Someone convince me please...TFT vs CRT

Wesker

Oki doki, looking at getting a new gaming PC in the next couple of months
Thats not the problem tho :rolleyes:
I was planning on keeping my current 19" CRT monitor cos i love it

But all my gaming mates keep on about how good the TFT/LCD monitors are :rolleyes:

Well my hubby has one on his PC but if i have to do anything on his PC i dont really like it
Maybe cos its 2-3 years old and he doesnt have a very high res on it but it looks cr*p lol

So...have they changed much over the last 2-3 years?

And i'm a bit worried about going widescreen as most of them are. Are progs/games stretched or do they just adjust themselves?

Sorry for the nooby question

woo

I prefer CRT to LCD, i have the choice at work between 19" lcd widescreen and a 23" crt -having used both i prefer the CRT. Home i have a dual 19" set up.

FallingDownMan

Two things stop me going for a TFT:

1. The risk of dead/bright pixels.

2. The maximum resolution.

I have an NEC multisync 22" running at 2048 x 1536 and no TFT comes close.

They're definitely better nowadays - your friends must mean that, since response time/refresh rate is pretty good and games on them are OK - but they'd be wrong if they meant that TFT is better than CRT in absolute terms.

Another problem is that TFTs have a native resolution and outside that image quality can vary. This isn't the case with CRTs.

Of course, a large screen CRT can weigh as much as a small hoofed mammal whereas a TFT might blow over in a strong wind It depends if that's important - looks count for a lot to many people.

Stephen_Leak

This is MSE. CRT's are cheaper, especially if you've already got a perfectly good one. I think its called "Keeping one step behind the Jones'".

Use the money you would have spent on the new monitor to go for a system unit with a screamingly fast CPU (or CPUs!), gigabytes of RAM and a graphics card with a comparable spec' to your current entire system!

Then sit back and watch your gaming mates go all quiet.

BillScarab

TFTs look lovely on a desk but personally I think the picture on a good CRT is still better.

I also find the weight of CRTs a benefit as I have a horrible feeling that if I used a TFT the kids would knock it over, or damage the screen in some way.

ormus

i still use a 19 inch samsung crt for the puter. brilliant stuff.
our lcd TV is pants. very glad i didnt pay for it.

mjr600

Different Strokes for Different Folks

I have a 32" LCD Dell Lcd TV/Monitor and agree that CRT can be very very good.....BUT.....use Powerstrip to look after your Lcd Pc display and FFDshow to upscale media to HD then you'll wonder why you have such a big lump of glass and plastic taking up room on your desktop in the form of a CRT.

Large LCD's are cheap, a 22" can be had for less than £200, you won't regret it. Just make sure you use the right software to get the best from it.

GJenkins

Hi there,
I used to use CRT and they are good, and personally I would wait until it starts playing up, if its perfectly good, then its no use replacing it just for the sake of doing so... however...

If you do decide to replace it, then LCD (TFT) are the way to go, you WILL notice a big difference. I regularly play EverQuest and since converting to LCD its just added so much depth to the game for me, the colours are more 'authentic' and look much better. Stone looks more like stone, water colours look more like water etc, it sounds mad but you have to see it to know what I mean!
With CRT colours 'bleed' into each other slightly, whereas LCD has the advantage that each pixel keeps itself to itself and doesnt 'bother' the adjacent pixels, this helps give a much sharper clearer image. This can help reduce eyestrain.
Also LCDs could be more healthier in terms of radiation, there is significantly less being blasted in your direction since theres no phosphor to get exited about

As for the worry about dead pixels, this shouldnt be a huge issue these days. Its true that they still often occur, but as the technology improves, things are getting much better.
In fact, if you go for a Philips screen, they guarantee absolutely no dead pixels at all, if you do find one, even in the most insignificant of places, they will replace your screen

wolfman

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

This is MSE. CRT's are cheaper, especially if you've already got a perfectly good one. I think its called "Keeping one step behind the Jones'".

True, although the power consumption of a CRT, especially a beastly 20"+ one will be quite a lot over a year. Even more so if you leave it on a lot.

You can get a reasonable 20" TFT for under £200. It'll use far less electricity to run, be much smaller, and still look great. Dead pixels are a thing of the past, definitely a much rarer problem now.

Once you've switched to a TFT, you won't switch back. And widescreen is great. I thought I'd hate it at first, but it's definitely much nicer on the eyes, a more natural shape/ratio to look at.

isofa

I used to used large CRTs all the time for design work, when the first TFT came out, I invested and tried it along side CRTs, the CRT was obviously better as they were a mature technology.

Nowadays, I'd never go back to CRTs, TFTs are as colour accurate (the decent ones anyway), I've had very few with one or more dead pixels - none of the panels I have at the moment have any dead pixels, (I had a couple in the past though, but nothing to cause any issues), the image is crisper at the native resolution, less eye strain, in my personal experience - I would never scrimp on a screen, you only get one pair of eyes!

Also TFTs do not suffer from geometry issues and the image doesn't degrade as the panel gets older (CRTs age significantly over time), however backlights can get a little weaker and may need replacing, but we are talking for many years of use, and I've never experienced this.

I only buy top quality ones for my digital photography work, to ensure I have good colour accuracy. And a large one for development work just can't be beaten.

As wolfman says they use much less electricity, and take up less space too, it's an incredible advantage on a desk, and they don't pump out much heat either, like enormous CRTs.

Price isn't really an issue today, sure CRTs are bargain basement prices now, but TFTs aren't much more, When I was paying 800+ for some of the first 15" TFTs, then you'd have to complain

I'd never return to CRTs, once you've switched you've never go back.

justgreen

I think CRT is better quality but TFT is easier to work with - as in, less desk space. Stories of dead pixels etc etc are becoming rare and that is what a 12 month warranty is for.