recommend the Dell 2007wfp, it has a superior screen and the colours and viewing angles are great in comparison to some, although larger, less quality screens. Your best bet would just be to go into any high street store or your mates house, use it for a bit and see if you think it's worth it.
 
[TW]Fox;10699196 said:
Hi guys,

Since 2002 I have had an Iiyama Visionmaster Pro 454 19" CRT. Frankly, its awesome. It's crystal clear, runs at very high refresh rates, can handle whatever resolution I want and gives me complete flexibility with resolutions which is VERY handy for gaming.

It also looks awesome when gaming.

But.. its a CRT. Am I stuck in the past? Should I upgrade it to something which doesnt look like it came from the 90's?

If so, what? Lets say £250 budget, as I've no idea what a decent TFT costs (This CRT was £360!). I dont want anything absolutely massive as they are a pain for browsing maxed out IE windows on.

I use it for gaming and general Windows stuff.

Should I?
Click to expand...

Youll get used to browsing IE on a large screen. Just get a 22-24 Inch TFT and you will wonder why you didnt do it sooner.
 
I used to have a Iiyama Vision master Pro 454 too and remember paying obscene amounts for it.

I've just recently got myself a Samsung 226BW and I feel it is superior in everyway.
 
Another former Vision Master Pro 454 user here. I moved from it to my Dell 2407WFP this time last year and I must say it's a hell of an upgrade. Colours are a lot more vibrant, text is much sharper, and it's bloody huge :D

The one thing is can't do quite as well is dark colours - the blacks on the Dell are more like dark grey compared to the true blacks of the IIyama. But I've got no complaints apart from that. Gaming and general use is just so much better on the big screen. I'd say you should definitely treat yourself to a nice 22" or preferably a 24" if you can stretch that far.
 
I think the biggest gain would be widescreen. It's much more immersive for gaming. LCDs are a bit more crisp and vibrent than CRTs, and they don't lose their focus/contrast over time.

The down-side of LCDs can the viewing angles, back light bleed and ghosting. Having said that, being the owner of a good CRT and decent LCD, given the choice I stick with the LCD.

LCD's take a few days to get used to if you previously used a CRT, but you'll love it after that.
 
I changed from my CRT due to the fact that my desk was seriously buckling under the weight of the 22". What I didn't realise was, like others have noted, is just how washed out the colours were on my CRT when I got a TFT. The vibrancy of thsoe colours were phenominal. I must have got used to the washed out look getting worse over the years with the tired 22" CRT that I had.

Best move that I made. :)
 
Vimes said:
What I didn't realise was, like others have noted, is just how washed out the colours were on my CRT when I got a TFT. The vibrancy of thsoe colours were phenominal. I must have got used to the washed out look getting worse over the years with the tired 22" CRT that I had.
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It's true, the old CRT's loose their shine after a year or two. It happens so slowly you don't notice. I was happy with my CRT until I saw my sister's nice new dell 19' LCD. The picture looked so alive and fresh - the way a brand new CRT should.
 
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