NON-BOATY. TFT computer monitors

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Avocet

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Completely non-boaty, but I know there are lots of clever bods on here! I'm thinking of replacing my old CRT monitor with one of them there new-fangled flat screen TFT monitors. There seems to be a very wide range of prices for very similar looking screens. Does anyone have any advice as to what to look for in the specification?
 
What do you intend to do with it?

I've got a Hanns-G at work, it is very nice, clear but wouldn't suit little bro who does moving graphic design... perfect for me doing general IT ...
LG are a pretty good make too.... I think they are the same screens as Hanns-G as the 19" widesreen model SWMBO has on her mac is the same as mine at work (haven't checked it out, cos not really bothered - they are both good screens and work well)

you can get standard screens relatively cheap - 17" are now small, 19" standard and then you pay more for the bigger screens...
I'd look to budget up to around 100 for a 19" model
 
Look for number of dead pixels. All LCD screens come out of very few factories and are then graded and priced and sold on to badge engineers according to quality.
 
I#ve had a 19" samsung for three years. I work at my computer from home all day every day and it is much, much easier on the eyes than my old screen. No dead pixels. I'd recommend.
 
Ilyama are excellent. Look for a "fast refresh rate" - should be around 8ms or less. Remember one key difference between your CRT and a flat screen is that the CRT can have its resolution changed over a wide range. The flat screens are optimised for just one resolution and dont look great if you change it. That matters if like me you are an old git with lousy vision. I chose a laptop with an old style screen and low resolution because the icons were bigger and it suited me. Try and take a look at the display on a live PC first. If you dont have lots of USB ports on your PC they do screens with a USB hub built in which can be handy. They make them with and without speakers (and the speakers are usually lousy). Most now also have both an analogue (the normal cable you already use on your CRT) and a digital socket (lots of pins). Day to day I dont see a lot of difference but technically the digital is better but you need a digital output on your video card. Dabs.com are a reliable web supplier

Cheers
Stuart
 
I'd agree with the comments above. Cheap screens may have dead pixels, which aren't regarded as a fault, though they're less common than they once were. I have a cheap TFT screen and it has one dead pixel which drives me mad when the screen is blank as Windoze starts, but which I rarely notice once I'm at work or play. The screen is 3 years old now, and hasn't developed any more.

Unless you're really into action gaming, the reaction time of the screen isn't that important. 8ms or 16 is irrelevant for office or internet stuff. Refresh rates don't matter - AFAIK, all TFT screens run at 60 hz, which would drive me nuts on a CRT screen, but give no noticeable flicker with TFT job.

Finally, get teh biggest screen you can comfortably afford. It's surprising what a difference a 19" monitor makes compared to 17"
 
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