LCD Monitors, what to look for...

My old CRT is starting to act up, I'm looking at getting an LCD flat
panel, Samsung & Viewsonic have some reasonably priced large ones (~21")

What are some key factors/features I need to look for to be happy with
one, especially with SWX?

Thanks

 

I have two Samsung SyncMasters. One is the 213T (21") and the other is
the 940T (19"). I think they're both great and have no complaints
whatsoever (aside from the fact that I wish they were both
21"...thanks, boss.).

 

response time, actual resolution where it is most happy and contrast
ratio.

bob z. has a Rosewill 19" at home. it is really nice considering the
price. the rosewill generally gets pretty good reviews:

www.newegg.com

bob z.
p.s.

 

Too great a response time will drive you nuts. 20 ms is far too long.
8-12 is acceptable. 4 ( my home monitor ) is an un-noticable delay. You
can get faster, but you'll pay a huge price for it.

 

You might be wary of marketed response times. I can't remember the
details but I know that manufacturers misrepresent response times. I'm
sure you could find more about this on a monitor/lcd newsgroup.

-john

 

Really, faster than 4 ms! I thought 4 ms was as low as they got, at least
from a white to black state, with gray to gray state being typically 2 to 3
times that.

Ken

 

http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/05/asus-joins-the-22-inch-madness-with-the-mw221u

not sure if its available stateside or not yet

 

We've been buying lower priced 19" units for about $186. We set them up
as dual monitor systems. The guys really like them because you can have
SW on one side and ERP, eDrawings, etc. on the other. We have good
quality NVidia cards in all machines so this works out great.

 

if unreasonable was an option, this might be perfect.

http://www.eizo.com/products/lcd/l997/index.asp

;/

 

I don't believe any of this response time stuff. If response time is
the time to go from a black pixel to a white pixel that would be
usefull if I was strobing my monitors with white and black squares all
day!

I have 2 ag neovo 19 inch lcd's, they are both digital and are well
reviewed. I bought them 3 months apart - the first is 25ms and the
second is 12 ms and the only way to tell the difference is to look at
the back where the sticker says it.

I would pay more attention to resolution, bad pixel policy, nits
(brightness), bezel width, and warranty....

 

Response time would not be an issue if cursor position were a closed
loop and the monitor were somehow telling the cpu where the cursor was.

Lets say you move your mouse at a rate that traverses the screen
corner-to-corner in a 1/2 second ( thats pretty slow ). My current monitor
is a 21". Thats moving at .0105"/ms. A 4ms response time gives a possible
error of .042", 25ms possible of .2625". If you are zinging the cursor back
and forth across the screen mashing buttons, with hardly a pause inbetween
( something SW likes to have you do ), that translates into missed mouse
clicks. Where you thought the cursor was when you clicked, is not the same
as where the CPU thinks it is. Perhaps you don't notice the delay, I
deffinately do.

The other specs you mention are absolutely important. But those are
specs that are obvious. I only mention response time because its not a spec
that everyone would think to consider. Its not something you notice on the
showroom floor. The higher response times ( within reason ) would not
normally effect the average user.

 

Am I correct in also thinking that a slower response time will show itself
when rotating a model? I have seen some cheap LCD monitors and even changing
text is fuzzy until it catches up.

WT

 

Have you considered two 19" monitors as opposed to one 21"+ monitor? I
have found that my productivity is greatly increased by having two
separate monitors.

It is easier to manage windows, especially because I always work with
"maximized" windows. If you really only work with one application at a
time then just one larger monitor would probably be best for you.

As far as response times go - there is so much disinformation out there
it will make your head spin. There is no standardized method for
measuring response times. There is g2g - gray to gray. b2w - black to
white. Some companys advertise the time from b2w2b.

Really any monitor manufactured within the last two years or so from a
reputable manufacturer will be fine. Dell periodically has great deals
posted at techbargains.com. Just last week they had a 20.1" widescreen
for $230 shipped.

As far as measuring mouse accuracy based on ms response time - it
doesn't add up. I've been using lcd's for both work and play (first
person shooters) since they first became popular about 5 years ago and
have never had a problem with mouse accuracy. And the response times
on those old lcd's were definitely slow! I can be described as a
computer nerd whose fingers can move faster than most people think .

Good luck buying!