LCD Monitors

[skiingliberal]

I'm about to purchase a new monitor for my desktop, and since my GF and I are constrained to living in a shoebox in Boston, I wanted to get an LCD (I'm telling myself it's worth
the extra cash because it might make our apartment look bigger, isn't great how we justify these things to ourselves?)

Anyways, I was wondering if DVI is really that important(since monitors w/o it are far less expensive), the monitor will be used for gaming and I do have a 6800 GT, so I'm a bit unsure ofwhat to go after. Thanks for the help!

 

[dc5]

are you looking at any specific model? a lot of lcds now support dvi connections.

 

[Mik3y]

dvi is god compared to analog.

 

[CSMR]

And living together with your girlfriend, it must have been great how you justified that.

 

[skiingliberal]

We both climb and ski, and I was sick of driving the extra 30 minutes to pick her up at 4am, plus she cleans the bathroom, omething I never would have thought to do!

anyways, why is dvi so superior to 15 pin sub? and what's a good monitor for around (preferably below) $400?

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

VGA is analog and is subject to interference, plus it simply lacks the ability to retain all that information, furthermore is must undergo conversion, be send down the cable(subject to interference), then converted back to a digital signal.

Personally I used to run my two LCDs side by side, one VGA and one DVI, the difference in color and sharpness was enough to merit my current 6800 with dual DVI even though I never game.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

P.S. - Boston living expenses are AWFUL

 

[skiingliberal]

ahh haa. Thanks! Any specific monitor recs?

 

[amol]

Originally posted by: skiingliberal
We both climb and ski, and I was sick of driving the extra 30 minutes to pick her up at 4am, plus she cleans the bathroom, omething I never would have thought to do!

anyways, why is dvi so superior to 15 pin sub? and what's a good monitor for around (preferably below) $400?

try this

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

I personally still love my NEC 1760NXs, bought them a little awhile ago, got a third for my mum, and two for my aunt. Not a single one has had a dead pixel and still doesn't have a dead pixel. It made converting from CRTs painless.

They're slightly aged technology, i'm sure you can get better for the money.

Samsung recently started offering a warranty on no dead pixels for 6 months. Despite this i'm still partial to NEC

 

[KoolDrew]

What about BenQ's FP931?

 

[amol]

this one is a bit out of your budget but the reviews are good

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=24-001-146&depa=1

 

[skiingliberal]

Yeah, I really like the look of that samsung... drool drool.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

Damn, as nice as DVI is, I might have a hard time justifing it for the average user when LCDs like this are around:

link

 

[skiingliberal]

Are those monitors both true 8-bits or are they 6 bits sorta amplified?

 

[skiingliberal]

Exactly what I had been looking at and prompted my question!!

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

the spec to price ratio is hard to beat. i dunno, ask yourself is better color, sharper text, and a better looking LCD worth the $120? not to mention monitor longevity.

 

[skiingliberal]

That is very very true. So which one would you go for? The sony or the samsung?

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

I've personally never used either so i'd look for some reviews and see which produces a better picture and which has the best basic specs for the price.

 

[Byers]

I own the LG1710SK and it's awesome. No dead pixels, great specs, and under $300. I wanted to get DVI of course but the prices wouldn't allow it. I think signal interference is a bit hyped. Unless you're running a particle accelerator on your desk you'll be ok; the cable is short there isn't really anything around the cable that will generate lots of interference. Longevity is a more real concern. DVI will eventually be the standard it seems but for $270 the LG will last a couple of years. It'll probobly last longer but by that point do you still want to have just a 17in flat panel? Prices will continue to go down and DVI will become available as will higher resolutions. I'd say don't splurge just yet and get a nice interim / introductory LCD like the LG.