19" TFT Monitors! Cheap, but are they any good?

RACHIE77

These deals have caught my eye....

19" Arianet Premium-Plus TFT Silver
£174.95 exc, £205.57 inc.
http://www.aria.co.uk/productinfoco...SpecialStatus=1

19" GNR TS900 16ms Silver TFT Multimedia Monitor
£189.99exc, £223.24 inc.
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Produc...8461&GroupID=19

PROVIEW 19" TFT FLAT PANEL MONITOR
Web exclusive price inc vat £225.00
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...duct&sku=023192

Belinea 19" TFT Silver & Black Monitor
£189.82exc, £223.16 inc.
http://www.savastore.com/productinf...0280113&pid=206

But can anyone tell me if these are any good and if so what the best one to go for would be?? I'm not a huge gamer or anything so would mainly be using it for home stuff including internet etc... any other similar suggestions welcomed!!

thanx

Rachie -x-

RACHIE77

why aren't the links working? I don't understand??

Can anyone help?

PhiL_P_3

It looks like for some reason all your links have all been abbreviated with a "..." in the middle of the address. Not sure why that would have happened though I'm afraid...

If you go to http://www.!!!!!!.co.uk you can create a much shorter version of a link and use that in your post instead, which will hopefully sort it. Don't do this using these abbreviated links though cos they're already missing some of their info so still won't work!

bleugh

hiya

personally i would not bother with a 19" as the resoloution is the same as the 17" (1280x1024)

the pixels are bigger, thats it really, not worth the extra 80 quid or so over a 17" IMHO

the 17" 16ms aria one is excellent for £138 all in

don9999

I strongly agree with Bleugh. I LIKE the idea of a 19" TFT, but simply don't think they are worthwhile (at the moment).

There are two possible reasons for having a bigger monitor (whether you are moving from a 15" to a 17" or a 17" to a 19"):

1. You want to be able to see more things on your screen
   eg. more of your spreadsheet, or two documents at a time etc...
   
2. You have poor eyesight and you want to see the same amount of information, but at a bigger size.

I suspect that the majority of people want (1) ie. more things on their screen.

BUT......the majority of 19" TFT's have exactly the same resolution as 17" monitors. Hence you will NOT see any more information - you will see the SAME information, just with everything a lot bigger ie. satisfying point (2) above.

People considering TFTs need to understand that, unlike CRTs, they have standard resolutions - you CAN change this resolution, but it usually means you end up with fuzzy pictures. (Alternatively with CRTs you can change the resolution to one of many different sizes, usually with no detrimental effect on quality.)

Personally, I would always be prepared to pay a little extra to buy a TFT that provided quality features and a decent picture. In the case of TFTs, buying a cheap one is almost always a false economy. The most important part of a computer system is the display (since you will ALWAYS be using it) so its critical that you buy the best one you can afford.

(FYI, I have a Viewsonic 17" 171b TFT. Far from the cheapest TFT available, but an excellent display.)

Cheers,
Don

Going_Digital

There is another reason why.

The whole idea of a flat screen is that it has no bulky back and yet the screen is normally in the same place it would be if it was a CRT with the bulk behind it. Now if you have a 19" you can push it further away from you giving more desk space. That is exactly what I have done, I have hung it on the wall so the only thing on the desk is the keyboard. it means I can put things like books on the desk.

don9999

You are correct Going_digital.

I was simply stating the reasons why someone might want to go to a bigger display (whether TFT or CRT) rather than why they might want to swap from a CRT to a TFT. The 'main' reason for swapping from a CRT to a TFT is, as you say, because it has a much small foot-print.

However, for those with minimal experience of TFTs, they need to realise that a 17" TFT is equivalent to a 19" CRT in terms of screen size. A 19" CRT typically only has about 17" of actual visual screen (measured diagonally), whereas a 1 17" TFT has 17" of actual visual screen.

Following on, a 19" TFT will have a much bigger screen area than a 19" CRT.

That is why, if you move from a 19" CRT to a 19" TFT you may be disappointed - you are likely to only see the same (or less!) information on screen, yet everything will be much bigger. (A 19"CRT is likely to have a top resolution of around 1600x1200, whereas a 19"TFT might only have 1280x1024. Hence, you will only be able to see less information on the TFT, but on a much bigger screen. )

The usual upgrade route is from a 19" CRT to a 17" TFT. You get the same screen size, but with all the advantages of a TFT - smaller footnote etc..

Cheers,
Don

(due to the bigger pixels). To make better use of a 19"TFT, you would need to buy a much more expensive model that was able to display

RACHIE77

thanks everyone for the helpful replies!! I will show my partner tonight as we are newbies when it comes to TFTs and to be honest thought that the bigger screen would be better.... At the risk of sounding really silly (but also incredibly honest! grin!) I think it was also one of those things you do like the reason for buying a big tv, or a flash car....?

We've been given £200 and guess we wanted to get something which was the dogs doo-dahs!

I'm incredibly short sighted so I think the bigger screen would be nice but the fact i usually have my contacts in probably wont mean it will make any difference to me

The screen that we have at the moment is a 15" CRT (and something is wrong with it so the resolution is very very bright) but have been used to TFT screens at work.

I think we might still go for a 19" even though i see all the valid points!

These are the links for anyone interested in checking them out - these should work cos I think I've realised what I did wrong

Rachie

http://www.aria.co.uk/productinfocomm.asp?ID=15779&SpecialStatus=1

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=8461&GroupID=19

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/product.php?sku=023192

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10280113&pid=206

RowaN

If you are a TFT newbie please read this excellent guide:

http://www.cifi.com/computing/lcdbuyingguide.html

dagger_2

http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?product_id=10280199&catalog_name=Savastore&page=customerreviews&pid=0

Ive just taken delivery of this 19" beauty - It is awesome -for £230 ish it is a storming deal and looks gorgeous. Works straight out of the box - just plug it in to your pc and youre away (assuming you run win xp)

Cant recommend it enough

splat1

I had a Samsung Syncmaster 171s (17") and have replaced it with one of these http://www.viewsoniceurope.com/UK/Products/LCDX/VX912.htm . I couldn't believe the difference in quality. Admittedly the resolution is the same but the colour,contrast and definition are way better. Also it has a 12ms response time. Many other 19" panels are still 25ms - Well recommend it if you have the money (about £300)