LCD Or CRT ? need help to choose

[kenobi 0]

hi I am planning to buy a new monitor and I want to be sure it will satisfy my needs and this is what my problem is. I cannot decide, whether to buy a LCD or a CRT monitor. I know that most people say, that CRT monitors are history but still the LCDs have some problems with the dead pixels and other bugs. I would be very glad if someone could share with his knowledge on this topic. I would like to know the advantages and disadvantages of both technologies. I spend a lot of time working with computer so having a good monitor is very important to me. Most of the time I use it for programming, but I also like to play games so I would like to have a monitor that is good for both of this activities. I have to say that I am more likely going to buy a LCD so I would be interested in what details should I beware when buying one. And I almost forgot, I would like to spend something around 500$ so if someone has some advice on a specific model I would be very happy to know. Thanksp.s. i wanted to spend 150$ in the beginning but I changed it to 500$

[vizskywalker 0]

If you only want to around $150 then CRT is the way to go. I prefer CRTs anyway, especially for games, as they have a better color quality and brightness, as well as a better refresh rate. Think about this, if you take a laptop out in the sun, you can't see the monitor, but if you take a CRT out in the sun, you can see the image on the monitor, albeit faded. LCDs serve one purpose to me, less desk space. They do have problems that are petty resolved in CRTS like dead pixels, and they are more expensive and less capable. So unless space is an issue, I vote CRT.~Viz

[PC Astray 0]

Yeah but a CRT tends to strain your eyes when you spend more than 30 minutes at it for me. I used a CRT for my budget computer and a hp f1523 LCD screen now since it camed bundled along with my a426d so I can tell the difference. If you're going for CRTs, you may want to try looking at something far like out of the window for 2 to 5 minutes to rest your eyes.

[vizskywalker 0]

There are also ways to soften CRTs, especially depending on the grpahics card. This makes them easier to look at, but gives them similar attributes to LCDs. Dimming the brightness may also help. Then, when you play a game wou can simply raise the brightness and restore the other settings.~Viz

[wwheeler 0]

I feel that it would really depend on what you do more of, Gaming or Programming....For gaming, I would go with a CRT, as LCD graphics can be quite bad...For instance: I had an LCD on my main rig that I was playing World of Warcraft on, and I thought that the graphics were killer, but then Lightning struck the house, and blew out the monitor, so I pulled an old tried and true CRT out of the closet, and discovered that half of the colors were muted with the LCD, but not with the CRT. As well as some of the graphics can get really pixelated, or boxy with and LCD. The same can be said of a CRT, but generally not as badly as with an LCD.For programming, I would go with a LCD, as hours of sitting behind a CRT can cause problems like headaches. So to me it would really depend on what you do more heavily....-William

[Jorsart 0]

The biggest Issue I have with CRTs is the refreash method. The scanning. As we all know I am sure CRTs work on a scanning basis. The image is scaned onto the screan. This is the main issue with CRTs as the monitor ages this becomes more aparrent the the scanning motion causes extream strain on ones eyes. There have been several studies on this. Look them up. one of the studies I found shows the sudden increase of vision problems about the same time that Computers became popular. If you notice most computer programmers wear glasses " I said most not all lol"The LCD image is a constant image it changes smothly and is not a scanning image. This help relieve the strain on ones eyes. Recent upgrades in Technology have aided in the fading effect of LCDs The Sony notebooks with the true bright i think it is are very visible outdoors. You can get PC monitors with this technology. two cheap resources tigerdirect.com academicsuperstore.comthe academicsuperstore requires you to be a student or teacher of any grade leval. I will see if I can find that study aagain and post the link. I personally cannot use CRTs I have a problem with Migrains and the CRTs trigger the headaches. Just my two cents Enjoy Ray

[jipman 0]

There is a better solution though, did you know that there is such a thing as a glassfilter for monitors? I've got one myself, bought it in Vietnam for under $10.

http://www.3cmakers.com/

These are the things I'm talking about, the advantage is that they slightly dim the amount of light coming off your monitor, thus you can computer longer without getting all tearyeyed.

Anyway, gaming is not considered a good argument anymore, since there are already monitors with refreshtimes under 8 ms, this is not a prob.

Ofcourse, the price is still kinda high for LCD's.

So I would recommend a CRT

[Reaver 0]

Well all my monitors are LCD and i have four on them, i use the cheaper LCDs for programming and the more expensive one for gaming which by the way has a 4 second refresh rate, and serves its purpose quit well because i certainly at no time during my life want to drag my computer out into the sun so i would say this is null and void as goes for the dead pixel effect which will probably only happen to 1 in a 1000 these days the monitor warranty will definitely cover it and you can get a brand new replacement. So even though LCDs are still expensive you are definitely getting wat you paid for. So if you have decided on spending $500 dollars you will definitely be able to pick up a good LCD with a decent refresh rate for gaming or everyday use and unless you do play in direct sunlight i would say CRT it is, as for the colour loss this is also negligible.

[smyke 0]

it depends very much of wich is your primary activity ! if you want to use your LCD for programming, it's ok, because it affects less your eye, and it has an ok quality ! Crt are more resistent in time, it won't crack as quick as an LCD, but uses up way more space ! If you want to play games better chose an CRT, and if not, buy an LCD with a high quality that has a slow response time, and with the amount of money you are disposed to spend, you should find a monitor that has a small response time and with a high quality and that will not have bugs and dead pixel problems !