Dual monitors on a budget?

[aschmidt]

True.. and I see many flat screens that look like crap but somehow the people that own them are disillusioned into thinking that they look great. I have seen many flat screens that look really good when they are being used as a VGA monitor or they have an HD reciever connected to it but when used for standard televison the images look pretty distorted. The other day I was over my Aunt's house and she was SO proud of her flat screen TV. I told her that once she gets the HD box from the cable company, she will REALLY enjoy getting the HDTV signal.

She said, "But I thought that it was ALREADY HDTV." I went home and got my cable box and put it on the DiscoveryHD channel.. She nearly had a heart attack! LOL! All this time she thought that she was getting HDTV because that's what the TV said on the front of it.

The eyes see what the brain believes. :-P I've noticed many a time as well that people are flipping out over how nice the picture looks on their new LCD monitor, but 9/10 times it's the same or even sometimes worse than their CRT.

[Jscotty]

Most people don't care about the performance factor of computer systems. To them, an LCD monitor is 100x better than a CRT just because it's thin.

True.. and I see many flat screens that look like crap but somehow the people that own them are disillusioned into thinking that they look great. I have seen many flat screens that look really good when they are being used as a VGA monitor or they have an HD reciever connected to it but when used for standard televison the images look pretty distorted. The other day I was over my Aunt's house and she was SO proud of her flat screen TV. I told her that once she gets the HD box from the cable company, she will REALLY enjoy getting the HDTV signal.

She said, "But I thought that it was ALREADY HDTV." I went home and got my cable box and put it on the DiscoveryHD channel.. She nearly had a heart attack! LOL! All this time she thought that she was getting HDTV because that's what the TV said on the front of it.

[aschmidt]

I am finding that hardly anyone wants a CRT these days. There is a shop in my area that sells 1.5 and 2.0 Mhz PC's complete with the mouse, keyboard, speakers and a 21" CRT. The catch is that you MUST take the CRT in order to get the deal. If you want the PC only, it will cost you $30 extra.

Most people don't care about the performance factor of computer systems. To them, an LCD monitor is 100x better than a CRT just because it's thin.

[Jscotty]

I am finding that hardly anyone wants a CRT these days. There is a shop in my area that sells 1.5 and 2.0 Mhz PC's complete with the mouse, keyboard, speakers and a 21" CRT. The catch is that you MUST take the CRT in order to get the deal. If you want the PC only, it will cost you $30 extra.

[aschmidt]

Haha yea it can get pretty crazy. They even allow you to set up the monitors in a way that you can have 4 of them in a quad display setup. One of these days...:twisted:

[Digitalwave]

Yeah, I checked out their site. The 19 and 20" should be within my price range, as long as I don't get two of them :)

[aschmidt]

Of course I can notice - this Trinitron is showing its age and doesn't really look anything like my LCD. Right now, the LCD is serving me well but when I get the money I hope to upgrade to dual matching monitors, both of them 19" or bigger. I appreciate all the information. I'll look into those video cards when I am ready to upgrade.

I love the look of CRT's, at this point I just don't have the room for them though. Maybe this summer when I move into a new place.

James, would you happen to know which line of ViewSonics is best for photos? They have a Pro line, and a Graphics line. The graphics is made for, you guessed it, graphics, but the Pro line still seems like it'd be better for everything. It costs more, of course.

I believe the Pro Series is Viewsonic's most advanced group of LCD's thus far. They don't come cheap though...they start off around $300 and get up to a ways above $1000 per monitor. Here is a link of the Pro Series models from Viewsonic's site:

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopdisplays/lcddisplays/proseries/vp2030b/

[JGood]

I have a ViewSonic Graphic Series 19" CRT. I like it. I have a GeForce 4 (I forget what brand) video card with dual VGA outputs, and I have a 17" cheapy on top of the ViewSonic for background programs (Winamp, Bitcomet, Outlook, AIM, etc...). That setup works great.

I don't do much with quality photo's, but my graphics series seems ALOT better then my 17" (again, can't remember brand name, but it's not junk or anything).

[s0urce]

There is no such thing as too many monitors. I dont know what I would do without at least 2 monitors. 2 widescreens are even better.

[straight6pwr]

I can get you two sick 24" monitors for a great price. They were used for AutoCAD stuff so it would work for photoshop as well. Only problem is that they are CRTs.... and if they are 24", you can picture the rest of the dimensions. :p

:rofl: thats like 18 sq ft of monitor. they would need their own room, like old school computers

[Digitalwave]

Of course I can notice - this Trinitron is showing its age and doesn't really look anything like my LCD. Right now, the LCD is serving me well but when I get the money I hope to upgrade to dual matching monitors, both of them 19" or bigger. I appreciate all the information. I'll look into those video cards when I am ready to upgrade.

I love the look of CRT's, at this point I just don't have the room for them though. Maybe this summer when I move into a new place.

James, would you happen to know which line of ViewSonics is best for photos? They have a Pro line, and a Graphics line. The graphics is made for, you guessed it, graphics, but the Pro line still seems like it'd be better for everything. It costs more, of course.

[george graves]

Oh yea, I just got a nivida 1400, 3 year old card.

It rocks out with my c**k out, I hang out with my drill out, I make out with my snake out ...

It just that matrox makes good old school quality images...

EDIT: the *worst* is none maching monitors. It you go duel, at lease have the same model. When I got mine I got them from a re-furb batch. They match almost exactly (depend on how picky your eye is) Can you notice a few dregrees in color shift? I can.

[James Crivellone]

TJ, I know you are ass deep in photog stuff. Keep in mind this.

CRT's have a much larger color range then LCD's. Also LCD's are *locked* to a specific pixel count. CRT's are not.

You can't go wrong with a older set of sony trintron monitors. If you have the room run 2x21" IBM's (IBM rebranded sony's, weigh in at close to 70 pounds), or what I run is two P76 17" IBM's.

Trintron is the key. You can't go wrong with that set up. Also you DVi conector on your video car can be adaped to a RGB monitor with a $10 adapter you plug in.

I suggest Martox for a video car for duel head, the old G550, G450 LOOK awesome (and yes there is a difference between the "look" of cards)

If you really want to get anal, there are monitors (crt's) made just for the guys like you. I think macmall sells them still, forget the name. Ususally come with a "eye" that you suction cup to the monitor screen to calibrate the monitor to your software.

HTH

At this point in the game Matrox has nothing on ATI or Nvidia, except in the tri-quad and above output arena. With ATI and Nvidia both having Ramdacs well in excess of 400mhz the 2d filters are just as good as anything Matrox puts out. Assuming you are going with a good primary tier vendory (PNY, BFG, ATI, ASUS, MSI, etc)

Some LCD's are catching up, Viewsonic makes a few specialty LCD's for photo editing, which simply use slower refresh panels to increase image quality in the still fasion.

That being said I do agree, CRT is still the way to go professionally. Especially the Sony Trinitron Tube based CRT's

[george graves]

TJ, I know you are ass deep in photog stuff. Keep in mind this.

CRT's have a much larger color range then LCD's. Also LCD's are *locked* to a specific pixel count. CRT's are not.

You can't go wrong with a older set of sony trintron monitors. If you have the room run 2x21" IBM's (IBM rebranded sony's, weigh in at close to 70 pounds), or what I run is two P76 17" IBM's.

Trintron is the key. You can't go wrong with that set up. Also you DVi conector on your video car can be adaped to a RGB monitor with a $10 adapter you plug in.

I suggest Martox for a video car for duel head, the old G550, G450 LOOK awesome (and yes there is a difference between the "look" of cards)

If you really want to get anal, there are monitors (crt's) made just for the guys like you. I think macmall sells them still, forget the name. Ususally come with a "eye" that you suction cup to the monitor screen to calibrate the monitor to your software.

HTH

[AndrewBird]

Glad I could help. :D If you're looking to get LCD monitors on a budget, there is an off-brand company called Hanns-G that make good bang for your buck LCD monitors. Here is an example of a very nice 19" widescreen monitor for only $180:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254005

That particular monitor (as with most LCD's) comes both the VGA and the DVI cable. So if you were to get two of them, just use the DVI cable for one and the VGA for the other. That way you won't have to buy any adapters to make things fit.

Just as a reference, I have that monitor and LOVE it. I will never go back to a non-widescreen monitor.