Best TFT Monitor for $350 or Less?

LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, Alaska Icrontian
edited September 2005 in Hardware
One of my CRT monitors is on the fritz. No tears from me - I've been waiting for an excuse to upgrade to flat panel. I am looking for a 19" flat panel monitor and would like to know your opinion on the best one for under $350.

Requirements:

-- Must be able to do anything reasonably well. Gaming will happen too, but that will not be the primary usage. Is an 8ms response good enough for general gaming (of course, not the highest FPS games)? I'm sure Xander will be doing some gaming with it.

-- Must be bright (assuming minimum of 270NAT). Is 250 high enough.

-- Minimum of 500:1 resolution.

-- Is DVI necessary for quality colors, resolution, and sharpness? What is the advantage of digital input?

-- Even color distribution. Some are better than others, right?

-- Grayscale. Hmm, it's hard to find reviews on many of the newer monitors available. Quite often, grayscale isn't even included.

I'd prefer to purchase locally. Shipping is expensive to Alaska, and it would be nice just to drive to the store if I need to return a monitor due to dead or pulsating pixels. Available in my locale is Sam's Club, Costco, CompUSA, BestBuy, and WalMart.

Here are some monitors that I've been looking at. Comment if you like. If you don't recommend any of them, I'd appreciate your alternative!

ViewSonic, 8ms-550-270
Samsung, 8ms-700-300
Samsung, 8ms-700-300 (This last link to Bestbuy - the in-store price for the 930B is $329 after mail-in rebate.)

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    8ms is actually a very good response time. I have a viewsonic monitor with 8ms response, and I game a lot. It looks great.

    One thing, make sure that whatever monitor you get uses DVI - the quality is noticeably better than analog (d-sub). That viewsonic you listed would be out of the running for me because it is analog only.

    I had a samsung 19" and it was gorgeous.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    I've got a samsung 172t and I love it. One of my friends has a newer samsung 17" and he loves it. I would definitely recommend samsung.

    As far as response time goes, 8ms is definitely sufficient for gaming, FPS or otherwise.

    Another important factor is native resolution. All the 19" LCD monitors I've seen are 1280x1024. This is the same as 17" LCD monitors. What this means is that moving from 17-19 inches won't give you better image quality, it'll just make things look bigger. I don't know what you ran your previous monitor at, but you won't be able to run at anything above 1280x1024. Main point of this - you may want to consider a 17" rather than a 19" because it has the same native resolution, but it's a little smaller.

    I say this in pretty much all the lcd threads: go to the store and see if you can compare the monitors side by side - it really helps you see which specs are really important in getting you a good monitor.
  • NiGHTSNiGHTS San Diego Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    I've been using the SyncMaster 730B since May. Love it, and immediately wished I had sprung for the 930B. I have no regrets about the purchase. :thumbsup:

    The only problem I have with this is that Samsung is taking forever to get back to me with my rebate from the monitor. I picked it up at Best Buy as well. They provide you with a website and everything (Samsung, not Best Buy), its very clear and concise so its not like they WON'T pay me back...I'm just impatient. :)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    Hey, thanks guys. I was surprised with BestBuy and their price. In my experience they usually aren't as competitive as CompUSA, Newegg, et al. Also, BestBuy isn't very serious about displaying their computer tech, as if people just walk in and buy whatever the floor clerks recommend.
    I say this in pretty much all the lcd threads: go to the store and see if you can compare the monitors side by side - it really helps you see which specs are really important in getting you a good monitor.
    They do have a wall with about 15 different flat panels all running the same slideshow, but the slideshow is out of focus and looks screwy on all the monitors - almost like an old, worn out video tape projection. ;D

    Well then, I guess I will spring for that Samsung 913T at Sam's Club or the 930B at Best Buy. I haven't been able to distinguish much or any difference between the two, except for the model numbers. If anyone knows, I'd like to hear from you. The BB sale on the 930B ends Saturday.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    I purchased the Samsung 930B yesterday. I will hook it up tonight and see how it does. Anyone had experience with DVI-VGA converts ?
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