A Guide to Choosing the Right 19" LCD Monitor - 7 Models Reviewed
by Kristopher Kubicki on November 30, 2004 12:04 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
Buying an LCD
For all the wisdom that we can give you about how to spec out a monitor correctly, all of that is worthless if the monitor doesn't fit your personality. Unlike a video card or CPU, buying a monitor is a very personal experience. People have differences on how they angle the monitor, the level of ambient lighting, and some just have different design tastes than others. If one monitor specs out better than another, but looks hideous on your desk, it probably isn't worth buying.Aesthetics aside, there are some key pointers to follow when buying an LCD. This may just be personal preference, but we always recommend buying an LCD from a retail shop. Since LCDs are such personal items - most likely the most personal computer-related item that you can buy - looking at it, touching it and just seeing it in person is something that can't be replaced by an online experience.
Keep in mind, when you go to a Best Buy or Fry's, the LCD monitors on display are out of calibration, physically dirty and probably receive a terrible signal from some sort of modulator that has been on for 5 years. There are very few exceptions where a floor model display will look better in the store than in an office or home.
Issues like warranty and pixel defect rate used to plague LCD buyers in the past, but quality control on most well recognized branded monitors today are high enough that we rarely experience these problems anymore. The most recent issues of defective pixels are usually limited to a few models like the recent debacle with Apple's cinematic displays. Almost every retail store has policies on LCD monitors that allow you to open the monitor packaging and view the monitor in the store before you take it home, and most retailers will replace LCDs that have dead or stuck subpixels, if you haven't take it out of the store yet.
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KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
Interesting, let me look into this. My 2001FP is A00 as well and i've had mine for over a year now. (No problems though).Do you know how much of a delay there is?
Kristopher
Cat - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
My boss's is A00. I'm assuming mine is as well, since I bought it a few days after he did. This was about a month and a half ago.KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
Angry Kid: We couldnt get a VP912B in time for the roundup. I am working on doing an individual review on that one though.Cat: On the back of your monitor near the serial it should say the REV number, like A01 or A00. Can you tell me which number it says on all those monitors?
Kristopher
blackmetalegg - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
And what's the color depth for the VP912b? It's not mentioned anywhere on Viewsonic's website and google didn't turn up anything. I'm torn between VP912b(supposed 8-bit panel) and FP937S(6-bit)...KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
Ensign: Fixed.Kristopher
KingofFah - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
#19, I have no clue when it comes to LCDs, so thanks for giving me that information. How many images are drawn on an LCD in a second (if they even do that at a fixed rate, i dont know)?If there is no refresh rate given, I assume that the response time could be equated to the gaming performance of the monitor. In that case I'd want the fastest possible response times, and I do not think that the price would justify it. I think image quality, speed, and clarity go to a CRT. Size, power usage, and eye care seem to be the concern for LCDs. I've got plenty of space, don't use the computer that often, and don't care about power usage.
Araemo - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
Is the NuTech L921G an 8 bit or 6 bit panel? it doesn't say in the specs.How about the Planar PE191M? or the Samsung SyncMaster 193P?
I'm not trying to nitpick guys, but I've been burnt by missing specs before ("Well, the review didn't mention it, so it must not be a problem..."), so I don't want to simply assume they're 8-bit when you didn't mention them(Since that wasn't stated in the intro)
Angry Kid - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
Agree with many of the others - why were none of the more recent, more high-end 19" LCDs tested?It would've been nice to see the ViewSonic VP912B FEATURED IN THE NOVEMBER GAMER BUYER'S GUIDE included.
=/
garfieldonline - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
I have been working with order people, and I can say many of them prefer their resolution around 1024x768. I may be wrong, but as for LCD monitors, if they are not running at their optimal resolution, the screen tends to look a bit blur. This is not a problem with CRT monitor, things are sharp as long as the resolution is within the limit.Araemo - Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - link
"It's the same friggin reason why people buy a 50" TV instead of a small 20""I doubt it, since most people I know buy a 50" so they can sit 20 feet away and still pick out the super-model's pimples. But not many computer users sit 20 feet back from their monitors(Or even signifigantly further back with bigger screens)