Monitor dying?

I used to rely on Viewsonic for CRT's but had problems with their LCD's especially the VX924 which lost the DVI Port after 16 months. I also recommend Samsung for LCD's, I currently have 3 which work flawlessly. (22 " LCD TV (T220HD), 22 " Widescreen LCD (226BW), 24" Widescreen LCD (Syncmaster 2494HM)).

Sersanah said:

BTW - I really enjoy all the Muppet avatar pics you keep coming up with

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Responding to the important part first…

I've got 9 different muppets that I've used over the years. Several of them were graciously tweaked to my liking by Jaz back in the RPGDot days, for which I remain eternally grateful. I tend to switch two or three times a year based on my mood or strictly on a whim. Recently, I've been relishing my role as the board's lone resident fascist bastard, so the beleaguered and uptight Sam seemed like a good fit. Before that, I was using one of Waldorf and Statler because of losing a bet to PJ. Here's the older and/or less used ones (the board only allows 6 attachments, otherwise I'd spam the whole collection )

OK, y'all have convinced me on the Samsung brand. Any opinions on this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001390

I don't really care about the enviro aspects. I'm more interested in the LEDs. It appears to cost me some brightness, but my computer desk is a bit of a cave, so that doesn't scare me. The better contrast rating and reduced power requirement look good. Plus, my industrial experience is that LED lighting is more robust and reliable than traditional hardware, although that experience might not be remotely applicable to computer monitors. At NewEgg, due to the free shipping, the EX is only 2 bucks more than the 2233 which seems like a steal to my uneducated eye. True or false?

The bad news is that none of them are available at a brick-n-mortar store, even if I hitch up the horses and venture to the Big City, which means I'm screwed for an entire weekend. I might not survive.

hishadow said:

How about something more conservative?

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Good joke. Even better because I've actually used one of those in my younger days.

If you end up getting it from an online retailer then I recommend buying from TigerDirect. They have a much better return policy than Newegg when it comes to monitors.

Here's that same monitor you linked to.

Tiger's prices are better, too. I don't really like buying electronics online but it looks like I don't have a choice with the models I'm considering. I'd pay a little more to get it somewhere where I could touch one if I could. That's why I'm leaning toward NewEgg. The one transaction I did with them 4 years ago (my sole online electronics purchase) went flawlessly, so there's a tiny bit of a comfort level there. Still, it's not like Tiger is some no-name fly-by-night.

dteowner said:

OK, y'all have convinced me on the Samsung brand. Any opinions on this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001390

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No.

Samsung is indeed the best brand for TFTs. The other premium choice in the end-user or SMB segment is LG. It's a matter of taste, both are on the same level.
But still, make sure to find reviews for exactly the model you're interested in. Samsung caters to all market segments including the mediocre mass market, and the demand for their best monitors can become so high that they decide to get tricky. Then they manufacture it in more than one place or use different panels because demand > supply.

So make sure you know what you're buying.
Especially you want to know in advance if the TFT makes humming noises (most do!), if it's fast enough for action games (input lag, etc., most are okay nowadays) and if you can exchange it if you find a bad pixel near the center (default answer is "no"). Compare the other TFT discussion not too long ago.

I didn't read the whole thread ... if you're under constraints in money or space you could consider to get a cheap 22" TFT from your local discounter. There are no really bad TFTs. They're all at least tolerable. Generally speaking nothing's wrong with an Acer or BenQ.

To add a bit to my recommendation to buy 2 TFTs:
The second monitor adds a lot to your office productivity, simply because you can write on one and read on the other without playing the window shuffle. If you need your PC for professional work it's a no-brainer. Even an old 19" CRT as secondary monitor helps.
For gaming or entertainment it might be preferable to buy one better TFT though.

Blame Gorath and Best Buy. My BenQ completely gave up the ghost today and there was no way I was going to wait until Monday or Tuesday for Tiger or NewEgg to ship me something. Best Buy had a sale going on the LG E2250T and had them on the shelf. Between my research and Gorath's confirmation, I gave it a look and was quite impressed. They didn't have the Samsung model we had settled on (2233SW), but the other models they did have didn't look any better than this one (not really any worse, either, for the closest apples-to-apples on the shelf). So, I took the plunge. This widescreen stuff is taking a little adjusting for me. Next up, firing up DDO and seeing what it looks like in high res. At 1920x1080, stuff is pretty crisp compared to what I had.

Thanks for all the help folks. It appears that it turned out well enough.

My BenQ 22 wide has been going strong for years. Missed you today; we ended up playing for over 4 hours we were enjoying it so much. Basically we finished all of 3 Barrell. Mind you we have 3 other chars to take through it as well. Probably did 10-12k XP at least.