begin quoting James G. Sack (jim) as of Sun, Aug 03, 2008 at 02:39:41PM -0700: > My desktop CRT (Gateway VX900 19" [18" viewable]), bought used [CCC, > circa 2003? -- so it's pretty old] is making occasional popping noises, > and the contrast doesn't seem ever seem to have been as good as I think > it might be, and it does use a lot of power, I'm sure.. > ..and besides I just kinda want something new, ok? > > I'm wondering, good friends, what kind of advice you might have for me. > > My preferences/habits: > > - I like having a lot of real estate. I now use 1600x1200, a too-high > dpi setting (giving tiny fonts), and suffer barely readable menus just > so I can occasionally tile multiple apps on the screen. Wide format (or > dual head?) seems appropriate for me. But maybe my aging eyes would do > better at a lower dpi than the present 110 or so.
Up your font size if they're too small; using resolution to control display size might be convenient, but seems silly. > - I'd like to be able to color-calibrate, not for professional needs, > but just because I like to play with photos and gimp. And good dynamic > range (contrast) would seem very desirable. > > - I don't play games. > > - I am presently comfortable with a viewing distance of about 24". That's about what I use. > - I have occasionally (once every few months) noticed fatigue (retinal > persistance?) that seems to require getting away from the CRT for a > period. This on a CRT at 75Hz refresh. I don't know how to factor that > in, but maybe somebody else does. I do spend a lot of time in front of > the screen. > > - Standard CB bias applies, meaning I very definitely don't want the > "at-any-cost best". But I might be able to argue myself into > "beyond-bare-minimum functionality" if I can personally recognize the > benefits. Heh. The more you wait, cheaper things get. My 24" was two-thirds the cost of my 20" display. > - Budget is not really pinned down, but the 24" panels occasionally > found at $300 sound quite attractive and tolerable. I do wonder whether > paying more like $400 might give a noticeable improvement, and would > probably consider that. I'd prob^wcertainly have difficulty talking > myself into thousand(s) of dollars, though. Go with a $400 budget. > - I've never spent any time in front of such a large screen though. > Maybe 24" might actually be too large? Perhaps dual head is > significantly better than one wide? I would like to hear of others' > impressions on this issue. > > Recommendations? I recently picked up a Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24" LCD display for under $400... another $150 would have gotten me a ViewSonic 25.5" display, but a side-by-side comparison didn't impress me $150 worth. It's not too big. It has DVI and VGA inputs that I can switch on the front panel, as well as autosense. I'm driving it at 1920x1200 now (with a PPC Mac Mini) -- the Sun Blade 100 *claims* it's the monitor's limitation why it can't drive it at more than 1280x1024, but I don't believe it (stupid software). Things are a bit distorted on the Blade... The Dell that Gregory uses is nicer (more inputs), but I'm using a KVM, so that's not really an important factor for me just now. I don't play with color-correction. The response time on the monitor works just fine with the games I play (nethack, NWN, GLTron), but then, I'm driving the thing with machines that are several years old. One wide is better than dual-head for most uses, IMNSHO. Advice? Go to Costco, Fry's, and Staples (etc.) and *look* at the various models. -- Bring-it-home-now is sometimes worth a premium. Stewart Stremler -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
