Lcd madness...

[Paulr]

If response rate is not the primary specification you are looking for then I'd say go for the 18" panel if it's within your budget.
To me the fonts look fine - however I moved from a 17" CRT 1280x1024 to a 17" LCD 1280x1024 so my resolution has stayed the same however I've got just over 1" more of viewable area.
However if somebody who uses 1024x768 on a 17" CRT and finds that a little on the small size then I think the larger panel is a must.

The NEC actually copes very well with resolutions other than 1280x1024, however not so well under "General Windows".
For games, DVD's and the like then resolutions other than "optimum" look fine, although I wasn't too impressed with 800x600, something I'd want to avoid.
I don't know if there is anywhere local to you that has the 1760NX on display, but if there is go armed with all the things you are likely to run on it and ask them to show you those very applications - it's the least they can do when you consider that it is hardly a cheap investment.

[Gurm]

So what's the response rate on that 1760NX? I can get one at a good price...

I have queried.

- Gurm

[az]

16ms.

Actually, it's 19 or 20, if you measure it, and that only if you turn the brightness and contrast way up (fastest settings are contrast 50 or higher, brightness 100 - you won't find this in the manual! That's too bright for ergonomic work, might be alright for games though.). Still it's one of the fastest screens around, and uses the same panel all the other "16 ms" screens use; it's a TN panel from AU Optronics. The fastest screen is the Benq FP767, not quite as good a picture as the NEC, and ugly as hell - and analog only.

AZ

[az]

Paulr, thank you very much for the insight

NEC screens don't seem very popular here for home users, they're still perceived as a business supplier, though they are trying to change that. This means that I haven't been able to see even one NEC screen live, and even if I could, it'd possibly be last year's 1850. Well, I live in a small city... (300k inhabitants, but spread far).

AZ

[Gurm]

Well, they have been kinda pricey in the retail channel here in the states. That might have something to do with it. But in MY book, NEC has always been about quality, and knowing that this model is very fast (and yet cheaper than the Viewsonic or the Hitachi) is good enough for me.

So why does nobody make a nice fast 18" (or higher)? What prevents AUO from making theirs a bit bigger?

- Gurm