Dependable PC Monitors???

[mkfan4ever]

Hey guys looking for a depenable pc 19" lcd monitor not widescreen. Will be running a modded xbox with coinops 3. I have a converter to play the xbox on a monitor that works great for converting the composite video and sound to vga and pc speakers just need a good recommendation for the montior. Building a bartop arcade. Want something that is not gonna break in a short period of time if you know what I mean.

[wizkid32]

I really doubt that you will be able to find a 19" LCD monitor that is not 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio.  Even if you do, it is likely that it will be quite old and meant for business rather than gaming.  I would suggest that you get one of the newer LED monitors and simply run it with black bars on the left and right sides.  I have this monitor, and it has worked quite well for me.  It has an adjustable mount that works well, and it is pretty light and thin.  You may find it a bit small, however.

Link:
http://www.frys.com/product/6406392?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[nitz]

Non-widescreen 19 inch monitors are pretty common, though they're typically 5:4 rather than 4:3. Close enough IMO, as you should have about the equivalent of an 18.5 inch screen 4:3.

As far as dependalbe, someone else can probably better answer that question. I would think you'd be ok going with any solid name brand monitor, realizing of course that these are not gonna last as long as CRTs. Frankly, I'd be satisfied with any LCD that lasts through 5 or 6 years of heavy use, anything beyond that is gravy.

[wizkid32]

Non-widescreen 19 inch monitors are pretty common, though they're typically 5:4 rather than 4:3. Close enough IMO, as you should have about the equivalent of an 18.5 inch screen 4:3.

As far as dependalbe, someone else can probably better answer that question. I would think you'd be ok going with any solid name brand monitor, realizing of course that these are not gonna last as long as CRTs. Frankly, I'd be satisfied with any LCD that lasts through 5 or 6 years of heavy use, anything beyond that is gravy.

What???!!  I've never heard of one of those, and I've only seen one non-widescreen LCD in my life!

[MonMotha]

19" 5:4 monitors were rather common in the early to mid 2000s.  I have one from 2003, and no I won't sell it   They'll tend to be fairly high end, but being based on older technology, they won't have super fast response time or contrast ratio.  The viewing angles will usually be decent, though, as they're mostly S-IPS and PVA/MVA.

[wizkid32]

That is what I meant by "for business rather than gaming".  From what I heard, slow response time was a big issue with earlier LCDs.  I do have what appears to be a 4:3 (could be 5:4) LCD monitor.  Seems to be in the 18"-19" range.  Not sure I want to part with it though.  (Scratches his chin thoughtfully)

[nitz]

19" 5:4 monitors were rather common in the early to mid 2000s.

They're still very common, Newegg has 31 different models at the moment:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007617+600030613+600030156&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=20&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

I'm not saying these are as good as the models from years ago - the cheaper ones in particular are surely not. Just pointing out to the OP that non-widescreen 19 inch LCDs are widely available. You guys are making it sound like they're rare!

[wizkid32]

19" 5:4 monitors were rather common in the early to mid 2000s.

They're still very common, Newegg has 31 different models at the moment:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007617+600030613+600030156&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=20&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

I'm not saying these are as good as the models from years ago - the cheaper ones in particular are surely not. Just pointing out to the OP that non-widescreen 19 inch LCDs are widely available. You guys are making it sound like they're rare!

Well, i thought they were rare.  Just be careful with the "MS"  this is response time.  The higher the better!   

[MonMotha]

Well, i thought they were rare.  Just be careful with the "MS"  this is response time.  The higher the better!   

Uh, lower response time is better (faster).  Of course, those numbers are total BS, anyway as there's no standard set of conditions to measure.  Essentially, the manufacturer just makes up a number and puts it in the spec sheet.

[wizkid32]

Well, i thought they were rare.  Just be careful with the "MS"  this is response time.  The higher the better!   

  I meant lower, not higher!

[lilshawn]

Uh, lower response time is better (faster).  Of course, those numbers are total BS, anyway as there's no standard set of conditions to measure.  Essentially, the manufacturer just makes up a number and puts it in the spec sheet.

^^this^^

yes they measure the time it takes for a pixel element to change states, but by how much is up in the air. it takes a whole lot less time to change from a gray to another gray than it does from black to white (or vice versa).

it's like stating a car can go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, but if you actually looked at their test conditions you'd find out the car had a running start and was driven downhill. 

[Jack Burton]

Going by your name, Mkfan4ever, I'm guess you like fighting games.  In that case you'll need to make sure that the monitor you choose doesn't have a significant amount of input delay.

Older LCD monitors, and some new ones were notorious for having a slight delay between a player pushing a button and the action happening on screen.  For fast paced games this is completely unacceptable. 

The response time is not the amount of input delay

You'll need to do research about whatever monitor you are thinking about and try to figure out if anyone has tested it for input delay or not.  Start here:

http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-new-definitive-hdtv-lag-faq.55593/

[mkfan4ever]

Going by your name, Mkfan4ever, I'm guess you like fighting games.  In that case you'll need to make sure that the monitor you choose doesn't have a significant amount of input delay.

Older LCD monitors, and some new ones were notorious for having a slight delay between a player pushing a button and the action happening on screen.  For fast paced games this is completely unacceptable. 

The response time is not the amount of input delay

You'll need to do research about whatever monitor you are thinking about and try to figure out if anyone has tested it for input delay or not.  Start here:

http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-new-definitive-hdtv-lag-faq.55593/

Thanks Burton, Found a Samsung PC Monitor that seems to be working fine. Haven't built the arcade controls yet but since I am using a modded xbox running coinops I used the controller last night playing mk2 and it worked great!

[GregD]

I'll take my Dell 2007fp 20" lcd with 12ms response time over any brand new TN panel with 2ms response time any day of the week.

[wizkid32]

According to Project Arcade 2, a response time of 16 ms or less is good enough.  Personally, I'd want at least 12.