How important do you rate monitors in the grand scheme of things?

Zardon · Sep 24, 2004, 10:26 PM

I see a lot of people discussing graphics cards and drivers on DH, but what im wondering is how important do you rate your monitor? would you spend $500 on the latest graphics card but still use a $100 17 inch entry level screen?

As some of you know I do quite a bit of graphics work and I rate monitors as probably the most important part of a rig, after all you spend all your time looking at it. do you agree or not?

here is a picture of my system for rendering and design

**dj_stick** · Sep 24, 2004, 10:28 PM

i would rather spend a little extra and get a medium grade CRT (or two), i can't afford much more but at least i know the screen won't crap out as easily

Shinjikun · Sep 24, 2004, 10:29 PM

Monitors are extremely important -- at least for me (gaming) -- but it's often overlooked. A lot of people will point out their $500 X800 XT PE before they talk about their monitor (IF at all).

Certain components in a computer are crucial but they don't get a lot of attention if any. What's an X800 or 6800GT\Ultra good for if it's binded to a (for lack of a better word) 'crappy' monitor with a low refresh or response rate.

Edit: That's a sexy rig BTW.

Zardon · Sep 24, 2004, 10:33 PM

Two Dell 2001fps 3200x1200 deskspace. powered by a P4 Extreme edition 775 @ 3.6ghz, 2 gig of corsair DDR 2, PCIe X800XT, Intel 925x mobo. And on the left is a Dell latitude D505 with 1 gig of ram/3G satellite connection and a dual layer dvd burner.

Shinjikun · Sep 24, 2004, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Two Dell 2001fps. powered by a P4 Extreme edition 775 @ 3.6ghz, 2 gig of corsair DDR 2, PCIe X800XT, Intel 925x mobo. And on the left is a Dell latitude D505 with 1 gig of ram/3G satellite connection and a dual layer dvd burner.

Sounds like you can use an upgrade; you're a bit behind.

I don't prefer LCD screens for gaming but at least they have been making strides to catch up with CRTs in the past few years. Hopefully we'll see a 'CRT replacement' sooner than later.

Zardon · Sep 24, 2004, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shinjikun

Hopefully we'll see a 'CRT replacement' sooner than later.

Those dells are, 16ms, no ghosting, true 24 bit 1600x1200. I had two 22inch illyama CRTS last month until I saw these, and trust me there is no comparison, and I thought id never say that.

Shinjikun · Sep 24, 2004, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

Those dells are, 16ms, no ghosting, true 24 bit 1600x1200. I had two 22inch illyama CRTS last month until I saw these, and trust me there is no comparison, and I thought id never say that.

16ms with no ghosting? Holy crap; I've never heard of that type of speed before. I guess I should take a look at the LCD market again; with those type of specs it DOES look like a CRT replacement even I'd use. I didn't think I'd be saying that this soon. I don't mind CRTs per se; besides the fact they weight 1,000 lbs. (kidding) and they get hotter than hell in some desks depending on the layout.

You lucky dog.

CaptinSxb · Sep 24, 2004, 10:53 PM

Wow that is a sweet setup Zardon. Wish i could get those monitors, but i cant afford a 15" CRT

.

Offtopic: You making a new sig/avatar?

dipstick · Sep 24, 2004, 11:10 PM

I totally agree Z. I mean what good is a top-of-the-line gfx card if the monitor suxs. But I'm glad to see you liked the Dell enough to get another, thats a SICK setup man. Having said that I've been in heaven with one of those for the past year and to be honest I wont be upgrading for a long time. Monitors are more important then the PC itself imho.

GutterPunk · Sep 25, 2004, 12:42 AM

my monitor isnt very good, iw ould like to get a good one sometime... 9800pro is okay w/ it tho

drakesteakn · Sep 25, 2004, 12:54 AM

a good to great monitor is what i like. its nothing like having a 500$ vid card and a crappy monitor.

Zelig · Sep 25, 2004, 01:16 AM

My monitor sucks, even though I think they're quite important. As soon as I get together around $1000, I'm going to go buy myself a real nice monitor to replace my current cheap 17 inch crt.

Judas · Sep 25, 2004, 04:23 AM

i get nothing but the best i can get at the moment get for a monitor.... who cares about the graphics cards if you cant really see the quality of it...

if it isn't dot pitch 0.22 or under... i don't really look at any monitor over that...

Shapeshifter · Sep 25, 2004, 04:51 AM

Monitors are like Psu's alot of people overlook them.

there's a simple rule that appiles to both.

1. Always get quality, in the short and long run its worth it.

CDsDontBurn · Sep 25, 2004, 05:20 AM

i got my monitor off my friend. Envision 19" CRT. Great monitor. looked up the specs online, my monitor does .21 dot pitch, 1600x1200 @ 75hz. this thing is bomb compared to my 15" POS proview i had before.

Shinjikun · Sep 25, 2004, 04:36 PM

I have a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 955DF which does the job for now. Had a craptastic 17" KDS something-or-other monitor before.

Zardon · Sep 25, 2004, 07:24 PM

anyone ever tried portrait mode before? its very impressive for browsing

Danhill · Sep 25, 2004, 07:33 PM

I can't belive you actually got 2 of those, I'm still waiting for my first one to be ordered.

How about a review Z???

Zardon · Sep 25, 2004, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danhill

I can't belive you actually got 2 of those, I'm still waiting for my first one to be ordered.

How about a review Z???

I found this great dealer on ebay dan, selling them for £500 from the states via TNT express, arrive in 2 days ! £300 saving per monitor !

As for a review well im not so sure its a new model as such, anandtech did a fantastic job of reviewing it a while ago if you want to read it, over here http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=1918&p=1

"Dell's 2001FP is particularly interesting because it uses a 16ms panel that is not manufactured by AUO, the LG.Philips LM201U04. First of all, this panel dramatically increases the pixels on the screen from 1.3M to 1.9M. The second major accomplishment is that LG was able to achieve 16.7M color reproduction as well. Put in simpler terms, this means that each subpixel on the Dell 2001FP can reproduce all 256 shades where as each subpixel on the Hitachi CML174 could only do 64. Ergo the Dell 2001FP reproduces 24-bit color, while the Hitachi CML174 does 18-bit."

Necrosis · Sep 25, 2004, 07:48 PM

I recently picked up one of these as well. Almost went dual myself but was paying full price. Javafox has one too.

Zardon · Sep 25, 2004, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrosis

I recently picked up one of these as well. Almost went dual myself but was paying full price. Javafox has one too.

you liking it?

Dark Lord · Sep 25, 2004, 07:54 PM

i really do need a new monitor, but i dont know if i want to drop 500-700 bucks on one.
ive used this monitor for the last 5 years, i think i can go another year or 2 on it. by then, lcd's should be reasonably priced and should performe alot better.

dipstick · Sep 25, 2004, 07:58 PM

That portrait mode is just awesome for surfing the web and forums. I've had this monitor for a year and never tried that before to be honest. If your LCD supports it definitely give it a shot, looks like a whole new monitor lol. Still droolin over a dual setup

Necrosis · Sep 25, 2004, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

you liking it?

Yes, way better than my old VG191b from Viewsonic.

Zelig · Sep 25, 2004, 11:37 PM

I'm getting a new crt monitor to replace the cheap TVM one I've got now.

I'm looking at a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070 22" monitor, which is the same as the Multisync FP2141SB-BK, but with a different name.

My friend has two of those monitors, so I already know what I'm getting for the price, but if anyone has comments about high-end crt monitors, or NEC, I'd be happy to hear them.

I was also looking at the Sony G520, but it's ungodly expensive.

Zardon · Sep 25, 2004, 11:58 PM

I had the illyama 22 inch 415 vision master pro, nice monitor - mitsubishi diamondtron tube, not as sharp as the dell 2001fps mind you especially via DVI, but the colour is ever so slightly better.

grog · Sep 26, 2004, 07:06 AM

I agree the monitor is one of the most important items in a system.

Need to handle all the senses, well maybe three of the four.

Seeing, hearing, smelling and touching.

My specs based on the four required senses:

Seeing: Nokia 445PRO 21' professional grade monitor, ATI AIW 9700 PRO, ATI HDTV WONDER (normally I run my monitor at 1600x1200@85Hz).

Hearing: Creative Labs Audigy and Klipsch MediaPro 5.1 Ultra

Smelling: Waiting for someone to release smell-a-vision card

Touching: Keyboard, Mouse and Speaker POD. Also can add Ethernet to allow internet connection to allow touching the world. Don't forget to include all the buttons on the computer including power, DVD open/close and fan control.

Greg

Danhill · Sep 26, 2004, 09:26 AM

I can't do anything ragarding my order as I'm going to order this via my job, I have to wait for the other employees to order their stuff, so I hope I have this baybe in a month or so, or at least before chritsmas

The review on anandtech made my drool more. You have an awesome setup there Allan and yes I do belive it's important to have a good quality monitor as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardon

I found this great dealer on ebay dan, selling them for £500 from the states via TNT express, arrive in 2 days ! £300 saving per monitor !

As for a review well im not so sure its a new model as such, anandtech did a fantastic job of reviewing it a while ago if you want to read it, over here http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=1918&p=1

"Dell's 2001FP is particularly interesting because it uses a 16ms panel that is not manufactured by AUO, the LG.Philips LM201U04. First of all, this panel dramatically increases the pixels on the screen from 1.3M to 1.9M. The second major accomplishment is that LG was able to achieve 16.7M color reproduction as well. Put in simpler terms, this means that each subpixel on the Dell 2001FP can reproduce all 256 shades where as each subpixel on the Hitachi CML174 could only do 64. Ergo the Dell 2001FP reproduces 24-bit color, while the Hitachi CML174 does 18-bit."

~~HawK~~ · Sep 26, 2004, 10:13 AM

Well a good LCD is IMM very sharp and has a nice bright view,
but for me it still has one big thing against it; it's price,
like the Dell Zardon owns cost ~1000 Euro's, which is way out of my league.

2day's ago I bought a HP p1110 21" (Sony Trinitron) CRT for 199 Euro, which I like very much (I always liked Trinitrons)

But if you can afford a LCD of good quality then yes that would be the best option.
For those who can't afford those high prices; stay away from cheap LCD's i'd say, you'll be better of with a big CRT for the time being..(space permitting)

And yes what use is a Great G.Card when you have to watch it on a 15" crappy monitor..

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 26, 2004, 10:14 AM

Actually You can get a good 19" pure flat for about $159

Sep 24, 2004, 10:26 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	How important do you rate monitors in the grand scheme of things? I see a lot of people discussing graphics cards and drivers on DH, but what im wondering is how important do you rate your monitor? would you spend $500 on the latest graphics card but still use a $100 17 inch entry level screen? As some of you know I do quite a bit of graphics work and I rate monitors as probably the most important part of a rig, after all you spend all your time looking at it. do you agree or not? here is a picture of my system for rendering and design

Sep 24, 2004, 10:29 PM	#3
Shinjikun 第3 子供 Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nerv HQ Posts: 1,319 Rep Power: 0	Monitors are extremely important -- at least for me (gaming) -- but it's often overlooked. A lot of people will point out their $500 X800 XT PE before they talk about their monitor (IF at all). Certain components in a computer are crucial but they don't get a lot of attention if any. What's an X800 or 6800GT\Ultra good for if it's binded to a (for lack of a better word) 'crappy' monitor with a low refresh or response rate. Edit: That's a sexy rig BTW. __________________ Xfire: [Shinji1225 \ Status] A7N8X-E Deluxe Athlon XP 2500+ (@ 2.2 GHz 11x200 MHz FSB) Corsair TwinX XMS 1GB PC3200 Dual Channel (2-2-3-5) [color=red]ATi [/color][color=white]Radeon 9500 Pro (@ 330\310) \ [/color][color=white]Omega Catalyst Drivers v2.5.90[/color] [color=white]Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU[/color]

Sep 24, 2004, 10:53 PM	#8
CaptinSxb DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Good Ol' U.S. of A. Posts: 404 Rep Power: 0	Wow that is a sweet setup Zardon. Wish i could get those monitors, but i cant afford a 15" CRT . Offtopic: You making a new sig/avatar? __________________ A64-3200; x800xl; a couple other things ; and a floppy drive

Sep 25, 2004, 12:42 AM	#10
GutterPunk I = Greatest Dood Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nebraska Posts: 5,949 Rep Power: 71	my monitor isnt very good, iw ould like to get a good one sometime... 9800pro is okay w/ it tho __________________ Rock On \m/ Thank you Mousey for the Sig! --------------- Intel Core2Duo E6660 (3.4GHZ) ~ Tuniq Tower 120 ~ Enermax Galaxy 1000W ~ Corsair Dominator @ 1090MHZ 5-5-5-15 (OCZ XTC Modded Cooler)~ EVGA 8800GTX W/ HR-03 Plus 120MM ~ Asus DVD-RW LiteScribe ~ LG DVD-RW ~ Corsair Voyager 2GB ReadyBoost Drive ~ Vantec Nexus Fan Controller ~ ThermalTake Armor 25CM fan ~ Personal Finance Blog: Dent Your Debt

Sep 25, 2004, 12:54 AM	#11
drakesteakn boo!!!! Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Ft. Meyers, FL Posts: 2,041 Rep Power: 0	a good to great monitor is what i like. its nothing like having a 500$ vid card and a crappy monitor. __________________

Sep 24, 2004, 10:33 PM	Thread Starter #4
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Two Dell 2001fps 3200x1200 deskspace. powered by a P4 Extreme edition 775 @ 3.6ghz, 2 gig of corsair DDR 2, PCIe X800XT, Intel 925x mobo. And on the left is a Dell latitude D505 with 1 gig of ram/3G satellite connection and a dual layer dvd burner.

Sep 24, 2004, 11:10 PM	#9
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I totally agree Z. I mean what good is a top-of-the-line gfx card if the monitor suxs. But I'm glad to see you liked the Dell enough to get another, thats a SICK setup man. Having said that I've been in heaven with one of those for the past year and to be honest I wont be upgrading for a long time. Monitors are more important then the PC itself imho.

Sep 25, 2004, 01:16 AM	#12
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	My monitor sucks, even though I think they're quite important. As soon as I get together around $1000, I'm going to go buy myself a real nice monitor to replace my current cheap 17 inch crt.

Sep 25, 2004, 04:51 AM	#14
Shapeshifter DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 9 Rep Power: 0	Monitors are like Psu's alot of people overlook them. there's a simple rule that appiles to both. 1. Always get quality, in the short and long run its worth it. __________________ My setup: WinXP Pro SP1 \| Antec Plusview1000AMG \| Antec True430 \|Abit NF7-S \| AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+@2.5ghz W/SP-97 Panaflo 92mm 56.8cfm 35dba \| Samsung 2x512MB PC3200 \| 80GB WD800BB\| ATi AIW 9800 Pro W/ Vga silencer and OCZ copper ramsinks\| Panasonic 12x DVD \|

Sep 25, 2004, 05:20 AM	#15
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	i got my monitor off my friend. Envision 19" CRT. Great monitor. looked up the specs online, my monitor does .21 dot pitch, 1600x1200 @ 75hz. this thing is bomb compared to my 15" POS proview i had before. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Sep 25, 2004, 04:36 PM	#16
Shinjikun 第3 子供 Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nerv HQ Posts: 1,319 Rep Power: 0	I have a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 955DF which does the job for now. Had a craptastic 17" KDS something-or-other monitor before. __________________ Xfire: [Shinji1225 \ Status] A7N8X-E Deluxe Athlon XP 2500+ (@ 2.2 GHz 11x200 MHz FSB) Corsair TwinX XMS 1GB PC3200 Dual Channel (2-2-3-5) [color=red]ATi [/color][color=white]Radeon 9500 Pro (@ 330\310) \ [/color][color=white]Omega Catalyst Drivers v2.5.90[/color] [color=white]Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU[/color]

Sep 25, 2004, 07:24 PM	Thread Starter #17
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	anyone ever tried portrait mode before? its very impressive for browsing

Sep 25, 2004, 07:33 PM	#18
Danhill DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 4,112 Rep Power: 0	I can't belive you actually got 2 of those, I'm still waiting for my first one to be ordered. How about a review Z??? __________________ MOBO: [color=white]ASUS A8N-SLI Premium[/color] CPU: AMD 64 3200+ (Venice) @ 2,50 Ghz MEM: 2 x 512 DDR 466, VGA: 2 x 6600 GT in SLI, HDD1: WD Raptor HDD2: Maxtor Diamond Plus 9, Case: Antec Plus View 1080, PSU: ThermalTake PurePower 500W, MX 1000, Dell 2001 FP, Aud. 2 SZ

Sep 25, 2004, 07:48 PM	#20
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	I recently picked up one of these as well. Almost went dual myself but was paying full price. Javafox has one too.

Sep 25, 2004, 07:54 PM	#22
Dark Lord HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,945 Rep Power: 125 System Specs	i really do need a new monitor, but i dont know if i want to drop 500-700 bucks on one. ive used this monitor for the last 5 years, i think i can go another year or 2 on it. by then, lcd's should be reasonably priced and should performe alot better.

Sep 25, 2004, 07:58 PM	#23
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	That portrait mode is just awesome for surfing the web and forums. I've had this monitor for a year and never tried that before to be honest. If your LCD supports it definitely give it a shot, looks like a whole new monitor lol. Still droolin over a dual setup

Sep 25, 2004, 11:37 PM	#25
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I'm getting a new crt monitor to replace the cheap TVM one I've got now. I'm looking at a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2070 22" monitor, which is the same as the Multisync FP2141SB-BK, but with a different name. My friend has two of those monitors, so I already know what I'm getting for the price, but if anyone has comments about high-end crt monitors, or NEC, I'd be happy to hear them. I was also looking at the Sony G520, but it's ungodly expensive.

Sep 25, 2004, 11:58 PM	Thread Starter #26
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	I had the illyama 22 inch 415 vision master pro, nice monitor - mitsubishi diamondtron tube, not as sharp as the dell 2001fps mind you especially via DVI, but the colour is ever so slightly better.

Sep 26, 2004, 07:06 AM	#27
grog Roxy Music Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 623 Rep Power: 66 System Specs	I agree the monitor is one of the most important items in a system. Need to handle all the senses, well maybe three of the four. Seeing, hearing, smelling and touching. My specs based on the four required senses: Seeing: Nokia 445PRO 21' professional grade monitor, ATI AIW 9700 PRO, ATI HDTV WONDER (normally I run my monitor at 1600x1200@85Hz). Hearing: Creative Labs Audigy and Klipsch MediaPro 5.1 Ultra Smelling: Waiting for someone to release smell-a-vision card Touching: Keyboard, Mouse and Speaker POD. Also can add Ethernet to allow internet connection to allow touching the world. Don't forget to include all the buttons on the computer including power, DVD open/close and fan control. Greg __________________ Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24" LCD Philips 47" 1080p 47pfl7422d/37 LCD ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi BIOS 1406, AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz, G.SKILL 8GB(4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 (PC2 6400) ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M PCI Express 2.0 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro Sound Card, 1TB Hard Disk storage Thermaltake Tai-Chi VB5001SNA Black/ Silver Computer Case with liquid cooling AeroCool GateWatch-SV Silver GateWatch with LCD display, PC Power & Cooling 510 SLI-PFC 510W APC Back-UPS XS 1000 UPS, 1000 VA, 600 Watts Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit VM's (Fedora, RHEL4..etc) Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1

Sep 26, 2004, 10:13 AM	#29
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	Well a good LCD is IMM very sharp and has a nice bright view, but for me it still has one big thing against it; it's price, like the Dell Zardon owns cost ~1000 Euro's, which is way out of my league. 2day's ago I bought a HP p1110 21" (Sony Trinitron) CRT for 199 Euro, which I like very much (I always liked Trinitrons) But if you can afford a LCD of good quality then yes that would be the best option. For those who can't afford those high prices; stay away from cheap LCD's i'd say, you'll be better of with a big CRT for the time being..(space permitting) And yes what use is a Great G.Card when you have to watch it on a 15" crappy monitor..

Sep 26, 2004, 10:14 AM	#30
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Actually You can get a good 19" pure flat for about $159 __________________