New monitor, help!
 

I need a new monitor, here are 2 that Im looking at:

Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT Monitor ($329 can)
BenQ T903 19" LCD Monitor ($429 can)

My computer is mainly used for 2D graphic work (photoshop, illustrator, flash) and used as my TV in my room (thru TV input on my video card). I don't game on it very much, and would love to save the desk space. But if there is a big performance difference between the LCD and CRT, Ill go with the CRT.

Can someone shed some light on the situation?

Thanx

If I were you I'd go with the LCD. The image is sharper than you'll get on a CRT, and since you won't be doing much gaming, ghosting won't be an issue (not that modern LCDs have any issues with ghosting these days). Plus, a 19" LCD has the same viewable screen size as a 21" CRT, so you're getting a bonus as far as desktop real estate goes.

The only issue I can think of that you might think about is resolution. A CRT can gracefully handle pretty much any resolution you throw at it, whereas the LCD will look blurry at any resolution but 1280x1024. If you prefer using 1600x1200 or 1024x768, then go with the CRT. However IMHO, the clarity of an LCD more than makes up for its relative pickiness regarding resolution.

Yeah, I agree with skaven. Plus it's only a $100 difference. Unless you're on a budget, go with the LCD. Not only is the LCD cooler, but it's more energy efficient, and it's a hell of a lot lighter than a CRT monitor, and I'm sure you don't want to carry a heavy 19" CRT monitor. Plus, if you ever wanted to move the monitor, it would just be too much work, especially if you're hella lazy or something.

actually, i worked in a professional photography studio, and we had a print monitor, and a big monitor. The big monitor was a 17 inch lcd display. LCD displays have a lot of contrast to them which can make them much harder to calibrate to a printer. you say you're doing photoshop and things, if you're printing off that monitor i suggest a CRT. they're more accurate to color spaces.

I've never seen an LCD with a dot pitch that was anywhere near the .19-.21 of a cheaper, higher quality CRT. I'll only switch to LCDs once they can touch a CRT.

Just because a CRT has a small dot pitch does not necessarily mean that it will have a sharper image. All it means is that the phosphor dots on the inside of the glass are set close together. Since the phosphor dots on a CRT don't correspond 1:1 with the actual pixels they're supposed to be displaying, most of the phosphor dots end up "blending" multiple pixels together. The result is an image that is far less crisp than on an LCD, where, although the dot pitch is higher (not even sure you can use "dot pitch" in relation to LCDs since they don't have "dots"), each RGB triplet corresponds 1:1 with a pixel.

I fail to see how a CRT with a dot pitch of .19 can be considered less sharp than an LCD on which you can literally see the edges of each pixel.

It might be possible to argue that once a CRT is correctly configured (image straightened, degaussed, etc), that the pixels will line up more or less on the phosphor dots. That's fine, except that to do the same thing with my LCD requires that I hit the "Auto" button and I instantly get zero wasted screen space, no warped edges of the screen, and ultra-crisp lines.

I have a Syncmaster 1100DF and it's lovely (21") - much better than LCD (IMHO)

Thanks for all the help thus far guys. I was out looking at the monitors last night, and am kinda leaning towards the LCD at the moment. Here are some specs on the 2 to help the debate a bit more:

Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19" CRT Monitor ($329 can)
0.20 mm Dot Pitch
96 kHz max refresh rate

BenQ T903 19" LCD Monitor ($429 can)
250 cd/m2 Brightness
450:1 Contrast Ratio

Update:

Went ahead and got the 19" lcd

specs

No complaints so far, except I spent more than I wanted to after the 5 year warranty. The quality is great, and the added size is a big difference.

The salesman also said that they will replace the monitor, no questions asked, for anything except "smashing it with a hammer or poking holes in it with a pen". :lol: