ADN

So I'm looking at getting a flat screen computer monitor so I can run a dual monitor for my laptop. I'm looking at some cheap yet durable and somewhere around a 17-19 inch range. Any suggestions?

Viewsonic and Acer make some entry-level reliable LCDs... you should be able to pick one up for a reasonable price..

You talking one external screen plus your laptop's LCD, or two externals?

One external plus my laptop's LCD

In that case, as long as it's a decent big-name brand, such as ViewSonic, Acer, Philips, Samsung, even Dell, they should all be fine, just see if the price and features fit into what you're looking for..

DiamondView are probably the cheapest, but they're probably the only big-name brand to stay away from, they're actually manufactured by Mitsubishi Electronics, but still. No-name brands are a no-go when it comes to LCD monitors. With CRTs, they're OK (not that anyone still buys CRT these days)..

If you're planning to play games on it, look for the sub-6ms monitors (4ms/5ms is good). Also check for review on the internet if possible (run the query "[MODEL NAME HERE] review" into Google, and check for independent review sites, such as Hard[OCP], Anandtech to name a few - stay away from the Newegg sites and the like - not very useful). Otherwise, most monitors should do the job fine. Just makes sure the contrast ratio isn't crap, like less than 1:500 (that's poor).

See if you can get an instore demonstration if you're buying it from a chain or computer store down the road (to check quality, OSD, physical design and dimensions). Also might be worthwhile checking is the manufacturer's pixel defect policy (should be available via their website).

Anything else is marketing crap, they're basically all the same.. /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Sweet, I'll start my searches. Thanks man

SAMSUNG has awesome warranty.... 3 yrs man....

my one stuffed up 1 month before warranty expired and they came 2 days later to pick it up and gave me a brand new, better model as a replacement......

had it for about a yr n a half now n no probs but basically i've got 2 Lcd's for the price of one.....

Not sure how it is in ur country but its sweet in Oz.....

Philips make some good flat-screen computer screens. I'm using two right now with Surpac and it's not bad.


Some though, not sure what brand, fuck man the text is fuzzier than a feather duster! I still think that CRT is better. I am still not satisfied with flat-screen TVs.