19" Eygo VGA vs. 21" Sony PC Monitor

[strohz]

I'm new to the hobby and have yet to get a satisfactory answer on whether a "VGA" arcade monitor (which is easy to hook to a PC) will look much different than a regular PC monitor which is slightly bigger and capable of higher resolutions.  I saw a 19" Eygo arcade monitor or a 21" PC monitor cost roughly the same, so can someone give me an educated opinion/reasons to pick one over the other?  19" sounds awfully small for vertical games so I'm leaning towards the 21" PC, but what do you think?  Thanks,

[independentthread]

If you can handle playing games in scanlines then go for the monitor.  If you plan on playing a lot of Centipede all day then you won't notice. Overall, bigger is better if you're playing a lot of games like Donkey Kong and Pacman.  Otherwise, it may be small, but the Eygo is the way to go.  If you would rather kick someone's bootay in say...Street Fighter EX 3, then the scanlines are a little annoying.  The games still look good on a monitor, they just don't look AS good as they do on an arcade monitor.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though.  I like redheads, you may like blondes.
Another thing to think about is the overall value.  Down the line if you want to cash it in and can't sell it as a mame cabinet, you may be able to sell the computer inside, and you'll need a monitor to do that.

[strohz]

Thanks for the thoughts...but is a VGA "arcade" monitor really an arcade monitor, or just a low resolution PC screen?  And does the Eygo still have scanlines and stuff as you mention, or is this only with a true CGA monitor?  It's so confusing!  Any other thoughts out there?

[southpaw13]

I have tw exact Wells Gardner VGA monitors that look completely different.  It depends on which tube they use.  The Eygo will look much more realistic and it is probably easier to mount.  The PC monitor will look too good on older games.  Pacman will look very blocky, but Stun Runner will look awesome.  I started my hobby with PC monitors, now I won't touch anything except a Arcade VGA type.

Hope this helps,
Mark

[strohz]

Thanks Mark...guesss I'll go ahead and order an arcade monitor then as it's two for two for it!

[AlanS17]

My first project used a 19" front-mount VGA monitor. Liked it so much I'm doing it again here shortly...