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[Lord Error]

What's the best 17" LCD (with best picture quality, least motion-ghosting, strongest black, etc...) you've ever had a pleasure of seeing?

What's your opinion on Samsung 173P? It's not the newest thing in town, I know, but I've heard very good things about it. How does it compare to whatever has come out in the past few months? Has anyone had a chance to see in person those new Sony's MFM-HT75W and MFM-HT95 (that one's 19"), that sound pretty awesome on paper and even have TV tuner for HDTV?

 

[Lord Error]

Hrmpf, bump for the night crowd, I guess.

Is this really such a stupid, or difficult, or irrelevant question?

 

[btrboyev]

Sony's lcd's are way too overpriced and just generally aren't that great imo

 

[Pochacco]

There are sooo many LCDs.
Your best bet would be to just go to a Best Buy or something and compare.

 

[Tarazet]

I've always felt that NEC made the best monitors out there, and their MultiSync LCD is living up to my expectations. Seeing all of the available monitors at the time at Fry's, that's the one I picked out as having the most attractive display.

 

[Pedigree Chum]

This is the one I bought:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodd...0926INGFS10041170&catid=20371&newdeptid=20367

I love it, TV tuner rocks hard.

 

[Shogmaster]

The only bad thing about this Samsung is the lack of DVI port. Everything else rocks, including the price ($259 after rebate).

Specifications:
Panel Type: a-si TFT/TN LCD
Native Resolution: 1280 x 1024
Pixel Pitch: 0.264 mm
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 600:1
Response Time: 12 ms
View Angle: 160 / 160 (Horizontal / Vertical)
Input Connectors: 15-pin D-Sub

 

[bionic77]

Sony's lcd's are way too overpriced and just generally aren't that great imo

They are overpriced but they look pretty good to me.

I also like those Dell Ultrasharps as well.

Macs have fucking awesome LCDs too.

Man I need to replace my shitty POS LCD from 2001.

 

[xsarien]

What's the best 17" LCD (with best picture quality, least motion-ghosting, strongest black, etc...) you've ever had a pleasure of seeing?

There are a lot of them out there, with a lot of different specs. The only solid, constant advice you're bound to get is that you should have a DVI connection to your computer. Recommending specific brands is tough, because everyone probably has at least one good LCD on the market. I know that I love my Samsung. The time's coming to replace it with something bigger - possibly a widescreen - but it's still just as bright and sharp as when I got it three years ago.

Just gather together the monitors you can realistically afford, and compare size, contrast ratios (the higher, the better), pixel response time (the lower, the better), brightness (the higher, the better), and, if you want, the amount of inputs available. Also, make sure to note that some display 16.2 million colors, and others display 16.7 million.

I recommend NOT going to stores like Best Buy, because you won't get an accurate picture of what the displays can do. Most of those things - at least around here - are not only using VGA connections, but sometimes, like in CompUSA, signal splitters.

 

[Lord Error]

I would like DVI input for sure. Also, is the Sony only one that does those 'Xbrite' laminated screens (kinda like what PSP has) that have very good blacks and color reproduction? One of the things I don't like about LCDs is that their picture somehow looks more 'artificial' than CRT screen. That Xbrite tech does something to alleviate that 'problem' but I don't know if it screws up something else even more essential.

Also, how visible is the difference between 12 and 16ms screens?

 

[GamePnoy74]

I have a Samsung 172X myself...great display, fast enough for gaming (12ms), one of the better-looking LCDs out there (slick looks, very slim bezel)...there's also the Samsung 710T that got pretty good ratings from Tom's Hardware recently (has DVI support unlike the N model, as well as a pivoting screen).

 

[Shogmaster]

Also, how visible is the difference between 12 and 16ms screens?

(up to) 83fps capable vs 62fps capable.

 

[teh_pwn]

Yeah, don't buy "Sony".

Buy from Samsung, LG Electronics, Dell (which is one of the two before, but their prices are good).

I just nabbed the Dell 1905 FP for $377 from Dell Business last week. You can't get it that low anymore. It's a fantastic 19" LCD monitor. It's virtually Samsung's 193P, a $650+ monitor.

But if you're FPS gamer, don't buy LCDs. Still too much ghosting to compete with CRTs.

NEVER EVER TAKE SPECS SERIOUSLY. Always look the monitor up. Some of the 12ms monitors have horrid color for example.

One of the things I don't like about LCDs is that their picture somehow looks more 'artificial' than CRT screen. That Xbrite tech does something to alleviate that 'problem' but I don't know if it screws up something else even more essential.

CRTs, especially Trinitron-like ones have much better color and fluidity.

LCDs are cleaner at hi resolutions due to DVI, have better contrast/brightness, and no flicker (better for your eyes).

 

[Friend]

this is a nice 19 inch lcd. It has an amazingly low 8ms response time. Though it is badged under the hyundai name, it is allegedly manufactured by samsung.

 

[teh_pwn]

I'd be careful there. To get to 8 ms they likely sacrificed other specs.

 

[Lord Error]

But if you're FPS gamer, don't buy LCDs. Still too much ghosting to compete with CRTs.

I don't really play games on PC anymore, except for emulators and such, so that's not a big issue. I don't watch movies on it too, but I do work a lot (graphics design and animation work) and I like the sharpness of LCD screens, but those that I've seen so far always leave something to be desired (color quality / black level mostly).

NEVER EVER TAKE SPECS SERIOUSLY. Always look the monitor up. Some of the 12ms monitors have horrid color for example.

Point taken.

CRTs, especially Trinitron-like ones have much better color and fluidity.

Yeah, for many years now I've been using and abusing Sony's 17" CRT which is really high quality, but has started to give up lately (low contrast colors are starting to smear). I'm aware that none of the LCDs will have the exact same kind of picture, but I'm willing to accept tradeoffs.

I guess I'll just have to pay visit to as many stores as possible and take a look at everything they've got.

Another question - is there ANY way to attach that Apple's new widescreen LCD to a PC, and who actually makes that screen? Is there any other screen by that manufacturer that uses the same tech?