TFT monitor - what to look for??

tigs78

I need to buy a new TFT monitor as mine very sadly died yesterday. Have done a search on the web but there are so many technical specifications and I don't really know what I am looking for ie) resolution, pixel pitch, contrast ratio, refresh rate???

What is the minimum I should be looking for, not after specific recommendations just things like "Don't go for anything with a refresh rate of less than X" although if someone can recommend a specific model then that advice would be gratefully received too!

I don't play games so it would just be used for general everyday use, my old one was a 15" but think I might like a 17" this time.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

boogiemaster

I bought a 19 TFT from Aldis and paid £200 for it, picture quality is good and I play games and I am impressed with the performance I get with it.
TFT monitors are getting really cheap and if you pay £400 you are going to get a good quality monitor for your money with all the fancy things you might not need.
17 inch is ok, but 19 inch is so much better and everything fits on my screen with a 19 inch TFT.
If its only for surfing then get a cheap 17-19 inch TFT, also don’t use the built in audio speakers as they arnt much cop.
I have a median 19 TFT and I am really happy with it, spend a little more and go fro the 19 inch TFT as you won’t regret it.
Also for playing DVD films its ideal to have a bigger size monitor when all the family sneak in to watch the film lol.
All the best Darren
10 miliseonds or less is a good refresh rate for monitors

wolfman

Most importantly, what's your budget? You can spend endless amounts on a tft.

For all-round use, I'd go for a P-MVA panel. That type of panel offers good response time (around 8ms) while having a great viewing angle (178 degrees or so).

Something like the Belinea 10 19 20, which retails at around £275. Make sure you get the newer 8ms version and not the older 25ms if you choose to go for that model.

That's quite an expense but it a very nice monitor (19" too). You should be able to pickup a decent tft for around £180-200.

T4i

TFTs dont have a refresh rate like the older CRT's.

Instead they have a response rate in milliseconds (ms)

Lower the better, also, you can give a TFT 2 different types of response times, grey-to-grey and rise and fall times...

Most companies give you the rise and fall rate (the best looking figure) but its actualy the grey-to-grey time thats important...

Hyundai Q70U has a 3ms grey-to-grey time.....I got one from CCL. Its fantastic!

Look here for further info.
http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=249

edit** Also, ive always had a 17' CRT (1024x768) and with a 17' TFT the native resolution is higher (1280x1024) so much more fits on-screen.

-TangleFoot-

I found this thread to be pretty helpful when I went looking for a new LCD monitor. Bought one of these shortly after reading it, and have been staring at it ever since!

wolfman

Nice thread. My Samsung 970P is on the recommended list. Definitely a nice monitor, retails at £330 ish though. Worth considering if you can afford it. Got a very Apple look to it. I got lucky and got it for £200! I put it on the Grab-It forum but only lasted for about a day.