Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Help! Monitor Question

Sep 25, 2004 2:44AM PDT

I'm looking to buy a new desktop computer but it seems like a monitor is nearly 1/3 of the price. Do certain brands crap out on you? What kind do you have? I was looking at newegg.com and there's an Acer 17" LCD for only $285. Oh btw I either want a cheap LCD or a flat screen tube, at 17" (under about $350. Yeah I know it limits the LCDs, that's why I'm looking more towards a flat tube.) So I would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question
Sep 25, 2004 3:02AM PDT

Check out Wal-Mart or the larger electronics chains. The prices are reasonable and you have the security of knowing a reputable company stands behind thier product and will help you with any warranty issues.

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question/not what you want to hear
Sep 25, 2004 4:56AM PDT

You will spend a lot more time staring into your monitor than into your PC case (unless you have a real problem with it). You don't want a poor quality monitor regardless of how long it lasts. If you can, take the time to look at a few in person. Read some reviews as well. Also keep in mind that an LCD image is only optimal when running in its "native" resolution. I've had good luck with Viewsonic, Sony, NEC and a couple more. I have not been so fortunate with CTX, Sharp, and a couple others but your experience might differ.

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question/not what you want to hear
Sep 25, 2004 5:59AM PDT

What do you mean by it's "native" resolution?

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question/not what you want to hear
Sep 25, 2004 10:42AM PDT

When you look at the specs for an LCD monitor, you will see one for "native resolution". This will have something to do with the relative density of the pixels and tends to be the best setting for image quality. You can change the resolution but the image quality can visibly degrade much more than with a CRT type. There is quite a difference in price as they move up in size you really need to buy one that has a native resolution that offers the amount of screen content you wish rather than get a smaller one for less money and think you can just adjust the resolution to compensate. You may not be so happy with the image quality when you do this.

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question/not what you want to hear
Sep 26, 2004 5:59PM PDT

Oh okay thanks.

How are MAG LCD monitors? Are they any good? There's one on sale at BestBuy for $300. Here are the specs:

17" LCD screen (17" viewable)
1280 x 1024 maximum resolution at 75Hz
0.264mm dot pitch

- Collapse -
Re: Help! Monitor Question/not what you want to hear
Sep 27, 2004 10:23PM PDT

I was at Best Buy recently. I never shopped for MAGs. I had been interested in a Viewsonic VX910 (19") I had seen at CompUSA. I thought it was a great looking monitor next to the rest of the Samsungs, NECs, etc. They have a 17" version (VX710) which is very nice. I wanted digital capabilites which this series had. Eventually I took a chance on a Princeton and like it a lot. The Viewsonic VXs are really nice too.