Is my monitor dying?

[12am]

Hey all I have a wierd problem with my monitor that just started happening and it goes like this. Probably around 25 times a day my whole image on the monitor will shrink about a half an inch and then reinflate itself back to it's normal size (it's like it's playing with the vertical and horizontal size adjustment all on it's own) it's a very annoying problem. So I'm wondering if this monitor is about to die on me. The monitor is a Viewsonic E790 19" that is about 4 years old, any input would be appreciated.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

Quite possibly it is indeed getting ready to go on you... from here it sounds like bad capacitors, but there could be several other things causing it. This can probably be repaired, but it's hard to say from here exactly what and where the problem is. I would bring it to a reputable shop and let them have a look at it, unless you were already waiting for a good excuse to replace it ;)

[12am]

You know, I am looking for a good excuse to replace it but the 800 dollar price tag on a new 21" is too much to swallow right now :( I guess I'll take it to a shop.

[Oklahoma Wolf]

If you don't mind factory refurbs, I got my 19" flatscreen from www.dfsdirect.ca - they give you a 6 month warranty. When they have the 21's they're dirt cheap.

[JimmyG]

I suspect that you can buy a new monitor for equal to or less money than trying to get it repaired. Most shops charge a large flat fee to fix monitors. 2 years ago I tried to get a 19" monitor repaired and all of the shops wanted around $160 flat rate to repair it. I opted for a new monitor. :D

[Oklahoma Wolf]

It depends on the shop - pays to look for a good one ;)

I myself don't charge a flat fee, just my usual $30/hour service charge. Then again, I work out of my home and don't have the expenses associated with an actual storefront. $160 US to even look at a monitor is rediculous to me - I would drive all my customers away charging that much.