Has anyone got any recommendations on LCD monitors?

I'm looking for;
18" or bigger, although would consider 17" if it is really compelling.
95+% office use, very little gaming, so pixel speed isn't vital (as long as it's not diabolical obviously)
Office is shaded, so it doesn't have to be the brightest...same caveat as above.
Don't care too much about speakers. If it has great speakers that don't add to the price, then fine, but I have a usable set of speakers already.
Reliability and image quality are fairly important.
Manufacturer not important (as long as they don't have a crap reputation for reliability and support!)
Cost is always important
Availability from newegg, directron or major store definately preferred to small online vendors.

Ta...

What I really want is one of thost Mac "cinema" LCD monitors, the huge 16x9 shaped ones, on my PC. Those are the business.

I've got one of these on loan that I'm looking at right now. It's [Marshall from Alias]super-sweet[/Marshall].

Here's a Tom's Hardware roundup on 17" displays. It's several months old though.

Remember...A 17" lcd is going to seem almost like a 18-19" CRT because of the viewable area.

Oh yeah.

I use an iiyama 17" and its cracking, i've also used the 18.1" version and that is even better. The 18.1 also has a super slim bezel which gives it a very sleak look. Both with DVI input and extras like USB hub. The DVI is a must, the USB hub is fairly useful, saves me reaching behind the computer to plug the empeg in.

I think go for a company that has a good reputation because you're going to spend a lot of time in-front of it i imagine. Also no dropped pixels, however i don't know how common these are anymore. Wasn't the cheapest but this is one item where i feel the extra money has been worth it.

I got the Sony SDM-X82 from newegg.com. No dead pixels and I use it for gaming extensively. I got it for $805, it's now $780, slightly more if you want the black colored bezel. I use DVI and the secondary HD-15 input for another computer. I haven't used the speakers that are integrated into it. I am very pleased with it so far.

Samsung 181T or 191T hands down. It's a great all around monitor, is actually one of the best for pixel response time (this does matter even outside gaming for things like scrolling pages, etc...), and size. Also, if your video card supports it, the stand rotates for a portrait view. I have a hotkey sequence that I can press to rotate the display.

Standard warranty on these is 3 years, and a 2 day FedEX cross ship option direct from Samsung.

I've got the Samsung 171 and agree completely. It is fantastic. One caveat on rotating screens: OpenGL doesn't support rotated monitor resolutions. This can lead to BSOD's on W2k.

-Zeke

At work, we have like 4 of the Samsung Syncmaster 240T monitors (without the speakers). Those things are just amazing.

Tony: We have one of the Apple Cinema 23" displays. I think it is the favorite in the office, even though the Samsungs are newer.

Damn! I had no idea they sold LCDs that big! But I still have my eyes on my baby.

i must agree with drakino. i have a samsung 191T after my sony trintron 17 inch died on me. i saw one at a store and once i knew the montor can swivel 180 degrees i was immediately sold. viewing webpages portrait orientation is the way to go. although this monitor is on the expensive side, i paid $800, i think it is worth it because my eyes never feel strained any longer.

if you do get this monitor make sure to get an nVidia graphics card with the latest detonator driver because it allows for rotation of the desktop.

I agree too.

I'm also looking into getting a 191T. It's one pretty monitor and it's specs are amazing. Price is good too.

I can also second what you say about your eyes not feeling strained anymore : I noticed this too when I switched from my Sony trinitron 17" to the Nec Multisync LCD 15" I'm using now. Sure, the NEC is bit smaller, but the pro's sure outweigh the con's. No more red eyes after an evening of surfing of playing counter strike!
If I had known about this sooner I would' ve bought an LCD monitor WAY sooner, but I can't remember ever reading in a review how much easier an LCD is on the eyes. (although, thinking about how the image gets built up now, it only seems logical)

I recently decided to splurge and got the 23" Apple display. You've got room for two side-by-side web browsers, and you can still see plenty of icons on the left (resolution: 1900x1200). The brightness and clarity is just astonishing, and I've never had any persistence problems (which seems to only be an issue on older LCDs). To use one of these on a PC, you have to buy a $100 adapter, and the monitor doesn't support VGA at all. It's fun watching people's jaws hit the floor when they walk into my office.

In terms of bang-for-the-buck, I think one of the best deals out there right now is the 20" LCD from Dell. I haven't priced one recently, but last I looked, most 20" LCDs (1600x1200 resolution) cost $1600, where Dell would sell it to you for $1500, or bundle it with a new computer for something like $1200 over the no-monitor option. One of my colleagues here got one, and it's a beauty. If you buy it with a computer, make sure you've got DVI output on your video card (or, with the Dell Optiplex GX260's, be sure to pay the extra $20 for a "DVI adapter").

Ok, all ya'll dream monitors are outdone by the Big Bertha from IBM. I WILL own this some day.

But seriously, the LG Electronics Flattron L1800P is pretty decent. It got a good review from a few different places and I've used it personally. Of course, you should get an Eizo, but this is the next best thing.

For anyone wondering about the IBM monitor, QUXGA-W is 3840x2400. Lets see, 9.2 million pixels. I wonder what IBM's dead pixel policy is

Thanks, I actually WAS wondering what the H/V pixel count was. WOW, now that's some resolution. Yup, I want one.

Yeah, think about the QC necessary on something where there are 9.2 million possible failure points...

Hmmm....anyone got any recommendations on where to find $9k looking for a new owner? Actually, make that $18k or there's going to be marital issues in my household

Wow, is that thing 9 grand? That works out to... what... 1000 pixels per dollar? Hey, not a bad price when you think about it.

Well, tecnhically it's $8.4k, but that's not including tax or shipping.

It's more like over 27.6 million failure points as it's got to have the three RGB elements

The thing is once you start getting past 100dpi it gets much harder to spot the defects. I know my laptop LCD has a few defective segments in a couple of pixels but they're so small I can't see it. Dust on my screen is more noticeable.

- Trevor

I just want the LCD to be 16:9 ratio. 4:3 blows

In reply to:

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I got the Sony SDM-X82

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Yeah, I have two of those on my main machine at work, cracking monitors. Only problem is the backlights, two of my colleagues have had problems with them. When you only have a total of seven people in the office I am beginning to wonder whether I'm next ...

On a more positive side, the waranty swapout was a breeze to sort out and was very quick too.....

I was going to suggest the IBM T221 but someone beat me to it. I've got one here at work. $8K is peanuts for this display. It was $25-30K last January when I set one up at Macworld. Which brings me to... I'll be at Macworld again in a few weeks. Moscone center in San Francisco. Jan 7-10. I'll have one of the IBM T221 monitors set up with one of our cards, probably running Maya and showing off Photoshop stills. I'll have my Nikon 5700 with me, so if you pass by you can see how your 5 megapixel mugg looks on a 9 megapixel display.

I'll also have at least 2 Apple 23" Cinema HDs and a few Formac 20" LCDs. The 23" will both be connected to a single card running in an extended desktop config. BTW, you haven't seen anything until you've seen a 23" LCD running in portrait. With another identical LCD running in portrait next to it! Sweet.

Oh, the caveat with the IBM T221 is that with a single DVI interface it runs only at 11Hz (reported as 15Hz). With 2 you can drive it at 20-25Hz. 60Hz with four DVI connections. The LCD is from IDTech and is also found in Iyama and Totoku products.

Bruno

So I'm now looking to get a 17-21 inch LCD. Is the Samsung line (191T, 181T, etc) still so highly suggested?

- Jon

One of my students got a Samsung 17" LCD monitor and loves it. You can't go wrong there. In terms of bang-for-the-buck, Dell is still probably your best deal. Right now, on their web site, Dell prices are:

18": $539 (1280x1024)
19": $674 (1280x1024)
20": $899 (1600x1200)

We've bought a bunch of these Dell's in the office, and everybody loves them.

I set my parents up with two of the 18" dells, and they're very happy with them. Now, admitedly, the only reason my mom wanted them was because they fit better after she remodeled the room, but to each their own. They've got both DVI and VGA, so you can use them with anything and upgrade to DVI when you get around to it.

The Dell LCD pricing is the best out there, especially when they're on sale or have coupons. (Last I checked they had a 10% off code floating around, fatwallet.com is your friend)

Matthew

I tried out the Samsung 191T and the Viewsonic VX900.

The Samsung I had surprisingly did NOT perform as well as I expected in motion/gaming. The Viewsonic really did outshine it. (I had them head-to-head in my house thanks to a rare friendly manager at CompUSA)

I've had the Viewsonic for about 9 months, and it is fantastic!!

Too low res. Get something at least 1600x1200 or you're wasting your time.

Dell has an excellent price on their 20" LCD, and I'm floored by my new BenQ FP2081 here (see thread on Off Topic).

Cheers

Ok, I've looked at all of the recommendations from a year ago and also the ones just posted today. Most of these look cool. I think I agree with mlord on the resolution issue. 1600x1200 is probably better for me since I plan to use this monitor for a lot of years and the higher resolution will be good to have. The other thing I really want is a really small bezel. I admit that one of the reasons for getting an LCD is the look of it and the amount of space it takes up and I dislike the look of an LCD with a big bezel... So the 191T wins for that category.

Any other recommendations are wholly appreciated.

- Thanx
- Jon