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Why not flat screen?


Obi Kwan

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As many of you collegiate JKII.netters know, the average college dorm room is TINY. Working at my dest is difficult, mainly because my monitor demands so much desk space. So here is my question. What is the major advantage of a tubed monitor as opposed to an LCD flat screen? I could save MAJOR desk space, but I have a feeling that there is some superiority in the tubed monitor that I can't pinpoint anywhere. Any insight?

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Well, the first thing that leaps to mind is fixed resolution - with LCD you cannot change the resolution at all - AFAIK it's physically impossible.

 

If that's not reason enough to stay with CRT, then consider this:

 

LCD displays have pixels that can (and DO) burn out - leaving an unsightly dot on your screen. Many manufacturers will replace an LCD monitor only if the number of burnt-out pixels meet a certain limit set out by them - they will be far more likely to replace a monitor with several dead pixels clustered together near the middle than one with quite a few around the edge.

 

I have only listed the few cons that I am aware of as you are obviously already aware of the pros (small footprint, true flat screen, etc.) :)

 

I hope this helps you to decide, either way :)

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Excellent! Another Voltron JKII.netter! Maybe we could convince a someone to make a voltron mod; Now that is one of my all time dreams; to play as voltron in a thirdperson action game!

 

Wacky_Backy; thanks for the advice. Sounds like maybe a flat screen wouldn't be too bad to have at school, and that way I could keep my tubed monitor and just use the flat screen at school.

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don't go LCD, go TFT, its what MOST of the new laptop use, mine has one, though they are expesive half the cost for a laptop is the screen, the other half is the name, they also heat up quite a bit though about the same as a regular monitor and it acts just like regular monitor as far as rese and pix density, and it doesn't take time to warm up like a reg monitor

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My understanding of the matter is that CRT's offer faster refresh rates, and support much higher resolutions than their flat panel counterparts. A common problem with many flat panels has also been a lack of appropriate back-lighting and image intensity. That situation is now being resolved...but the costs of purchase are still prohibitively high. An 18 inch TFT display, for example, can be 3 times the cost of a good 19 inch flat-screen CRT, which will give you the same screen real-estate.

 

Personally I still wouldn't consider getting a flat panel display yet even though it would free up some desk space. I don't think the tech has quite reached the same level, and the cost is certainly a major issue unless you have money to burn.

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tft's don't have as bad of the color shift with the angle, it's noticable only at the extreme angles, and StormHammer is right they are expesive, and no they are not sensitive to getting bumped and as for the refresh rate, i dunno i don't mess with that nor do i really notice it, my graphics card is not that good to notice

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Think of it this way, a 17" LCD costs around 600 USE, a cheap 19" CRT will cost around 230 USD.

 

If you want to be a hardcore gamer, you need the biggest screen possible. With the larger screen you can set your resolution higher without loosing to much accuracy and percision in your aiming. Setting the resolution higher widens your field of view a bit, giving you an advantage.

 

Go with CRT.

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there are trade offs for both, if you have the cash to burn but need to save space go crt, if you can afford the space taken up by a crt then get one, but if you need to save space go TFT, they are about equal in gaming, honestly, though it is your choice, though do NOT go LCD they are pieces of #(*%@&$^&*#%

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TFT is a type of LCD, so if you're searching for a screen, look for LCD's. Most consumer LCD screens available today are TFT's, so some resellers don't even bother advertising the fact. I haven't seen a passive matrix screen for a while, at least at the places I shop.

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I am exclusively flatscreen, and have been for some time. I use mainly laptops, but also have a desktop system (because of an NT4 app requirement) which has an 18" flatscreen. The differences are relatively small when it comes to using the LCD vs CRT - not enough to matter if you have a good video card and system. That said - if you can afford the space you are better of putting your money into that good video card and system!

 

I have generally been using my Dell laptop (Inspiron 8100) which gets me at least 80 - 90FPS in RtCW and (the non-glitchy parts of) MoH:AA. And it features 1600 x 1200 resolution.

 

As for 'fixed resolution' ... not totally true. There is a 'preferred resolution', defined by the physical nature of the pixels. However, that means that is the resolution at which the screen will have best performance, not the *only* resolution. Fortunately, the optimum resolution for new systems is *at least* 1024 x 768 ... my 18" is 1280x1024 and my Dell is 1600 x 1200. As opposed to the CRT ... where everything is downhill from 1x1 ;)

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i was under the impression that TFT and LCD were different, but were interchageable becuase of the similar properties in "driving them", TFT's do emit their light like a CRT, LCD's don't

though Argath is right they don't differentiate at the stores, they call the TFT's and LCD's "flatscreens", though you do need to look and see which type they are, though you can easily see when they are on, LCD's change colors when you look at it from the side, TFT's don't, they do however have a "light shift" when viewed from an angle above or below, but who views the screen at those angles when playing

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