TFT Time

[keithwalton]

I'd champion the samsung 913n, a little out of your price range at £235 but its price is ever falling, its an 8ms panel so is great for games.
LG do a 1915s for a smidge over £200 which has had some very good buyer reviews on ebuyer and is a 12ms panel (also fine for games) they are both vga only tho no dvi.

LG - http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=73980
Samsung - http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=83914

[altis]

Note, there are two types of DVI connector: DVI-D uses only the digital pins and can only be used between a compatible graphics card and a digital monitor (ie a TFT); DVI-I can use either the digital and analogue pins so that a DVI-I monitor is compatible with both an analogue and a digital graphics card (and vice versa).

Here are some comments I have posted before in one of the many 'what TFT do I buy' threads:

Originally Posted by altis

Consider if there are any extra features that you may want:

DVI interface - I would never by a TFT without one!

Pivot - lets you put the screen into portrait or landscape formats. I hardly ever use mine in landscape now - only for watching DVDs.

Height adjust - mine's on a shelf that I can move up and down but yours may not be.

S-video/composite input - if it's going to be that good you may want to pipe the output of your STB (or anything else) to it too.

TV option - possibly

2nd PC input - possibly

USB hub - why bother fumbling round the back of your monitor when you can buy a cheap hub that sits somewhere far more convenient.

Sound - if your gonna spend that much then you'll want some descent speakers. I doubt you'll find them on a monitor.

Note that Aria are offering a dead pixel check service though I'm not sure whether this guarantees no dead pixels:
http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.a...berPerPage=100

Personally, I'd recommend the Dell Ultrasharp 1703FP that Mrs A uses. This has dual DVI-I and pivots but you probably won't like the 25mS response time:
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/prod...=us&l=en&s=gen
...and is available at a wicked price from Aria.

[AndrewJ]

I am most impressed with the dead pixel check there is quite a few monitors on there which I am most happy with the cost, however does anyone know the what Aria's customer service staff are like.

[bmxbandit]

Originally Posted by AndrewJames

I am most impressed with the dead pixel check there is quite a few monitors on there which I am most happy with the cost, however does anyone know the what Aria's customer service staff are like.

i've returned a couple of things, a faulty mobo and CPU (separately). they were pretty good, quick and courteous.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by AndrewJames

I am most impressed with the dead pixel check there is quite a few monitors on there which I am most happy with the cost, however does anyone know the what Aria's customer service staff are like.

I have used them many times and not had any problems with returning stuff, or any thing else for that matter.

[AndrewJ]

Thanks, I am still in the tft or crt thing, the 21inch or 22inch crt for same money as a 17inch tft is a big thing, I used to have a 21inch Compaq monitor and I do miss it, loved the sheer size of it.

A tft would be nice for size and style though, tough choice.

[bmxbandit]

Originally Posted by AndrewJames

Thanks, I am still in the tft or crt thing, the 21inch or 22inch crt for same money as a 17inch tft is a big thing, I used to have a 21inch Compaq monitor and I do miss it, loved the sheer size of it.

remember a 17" tft is 17" across, whereas a 17" crt is usually about 15.75"

a 21" crt isn't a wole lot different in size to a 19" tft!

[AndrewJ]

Apart from the cost.

[altis]

I can compare (although not side by side) a 21" AOC CRT monitor with a 18.1" Iiyama TFT with a DVI interface.

I much prefer the picture on TFT. It is so much sharper, brighter and generally more pleasing to the eye. There's no contest as far as I'm concerned. TFT wins every time.

[Ramrod]

Yep..........and a lot less reflection from a TFT

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by altis

I can compare (although not side by side) a 21" AOC CRT monitor with a 18.1" Iiyama TFT with a DVI interface.

I much prefer the picture on TFT. It is so much sharper, brighter and generally more pleasing to the eye. There's no contest as far as I'm concerned. TFT wins every time.

Bit of an unfair comparison, a bit like comparing Del Boys van to a Ferrari, a flat screen 22" IIyama with a diamondtron tube imo was far warmer and much better for gaming than any TFT I've tried (IIyama TFT's included)

[hjf288]

People reckon that Response time is all there is to gaming performance - Can be wrong since Manufacturers can use a sneaky method to get their response time that can still make it rather unpleasant for gaming.

Saying that my 17" TFT came with the following figures:
Maximum response time: 25ms
Nominal/Average response time 18ms

No problems with gaming at all, no ghosting as some would expect from a 25ms.

So dont go for the low response time hype - 12 ms and 16ms are still upto the job and may save you some cash... also 8ms panels can have lower quality internal parts (Cant remember the exact part) that degrades the colour quality a bit in order to gain more speed. Its only 1 bit difference but still....

If you want the ultimate in gaming/dvd performance with the clearist image than go for CRT - They handle things alot better although existing TFTs are close, you can tell the difference between a good CRT and TFT..

If space is an issue than go for the 17" TFT if not go for a large CRT... also 17" TFTs are roughly the equivalent of 19" CRT whereas 15" TFTs are roughly the equivalent of 17" CRTs in terms of visible screen area.

[AndrewJ]

In my local shop today I spotted this tft, going to run some checks online into it but for £179 I think its a nice deal.

Definatley will have to be a flat panel on order of my girlfriend ( who is one big hater of crt's )

[mick70]

Why not hang on for an OLED display.....only be a year or so!

[AndrewJ]

I kinda want my monitor asap, this crt is driving me nuts, that one is nice but at £179 I am considering other options.