I have a ViewSonic VX2000. It's a 20", 1600×1200 LCD with the best color fidelity I've seen in a LCD. It is also extremely sharp, especially in digital (DVI) mode. Highly recommended!

See the ratings at Amazon.com.

Your budget?

I was pleasantly surprised by no-name LCD monitors that were all the office budget could handle. The ViewSonic is probably much better yet (I loved their CRTs in the mid-range and top-range versions, but not the loss leader).

Check out the Dell 20" monitors (2005FPW and 2001FP). Great monitors, frequently on sale for less than $400.

Samsung 940B. 19" LCD. 8ms response time. You should be able to get one for around $360 (American).

It's what I'm typing from right now.

The Viewsonic mentioned above is a nice monitor and suitable for business use. You should be able to get one for less than $650. Too slow for gaming.

I am not impressed with the Dell flatscreen monitor I have (it is smaller than your needs). Crispness of text varies as you scroll the screen. I even returned it and got a new one, but it was not unique to one particular piece of hardware. I have much the same complaint about my monitor at work but can't remember what it is.

Thanks for the recommendations, keep 'em coming!

Budget in the $500 range, but this is something I use a lot so I could be persuaded to invest extra.

My iMac has a 19" flat panel which has great color and clarity. Don't know abt the price, as it came with the computer, but I've never seen another that's better or with more vivid color.

Good luck.

Check the ratings at PC World online.
http://www.pcworld.com/home/
I'm still in the dark ages of CRT displays and have no personal exerience with LCD displays. However, I have two 21" displays for Photoshop and digital photography. My working resolution for graphics is typically 1600×1200. I would look at Sony, NEC/Mitsubishi, and Viewsonic. Other posters have good suggestions. Is color calibration a requirement? Many otherwise good LCDs apparenty do not calibrate well, or reproduce colors accurately.

Look at getting a new video card for your monitor for best performance. I use the Nvidia G-Force 6800GT by BFG Technologies. It is great, handles two monitors (even a CRT and an LCD), which makes it great for graphics work - park all your toolbars on a beater second monitor to clear up workspace on your nice new LCD. You will love it.

I have two Samsungs (17" an 21") and love 'em both. I use the pivot function, so that was a requirement.

If you're serious about good color work, you will want to look at how the monitor handles color calibration. When I was deciding between ViewSonic and Samsung, one of the deciding points was the fact that the ViewSonic does color calibration by color temperature, while the Samsung (at the time) did not.

Also, there seem to be design trade-offs in LCD design between gaming and good non-game graphics. Usually the gaming monitors will have faster response time, but less sharpness. Of course, newer designs may have fixed this, but it's something to be aware of.

Just got a new Sony LCD today as the old crt was about ready to flicker out. It's a Sony HS-95, about $500 list, I paid $250 at CC today. So far, it looks good. Samsung has good monitors, I would look at the Samsung 930B if you want a good one for about $350. I would have got that one, but the Sony was $100 cheaper.

I think 1024×1280 is about right for text and browsing. You really don't get much more for more money IMHO -- about $350-$400 for a 19 incher should be enough, less if you shop the sales.

Prices will likely drop as supply is plentiful.

The immediate thing I notice with the LCD vs CRT is the heat generated is way down.

I have been extremely happy with the Samsung 213T (a 21" LCD) that I bought last year. The prices should be down around $700-800 by now, with possibly deeper discounts or rebates for the holiday season.

I find the quality to be perfectly acceptable even using an analog video card. I have some friends who have the same model, and they both claim that using it with a digital card is even better.

And as you say, since you're going to be using this for a long time, it might just be worth it to spend the extra money.

Here is what I have, only had it for a couple of months, it was a gift.

Viewsonic

It is so much better than what I had, but don't know how it compares to others. I love it.

Papa Ray

Thanks, folks. Followed the suggestions and did more research, seriously considering the Samsung 930B. Took a look at it vs. the Viewsonics in a store, and it's just flat out better. Will see if I can find a 213T or equivalent to look at, spend a a bit of time with one and see what the extra 2 inches gets me (insert obvious joke here).

Other strong contender right now is the HP 1905, which also looks pretty good (surprising to me, anyway), gets excellent ratings, and has the vertical adjustability which would be a plus for me ergonomically.

I have a Princeton 19" and its ok, but with only 6bpp I get color banding, and its made worse by the fact that I have a 21" CRT right next to it (its a really crappy viewsonic Q115, but its still better than the LCD)

Choosing the monitor is a fairly personal choice, however if there is one thing I can recommend to you (budget and video card permitting) it is to buy two monitors, and set them up next to each other as a single desktop.

A friend recommended this to me a year or so ago and there is no way I could go back.

Is the Samsung 213T still in production? If not, you might be able to find some end-of-product-life specials around. I'm pretty sure the 214T is still being produced but it's a little over your budget—around $700 American.

I second the recommendation for the Dell 20" monitors (2005FPW and 2001FP). They're even better with one of these Neo-Flex arms by Ergotron :

http://www.ergotron.com/3_products/flat_panel/neoFlex/default.asp

=darwin

I have a Cromemco Dazzler color grapics card. Can any one suggest a monitor?

(Just a joke for you OFs out there)

Joe,

Here's the Consumer Report rankings from June 05 in descending order from higher to lower rankings. I'm including only the models that had "Display quality" rankings of at least "Very Good":

17-inch
===
Dell UltraSharp 1704FPV, $350 (CR Best Buy)
Samsung SyncMaster 711t, $420
IBM ThinkVision L170P, $445
KDS Radius Rad-7c, $450
Envision EN-7220, $280

19-inch
===
Samsung SyncMaster 910t, $465 (CR Best Buy)
Dell UltraSharp 1905FP, $500
Gateway FPD1950, $450
KDS Radius Rad-9gs, $390
NEC MultiSync LCD1935NXM, $475
Sony SDM-HS95P, $700

20-inch
===
Apple 20" Cinema Display, $1,000
NEC AccuSync LCD200VX, $725
Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW, $750

21-inch
===
Samsung SyncMaster 213t, $900

For my money, I would go for the Samsung SyncMaster 910t 19-inch. I've found Samsung monitors to be very good, and CR ranks it a "Best Buy". And I bet you can get a better price than $465.

Wait till you get to Santa Cruz. You can get new in-box dell 1905FP for $300 flat on craigslist.

www.newegg.com
www.dealmac.com

you may have to watch the site for a few days, but the deals are good and reliable service.

Joe; I have been very happy with my Viewsonic VP912B 19" LCD (1280 X 1024). Excellent contrast and color fidelity, no dead pixels after almost a year (and a rather dodgy move to new digs), pivot function (handy for pages of text), intuitive controls. And it looks Very Slick! Should be cheap, since it's hardly bleeding edge anymore, or else I'd expect its successor to be as good. Good luck!

On 'Black Friday' I picked up a KDS 19" LCD monitor at Office Despot, with rebates it was only $199. Even if you don't qualify for that price, look at KDS in any 'best bang for the buck' monitor shootoff.

I'll heartily second the recommendation for the Dell UltraSharp 1905FP. The last one I paid $400 Cdn for with no shipping (at www.dell.ca through redflagdeals.com). I've bought 3 in the last few months and they're all crystal clear with good colour - though I don't know how they stack up for gamer use. The USB ports on the side is nice as well.

If you're serious about using your LCD monitor with a Mac, try to test it with one. I've observed that some of those tuned for PC resolutions don't seem to handle scaling of Mac outputs too well. Of course, the Apple ones work great, but they will also break your budget...

M. Simon: I might have some 8" floppies with drivers for that Cromemco somewhere in the attic. Now all we need is an S-100 system. [/ofmode]

Hey!! I had a S-100 system! Does that make me of-ish? (worried...)

A.L.

Dell and Viewsonic both tend to get very good reviews in the various PC magazines. I have purchased both brands and have been very happy with them. (Dell tech support for individual consumers may have gotten pretty bad, but their monitors continue to be very good.)

Glenmore wrote "I am not impressed with the Dell flatscreen monitor...Crispness of text varies..."

Do you have your resolution set to match the natural resolution of the monitor? If not, you can have all sorts of funny problems like that. If it's already set to match, I'm curious what model you have.

A.L.: Yes. And if we'd all really kept that crap we claim to have in our attics, it'd be worth big bucks on eBay. I read that in Southwest's airline mag on my holiday trip, so it must be true.

OTOH, we didn't call those old CompuPro S-100 systems 'boat anchors' for nothing.

I bought a Dell 2005FPW on one of the sale deals at about $450 shipped with tax. I love it. Mine is a mac system and it plugged right in and ran. I used to have two CRTs (a 21 and a 19) because the pallettes crowded the work. With the wide aspect Dell I haven't turned the second monitor on in months.

The Dell does have a non-intuitive brightness control (it's way too bright from the factory).

Hello Joe,
By now you must have purchased a monitor, I have been waiting because I have the same problem, a small budget but work in graphic design so color is very important for me. Which monitor did you buy? I am looking for one in which the basic color calibration that comes with it is very good (can't afford a calibrator). i would appreciate your reply,
m.

Months too late, but nevertheless...mr, this may help you (though you, too, may have already purchased a monitor)

I purchased a new Dell 1905FP for US$240 (shipping included) and use it in a two monitor setup (next to an older 17" KDS Avitron AV-7T CRT, based on the Sony Trinitron tube) on an old Radeon 9500 Pro video card w/ a DVI cable and it's beautiful.

I set the color calibration with the Catalyst software supplied by ATI (maker of the video card) and have different settings for 2D, 3D and video.

I run it at native resolution with large (120 DPI) fonts and text is crystal clear. I do quite a bit photo editing and graphic design work and the colors are represented really well.

I don't game that much, so I can't speak for it's capabilities there, though every movie I've watched on it has been better than I expected.

I have had no eye strain on this monitor, whether in a well or dimly lit room. It has great contrast and the height/pivot adjustability is easy & smooth with quite some range.

It has 4 USB ports, which is overkill for me (I already have 4 on the back and 2 on the front of my case), but it's handy.

As for performance to price ratio, I couldn't have asked for anything better.

...the 90 degree counter clockwise rotation feature is neat, too. It's great for working with code or full page text.