The past week I’ve been buying, testing, and returning various LCD monitors for the computer. Lately the 5 year old CRT we have has gotten painful on the eyes, so I decided it was time to upgrade.
First up was the Dell 2007WFP, a 20-inch widescreen monitor. I tried this one because my brother has it, and I liked it when I saw it. At first everything looked good, but I started to notice a problem. LCDs don’t have a refresh rate like CRT monitors do, but for some reason this Dell flickered. I’m not sure if it was defective or not, because I’ve seen several posts on the Dell forums of people with the same problems. With Photoshop opened and the gray background on the screen, there is almost a rolling effect. Needless to say it was killing my eyes, and I knew it had to go back.
After this I decided I should really get a monitor from a brick and mortar to facilitate potential returns. I next went to Best Buy to check out their 19 inch LCD monitors. The Dell had a native resolution of 1680×1050, which is a little demanding for some games using my current system. Seeing as how I’m not upgrading the computer anytime soon, I decided the 1280×1024 native resolution of a 19 inch LCD would be better. The next monitor I got was the NEC 90GX2. In the store it looked ok, and I had read good reviews of many NEC monitors. I knew going in that the monitor had a glossy screen (most LCDs have a matte finish), but I thought it wouldn’t be any worse than the CRT screen. Boy was I mistaken. The NEC screen is so glossy that you need to be in a pitch black room or you get massive amounts of reflections. The reflections are so vivid on a dark screen that you end up focusing past the screen and at the reflection (like if it were a mirror). Much like the Dell’s flickering, this wreaks havoc on the eyes. Back goes the NEC.
The third and last monitor bought was the Viewsonic VX922. It received exemplary ratings at Tom’s Hardware, and despite some negatives on Newegg, I decided to go for it. This trip took me out to Fry’s. Another 19 inch LCD, but this time with a matte finish. Long story long, this is the best of the three. It doesn’t flicker, it doesn’t reflect, and it has a nice consistent picture throughout the screen. Many LCDs suffer from inconsistencies in the picture, where it might be brighter on the side and darker in the middle. It also is a very "fast" monitor. LCD monitors have pixels that have to change colors, and the quicker they change the less notiiceable it is.
Here is a picture from my LCD monitor adventure. Let me make a final recommendation: if you are going to buy an LCD monitor, go to a physical store and read their return policy very carefully.
Glossy NEC 90GX2 on the left, Viewsonic VX922 on the right.
