Hi, I have a Samsung Syncmaster 226BW Monitor that I bought from Overclockers about 12 years ago. It now flickers or the screen is too dark to see when first switched on. I have updated drivers and changed to a hdmi cable with adapter. It runs 1680x1050.Has the time come to buy a new monitor? My graphics card was changed last year to an Nvidia Geforce GTX 960 and I use Windows 7. I word process and play a variety of games. Do I need a TN Screen ? 4K? Or a Television would be useful (I tried a 10 year old tv and the text was blurry and unreadable). Is a tv ok or is it better to buy a dedicated monitor? Which one please ? Grateful for your help.
Monitor or TV and old one flickering on startup
- Thread starter Max007
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Holy crap, I had to double check I hadn't written this post!
I have a Samsung 226CW that is doing the exact same thing, and is also 12 years old. It's definitely the monitor, it's been doing it for years but slowly getting worse. I also came here looking for my next monitor, because I don't think repairing it will be worth it.
My big problem is that the monitor always lacked the beautiful colours of my Samsung LED TV, so I really want an IPS panel, but I fear I may notice the difference between my current monitor's 2ms response and an IPS' 4/5ms.
As for 4k, I have a 1060 6GB and I've written off 4k for PC gaming with this card because I'd rather have a solid frame rate experience (I don't plan to upgrade my graphics card any time soon, you might be thinking differently though) - which leads me to consider a TN panel at 120hz or with Gsync, if the colours aren't too dull.
A TV is great for gaming but for actual computer use they're just too big or to far away IMO. However, if you were to go the TV route the 4k and HDR would be good future proofing tech (as they would be in a monitor really).
So tldr, I'm just as lost as you are.
I have a Samsung 226CW that is doing the exact same thing, and is also 12 years old. It's definitely the monitor, it's been doing it for years but slowly getting worse. I also came here looking for my next monitor, because I don't think repairing it will be worth it.
My big problem is that the monitor always lacked the beautiful colours of my Samsung LED TV, so I really want an IPS panel, but I fear I may notice the difference between my current monitor's 2ms response and an IPS' 4/5ms.
As for 4k, I have a 1060 6GB and I've written off 4k for PC gaming with this card because I'd rather have a solid frame rate experience (I don't plan to upgrade my graphics card any time soon, you might be thinking differently though) - which leads me to consider a TN panel at 120hz or with Gsync, if the colours aren't too dull.
A TV is great for gaming but for actual computer use they're just too big or to far away IMO. However, if you were to go the TV route the 4k and HDR would be good future proofing tech (as they would be in a monitor really).
So tldr, I'm just as lost as you are.
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If it helps I ended up going for the Samsung LS24E650, but it was close between that and the LS24F350.
Soldato
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A monitor of that age will have CCFL backlight(s) rather than LED and they do eventually die.
They can be replaced if you try hard enough, but not really worth the hassle on a screen that old.
They can be replaced if you try hard enough, but not really worth the hassle on a screen that old.