New to LCDs, Can't decide what to get.

[ziggo0]

I know the Dells are real nice and all but i cannot come up with the money for even half the price of one. My friend Jod helped me out with what appears to be a very good LCD, Samsung 740N (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001072) or the Samsung 740B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001070) - I can't remember which one he said. What is the difference between these two? And do I have any other options for around 210 ~ 220$? I gotta keep the price to a minimum...umm...I'm a gamer as well, FPS. Thanks for your time.

[bchur83]

Well, the 740B has DVI, but the 740N doesnt. That is the only real difference I can see. I would go for the B for that little difference in price.

[Rattle]

Instead of spending $200+ on a 17" lcd why dont you just get a nice 19" crt for the same price that will out game it anyway, FPS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824002280

or one like this ^^^

[ziggo0]

Because I LAN alot // move my comptuer from house to house and I'm extremely tired of carrying a 50lb monitor everywhere I go...that is a nice monitor though.

[dfonda]

Take a look at the refurbished dell's they might be nicer then a budget of another brand.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&lob=MON

[Newman_SCO]

I would recommend Sony. You retain a high second hand value for a start.

Out of all the Sony tft's I have experienced, I have never seen a dead pixel.

I think it is really worth pushing a little more money into a monitor. Have a look for a non-xblack if you manage to find one within your price range.

[<<Spider>>]

What about the $199 19" LCD at newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824168005

[ziggo0]

That appears to be 289$ after 10$ mir lol?

[Rattle]

its $199.99 after $90.00 MIR

I would buy a cheasy cheap LCD for lans and buy a nice CRT for gaming at home...

another thing to consider... how often do you lan ?? once a month ?? so for 12 times a year your gonna buy a crappy LCD instead of a badass gaming CRT. I would rather stay home with the CRT then lan with a LCD lol

[ziggo0]

2 ~ 3 times a month to a large place, 2 ~ 4 times a week to friends houses lol

[Jod]

I've had my Samsung 712n for a year and a half now. I came from an NEC FE950+ 19" Flat Aperture Grill that hit 1280x1024@85. Here's my story...

I would normally use 1152x856 or whatever that res in between 1024 and 1280 on my old CRT. The viewable on that mon was 18in, but my 17in LCD displayed text @ 1280x1024 MUCH, MUCH crisper than the ol' crt could even DREAM of.

So let's see...

LCD's weigh less
Response time's not an issue anymore.
Text looks better
MUCH less fatiguing than blasting your eyes with a Cancer Ray Tube 85 times a sec, eh?
Color's much more vivid
Gives off MUCH less heat...think 40 watt light bulb vs 250 watt homing beacon
Less power used...meaning you can plug them into a ups without fear of losing half your uptime
They swivel and tilt much easier
Lan party friendly...check

Samsung 740n @ newegg for $226 shipped to your door in God knows when (since Newegg's been sleeping with skanky ups...)

[Wwing49]

2 ~ 3 times a month to a large place, 2 ~ 4 times a week to friends houses lol

2~4 per WEEK!!!! YOU ARE INSANE!!!! Just join the same internet game and find a Ventrilo server to use.

[ziggo0]

Yeah we would but we enjoy each other's company as we play. I'm probaly going to be ordering that 740N tomorrow :)

[Jod]

2~4 per WEEK!!!! YOU ARE INSANE!!!! Just join the same internet game and find a Ventrilo server to use.

It's SOO much harder to pull the network cable off someone who's owning you hard in a 300 match of instagig.

[scott d]

I can tell you, I own the 730B, and it is a great monitor. I'd buy another if I had the money. I really like DVI, I think it's worth the extra couple bucks.

[Swashbuckler]

I just bought the Samsung 930BF. It's a tad more money but you WONT be dissapointed. 19" 4ms response time. Do your homework, you'll see - that monitor is great.

[dfonda]

2 ~ 4 times a week to friends houses lol

Holy crap he should buy YOU a monitor. LOL :p

[Jod]

I can tell you, I own the 730B, and it is a great monitor. I'd buy another if I had the money. I really like DVI, I think it's worth the extra couple bucks.

I challenge you to tell the difference with the VGA cable!

[Rattle]

I am just so stubborn about the LCD thang lol

i would take a 2ms widescreen though :)

[scott d]

I challenge you to tell the difference with the VGA cable!

At work we have dual monitors, one dvi, one vga. it's not a big difference, but side by side, you can tell if you're looking closely and hunting for a difference.

[Jod]

...you can tell if you're looking closely and hunting for a difference.

Lmao, and that definitely qualifies for subtle...at least according to anyone who visits these forums, lol! :bang head

[Blueacid]

I just bought the Samsung 930BF. It's a tad more money but you WONT be dissapointed. 19" 4ms response time. Do your homework, you'll see - that monitor is great.

Truth. I've got this too, and it's a seriously SERIOUSLY good monitor.

Analog and DVI supported, both leads supplied. Looks good, no tacky speakers built in, and with 4msec response times, games are insanely good :)

[Echo_]

I've had my Samsung 712n for a year and a half now. I came from an NEC FE950+ 19" Flat Aperture Grill that hit 1280x1024@85. Here's my story...

I would normally use 1152x856 or whatever that res in between 1024 and 1280 on my old CRT. The viewable on that mon was 18in, but my 17in LCD displayed text @ 1280x1024 MUCH, MUCH crisper than the ol' crt could even DREAM of.

So let's see...

LCD's weigh less
Response time's not an issue anymore.
Text looks better
MUCH less fatiguing than blasting your eyes with a Cancer Ray Tube 85 times a sec, eh?
Color's much more vivid
Gives off MUCH less heat...think 40 watt light bulb vs 250 watt homing beacon
Less power used...meaning you can plug them into a ups without fear of losing half your uptime
They swivel and tilt much easier
Lan party friendly...check

Samsung 740n @ newegg for $226 shipped to your door in God knows when (since Newegg's been sleeping with skanky ups...)

you do realize you were using a 5:4 ratio image on a 4:3 ratio monitor? thats most likely why it looked so bad

[Jod]

you do realize you were using a 5:4 ratio image on a 4:3 ratio monitor? thats most likely why it looked so bad

Wait what? CRT's have ratios? Didn't know that... :eh?:

[Blueacid]

Wait what? CRT's have ratios? Didn't know that... :eh?:

I think he means that he tried that same resolution on the LCD, and it ended up a mess.... i think :eh?:


I thought that my CRT was very clear, but when i pitted it side-by-side with an LCD, it actually looked fuzzy - i dunno about any of you, but I'm happy with having (just recently!) upgraded to LCD.

[Jod]

Hey OP! Have you gotten taht LCD yet?!!

[Chixofnix]

I have a little to add on this monitor ;)

i'm currently writing this post to you through the gorgeous display of a samsung 740n i'm borrowing... just finished a LAN last night with this little gem, and now I want to buy one for myself...

Hands down, this LCD has the best display out of all 13 displays, CRT and LCD at the LAN. One was the famous 2005fpw o_0! By best, I mean if you looked at all of the displays objectively, in action, on the same game, this 740N made everything else look "too dark/bright" "too blurry" or else the colors of the others would look dull relative to this display.

I made a point to make these comparisons, and I am thouroughly impressed. Now, yes, it's analog, and I can honestly say that I'm not sure what you might gain from the same monitor in DVI (I'd like to know)...

I had a friend once show me the effects of bad monitor blur, and this display has nothing like it... However, when trying to induce blur, I did find dragging a window very fast across the desktop would result in a little "breaking" along the edges. I feel this is worth noting for the discerning display individuals around here, but rest assured I've still made it to the top of the scoreboards on CS:S with this display =)

So if this display I'm looking at is a fair sample, typical of it's make/model, then I'm fairly sure you won't be dissapointed with the 740N ^_~

[thefranklin]

Good choice. I used that monitor at worked and it owned.

[Richie P]

IIRC, to clear up the ratio debate,

17" and 19" tft will generally come with a 1280x1024 resolution which is 5:4 ratio. 15" is 1024x768 which is 4:3.

17" crt's have 1280x960 resolution which maintains the standard 4:3 resolution.

Please correct me if i'm wrong...I have been drinking tonight :D