LCD TV/Monitor

[AdamW]

My old 17" CRT appears to be nearing the end of it's lifespan. 7 years service, not bad!

Obviously I won't be replacing it until the screen splits open and it cuts a hole in the wall with a cathode ray, but I'm trying to get myself ready for that fateful day by looking into products and saving up.

Now, 4:3 ratio TFTs are ten a penny (if a penny is worth £2000)... but I have noticed widescreens are little thinner on the ground and fatter on the pricetag, but a widescreen is what I really want.

I notice that many manufacturers produce "dual purpose" monitors, i.e. a widescreen TFT with tv-tuner AND computer input. Even Iiyama makes one. They generally have a resolution of 1280x720 (which is an HDTV resolution) instead of the 1680x1050 of dedicated hardware such as the Apple Cinema Display range, and most have DVI (some compatible with the media control of upcoming HDTV, some not). And they have fast(ish) response times of 16ms.

What I would like to know is: Has anyone tried hooking up their PC to such a device? What was the resultant picture like?

Worst comes to the worst, I think I would buy an Apple 20" for around £500, or a Dell one (they sometimes sell off excess through third party vendors). But the dual-purpose displays would make TV-watching in the bedroom easier (no need to boot up PC first!)

 

[breezer]

until the screen splits open and it cuts a hole in the wall with a cathode ray,)

lol

i liked that,

why do you want wide screen, just because its in fashion? i have a 15inch lcd screen does what i want, and takes up less space.

why not get 2 of them and get a "special" graphics card that puts the picture across 2 screens, i am not joking i have seen it done twice now

 

[ninebob]

why not get 2 of them and get a "special" graphics card that puts the picture across 2 screens, i am not joking i have seen it done twice now

I have seen this too and it does look quite impressive, however as one of Adam's requirements is TV viewing I think the gap in the middle would rule out this idea...

 

[AdamW]

I hadn't actually considered a dual-monitor... I have worked with dual-screen setups before and they are excellent for work where you are writing one document/programme whilst reading/copying from another.

But, the most use I would get out of it at home would a game on one screen and DIYnot on another.

I have seen pictures of some games (including MS Flight Sim) running on three-monitor set-ups... avoids having a break down the centre of the field of view.

The reasons for the widescreen requirement are:

1) watching telly/DVDs
2) playing games that have a widescreen option (many do now)
3) video editing.

With video editing it is nicer to preview my work on a widescreen. For video editing my ideal setup would be a widescreen to show the work, with a secondary monitor to do the editing bits on. I don't really do enough of it to warrant that though...

I saw widescreen Dell TFTs, 20", going for about £350 the other day, it uses the same panel as those super-expensive Apple ones... if my credit card had been within reach at the time...

Now, I'll just add on a dual-monitor graphics card and a second TFT for my workpad... Mmmm, £600-tastic!

 

[ninebob]

Dell 20" widescreen with analogue and digital inputs are 25% off on their website at the moment. £390 inc vat and delivery, direct from source with full warranty support... I'm very tempted myself....

 

[AdamW]

I mentioned it to a mate this evening, and he was surprised I hadn't bought one... £350 is plenty of money, but there is always the plastic-fantastic option...

No, no. I'll be good. I'm sure they'll be on offer another time, maybe even cheaper!

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I did it... I bought one. Got a dead pixel guarantee too.

It's not my fault, I formed a pact with a friend that neither of us would buy one, but he cracked at lunchtime. So in solidarity, I bought one too

 

[ninebob]

Which one did you get?

 

[AdamW]

I got the Dell 2005FPW. It's in "Midnight Grey", has an LG-Philips panel (the same as used in the 20" Apple Cinema Display).

DVI input, 15-pin VGA input, composite video and SVHS. Has Picture-in-Picture, Picture-by-Picture (so I'm going to see about hooking up my Sky box so I can watch satellite telly at the PC whilst surfing the net instead of running between the living room and my bedroom!)

I've only got an nVidia FX5200 graphics card so I'll be amazed if I can run 3D games in the native resolution of 1680*1050, and I don't have DVI output yet either. YET. I've already got the Thermaltake Schooner fanless heatsink picked out for when I do upgrade... can't be doing with adding noisy fans to my silent beast.

The only thing against this monitor is that it doesn't have full HDTV resolution (1920*1080), however THAT monitor was £900 so I stuck two fingers up at that one!!!

My mate's was delivered this morning, so I'm hoping mine isn't too far behind. Can't wait.

I made the mistake of pricing up how much it would cost to rebuild my PC right now:

Case £220
Monitor £350
Keyboard/Mouse £50

So that's £620 before you even put any gubbins inside the case. And if you go for RRP prices it's more like £800 plus gubbins.

 

[breezer]

Case £220

gold plated at that price?

what sort of case do you want that costs that much?

 

[pipme]

Got an old Austin 8 radiator on it for cooling purposes ...

 

[AdamW]

It is a Lian Li PC-V2100... I've Froogled it and apparently you can get it for "just" £193.88 now!

It's kinda special: 2mm thick aluminium, 3 separate zones (PSU, HDD's, motherboard and CPU), room for 12 internal hard-drives + 7 5.25" devices, and a wonderful minimalist design. And it is soundproofed on the inside. Not to mention wheels to push it around. I admit it is overpriced, but in the same way that people buy £16K+ Peugeot 206CCs because they look cool, I couldn't resist this case!

 

[breezer]

and where will you put it? under the desk where it wont get noticed?

i understand your point , but is it really really worth it?

what are you going to do with 12hd's (take a year to defrag them )

i wont embarass myself and say how much this pc case cost, but i will say just a few quid, and where does it sit? under the desk, thats why i only spent a few quid

oh and where are its ventilation holes?

 

[AdamW]

Well, the location is quite prominent... I'll have to borrow a camera once the new monitor is installed to add to the "What does your desk look like?" thread. All will become clear then!

The venting is all done on the back with a big 120mm fan, totally unguarded from prying fingers (the benefits of having no kids!)

I don't have 12HDDs in it, a mere five hard-drives grace my computer. I do have a second fan in reserve in case the drive temperatures get high, but I generally don't need it so leave it switched off.

I had a very very cheap PC case before, this one was a bit of a treat to make up for it. And being Al it is surprisingly light for its bulk.

 

[breezer]

but it will look silly when you do this

 

[AdamW]

The monitor still hasn't arrived, but I spoke to the supplier this morning. I paid an extra £23 or so for a "dead pixel check +guarantee" which means I get one with no dead pixels. It turns out the two they had left both had a dead pixel... and to think people were telling me "Naaah, don't bother with that, they're usually fine!"