LCD buying advice

[Louisp61]

I am getting rid of my 17" IBM CRT and want to move to an LCD. I am thinking of a $300 budget. My hardware is AMD athlon x2, 3800+, foxconn 7600 GT 256mb, and 1GB of system memory. I exclusively run Linux (Mepis), I mostly play older games (quake 3 arena, Enemy Territory), surf the web, do my bills with quicken, some minor video editing, and occasionally work with various office applications.

I am not sure if I want a wide screen LCD or not. I will never sit down to watch a full length movie/DVD at the PC. what is a good LCD for me? 19" 4:3, 20" wide screen, or 22" wide screen? I think I have ruled out the 19" wide screens as they just look too small to me. Also what brands? I was thinking of either a 19" BenQ FP95G, a 20" Acer AL2051W, or a 22" Samsung 226BW, or a 22" Acer AL2216Wbd.

I have read the LCD thread, googled, searched through the forums here, etc., and am more confused than ever. Without getting into the technical differences between panel types, etc., I would appreciate any advice on which of these is better for my uses, which I would be happiest with, which have a track record of either working or not working with Mepis, etc., would be appreciated. Also, if there are better examples out there, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[AllGamer]

Test it in store if you are not sure, and pay close attention to dead pixesl

 

[Puffnstuff]

Just remember that dot pitch is just as important on an lcd as it is on a crt. The refresh rates don't need to be as high because each pixel refreshes itself instead of an electron gun attempting to refresh the entire screen by itself. You can get a really nice lcd for cheap right now another thing, pay attention to the warranty. Make sure that it's a complete 3 year and not a 1-2-3 like the cheaper models have.

 

[Louisp61]

Thanks for the responses. Can someone educate me more about dot pitch and resolution? I read that some of the 20 inchers are a better buy because some have non -TN panels and a smaller dot pitch. On the other hand, others say that text is harder to read on a 20 incher, and a 22 is a better choice. I will be going to a brick and mortar store to look at a few of these in person. But if anyone has any opinions as to which monitor would be a better choice for my situation, I would love to hear it.

 

[nate39]

I just bought the Acer 2051 and it is great and for the reasons you just listed. The 22 inch screens are TN, this is PMVA. I can't comment too much on the text difference but mine is clear and you can always change the size of the text. I love mine.

 

[Louisp61]

after much research i purchased the AL 2051W, and I love it. Thanks.

 

[jim1976]

Nice.. Take a look @ the sticky LCD thread for more info/questions you might have about your monitor

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Louisp61
after much research i purchased the AL 2051W, and I love it. Thanks.

Nice to find out that AT helped you with your purchase decision. It's good to get this kinda feedback: sounds like you are happy with it!

 

[Louisp61]

absolutely..I don't by anything without checking the AT forums first.

I posted this under the thread dedicated specifically to this monitor, but just you know, here were my impressions:

I just love this monitor. Got mine on Tuesday, and it is freaking GREAT. I am running an Nvidia 7600GT and mepis 6.5. After a quick edit of my xorg.conf file, this thing was up and running at 1680x1050 in seconds. I mainly play enemy territory and QIII arena in linux, and they look fantastic on this monitor at 1680x1050. I can't detect any ghosting or lag at all. In fact, I am able to see things in the game now, that I never saw on my old 17 inch CTR.

As far as the glossy screen, my perception is that it is not as glossy as the HP 2207 or some of the new glossy laptops. In fact, I see less glare off of this screen than I did off my old CRT

Personally I think this is the best monitor you can buy for less than $200. xtknight was 100% correct when he said "satan will visit your door personally if you do not purchase".