So you've had your arcade monitor for over a year w/no problems???

[skyblast]

For the last year now I've been seriously considering  buying a real arcade monitor for my next build. On my last build I went with a 21 inch crt but in the end I just feel like something is missing.  This time around I want the real deal.  Something either 25 or 27 inches that is plug and play vga ready right out of the crate.

So, I was seriously considering a wells gardner d9200 BUT I started reading the...things you need to know before buying a d9200 thread.  After pouring over it I am now thoroughly confused by all of the brands/companies that offer arcade monitors!  I have also read the sticky on current companies selling monitors but that has also left me a bit frustrated.

Here is what I would like to know. 

Who out there has purchased a vga ready arcade monitor in either 25 or 27 inches that has had NO PROBLEMS with it for at least a year??  All I would like to do is buy something that I can depend on.  Who out there loves what they have purchased and truly feels that it was money well spent with zero regrets?

[MTPPC]

Just over a month ago I bought my first arcade machine. It came with a 2006? Neimann trimode 25" horizontal monitor with a no green. Then I bought a steel talons side by side with two WG7000 series 25" monitors for $75 of CL. I brought both the bad wg7000s to a local monitor repair guy and he went through them with a rejuvenator and caps for $85 EACH. I pulled the Niemann out of my first game and replace it with a WG. I replaced the green transistor and reflowed the green resistors on the advice of Dave Niemann in another thread and that didn't fix the trimode. My initial machine is running great with the WG and I have a second WG naked on the bench running great with another PC. Both machines are using Radeon 9200 AGP video cards with soft15khz. One runs through a j-pac and the other is connected directly while I await finding another cabinet to throw it all into.

I'm going to get the Niemann looked at by the same guy some time in the future.  So...

No. I do not have an arcade monitor in service over a year.
Yes. The arcade monitors work great with MAME.
Yes. Wells Gardner Monitors are repairable at a reasonable price.
Yes I would recommend an arcade monitor. The one's I'm using are over 20 years old and work GREAT!

Finally, I would recommend being patient buying a non-working cabinet w/ a 25" monitor off CL for next to nothing. With any luck, the monitor will be good and if not, you can get it repaired for around a hundred bucks. Will it last for a couple of decades for you? Maybe, but as long as the tube is good, you can get it repaired pretty cheap and it's pretty easy to pull it from the cabinet. With a new flyback transformer and a cap kit, I'd expect a monitor to remain trouble free for a long time.

[ahofle]

I have a 3 year old WG D9400 (bought refurbished) with absolutely no issues.  It has been perfect.  If you can find one that would definitely be my emulation monitor of choice.

[Malenko]

yeah, my MKII and my KI still have their original monitors in them and they've been fine for years

[mgb]

I've had my Betson Multi-sync (Kortek 2914) for well over 5 years now and I have not had any problems.
 Now that I've said that, I'm gonna be real ticked if the thing starts giving me problems.

[skyblast]

Thanks you guys!  As soon as I scratch up enough dough I'm going to reread this thread and take the plunge.  For me Wells just seems the way to go but not necessarily.

[Q*Bert_OP]

We have around 20 Makvision tri-syncs out in use, at least 8 hrs per day, and only 1 has had any problems so far...it's 5 years old.