21 inch monitors / BNC

[xortam]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by GoSharks:
Where in the south bay can you find higher end monitors? All of the stores fryes etc, have low end monitors.</font>

I don't know ... I haven't started looking yet. Its been a long time since I went monitor shopping. I bought my NEC about ten years ago and I've been very happy with it: It always had better, more saturated colors than the Sony's I've used at work.
I've never seen anything at Fry's or Central that I like. I was thinking of getting a larger monitor for DH use but also am interested in 16x9 format suitable for 720p HDTV playback. I just started considering this second monitor so I haven't done any research yet.

[Paddy]

I thought that BNC cables only make a real difference if you have a graphics card with the seperate colour output chanels... Unless i am mistaken, and someone please correct me, compressed VGA cables have come on a long way since BNC first came about. Since the source of the signal from your graphics card is compressed VGA, converting that to BNC seems a bit of a waste...I am sure that you do get a sharper picture, but is it that noticable?

I am just going on what some random bloke said to me whilst looking for a monitor...so don't take this for fact.

And yes, i got one with dual inputs

[Paddy]

and now that i have taken the time to read the preceeding posts...sorry GoSharks...

[acobra]

Basically I'm more confused than before I started because everyone seems to have a different opinion... I'm now looking into Iilyma, Eizo, Sony, Mitsubishi, Viewsonic and Samsung monitors based on opinions and reviews (a surprisingly large number of reviewers really like the Samsung and Viewsonic monitors - I wasn't even thinking about them). It's a lot to sift through though. and there are many conflicting opinions. I wish I could just sit in a room with all these monitors side by side.

Anyhoo, I've settled in the $1,000 range, but there's a lot there. One interesting thing to note (going back to the Mitsubishi’s) is that the 2060 is $200-300 cheaper than the 2040 and apparently the only difference is the BNC connectors. And the 2060 has a SLIGHTLY bigger viewing area and a smaller case - see this comparison:

http://204.31.180.105/shopping_tools...=cmp&x=32&y=12

So if I stick with my original questions - is the BNC difference worth $200-300?? Anyone have any divine guidance for me??

Thanks for all your help so far!!!

[FrankDC]

Longevity has been an issue with Samsung. Quite a few of the recent models (e.g. 1100P+) have had problems after just one year). The other problem is differences in factory calibration.. one unit will look great and another will look awful. This is more or less an issue with all brands but reports of bad display quality seem to be more common with Samsung.

Mitsubishi's 2040 and 2060 use the same tube, the slight difference in viewing area is due to the 2060's thinner bezel and slightly different factory default settings. The lack of BNC is a marginal problem, I use both BNC and Dsub on my 2040 and the Dsub's image is excellent. It's a matter of personal preference but I actually prefer the output on the Dsub, the image from the BNC is a little too contrasty for my taste. Still if you can manage to find a 2040 it's a better choice.

Frank

[az]

Looking for Eizo monitors is a waste of time - they make the very best consumer PC monitors available, but their prices are stellar!

AZ

[acobra]

Any concerns about refurbished monitors?

I am currently bidding on a F500R refurb (refurbished by sony) with a 90 day warranty. Should I be concered about the quality of the refurb?

[FrankDC]

It's a crap shoot. I've had terrible luck with refurbished monitors but know of others who swear by them (or in some cases at them).

Personally I wouldn't buy one unless it had at least a one-year warranty, especially a high-end model. If it really has been restored to 'brand new condition' they should be able to guarantee it for that long.

[EvilDonnyboy]

Hmmm, I wouldn't get a refurb monitor either. Some things are safe to get refub and some things aren't. And monitor's fall into the "not-safe" category.

Seriously, do you want to go cheap on a device that shoots radioactive particles (electrons I think) at you're face?

[xortam]

Invest in a good monitor. Its going to last you through several different systems. As I said, I've had my 17" NEC for ten years now.

[acobra]

Well, at UBID they have a 1 year advance replacement warranty for an additional $62 so I was thinking about that..

They had a F520 yesterday - Dunno what it ended up going for because I didn't realize that the auction ended yesterday. But if I can get the same monitor for $800 instead of $1600 it's kinda hard to pass up don't you think? They are fully factory refurbished BY SONY and in a new Sony box, etc.

Oh and xortam - I consider close to $1,000 a pretty big investment don't you?? I really don't want to spend $1500-1700 on a monitor... when I started this search I didn't even know or think I was going to be spending $1,000...

I'll see what happens, sometimes ubid has new monitors as well, maybe I'll get lucky... No MURCers bidding against me!!! LOL!!

[FrankDC]

The F500R is overpriced. Look up any comparitive review, e.g.
http://www.cadalyst.com/reviews/hard...tors/index.htm

IMO paying $800 for a used F500R is silly when new and better monitors are just a few dollars more.

[xortam]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by acobra:
Oh and xortam - I consider close to $1,000 a pretty big investment don't you?? I really don't want to spend $1500-1700 on a monitor... when I started this search I didn't even know or think I was going to be spending $1,000...</font>

I suppose it is, nowadays. I spent $1400 on my NEC 5FG, and that's with 1991 dollars (considerably worth more now). A bit OT, but since I'm reminiscing now ... looking at my old pricing notes, I see that the ATI Graphics Ultra+ was selling for $340 USD! I bought a Diamond Viper VLB (no PCI yet) w/ Weitek P9000 chip (anybody remember Weitek?). Hell my system cost me $6000 back then and it had a whopping 16MB RAM ($528 worth)! I like today's pricing much better.

Back to monitor cost ... I treat monitors kind of like speakers in a stereo system (being a transducer and thus a weak point in the system). The monitor is your main interface with your computer and you're going to be looking at that screen for quite a bit of time. I think you know the major factors in selecting a quality monitor but you should also try to determine what the life expectancy will be. I would be wary of a refurbished unit because you're trusting that all the problems have been located and fixed. I can see why you'd be quite tempted by saving $800 but is that $800 for a monitor that will last a few years or $1600 for a monitor that will last 15 years? Maybe somebody with more direct experience with refurbished monitors can address that question.

[Joel]

Hey GoSharks,

I just want to say that I have one your 21" c1025s and I am very pleased with it. Based on the price for it, it was IMO good bang for the buck. I also see that y'all are offering the G450 video card for sale.

Joel

[acobra]

Good points!

I guess I got caught up in the hype of .22 dot pitch and sony is the best, etc... To be honest all the reviews I saw that included sony were comparing the G series.. not the F.

But I think I'll just go back to the 2040/2060 and see what the best price I can get is.

xortam, wanna talk about my OLD systems.. I paid $1,050 for a AT&T 8086 (or 8088??) with 2 floppy drives and no HDD and a very small (12"?) monochrome monitor back in '87 and like $600 for my Commodore 64 in '82 (when they first came out, that was the list for about 2 months then they dropped to like $200 or less...). I guess I'm dating myself.. lol

I also seem to remember researching CD-ROM drives for weeks before I settled on a Toshiba 3401B (2x?) which cost me over $400 at the time...I can't believe I still remember the model number!!