Troy 2003-06-04 14:55
I picked up Parhelia and am now trying to decide what to do monitor wise. Currently I have 1 Viewsonic A90f+. I am trying to decide weather to get two more or purchase 3 LCD's namely NEC 17" ones. I am wondering if in general if the large gap between screens whe using CRTs gets annoying or if you just get used to it.
The LCD's have their positives and the NEC's that I am looking at have a nice thin bezzle so the screen transition would be much better, plus they would take less space and power. I will be using the computer mostly for video editing and graphics, and a little game playing here and there. Overall there is a $900 difference between the two routes so I am not sure if it is worth it.
Oh well any opinions would be great. I know there are lot of people running CRT's for more reasons then cost.
Thanks
Troy
|
Nick Gosey 2003-06-04 15:58
I havn't got any experiance running LCDs even as a single monitor setup, but if I could afford it I would go LCD for two reasons: One, the desktop space issue. The spot I have mine works out fine for one CRT, but getting two or more to fit on because of the depth is trouble. I could fit three LCDs in really easily. Secondly, the tempreture issue is pretty high on my list of priorities, I believe LCD screens would run a heck of a lot cooler than CRTs, and with even just the TWO CRTs I have running right now I've noticed a big tempreture difference in this small room. Translation: More CRTs equals more heat.
As for noticing the gap on the CRTs, I don't. I wouldn't run videos maximized accross both screens or anything, I keep all the programs maximized to their own respective monitors, so I don't notice the boarder. I guess it depends on what you'll do with it.
For me $900 would not be worth it to get flat screens instead of CRTs, but thats because I don't even have $900 to start with. If I was in a place where I could pull it financially I'd go LCD most likely.
Again though, note that I have no LCD experiance and everything I say is simply from the standpoint of one having used CRTs.
|
Ed 2003-06-05 11:58
With a 3 monitor setup on the Parhelia you have to run at 1280x1024.
I would go with the VP191b or the VP181b (the VP191b has better contrast). They are from a new line from ViewSonic -- may not be available yet. They no longer have the speakers or the big logo and the edges are thin.
I have a VP201mb (an older model with thick edges) and I love it. I'm waiting on the VP211b.
ViewSonic also has a frame to hold it all together -- set ups of 2/3/4 LCDs.
:)
|
Barton 2003-06-05 12:11
Here's my 2 cents worth.
I am currently running 3 LCD's with a GF4Ti4600 AGP and a MX400 PCI. All three moniors are digital. The Matrox will only support 2 DVI so if you go with LCD, you'll have to run analog.
If you do decide on LCD's, get them with dual inputs (VGA and DVI). Down the road, someone will have a triple head gaming card that supports 3-DVI. When that happens, you'll already be set.
|
Ed 2003-06-05 12:11
Oh, you want 17", then there is the VP171b, contrast is better than the 18" model, go figure.
I was also considering a setup with 3 NECs, the LCD2080UX, but the NEC contrast was lower and the viewing angle was lower too. The NEC did have edges that were a bit thinner 0.65" versus 0.75" on the VP211b I'm now favoring.
|
Troy 2003-06-05 17:29
Well i took the dive and got 3 Mitsubishi NXM76 LCD's. It was totally worth it. I could almost stay up all night messing around. I am glad that it is almost the weekend. The only bad thing is my wife is tring to steal the LCD's for her MAC. SO I guess I will have to save up to get another on for her so she will leave mine alone.
I do notice some slight smearing in a few of the games that I have played but I really had to look for it and it is almost unnoticable. I borrowed a friends Nascar 2002, man on three screen it is awsome. Got video to play accross all three at the same time. There is so much to play with I will never get back to work.
Thanks for the help
|
ecarlson 2003-06-06 13:34
You have to go back to work to pay for it all. :-)
- Eric www.InvisibleRobot.com
|
Troy 2003-06-06 15:13
That is true. I will probably have to get a second job.
Now I just need to figure out if I can get ultramon working when I am in stretched mode. I would be nice to have three different backgrounds and screen savers or at least to try it. I may just creat a few of my own backgrouns with 3 images sticked together.
Troy
|
ecarlson 2003-06-06 23:00
If you have an NVidia card, you can set different backgrounds for each display via the NVidia drivers.
- Eric www.InvisibleRobot.com
|
