How to benchmark a crt ( IBM P200 vs Samsung 765)

[Rawashdeh]

Hey guys,

I have a quick question , is there a relatively easy way/program to help benchmark the color/contrast and other aspects of crt's? I have a buddy with 2 used IBM P200 monitors and I am considering replacing my Samsung 765MB with one of them. The extra size would be nice , but I don't want to sacrifice quality since those crt's are a bit old and I know that crt's get worse the older they are.

Inputs from users of IBM p200's are welcome too.

[Gnufsh]

I think you would need external hardware to test those things.

edit: Take a look here for some benchmark utilities:
http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/english.html?/be_monitor.html

edit2: I see you only have a couple posts, so welcome to the forums!

[Rawashdeh]

Hey Gnufsh,

Thanks for the advice , that link with all these benchmark utilites will prob help me determain the condition of my monitor vs the P200. Will start working on them as soon as I fix my desktop in a couple of hours.

[stereo555]

IBM monitors are excellant as I have a P260 (about 5+years old).

I should point out though , as most IBM's are Sony tubes they will have a tendency to loose thier color (fade) after 4-5 yrs . Just something to keep in mind . ;)

[Rawashdeh]

Thanks stereo555 ,

Yeah , thats what I am worried about , I mean the p200 is nice and big compared to my 17 inch monitor , but one thing I noticed was that the brightness wasnt as good on that montior ( at my buddies settings at least) , I am also interested to see how the montiors colours are vs my 765 , as I can't sacrifice quality for size. I remember a buddy having a sony monitor and that one had amazing colours , the only reason I am really interested in this p200 also. All i need to do now is learn to live with those 2 lines holding the mask ( I got the shadow mask for my samsung , not as flat and a bit grainy , but those lines annoyed me a lot when i had my 17in NEC tube)

[stereo555]

I just checked the specs on the P200 and although its an Aperture grill monitor the dot pitch is VERY large .31 !!!

A good dot pitch for an aperture grill monitor should be no more than .25/.24/.22 (smaller is better) ; and a non aperture grill screen will have a .28/.27/.26 on average . My P260 is .24 dot pitch = very good/excellant :) . The P200 being a .31 dot pitch would make the picture look very very grainy .

I hate to say it , but it would be my opinion to pass on the P200 unless its almost for free .

[Rawashdeh]

Yeah , I have seen those specs as well . As a matter of fact I have seen specs saying that dot pitch is 0.31 , and some saying its .26 and I am not sure which is correct. My samsung claims 0.20 , but I think its more like 0.24-0.25 on other monitors. The p200 will be free, Although its far away and heavy so I am trying to decide if it would be worth the trip + testing to see how it is vs just sticking with my current monitor.

[MadMan007]

Remember that there is no true 'dot pitch' on aperature grill monitors. The horizontal pitch is the distance between columns, there really isn't a vertical pitch so you can't directly compare AG and shadow mask monitor's 'dot ptich' directly.

For the P200, .31 is on the higher end of AG stripe pitch but it would still look good compared to mid-range shadow mask monitors imo. Overall stereo555 is right, if you get a great deal on it then it would be nice but otherwise you could probably find a better one for similar or only marginally more.

[JRW]

Ouch to be honest .31mm for an Aperture grille is pretty high (Not good) The highest AG pitch ive owned is .25mm and my current monitor is .23mm , Im guessing the P200 doesnt display high resolutions very clear / crisp. I'd definately check it out before buying.

[ThePCGuy]

I'm using a IBM P200 as we speak. I also got mine for free. It's been a great monitor for my typical tasks. I did a bit of gaming on it (when it was connected to my game machine) and it handled that just fine. It displays text just fine at 1280x1024 or less. 1600x1200 will make it hard to read text and such. Overall, for it's age it's been a great monitor. Good luck!

- Jim