I'm SCREWED! (please help!)

[crazygal]

Hello all, I am in need of some help. My monitor has been acting weird recently and finally decided to die today. A few days ago, when the screen changed resolutions (like when it booted up or loaded a game or something), the monitor would display a blank screen (even though the power button was still green) until I turned it off and back on again. This went on for about a month until today when it stopped working no matter how many times I turned it on/off, hit it or screamed at it.

So now I need to know what to do...is it worth getting fixed? It seems like something isn't connected right so it might not have any serious problems. Or do I get a new monitor?

My monitor is an 19" CRT Relysis with a .26mm dot pitch. It's actually quite nice as I worked only on 1600x1200 resolution at 75 Hertz. I would really to keep the same size monitor and resolution if possible.

Any ideas would be great as I'm in great need of a working monitor for my school work! Thank you for any help!

 

[InsaneMorphius]

Getting it looked at or fixed would cost more than buying a new monitor.

Good Luck!

 

[ScrapSilicon]

This went on for about a month until today when it stopped working no matter how many times I turned it on/off, hit it or screamed at it.

this your monitor or the boyfriend/girlfriend,...? anyway..is it under warranty..? if not ..time to buy a new one...possibly even if RMAable

 

[crazygal]

Haha, my sig other was not involved in the hitting/screaming

But no, it's not under warrenty. It had a 3 year parts/labor warrenty but it's too late now. It sucks too since I forgot about the warrenty when I had other issues with it (the left side of the monitor started to creep in making the screen an inch smaller than it should have been.) If I had it fixed then, it might be working now. It's funny too since the monitor stopped getting smaller and returned to its full size a little while ago before it broke today

So if it's better to buy a new monitor, where's the cheapest place I can get one?

 

[crazygal]

I found these online but where can I find more information about them?

Monitor 1
Monitor 2

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Fry's is good and BestBuyD) has free shipping at the moment..esp. good if you have BB locally as well..personally I'd steer clear of refurbed from overstock..expense of shipping to and fro ..if needed ..would kill the deal

 

[crazygal]

I think overstock.com has $3.00 shipping so that's not an issue. I'd like to get a new one but most refurbs aren't that bad are they?

I will check out best buy and Fry's but I don't know what kind of monitor to get. Any suggestions? Also, I would like a 75 Hertz+ refresh rate but sometimes it says "not interlaced". What does that mean? I just don't want it to be fuzzy or crappy.

Also, this looks like a good deal...any thoughts?:
Woo!

 

[ScrapSilicon]

how about $199 nib retail at Staples less a $20MIR and there are coupons/codes(google is your friend ) to lessen that and Staples delivers if order is $50 or more(no $ limit if Business Rewards member..not sure what level tho)DisplayType Pure Flat CRT
Surface Type Pure Flat
Diagonal Screen Size 19"
Viewable Screen Size 18"
Dot Pitch .21 mm
Maximum Resolution 1600x1200@75Hz
Recommended Resolution 1280x1024 @85Hz
Horizontal Frequency 30-95KHz
Vertical Frequency 50 -160Hz
On Screen Controls Contrast, Brightness, H-size, H-center, V-size, V-center, Zoom, Pincushion, Trapezoid, Pin-balance, Parallelogram, Rotation
Ports/Connectors RGB Signal: 15-pin D-sub Male (Attached) Power: 3-Pin Plug (CEE22)
Speakers Not available
Other features Controlls:User?s Color, Degauss, H/V Moire Reduce, Recall, Language, Exit
Compatibility PC/MAC
Regulatory Compliance UL, FCC, FDA, CSA, TUV / GS , MPRII, energy star
Dimensions 17.6"x17.2"x17.9"
Weight 44lbs.
Warranty 3 Years Parts & Labor

 

[crazygal]

Ah, thanks for the info.
I will look at monitors in person before I select my final choice.

Any other opinions as to which monitors are good are welcome!

 

[MikeMike]

if you could afford them LCD's are supossed to be amazing picture. There are a few out now that dont ghost when playing games, and have excellent colors. Dont know of them off of the top of my head, but look at Anand's home page, they have some monitor reviews there

 

[crazygal]

Yeah, LCD's are nice and all but the money I save getting a CRT can be used for updating my 600Mhz Athlon

 

[Bonesdad]

I got a Viewsonic a couple years ago...19" GS790. Kinda spendy then, but monitor is something I won't skimp on. It's what you look at the entire time you're messin with the PC! I have space issues, and this is a "short depth" monitor. Meaning it is 19", but no deeper than a 15" monitor. I likes it...

 

[crazygal]

I see. What's the maximum resolution of that monitor? If it's 1600x1200 (or more), can you set the refresh rate to at least 75 Hertz?

 

[FishTankX]

Oh, by the way. Not interlaced is good (Draws every line)

Interlaced means it draws every other line, and alternates between drawing even and odd lines. That's bad.

 

[crazygal]

Thanks very much for that information! I'm sure there's a noticable difference between the two and I'm sure most of the cheaper monitors are interlaced. If it doesn't say if it's interlaced or not, should I assume it is?

Edit: Nevermind...almost all monitors aren't interlaced so it doesn't really matter unless I'm going to spend big $$$

 

[arcenite]

/me hands crazygal a screwdriver...bahahha....er..

Sorry... couldn't help it.

Bill

 

[ed21x]

Originally posted by: crazygal
I found these online but where can I find more information about them?

Monitor 1
Monitor 2

Those are both awesome monitors, especially the second one I've personally used 2 CTX's in the past (company gets them at volume discounts) and they've been extremely reliable over the years- never had one die on me in the last 7 years. Currently I'm using a VL710, their older top-end monitor that has been discontinued as of two years ago- can get 16x12k at 65 Hz. So yeah, definitely a great company

 

[crazygal]

ed21x:
I was reading posts from this thread CTX Monitors and everyone seemed to urge against using one. Also, I really prefer 75 Hz at 1600x1200...can it go higher than 65?

I think CTX would be fine if I got it from a local store but the cost of shipping from an online vendor would be too much especially if I had to send it back a few times. AND I wouldn't have a monitor for a month or 2 which is not good since I'm using my computer everyday for school. (go cs!)

Thanks for the info though!

 

[TheNoblePlatypus]

I picked up an NEC Multisync FE1250 for $225 from the last College Of DuPage computer show outside of Chicago. Its a prettey decent 22", its gigantic though. So if you have any space issues, this won't work. Max resolustion on it is 1920x1440. I run it at 1280x1024@85Hz normally. Good monitor, you can get it in black too!

Edit: Oh yeah, it does 1600x1200 at 85Hz too. But I think I'm going blind when I use that for too long.

 

[crazygal]

22" for $225?!?!?!

I would love to have that monitor! Please send it to me and I will send you $1

 

[Dulanic]

If you want to get it repaired call around... it doesnt sound like a tube problem which means it shouldnt be toooo bad to get it repaired.

 

[crazygal]

that's what I thought too but no one agreed with me. I don't know of any local stores that would look at it so I'm not sure what to do

 

[Kartajan]

good:
iiYAMA 19" CRT Monitor, Model# VISION MASTER PRO 454
Specifications:
Display: 19" (18.0" / 46cm viewable)
Dot pitch: 0.24mm
Recommended Resolution 1280 × 1024 at 100Hz
Input Connectors D-Sub mini 15pin
Plug & Play VESA DDC2B Model#: HM903DTA FedEx Saver Shipping $15.00
(N82E16824172004)
$360.00

Max Resolution :1920 x 1440 @85 Hz
or, better:

iiYAMA 22" CRT Monitor, Model# VISION MASTER PRO 514
Features:
Dot(mm): 0.24AG
fH: 30-142KHz
fV: 50-200Hz
Signal Input: D-Sub x 2
Max Resolution: 2048X1536 @85Hz
Refresh Rate Supported: 1600X1200 @100Hz
Model#: HM204DT FedEx Saver Shipping $15.00
(N82E16824172005) $577.00

or, OMG!:
Viewsonic 20.1" LCD Display Model VX2000-1 SPK Retail VX2000-1: high performance in a 20" HDTV-ready LCD.
Type 20.1" color TFT active matrix UXGA LCD
True Resolution IBM/MAC Up to 1600x1200 HDTV 1280x720p
Brightness 250 cd/m2 (typ)
Contrast Ratio 600:1 (typ)
Response Time 25ms (typ)
Analog 15-pin mini D-sub , Digital Digital DVI-D
Dead Pixels Policy: Replacement or Refund for 8 or more DEAD PIXELS ONLY!
Three-year limited warranty
Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping
(N82E16824116224) $1,199.00

 

[TheNoblePlatypus]

Oh yeah, scratch the $225. Looked at the receipt and it was $325. Still the cheapest I've found it anywhere.

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: crazygal
that's what I thought too but no one agreed with me. I don't know of any local stores that would look at it so I'm not sure what to do

I just looked in the yellow pages when mine wouldnt turn on. Ended up being the power button... cost me $35.