PCA Forums

I want to find a new primary display, as I would love to have some 1600x1200 action.

I was going to look into the NEC FP955, HOWEVER, I have heard it has a few problems. I need a monitor that will last, has a nice clear picture (preferably .25mm dot pitch) and good colors. Trinitrons and Diamondtrons were going to be my first choice, but shadow masks have better color, don't they?

Please post what you think I should look into, I, again, want a long lasting monitor, with good performance..

Please post any ideas you have!

thanks!

Ah Aperture Grille vs Shadow Mask. To me it's personal preference but check this tid-bit out:

<i>"In general, shadow mask CRTs produce a sharper image, while aperture grille CRTs produce better color. Shadow mask CRTs tend to be a little dimmer, while aperture grille CRTs have two horizontal damping wire shadows (to reduce grille vibrations) at 1/3 and 2/3 across the screen. If you want bright, accurate colors (and don't mind the two very faint damping wire shadows), go for an aperture grille CRT. If you do a lot of text work or find the shadows annoying, then go with a shadow mask CRT. If desk space or absolutely perfect geometric reproduction is required, then you might want to consider an LCD instead."</i> - Courtesy of <a href="http://www4.tomshardware.com/display/01 ... rt-01.html" target="_NEW">TomsHardware.com</a>
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So now ya know. I have the NEC FP950 19" and love it to death. I use the BNC connectors on the back and I found that text is noticably clearer. Not a ton, but I did notice the difference. What have you heard bad about the FP955? Mine is an older model and that one should be clearer/better than mine (since it has a better dot pitch)

And just to let you know from a personal account, the damper wires don't bother me at all. They can only be seen on very bright backrounds (easiestly seen on white, harder on a light grey, impossible on black, dark blue, etc.). They've never destracted me from game-play. It would be nice if they weren't there, but as I said, I prefer a nice bright, crisp display an if thats the trade-off then so be it.

Now, I may just be defending a $600 purchase (well, when it was bought anyway) but I have yet to see another CRT monitor better than mine. Not to say I haven't seen monitors that are just as good (my friend had a Dell Trinitron that was very nice and was a *LOT* cheaper than mine), but be them shadow-mask or aperature grills, I haven't seen one better, so it's all good

[edit]
Oh, and just for fun you can run this "monitor tool kit" on your monitor:

http://www.monitorsdirect.com/toolkit/

Helps you set the brightness/contrast/convergence, etc.

Thanks HT.

I was searching for reviews on the FP955, and saw on ZDNet that 12 out of 14 people had huge problems with it. I didn't understand why. SOME were complaining about the damper wires, which I don't mind one bit. My current Dell Trinitron (P990) has them. This isn't the clearest of the bunch, but when I bought it a year ago for $174 off ebay, it was safe to saw I made a good purchase..

I read that reviews on Toms Hardware, but I must have missed that part. I sorta want the best of both. Clear picture, and good color. I would mostly prefer clear picture over color, but color is a must because I want to head into the graphic editing field.

I found the FP955 for $374 shipped off Dell (after a few coupons). Which, I think, is a great deal.

I could also get it off Ebay, but I don't want to risk getting a monitor I don't like and not being able to return it..

Thanks again HT.

Ok, I did a little searching, and have chosen on a few other monitors:

iiyama Vision Master Pro 451 TruFlat - support for two PC's, speakers, and USB hub. 1600x1200 @ 92 Hz

Samsung 900NF - Got a good review here (http://www.cadalyst.com/reviews/hardwar ... rtcard.htm), has BNC connectors and D-Sub, 1600x1200 @ 85 hz.

NEC FP955 - USB Hub, 1600x1200 @ 87 Hz, D-Sub and DVI connector (However, the DVI cord goes form DVI to VGA.. :-\)

I am leaning towards the 900NF because of the good review and the BNC connectors. Do you have to buy a seperate cord for the bnc connectors and just how much better is the image quality? I love good image quality..

I've heard a lot of good about the 900NF. Yes you need seperate cables if you want to use the BNC feature. I needed a longer cable anyway becuase I moved my monitor pretty far from my case so I decided that if I get an extension, it would probably degrade video quality, so I might as well get an extension with BNC which which is supposed to make video quality better and maybe it'll cancel eachother out, if you know what I'm talking about

Either way, I got a 10ft long cable with BNC on one and and VGA on the other for $30 if I remember correctly. I can look up where I got it if you want me to. I didn't notice much (if any) difference with colors, but I noticed text seemed clearer. I bet if I were to go back to VGA now, I'd notice a big difference (heck, I might just try it here in a minute).

Worth the $30 I spent? Sure. I with the help of my parents spent $600 on a monitor, might as well make it look the best I can

Ahh, your parents bought the monitor!!

Damn, I wish my parents were as nice.. HOWEVER, they did buy me my dremel, and bought me my desk, and all little things.. But, it'd be nice to get a monitor for my birthday..

If you could, that'd be great, just so I know. The 900NF sounds like a good monitor.

I just looked, the 451 is old. The newest is the 454..

Well, I think I know what 3 monitors to look for. I don't have the money now, but I hope yo have it down the road..

Well, they bought the bulk of it. I paid about $100 and they paid the other $500. It ended up being my christmas/all future birthdays present. I haven't gotten anything for my birthday ever since that but thats totally fine by me.

Behold the power of begging This was back when I was too young to get a job anywhere, though.

[edit]
oh, I bought the BNC->VGA cable at http://www.provantage.com Just do a search for "BNC monitor cable" They have them in sizes below:
6' = $17.20 + shipping
10' = $24.73 + shipping
15' = $35.73 + shipping

It was the cheapest place (at the time anyway) that I could find BNC->VGA cables. I ended up paying $33.37 for a 10' back in February.

I might try that, or just save up. My dad wants to buy me a car, so most likely I won't be able to talk them into it.

I saw a 6ft at EMSComputing (the same place I may get the monitor) for $16. However, it could end up being more than where you bought it.

Thanks for the site, I will look into it If I get the 900NF.

I have the 19" Viewsonic P95f, and it supports 1600x1200 @92 hz. I've had it for a year and half with no problems, great monitor.

Check out http://www.merkortech.com. They have refurbed monitors there 1 year warranty. IBM P92 94 and 97's. The P97 support 1600x1200@85hz supports dual inputs so you cna hook up 2 pc's to the same monitor. BNC and db15 connector. 218 plus 39 flat shipping. Have to call them and say you seen it on pricewatch to get the 39 dollar shipping. Once my payment goes through to my credit card i'm gonna order one of those. 257 shipped for this monitor is a damn good price considering new they go for well over $400 new. Refrubed monitors is one refurbed thing i'd buy. Normally its just a minor problem that is a easy repair. They also have a 21 Inch Sony there for a lil over 300 its tempting but would break my budget and it ain't black LOL

Wow, that's a sweet deal. let me know how the monitor is.

Hey, if I search Sony G400 on Price watch, i get the highest price for it is $250 (shipping between 24-30) at Merkor tech? Did it go down?

Ohh, the P96, that's why.