I've been itching for a computer upgrade, but couldn't figure out what to get -- if I replace my motherboard/cpu, I'm video bottlenecked..if I replace my video card, I'm cpu bottlenecked..etc.

So..I found one of these for $220 + s/h. Whaddya think?

The only downside is that it has the white cabinet..but the cheapest Pricewatch price is $424, so I'm not complaining.

Nice monitor...but only 17"? For that price you can get probably get a decent deal on a 20 or 21" CRT. LCD's just aren't worth buying yet.

But it's definitely going to give good performance.

BTW, it's always better to upgrade one piece of your comp at a time. Especially drastic upgrades. For instance, upgrading your proc will make you go "Holy crap, everything's so much faster now!" then upgrading your video card will do it again. Quite the awesome effect

I have a 15" LCD now..and hardly any room. I love the size and weight -- they take up hardly any room (on my desk/table, that is).

Also..keep in mind that a 17" LCD is actually 17" visible..so it's bigger than a typical 17" CRT. This also has a 16ms response time, and my current one is 40ms..which ghosts really bad.

Samsung announced a garunteed zero dead pixel policy at the beginning of the year I believe. You want this or this. They both have 12 ms response times, so there is zero ghosting. MBeggar has one, I know him personally so I had a chance to check it out. Excellent image quality. Brightness is 300 cd/m^2 and the contrast ratio is 600:1, better than any other gaming LCD out there. Good enough for high end graphics work. Definately worth the extra money.

Edit: And yes, a 17" LCD has the viewable screen area of a 19" CRT. CRTs are measured by the size of the actual tube since it's not feasible for each manufacturer to measure precisely the visible size. Most manufacturers buy their tubes from giants like Sony. They're measured by tube size since the glass extends past the bezel. LCDs don't however, so they know the exact size easily.

This one has DVI as well as analog..so I can run both LCDs at once..if I ever find room. :p

It's also still under warranty, which is a nice perk.

Depends on the CRT--some are 18.1" viewable.

But yeah, if you're cutting down on room, and want a good LCD, go with what Emon said.

I had an NEC CRT, I think it was..beautiful picture, and I think it had 18.1" visible. It was a tank, though..I can pick my 15" LCD up with two fingers.

I love the '17" LCD is the same as 19" CRT' argument when basically all modern 19" CRTs are 18" viewable.

I have this CRT and compared to the LCD on my laptop, which is a pretty nice LCD, it still has a really awesome, crisp picture.

That's just me rambling about how LCDs aren't worth buying yet. Especially when to get a 1600x1200 native, you often have to go up to 20.1".

I got a 17 " LCD for christmas and im lovin it!

I don't have room for a CRT.

I didn't run 1600x1200 on my 19"..so I wasn't spoiled too much. :p

I had one of these :
http://www.epinions.com/content_67373207172
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005RCU7/dealtime-ce-feed-20/104-2829396-1911964

There's no denying the clarity of CRTs, though..a nice CRT will provide an awesome picture.

The 12 ms response Samsungs are definitely some of the best LCDs you can get though.

I just wouldn't buy one for myself at their current prices. =P

So buy a converter, they're cheap. Trust me, those two I linked two are the best LCDs on the market for their size. You don't want to buy anything else.

And they're also over $100 more expensive. :p

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10353288&SearchEngine=PriceWatch&SearchTerm=10353288&Type=PE&Category=Comp&dcaid=1688

This product qualifies for Free Shipping. Click for details.
Our Price: $479.99
List Price: $524.99
You Save: $45.00

Imho, it's worth $220.. :p

Even the cheapest, nastiest CRT you could ever find, has a response time of <0.1ms, will have better colors and simply look better. But... it'll be one big b*****d.

What? I linked to one that is like $300. What's that $480 dollar one you just linked two? And why are you buying from buy.com?

I still have an Impression 5 Plus Delta DA-510 15" CRT... OMG this thing is a POS... I need to upgrade.

Cheapest and nastiest CRT? I dunno man..I've had some bad CRTs...



The $480 one is the model that I'm buying..but I'm buying it off Anandtech FS/T for $220 shipped.

i have a samsung 712n

while its true that its an awesome monitor and the colors are beautiful, there is in fact some ghosting. it's very hard to notice, though. I had the monitor for two months before i noticed it, and it was basically a very white scene next to a very black scene.

overall a great monitor, would buy again A++

bought mine for $250 at bestbuy (450 - 200 rebates)

Uhh, easiest way to see if an LCD ghosts (And they ALL do):
Open up a nice big text document and scroll back and forth really fast. Or open an IM conversation and drag it around the screen. Then come back and tel me it doesn't ghost :p (And my friend has the exact screen Emon linked to, and although it hardly ghosts at all, it still does in that test above.)

Yes of course they ghost, just not noticably.

The important thing is: Does it ghost in GAMES?

With my current LCD, I can make it look like I'm hitting n2o in NFS:U by moving the mouse rapidly in a FPS..everything blurs. :p

I have 40ms-ish response time now..going to 16 -- should be a noticable improvement.

I have a 17" samsung syncmaster 712N flatscreen.

response time is downright awesome..... 12ms. I don't have any ghosting at all, but I do have one dead pixel. however, its not noticible and you have to be looking for it in order to see it.