So I need a New LCD

[dicecca112]

And I don't know anything about them. I have a terrible, supposed 15" LCD (its actually more like a 14") and I am going to purchase a new one in say late July early August.

Now here is my checklist

Maximum Cost is 250$
Must be 17" or Larger
Must AutoTune itself (mine has an autotune but it never works)
Must support resolutions higher than 1024x768
Small Footprint, as small as possible


I know nothing, so please info me or point in me in the right direction as it has to do with response time, contrast and all those other ratios they through at you

Also I am a sticklier for clear and crisp images, and this LCD is terrible at it, after seeing my friends, I now know. I do watch movies on this, and game a bit, so if that factors into a decision, then its out on the perverbial page.

[batboy]

It's tough to find the perfect LCD (check out my post about my search for the perfect LCD). One thing we need to know first off is this: are you a gamer? If so, you want a fast response time like at least 12ms or better yet, 8ms.

There are some good bargains right now on 17 inchers. You can probably find something close to your budget. The Samsung 710N is on sale right now at newegg for $225.99 after $20 mail in rebate. By the way, this is a true viewable 17" too. I have one of these and it's been a great monitor. I just got a new 20" widescreen this week, so my g/f got my old 710N, she loves it too. I highly recommend it. It has 12ms response time and I played all kinds of games on it with no problems. It has a very small footprint and has autotuning. Max resolution is only 1280x1024 though, but that's the same with all 17 and 19 inchers. It comes in two colors: black and ivory. That's about the best deal for your budget that I can think of at the moment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001171

[Vertical_Zer0]

This is a bit controversial but personally I wouldn't buy one without DVI input. In the past it never mattered much (if at all) but for now it seems to be a bit better and in the future digital input will be superior.

[{PMS}fishy]

If you can spend $300 you can get the 2005 Dell.

I also see there 19" FP on sale for about $250.

[batboy]

Vertical has a good point with DVI input. The Samsung 710N only has analog, but you would never know it from the image quality. Unless you are really picky, you won't notice much difference.

Fishy made an nice point about the Dell LCD panels, if you can catch a sale, they are excellent (I just got a Dell 2005fpw 20" widescreen for $397). But, I think he might of meant 2001fp for $300.

[{PMS}fishy]

Vertical has a good point with DVI input. The Samsung 710N only has analog, but you would never know it from the image quality. Unless you are really picky, you won't notice much difference.

Fishy made an nice point about the Dell LCD panels, if you can catch a sale, they are excellent (I just got a Dell 2005fpw 20" widescreen for $397). But, I think he might of meant 2001fp for $300.

Doh. Typo. I meant $400.

Yeah, either the 2001fp or the 19" fp are right in his price range.

[theMonster]

Wal-Mart has one for $199 that's 17" and has DVI, does 1280x1024

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3391759&cat=163944&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A37802%3A163944

[batboy]

Yeah, some generic no name that only has 450:1 contrast ratio and don't even list response time. I'd pass on that one.

[dicecca112]

that's what I bought the first time. 50ms repsonse time. To answer batboy's quest I am the casual gamer nothing to intense.

[batboy]

Then in that case, a good 12ms response time is just the ticket. That way you can get true 8-bit color too (16.7 million). I played Half Life 2, Doom 3, FarCry, etc. on my old Samsung 710N and had no ghosting. The hardcore gamers tend to go for the faster 8ms panels, but they are a little more cash than your current budget.

If you can swing about $300 and prefer a 19" you might wanna check out this Acer AL1914smd on sale until the end of the month at newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009030

Or Acer AL1714 17" for $200 after rebate at CompUSA.