What to look for in a new monitor

[trublubiker]

Hi all

The old 17" Acer CRT has died and I need a new monitor. I am using an old 13" that I should have chucked years ago
but fortunately didn't, otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this post.

I only use my computer for general stuff and photo editing with CS3 so I figure I don't need to pay extra bucks for a mega low response time.

The budget is going to peak at $200 so I guess I'm pretty much looking at the bottom of the range.
Any informed suggestions on screen res, contrast ratio and brightness etc plus anything else I should look for
would be most appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin PS: Thank you to all who helped with my query re monopods. I finished up with the 681B and the 234RC head.

[biggerry]

Just a thought, if your budget is tight and you are happy with a CRT, they are still easy to pickup, especially down here in sydney, it seems like every weekend there is a 17" CRT in the back alley!

I picked up a couple of 22" compaq crt monitors the other year for nothing but the pickup, both are still fine and I use one as part of a dual monitor setup. (they also rock for gaming ).

With that in mind, you can also get a brand spanking samsung from 19" or 22" for about $190 and $280 respectively. I dont mind the samsung ones, I also like the fact that they produce their own panels and have a decent waranty.

check out www.staticice.com.au for prices.

hth

[surenj]

Dell has special on for 22" at $239... Better buy this week though it expires soonish... They have a 3 year warranty included in that price. you may have to give up 12 cups of coffee if you are really strict on that $200 limit though.

www.dell.com.au

Good luck

[trublubiker]

Thanks for the input guys.

surenj, I checked out the Dell website and their S2209W is Full HD 1920x1080, 16:9 aspect ratio (whatever ???)
and is on special at $50 off PLUS a further 10% off if purchased today. At 206.09 and free delivery that equated
to only 3 cups of coffee, so I did the business.

Thanks again for the help.

Kevin

[surenj]

Thanks for the input guys.

surenj, I checked out the Dell website and their S2209W is Full HD 1920x1080, 16:9 aspect ratio (whatever ???)
and is on special at $50 off PLUS a further 10% off if purchased today. At 206.09 and free delivery that equated
to only 3 cups of coffee, so I did the business.

Thanks again for the help.

Kevin

I would say "Chi Ching" in this sort of case... I think you made a wise purchase. [yes I do get commission from Dell]

Let us know how you like (or dislike) it...

[trublubiker]

When it arrives next week, I'll have a good look at it to see if I can suss out
who actually manufactured it. Or maybe I'm better off not knowing.

Kevin

[DaveB]

The Dell website lists the S2209W as using a TN panel (when did they start telling us that instead of having to look up 3rd-party websites?).

For use as a photographic editing platform (and especially with a panel this large) I would not bother trying to use this. Unless the technology of TN had some major advances while I was out of the country, I expect that it'll be hard to get consistent colours/contrast across the entire panel (unless you sit a long way back). Even though they list viewing angles of 160/170 degrees, their definition of viewing angle is how far you can go and still be able to make out what's on the screen. The colours/contrast of TN will change WAY before that.

The Dell 2408WFP is an excellent choice (that range has used IPS or MVA/PVA panels for a long time) and even the budget 2209WA uses IPS. Why do they use TN at all? Because it's cheap and it increases their profit margin!

Of course, you might be less picky than I am...