Monitor Size Recommendation

[Guest]

My old 17" monitor just died. I started with a 15" then moved to a 17".
Currently it looks like there is about a $300 spread between a 19" and a
21". I am just getting into some programming. Considering the programming,
would you recommend the 19" or should I bite the bullett and get a 21"?

 

[Murray]

CRT or LCD?

 

[Guest]

Are you kidding? CRT.

CRT or LCD?

 

[Murray]

Are you kidding? CRT.

Why would I be kidding? I have replaced my 19" Trinitron with a 19" NEC LCD
and find it MUCH better on the eyes.

The point of my question, though, was to mention that an LCD provides 2"
more diagonal space for screen display than the corresponding CRT. This
means that a 17" LCD will give you the same screen area as a 19" CRT.

 

[Guest]

Sorry, I really didn't know about the 2" difference. OK, any idea of the
cost, size and weight difference between a 19" LCD and a 21" CRT?

 

[Murray]

Cost difference = large (21" CRT ~$400 or less whereas 19" LCD ~$5/600).
Weight difference = HUGE! (21" CRT ~ 1,034,546 pounds whereas 19" LCD < 10
pounds)
Size difference = HUGE! (21" CRT ~ 2 acres whereas 19" LCD ~ .75 sqft -
that's footprint)

8)

 

[Guest]

I have a very sturdy desk with an enormous footprint itself. Therefore,
weight and size is of little
reflection to me. Also, don't you just like the ring of CRT vs. that of LCD?

 

[Murray]

No - I much prefer the LCDs.

 

[Chris Leeds, MVP-FrontPage]

the only time I'd prefer a CRT is for photo editing and then it's an
aperture grille type.
fwiw I'd recommend a nice LCD, you can find good deals at
www.tigerdirect.com, maybe not right on their home page but you should sign
up for their email list. I guarantee within a few days you'll get an email
with a tremendous deal.

--
Chris Leeds,
Microsoft MVP-FrontPage

Make More Money with Less Work
Let Your Clients Control Their Content With Just A Browser!
http://contentseed.com/
--

 

[rontev]

One warning: LCD monitors are at their best when the diplay driver is
delivering exactly the native resolution of the display. If you get a
display with a high horizontal pixel count, for example, and choose (don't
ask why) to use a coarser resolution ...maybe because you want bigger text...
the result will be awfull - with pixelation and "jaggies". A CRT won't have
this problem because the driver and the crt wil adjust horizantal and
vertical scan rates to smoothly accomodate whatever resolution you like. So,
in addition to size, verify that you will like the resolution!

 

[Murray]

That's an excellent point.

--
Murray

One warning: LCD monitors are at their best when the diplay driver is
delivering exactly the native resolution of the display. If you get a
display with a high horizontal pixel count, for example, and choose (don't
ask why) to use a coarser resolution ...maybe because you want bigger
text...
the result will be awfull - with pixelation and "jaggies". A CRT won't
have
this problem because the driver and the crt wil adjust horizantal and
vertical scan rates to smoothly accomodate whatever resolution you like.
So,
in addition to size, verify that you will like the resolution!

 

[Guest]

Good point. Thanks. What is the recommended minimun resolution for a LCD
then? What should I look for as far as ms speed? Is a LCD a good choice for
a Web designer/programmer or should I stick to a CRT if I have the space for
a 21" monitor as well as the strength to carry it out of the store?

 

[Murray]

What is the recommended minimun resolution for a LCD

The manufacturer will tell you what each LCD's optimal resolution is.

Is a LCD a good choice for a Web designer/programmer

I couldn't be happier - I have two of them: a 19" NEC and a 15" NEC as
primary and secondary screens on my main production machine.

However, there is a cost factor involved. Consider the benefit of multiple
screens (which, if you have ample desktop realestate may be more valuable to
you than the performance of the LCD) in your workflow. You can probably get
a 19" CRT and a 17" CRT for what a 19" LCD would cost.

 

[Guest]

Well you're right, cost is a factor. You mention the benefit of multiple
(two in my case) screens. Could I then see Design View on one screen and
Code View or Preview on the other? If so, what other considerations have I
overlooked in having a two-screen setup?

 

[Murray]

I have my design view on one screen, and my Behaviors panel on another. In
addition, I can have a code view open there (in Notepad), but I don't know
how to rearrange the FP code or preview windows to appear over there,
unfortunately. This, however, still gives me the full width of the primary
screen for my workspace.

Most of my work is done in Dreamweaver, which is much more amenable to a 2
screen setup, although still not ideal (I would love to be able to see my
graphics editor on one screen and my HTML authoring on another, but I cannot
do that yet....).

 

[Guest]

Thanks Murray, that gives me something to think about.

 

[Murray]

You're welcome!

--
Murray

Thanks Murray, that gives me something to think about.

 

[Jon Rodman]

I use both a 21" and a 19" CRT. For $300 you could probably pick up both
used. I paid $200 plus tax for a used 21" with a three year warranty. The
19s are even cheaper.
It is great having dual monitors. To hook up a dual monitor setup just
insert a second video card, or pick up a used Matrox dual video card.
In my opinion using a single 17 is a bit of a punishment.
Jon

 

[Jon Rodman]

If you think 21" monitors are heavy, think of a 24". I used to have a 24"
Sun Microsystems CRT. That made the 21" monitors look like toys.

 

[Murray]

Yeah - they were awesome. Weighed about 300 pounds.... 8)