Is VGA worth $220?

[vrf]

Hi all,

I'm building a small MAME/console cab and am wondering which LCD to buy, either the 8" LCD TV monitor, or the 8" LCD monitor that has a VGA board on it. (non-touchscreen.) The price difference is over $200.

http://www.xenarcdirect.com/store/home.php?cat=250

There are some pretty heavy resolution differences between the two, but for MAME and console emulation, would it really matter? Is the purity of the VGA signal worth the money?

Thanks!

[Harry Potter]

For a screen of that size, purity would definitely be advantageous.

[quarterback]

Buy from eBay

I got my 7" touchscreen with VGA for under $175 including shipping from Hong Kong.  According to some of the folks on mp3car.com, it's got the same screen as the Xenarc.  According to others (who have both) they say the "Super" LCD screen is brighter than the Xenarc.   For $140 + shipping, it couldn't be beat and the 8" screens are the same price and sometimes less (the 8"ers don't fit well into double-DIN dashboard openings)

There's no way I'd pay $500 for a VGA enabled LCD

Read around here for more info on small LCD screens: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=9

[vrf]

Thanks, QB. After I posted this I did some more homework and found the Lilliput screens.  The 8" one I want I can get for $129. (Non-touchscreen) Shipping from Hong Kong to Taipei will still be $50 or so, but it'll still be much cheaper than the VGA Xenarc.

Maybe I'll see if some of the local auto stores stock it. A lot of things get marked up in Taiwan though.

Any compelling reason why I should consider the touchscreen version?

[quarterback]

Any compelling reason why I should consider the touchscreen version?

For me it was an in-car-installation, so the touch screen was a nice addition.   For BYOAC, I'd say the main reason to get a touch screen would be for a jukebox application.  I'm not sure what your project is, but if you think you might add some jukebox software, then the touch screen might be of use to you.

If the costs are similar for touch v. non-touch, and you ended up not needing the touch screen, you could remove it and probably sell it to somebody on mp3car.com who screwed theirs up while working on their car mods.  It seems to happen.

[vrf]

Thanks for your advice! This is for a bartop cab. I think I'm going to go with the non-touchscreen version, and put that extra money towards a trackball that I can use for games and OS control. That'll work fine for the jukebox stuff if I decide to add it in.

Looks like the non-touchscreen one is brighter, too, although probably not significantly. (And of course the plexi will dim it a little.)

[vrf]

one more thing... Quarterback, do you run your 8" LCD off of your computer power supply, or do you have something else powering it? I'd like to run it off the PSU if I could. Thanks!

[quarterback]

one more thing... Quarterback, do you run your 8" LCD off of your computer power supply, or do you have something else powering it? I'd like to run it off the PSU if I could. Thanks!

I've got a 7" but, yeah, I'm running it off of a PSU.  That being said, my setup isn't quite that simple.  Since mine is in my car and I needed regulated 12v to get it to work (not the pseudo 12v that comes out of your car battery/alternator and is really 8v to 16v) I have a series of power things going on.  For me it works like this:

12V DC to AC adapter connected to my lighter wiring -> micro ATX computer power supply plugged into that -> spliced/wired from the 12v DC coming out of the PSU and going into the monitor

For me, this guarantees that the monitor is only getting 12v.  A couple people on MP3car.com seemed to have some issues where they 'blew up' their monitors and I didn't want to risk it.

So yeah, you'll be able to run it off of a computer power supply, but keep in mind that mine is the only thing running off the PS.  I don't remember the specifics, but I was surprised at the aperage draw that my LCD's specs described.  Depending on your PC's setup, how big your PS is and how many other things are running off of it, I'm guessing you could have problems getting the power you need.  You might not have any problem getting the monitor running with whatever PSU you have, I'm just saying it is possible.


Computer power supply quality is one of those topics that some people will really go on-and-on about.  There are entire cadres of individuals who will tell you that you really need to buy a top end power supply unit no matter what you're running and that using a $30 power supply in any computer system is a huge mistake.  I don't know if you've witnessed any discussions like that online, but they happen.  I don't personally have any real opinion about this except to state that in my 10+ years of owning multiple computers, I've never used a $100+ power supply.  All of mine have been cheap and, afaik, it hasn't caused me any problems.

[vrf]

Yeah, I don't know enough to have an opinion on the quality of power issue. The last computer I built needed an eps12v connection, so I guess that neccesitated a good power supply right off the bat. And the workstation before that was a Dell.

Anyhow, I think I might have to go with a 1u 300w PSU. It needs to be small, yet have enough grunt to handle my Pentium M board, the 8" LCD, 1 hard drive, a couple of USB-powered lights (for the mini-marquee), and a set of USB-powered laptop speakers. And a DVD-ROM drive for setting the whole shebang up. I know 300w is probably overkill, but the option I really wanted to use (the PicoPSU) seems like it wouldn't have quite enough power.

Sure is cute, though...