CRTs vs LCDs

[Barinthus]

Nuke Master, my impressions from the article is that with newer LCDs, it'd depend on your video card. If you have the top cutting edge card, you are probably wasting its performance capabilities on a LCD but if you have 'average' card, either CRT or LCD will do just fine.

I'd love to have a LCD but sorry, pricing is wrong for me right now. I'm content to wait for prices to drop, I'm not in any hurry.

[Adagio]

I've had an LG 19" TFT (or LCD if you want) for a few weeks now, and I'm defently happy about buying it. The image is much sharper than CRT, and I have yet to see some ghosting. Ok, I haven't played that much 3D games, but I did play a little Doom 3 to test the monitor.
And viewing angle is defently not a problem with my monitor. Last night I turned my monitor into an angle where my eyes could just barely see the screen, but what I saw of the screen was in almost perfect color... and here I'm talking about an angle as close to 180 as possible

But the best thing about the TFT monitor is that it's anti-reflective. Before I bought it, my old CRT monitor always had reflections of the windows (real life windows ) just behind my back, and sometimes the light I have just next to the monitor would also reflect in the screen... but no more. Even if I look closely I can't see any reflections... that is only if I have a light pointing directly to the screen, and being very close to it, I can see the reflection, but still only just slightly (Still possible to see exactly what's going on)

[child of Thor]

At work i've got access to both.

From my experience i'd say that if you use your pc for general internet/text viewing stuff then i prefer to use a flat screen(TFT), which is what i got on this pc. I just find it easier on the eyes.

For gameing, i prefer a good CRT, and one of my friends who does 3d graphic work(using things like 3Dmax etc) and maybe Photoshop he prefers a CRT as well.

For the price of an average TFT you can get a pretty decent CRT.

[alva]

my CRT ( 19"inch) will be here to stay until it finally breaks down as I see no apparent reason to get rid of it.
Sure, it's a big beast, but at the moment I have plenty of desk space.

When I buy a new one, it will be a flat one though, hopefully that will be while my current one is still working so I can have a dual monitor set-up.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by nostromo


Yes, they have a better response time. Of course, if you play Civ, response time is pointless...

And you can pick different resolutions for different games.....

CRT LCD's are for women!

[Spaced Cowboy]

Originally posted by Dissident


how big is that thing!

my 19 inch takes up so much space. And very damn heavy.

Imagine the biggest freaking monitor that you've ever seen before. It is a Nokia 445X pro ($999.00 new).

This 21" (20.0" viewable) monitor features a 0.26mm dot pitch. As the flagship model series in Nokia's lineup, the monitor has a superb maximum resolution of 1800x1440 @80Hz refresh! A version with integrated USB hub is also available.

[reds4ever]

I've got an 21' IIyama, heavy as f$%k, but only 80 quid off EBay

[Spaced Cowboy]

I did not buy it new, got it for $75 local, mint condition.

[Shogun Gunner]

I have been looking at this choice for some time now. I have a 17" Dell CRT that I bought in 1996 -- refurbished for $500. Every year that passes, I expect this monitor to die. It just won't die!!!! I have moved several times inthe last nine years of owning this monitor, and it still works great. On principle, I won't get rid of this monitor until it dies.

That being said... a few questions.

1. Dead pixels: How often is this a problem? It would seem that this is a deal breaker if the screen is tarnished by any imperfections.

2. Refresh rate: How do I choose the right video card/TFT combination? Can I trust what Dell offers?

3. Sunlight and glare: My office is very bright. Sometimes it is very difficult to see the images during the day. At night, the LCD image is great. Is there less or no sunlight glare on these LCDs?

Price is a big factor for me. I want a 19" or 21" monitor, but not at current TFT/LCD prices.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
1. Dead pixels: How often is this a problem? It would seem that this is a deal breaker if the screen is tarnished by any imperfections.

I've had two TFT monitors, but none of them had dead pixels... the first one was returned for a failure of power supply (and for several reasons I got the cash instead of a replacement)

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
2. Refresh rate: How do I choose the right video card/TFT combination?

As far as I know there's no problems here, no matter what combination you choose, unless of course you choose a video card that doesn't support the resolution the monitor requires...

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
Can I trust what Dell offers?

With my experience with Dell (school computers): No

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
3. Sunlight and glare: My office is very bright. Sometimes it is very difficult to see the images during the day. At night, the LCD image is great. Is there less or no sunlight glare on these LCDs?

As posted earlier: In my TFT monitor there's almost no sunlight glare (or any reflection of any type)

Originally posted by Shogun Gunner
Price is a big factor for me. I want a 19" or 21" monitor, but not at current TFT/LCD prices.

Most people say a 17" CRT is the same as a 15" TFT
If it's true or not I'm not sure, since I went from a 17" CRT to a 19" TFT

[Shogun Gunner]

Very comprehensive answers! Thanks ADG. I'm going to keep my eye on the prices and wait for an anticipated price drop. Maybe this holiday season will show some price competition.

[Sava]

CRT's are superior. I have both a 19 inch CRT and 17 inch LCD. BY FAR, the CRT is superior.

CRT's are/have:

better image quality
cheaper (especially for larger sizes)
better refresh rates

[DrSpike]

CRTs, most definitely!

[Adagio]

Originally posted by Sava
better image quality

Unless you're talking about some ancient TFT, TFT monitors has defently a much better image quality, and should be even better with DVI (My monitor has it, but I've not tested it yet)

Originally posted by Sava
cheaper (especially for larger sizes)

That's the only drawback so far

Originally posted by Sava
better refresh rates

Only if you look at the numbers... most people say you can't compare refresh rates between CRT and TFT. IIRC they say that 50 MHz (or is it HZ..? I never remember) on a TFT monitor is about the same as 80 on CRT, or something like that...
...and I've heard from several people who can easily tell if a CRT monitor runs on 60, while they see no difference (in refresh rate) on TFT's running 50 compared to CRT running much higher

I don't know how true this is, since I'm used to a refresh rate of 60 (on my old monitor)

[Sava]

Originally posted by Adagio


Unless you're talking about some ancient TFT, TFT monitors has defently a much better image quality, and should be even better with DVI (My monitor has it, but I've not tested it yet)

image quality is somewhat subjective, but CRT's have better dot pitch ratings... which is a key factor in image quality.

That's the only drawback so far

which is a pretty big drawback... considering I can get a top of the line 21 inch CRT less than a 17 inch LCD

Only if you look at the numbers... most people say you can't compare refresh rates between CRT and TFT. IIRC they say that 50 MHz (or is it HZ..? I never remember) on a TFT monitor is about the same as 80 on CRT, or something like that...
...and I've heard from several people who can easily tell if a CRT monitor runs on 60, while they see no difference (in refresh rate) on TFT's running 50 compared to CRT running much higher

I don't know how true this is, since I'm used to a refresh rate of 60 (on my old monitor)

the refresh rates are generally better on CRT's... my ViewSonic E90fb refreshes at 75HZ at 1600x1200x32bit... my LCD is only 50Hz at 1024x768 (it's a Dell LCD).

That's fine if you prefer an LCD. This is all just a matter of opinion. You are certainly entitled to yours.