Question Screen is old, image blacks out. Time for new one?

[Isaac Zackary]

I have two Samsung SyncMaster T260 that we use as the TV, computer monitors, MiSTer monitor, and everything else.

But one shakes, randomly changes menu settings as if I were pushing the buttons, and also blacks out. These are old (11 years?).

The only thing I can think of to try to fix the one that's dying is to change out all the electrolytic capacitors. But that would be a lot of work, plus the cost of who knows how many capacitors, with no guarantee that that's the problem. Anything else I might be overlooking?

So do I fix or replace? Do I replace the one, or both?

1. What Is Your Country Of Origin?
USA

2. What do you plan to do with this monitor? (ex. Games, Movie Watching, Photo Editing, etc.)
TV, Movies (tiny living room) Zoom, Wordprocessing, Spreadsheets, Retro games with CRT filters (MiSTer), low lag.

3. What resolution and screen size do you want?
WUXGA: 1920 x 1200 seems to work the best for the MiSTer for me. But this size doesn't seem popular anymore. So if I can't get that resolution, then either a 1080P or a 1440P display should work, but not ideal. I like the 16:10 aspect ratio, but 16:9 wouldn't be the end of the world. 26 inch, more or less.

4. What refresh rate do you want? (ex. 60 hz , 70 hz.)
50Hz to 60Hz. Something that can also work with imperfect timings (eg. 58.3Hz).

5. How much are you looking to spend?
Less than $600 for both.

6. Brands Preferred (ex. Samsung, Acer, Asus, AOC, HP, Viewsonic, etc. )
I have no idea.

7. Brands Not Preferred (state reason why)
I have no idea.

8. Are You Buying More Than One Monitor?
I like having two that are the same. But if one is expensive, then I'll keep one and replace the bad one.

9. How Many Displays Can Your GPU Support Maximum? And what GPU and driver version are you using if applicable?
Desktop can display up to 6 (dual GTX590 cards). Surface GO can display two external displays. Mister can use two, but I probably won't use that feature.

10. What Port Do You Want To Connect To (ex. DVI-D, HDMI, etc).
Surface uses Display Port. The Desktop Computer uses DVI-D, I think. The MiSTer and other stuff uses HDMI. MiSTer can also output via VGA, but I probably won't use that.

11. Is This Monitor A Primary Display Or A Secondary Display?
Primary

12. Is This A Secondary Display For A Laptop?
Sometimes, but generally for Primary desktop, TV and console (MiSTer) use.

Where should I start?

 

[dudio]

It's possible the contacts on the control buttons are dirty, since you describe issues that relate to the buttons freaking out. If you comfortable doing a repair attempt, unplug the tv and apply a couple of drops of 90% isopropyl alcohol to each button, and click the crap out of them. You'll need to make sure all the liquid has evaporated before you apply power again. A better solution would be to open the monitor and try to get access right to the actual contacts, and use 'contact cleaner spray' on each contact and click the crap out of them. Again make sure everything has dried/evaporated before powering it on.

 

[Isaac Zackary]

What I don't like about my current monitor is the contrast ratio or grey "blacks". That, and I'm starting to not like the 16:10 aspect ratio anymore as it makes 16:9 viewing not optimal. It seems anything should be better than a monitor from 2008, right? Here's a couple of monitors I'm eyeballing as a replacment:

The Nano IPS LG UltraGear 27GP850-B 1440P 16:9 monitor an d the QLED IPS MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD 1440P 16:9 monitor.

But would either of these be good for small living room small family 480P/720P TV/movie viewing (would need converter box of course for TV signal), retro video games (upscaled to 1920x1440 and 2560x1440) and general PC work?

A 42 inch TV just seems too big for watching movies in such a small space, so why not just keep using a monitor as an multi-purpose display. But on the other hand, there doesn't seem to be a perfect display at those sizes, and some specs don't seem all that much better than what I got, or at least that's what reviews seem to say.

Here's a comparison on paper:

Monitors: Current/LG UltraGear/MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD
Tech: TN TFT/Nano IPS/QD IPS
Ratio: 16:10/16:9/16:9
Size: 25.5"/27"/27"
Resolution: 1920x1200/2560 x 1440/2560 x 1440
SDR brightness cd/m^2: 300(advertised, maybe as low as 96 tested)/349(tested)/347(tested)
HDR capable: No/Yes (up to 472 cd/m^2)/Yes (up to 389 cd/m^2)
Contrast ratio: 623:1/807:1/1,195:1

I kind of like the looks of the LG UltraGear 27GP850-B's specs except for the contrast ratio, which apparently isn't great on any of these monitors, and well, is kind of what I dislike the most out of the current one. But would it be worth the $400 or so to get this monitor with only a bit better contrast ratio? The MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD looks pretty similar, except a little worse in most catagories except contrast ratio.

The LG is also supposedly better at color accuracy and viewing angle than the MSI, which the viewing angle is particularly important for me. But the better contrast ratio keep me thinking of the MSI instead...

Any thoughts?

 

[Isaac Zackary]

Well, seeing how there aren't any 1440 screens with great blacks anyway I think I'll just stick to what I got.

Thanks!