Montiors

[D-Rider]

Okay ladies, I don't know dick about purchasing monitors.  I got a few questions for ya:

Are there any brands out there I need to stay the fuck away from?

If I'm upgrading to a flat-screen from an older CRT type, do I need to worry about incompatibility with my computer?  (I'm pretty sure you don't, but I figure I might as well make sure :P)

Is $200-$300 enough to get a decent upgrade, or should I save a little more?  I've had this one for about five years, and I'd like to make sure that the one I buy won't be obsolete very quickly.

If you want to link me to some options, I won't exactly turn them down. :P

[Akanbe-]

If price is a problem, I remember a couple weeks ago on Digg they had Dell 20" LCD's for $150.  It wasn't any black friday special or anything like that.  I don't know if they are still around but it's something worth checking out.

There shouldn't be any incompatibility with your computer that I know of.  As long as you meet the minimum requirements everything should be fine.

You should be able to get a pretty decent monitor for $200-300.  From what I've been looking at, seems like the majority of the monitors fell in between 200-300 (about 43% of them are in that range, 32% being lower than $200).

[Daggerstrike]

There are some nice monitors on sale at Staples right now. You can easily get a 19inch widescreen for under $200. There arent any brands that you NEED to stay away from, that I have noticed, but if possible pick up a viewsonic, acer, NEC, or Sony. The last one will cost you a good amount of money.

[Eusis]

The only 'incompatibility' I know of is if your computer can't display at the suggested resolution: Even then, that just means it doesn't look as good as it would at the suggested resolution, since LCDs have a fixed number of pixels while CRTs don't have that issue. Pretty minor I'd say, unless the monitor really sucks ass at other resolutions.

[Dade]

Anything by Sharp.

I have a nice 19" Sharp display that I pretty much love. I wish I had waited like two months and purchased a widescreen version.

Check video card settings and connection types you can use...then you're gold. DVI connection would probably be nice if you have a decent/semi-new video card.

[Akanbe-]

Meh.. i was going to create a new topic but I thought I'd just bump this one since it's related.  Hopefully someone checks it.

I'm also looking for a new monitor.  I'm just kind of curious if there's any difference between 20" and 20.1" that I should be aware of.  

The .1 just kind of struck me as odd so I figured I should ask somebody.

[Superflat]

20.1" is wide screen, while 20" is full screen. I'd say go with the 20.1"

[Akanbe-]

I wasn't aware of that.

Thank you.

That alone makes me not want to go down to 19"

[Dade]

Widescreens are super hot.

I kinda wanna get one, but if I do it'll probably be an LCD HDTV hooked up to my MacMini.

[Serene Prophet]

Yeah, wide screen is definitely the way to go if you can find one in your price range.  Just about everything is going the wide screen route nowadays, so its probably a good choice unless they come out with some new funky ass aspect ratio.

I have a dell 17" I got for free, and Ive not had a problem with it, but as far as brands go, the one id recommend above all others would be viewsonic.  I dont know if their LCD are as good a quality as their CRT, but until this past christmas, I was using a 17" 1999 viewsonic CRT, and for being such an old model, and being used before I bought it, and being used constantly by me, it was a great monitor.

Good luck in your search dark.

[KS1987]

Samsung Syncmaster is the way to go, you've got a 19 inch, a 20 inch and a 22 inch. I've got the Syncmaster 226bw (22inch version) and it works fine, I use it for my notebook and xbox. The prices vary from 200 USD -> 350 USD. It does require external speakers though ;-)

[Akanbe-]

Well, I ended up pretty much getting one for free.

19" widescreen LCD made by LG.  Considering it was brand new and practically free, I can't complain.

I did see a 20.1" inch though.  It was hot, but the store I got mine from didn't have any so I ended up with a 19".