[The Doug]

I've been asked to recommend & assist in the purchase of a decent 17" CRT display for someone's MDD G4; something around $250.00 or less. Been looking at all the usual suspects - Viewsonic, NEC-Mitsubishi, and so on.

I don't know much about LG or Samsung however - are their 17" CRT displays any good? I've looked at some of their offerings - they seem nice enough. Decisions, decisions.

Any thoughts or advice?

 

[pras]

I recently bought a 17" 'eXtreme' monitor from CompuSmart for $199. I think it's their own brand. It compares favourably with my $700 19" LaCie monitor in clarity, brightness and colour. I wish now I'd bought the 19" model for $299.
Highly recommended.

 

[insertclevername]

Any NEC-Mitsubishi should be a good candidate...stay away from LG, Samsung is not bad though.

 

[rollee]

[No message]

 

[rollee]

apart from apple, i trust lacie products totally, their pricing on electron blue CRTs is excellent.
on the other hand a mint used 17" apple studio CRT display in only around $200 on ebay etc.

BTW try the following:

www.epinions.com

 

[MacDoc]

Intended use??

 

[The Doug]

Home use - internet, e-mail, gaming. Stuff that keeps the world turning of course...

 

[Klaatu]

After my second 20" Apple monitor died on me I gave up and went with a cheapo Viewsonic. It was a bit of a pain to adjust but it's still sharp and much better than the Apple ever was. And the decline in size wasn't as disappointing as I thought but, if you can find a decent price (and have the space) the bigger the better.

Just do some research. Not all brands are created equal so find a few models that are in your price range and you should be able to find some reviews for them. Try to avoid professional reviews. These are usually written by people who get products for free so they always tend to give glowing raves. Try to find something that has a dozen or more consumer reviews (i.e. Amazon.com). These tend to be more critical but give you a better idea of what problems you might expect. For example, when I was shopping for a dvd player, one particular model had a lot of negatives remarks about its remote control. But I didn't care about that -- I just wanted a machine that worked.

 

[MacDoc]

I'd stick Mits or Trin and later model. Dell P991s yo might find in your range they are excellent 19".

Any Diamondtron 2000 or later will be excellent.

The earlier Apple Studio Displays are very nice in the $175 range. Not Superflat but an over sized 17 that gives pretty much the experience of a 19 - they are diamondtrons

 

[mbaldwin]

I have had good luck with Samsung, but haven't bought a CRT from them lately. They also seem to have a pretty good reputation in the PC boards (like at ncix.com).

Samsung would be the first brand I'd look at if my old 17" CRT died.

- Martin.

 

[kent]

I have a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 900u (19" CRT) - has a flat screen. This is one fantastic CRT! It was quite expensive in 1999 when I bought it, but today, you could probably purchase the 17" version for much much less. You can't go wrong with an NEC-Mitsubishi display ...Viewsonics are OK as well and cheaper.

 

[mcfadden99]

I would recommend an NEC if you are going for a CRT. They are a good value. I have NEC and Lacie monitors in my shop. The Lacie monitors are very NICE. But, to tell you the truth, the difference is negligable. I would stay away from Viewsonic.

 

[jfpoole]

I've had a lot of good luck with Samsung's monitors. Right now I've got a Samsung SyncMaster 753DF that I've had for two years and I've not a complaint about it. Plus, if you hunt around, you should be able to find one new for under $200 now.

 

[The Doug]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I'll hunt for a Mitsu Diamond; if I can't find one I'll probably go for a Samsung or similar (we've got a 17" Samsung at work and it's not bad at all).

Another question, if you'll indulge me - will an adapter be required, to connect the display to the MDD G4's ATI Radeon 9000 Pro? Is it dependent on the make/model, or are adapters never (or very rarely) required these days?