Opinions on 31" CRT Monitor - Gateway dl31 vs. 27" TV

[Spacedueler]

I'm setting up my first mame cabinet. My two sons got very interested when I hooked up a 27" tv (svideo) to the old P4 in the garage. I like the 27" size and the price is right with the spare tv, however after every attempt I'm sure I won't get the display to look good enough even with the svideo. It might be the tv or the svideo out quality of the video card (ati radeon). I think the interlacing causes a bit of a "fuzzy" picture as well which is too strainful for my eyes.

I have the opportunity to pickup a gateway DL31 for $50.00 through craigslist in my neighborhood. From what I've read it will display 640x480 and 800x600. I like the 800x600 so Windows XP will be more friendly. I don't have to have the authentic look of the original games.  But I'm concerned with getting too big. The 27" seems to be pushing the limits for horizontal games such as Defender (my favorite) but is perfect for vertical games like Mappy (my son's favorite). I plan to add light guns which I think the 31" would be great for. For the "too big" issue I could use the bezels which shrinks the game window into the middle of the artwork.

Also, the overall size of the final cab is a concern, but I may have a different approach. Many mame cabinets I've seen have the Keyboard drawer. I could build more of a TV cabinet that has a large control panel drawer that slides out for playing games. This would be nice when watching movies or using the system as a juke box in the game room, plus the wife might appreciate it being "put away" while not in use. But then I'm getting away from the arcade cab feel...

I'm curious to here your opinions and ideas. Thanks!

[Truecade]

What kind of cabinet is it going in?   If you build your cabinet so that you stand far enough away from the monitor then I think the 31" would be fine.  However, if you are limited by space and/or you don't have a cabinet designed you may want to go the TV route.  Personally, I would find a way to use the Gateway monitor, even if it meant building a showcase cabinet. 

I just picked up a NEC 29" presentation monitor and am in the process of building a cabinet to go around it.   I'll post some pics in the project section later tonight.  When the cabinet is done (hopefully in the next two weeks) I'll let you know if my 29" monitor seems too large for the cabinet. 

[Spacedueler]

I hadn't thought of a showcase setup until this 31" I came across this 31" monitor. On a quick search it seems most showcase cabinets are using a 33" inch or larger. But as you said, I think I really want to make this 31" work somehow. I was hoping to here some feedback from anyone who was using the DL31 to see what the picture quality was.

[Spacedueler]

Well I took a look at the monitor today and it was a bit disappointing and I didn't spend the $50. One it was dirty, two it was a smokers home, three the picture wasn't as clear as I'd like to have seen. Four, it was hugh. I don't think I want such a big cabinet.

One note, the add said 100 hours of use, but the picture had the signs of a highly used monitor - more like 1000's of hours.

So for a while I'll use the TV. Maybe I'll come across a nice arcade monitor in the meantime.