Advice/Info Wanted - TFT Monitors

[Martin D. Pay]

Gentles -

I'm after practical information on the likelihood of being able
to find a 19 inch TFT monitor that is fast enough for games but
gives good quality for 'ordinary' office-type use (e-mail,
web-work, word processing, spreadsheets and so forth. I'm not
worried about movie/DVD playback as I don't use my PC for
watching films...

I've looked at a couple of fast monitors (Samsung and Viewsonic
both make several that get good reviews for gaming) but the
reviewers made no mention of other uses. Are there any drawbacks
in using a fast, games-oriented monitor for other purposes? I
can't see why there should be, but IT hardware occasionally
surprises with the unexpected...

The only other requirement is that I would need one with both
analog/D-sub and DVI connectors, as my current graphics card is
D-sub only but I hope to do a major upgrade to my PC later this
year, which will include switching to a PCI-E card with a DVI
connection.

Any comments/advise welcomed...

Martin D. Pay
No .sig comes to mind...

 

[UCLAN]

I'm after practical information on the likelihood of being able
to find a 19 inch TFT monitor that is fast enough for games but
gives good quality for 'ordinary' office-type use (e-mail,
web-work, word processing, spreadsheets and so forth. I'm not
worried about movie/DVD playback as I don't use my PC for
watching films...

I've looked at a couple of fast monitors (Samsung and Viewsonic
both make several that get good reviews for gaming) but the
reviewers made no mention of other uses. Are there any drawbacks
in using a fast, games-oriented monitor for other purposes? I
can't see why there should be, but IT hardware occasionally
surprises with the unexpected...

The only other requirement is that I would need one with both
analog/D-sub and DVI connectors, as my current graphics card is
D-sub only but I hope to do a major upgrade to my PC later this
year, which will include switching to a PCI-E card with a DVI
connection.

I have been using a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 930B for a few months
now. It has both analog and DVI connections, is great on text or
browsing the Internet, has a 8 mS response time, and had ZERO dead
pixels out of the box. Easy to install and set up. I'm not a gamer,
but a friend of mine is, and he also loves his 930B.

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCD_Digital/BI19BSSB.asp

 

[Martin D. Pay]

I have been using a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 930B for a few months
now. It has both analog and DVI connections, is great on text or
browsing the Internet, has a 8 mS response time, and had ZERO dead
pixels out of the box. Easy to install and set up. I'm not a gamer,
but a friend of mine is, and he also loves his 930B.

http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCD_Digital/BI19BSSB.asp

Thanks for that. One of the monitors I've been looking at is the
UK version of your Samsung (930BF, which interestingly is rated
at 4ms response time).

I think I may have to spend some money - the reason I'm looking
to go this route is my 17-inch CRT died and I'm using the backup
15-inch one at the moment...

Martin D. Pay
The Samsung is a very good price over here, as well...

 

[Lou]

Thanks for that. One of the monitors I've been looking at is the
UK version of your Samsung (930BF, which interestingly is rated
at 4ms response time).

I think I may have to spend some money - the reason I'm looking
to go this route is my 17-inch CRT died and I'm using the backup
15-inch one at the moment...

Martin D. Pay
The Samsung is a very good price over here, as well...

I'll second the Samsung 930B/BF as a good choice. In general tasks, a
bit of gaming, and movie viewing, both have performed without flaw.

The only caveat is the lack of an adjustable stand.

The 913V is another fine unit, though it lacks DVI input.

 

[UCLAN]

Thanks for that. One of the monitors I've been looking at is the
UK version of your Samsung (930BF, which interestingly is rated
at 4ms response time).

Not a British version. The 930BF is the "gaming" version of the
930B. Response time dropped from 8ms to 4ms, but brightness
drooped from 300cd to 270cd (not that it matters much.) I
looked at them both, but liked the price of the 930B ($315 USD
after rebates.)

I think I may have to spend some money - the reason I'm looking
to go this route is my 17-inch CRT died and I'm using the backup
15-inch one at the moment...

My 8-year old Shamrock 17" CRT started to develop intermittent
turn-on difficulties, so I converted *before* disaster struck.

 

[UCLAN]

I'll second the Samsung 930B/BF as a good choice. In general tasks, a
bit of gaming, and movie viewing, both have performed without flaw.

The only caveat is the lack of an adjustable stand.

The stand *does* have adjustable tilt, but not height. Being slightly
higher than the monitor, tilt adjustment was all I needed.

 

[Martin D. Pay]

Not a British version. The 930BF is the "gaming" version of the
930B. Response time dropped from 8ms to 4ms, but brightness
drooped from 300cd to 270cd (not that it matters much.) I
looked at them both, but liked the price of the 930B ($315 USD
after rebates.)

OK, my mistake - thanks for the clarification. The vanilla 'B'
version doesn't seem to be available over here (at least I
haven't found anywhere that sells it).

My 8-year old Shamrock 17" CRT started to develop intermittent
turn-on difficulties, so I converted *before* disaster struck.

Heh. Mine died in (literally) a small puff of smoke, without
warning...

Martin D. Pay
Will have another look for the 'vanilla' version of this monitor,
I think...