Picking a monitor asap help

[Ultrageek]

Hi,
My dad´s CRT just died and he needs a replacement quick. He offered to buy an LCD and swap my dell CRT onto his but I haven´t been keeping up too much with LCD´s. I read a few reviews and I´m gearing towards the LG1710S... however it only has analogue input and I´m using a Radeon 9800 graphics card and don´t know whether I should be looking at monitors with DVI input (could someone clarify this for me?). I don´t want the price sky-rocketing, looking for something along the same price range. I would appreciate any options, and plz no biased opinions just cause u own a monitor. Also any info on philips monitors?
Thanx in advance!

Forgot to add.. I´ll be using it for everything, from internet to gaming (not really hardcore) 16ms seems adequate, short video clips a bit of image retouching etc. So a good all-rounder.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by ultrageek on 05/12/04 02:17 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Aciv]

Many people agree that DVI can and does make a difference with most current monitors.

With that said, I'm not really sure exactly how much you're looking to spend since, after a quick lookup, I couldn't find any stores that carry that particular model. However, if you need one right this second, I suggest looking at the Viewsonic VP171(b or s), Samsung 172X, BenQ FP767-12, Planar PX171M or perhaps some of the slightly older Hitachi models (174SXW, 175SXW, 175SXW2B). These models are all generally in the $500-600 price range, and you probably don't want to spend less than that due to quality concerns. Most of these monitors are reviewed right here at Tom's, so take a look.

If you don't need a monitor ASAP, I would suggest waiting a little bit. There are supposed to be some really high quality monitors on the horizon from a number of different manufacturers which may or may not reduce if not eliminate some of the gripes certain people have about these particular products.

 

[Ultrageek]

Thanx for the response. Some of the models u listed are a bit hard to find here in europe (Spain). Any other opinions? keep em coming.. I´ll need to decide tomorrow afternoon

 

[Ultrageek]

OK, I´ve rounded it down to the LG L1710S or LG1715S (Analogue input only, they both seem the same)or the L1710B version with the DVI option, I´ve done a bit of reading and they seem to have a really good price/quality ratio. The price difference is about 70 euros so is it really worth the DVI? I read somewhere on Tom´s that the analogue to digital converters are so developed nowadays there isn´t any difference, is this true? I plan on upgrading graphics cards in the future but the monitor will stay for a few years, so will the newer cards mean better monitor quality? Thanx again!

 

[Aciv]

I'm not too sure about the availability of monitors in Spain. But in regards to your question about DVI, it can sometimes depend on a) the monitor/video card combination and b) your own subjective opinion. Many people will swear by DVI, since it eliminates the need for the signal to go from digital to analog to digital. There are some cases, however, where the actual output seen on the monitor differs very little whether you are connected via DVI or not. And then there are some people that can't notice the difference no matter which monitor is being used. One thing to consider, however, is that with a DVI connection, there isn't much of a chance for signal interference from other devices in your system, such as your sound card. My personal opinion is to go with the DVI to ensure you're getting the best quality images possible. Good luck with your decision and your monitor.

 

[dbunger]

Heres the one to get, ViewSonic VP201s 20.1" LCD Monitor w/ USB2.0 Hub (s= silver, b= black). Absolutly no ghosting in any game. Tilts, swivels, heigth adjustment and no AC adaptor (power cord plugs directly into the monitor) Very, very thin bazel. One down side, it cost almost $1000 us. Good luck