I need a new monitor

[GH85Carrera]

My 27 inch ViewSonic died in less than two years.

I need a replacement monitor for my home system. I hope the brain trust can point me to the perfect monitor for my needs. As much as the $2K+ NEC monitors would be cool, it is a little pricy for my needs at home.

I don't play games, and I really only do my email, Office and Quickbooks. On I do edit my photos at home and I work with images for a living so I just hate crummy displays.

My desk has 28.5 inches of width and 22 inches of height so a 30 inch monitor will fit. I figure a budget of $400 to $450 should get me a decent monitor. I would love one of the 2560x1600 monitors but those are a just out of the budget. So the 1920x1080 is more likely. Right now I am prejudiced against ViewSonic since my current monitor did not last two years.

What do you recommend?

[slakjaw]

Those older 30 inch apple cinema displays have gotten into the 400-500 range. They are nice. I want one.

[Robert Coats]

What is actually wrong with the ViewSonic? No power, or poor image?

I ask because I had a very good experience with their customer service. Bought a used ViewSonic for cheap ($10, and could not test) and sure enough, got it home and it would power on, but had a terrible washed-out image. I called ViewSonic to ask about a repair, gave them the serial number, and got an RA#. Three weeks later, a refurbished (and newer model) showed up. All I paid for was initial shipping to ViewSonic.

If it won't power on, it could just be the power supply board.

[GH85Carrera]

It acts like the computer cable is not plugged into it. I have tried the VGA, HDMI and digital input and two different video cards. It will not even show the POST screen except one time in 20 or 30. I can hear Windows start up on the computer but I get no display at all. It is like the sensor for the signal is not working. If after several tries it does pop up with a display it is a perfect picture.

[Robert Coats]

If you can get by with a loaner/other monitor for a while, might be worth trying to get this one repaired...or, replaced with a refurb like they did for me.

Viewsonic » Contact Us

[scottmandue]

My buddy has his own business (was a programmer before he started his own business about thirty years ago) and thus he has the biggest/baddest computer/monitor. He has has Dell and Samsung, I'm a big Samsung fan but his Dell just won't die.

[LSA]

I really want a higher resolution monitor for myself but haven't picked one up yet.

They have the cheap Korean brands starting ~ $300 for 2560x1440 (same 16:9 as 1920x1080)
Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops, Desktop PCs, Monitors, LCD / LED Monitors, 2560 x 1600, 2560 x 1440

[rick-l]

If you can solder take it apart and look at the capacitors on the power supply board. If the top is puffed up they are bad, no teswt equipment required. I have repaired several of these. Do a search for your model number and there are instructions on how to take it apart.

[lane912]

this-

Dell UltraSharp 29 Ultrawide Monitor - U2913WM

oh- your video card might choke- but you needed a new one of those too-

[jcommin]

It depends what do you want it for. Me, I need a monitor for photo editing. I searched for the best one in my price point range (under $900). NEC, Dell make a nice monitor for graphics.

I'm sure there are other choices for gaming or general computing work.

Decide what you want it for, select a price point and use the web to see which ones are the best.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I have an HP Pavilion 27xi.

great monitor for the price.

[nota]

tiger has some 4k tv's for cheap that can be used as a monitor

Seiki 39 Class LED 4K/2K Ultra HDTV - 1080p, 3840 x 2160, 3x HDMI - SE39UY04 at TigerDirect.com

or
TCL 50 Class 4K ULTRA HD LED TV - 16:9, 120Hz, 3840 x 2160, 4x HDMI - LE50UHDE5691 at TigerDirect.com


I am currently using a upstar 24'' tv as a monitor it was $100 on sale and is 1920x1080

only problem is gaming lag at 30hz on the 39" seiki but if not a gamer they should be ok for other hi-rez things like photo-shop or auto cad

[flipper35]

Beware of trying to use a 4k with a computer unless you have Display Port that supports it as HDMI does not yet properly.

Dell and Samsung get good reviews at anandtech.com

AnandTech | Displays

[Aragorn]

Staples has a nice 24 inch Samsung on sale this week for around $140. Full HD at 1920x1080 and both VGA and DVI outputs.

Have you checked the connections on both ends of the monitor cable? Sometimes one end is not tight enough and you get either a fading display or no display at all.

[island911]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

... I would love one of the 2560x1600 monitors but those are a just out of the budget. So the 1920x1080 is more likely. Right now I am prejudiced against ViewSonic since my current monitor did not last two years.

What do you recommend?

I've had a 2560x1600 30" since ~2005. Wonderful, other than finding computers which will output the signal. ...Not nearly as big of a deal these days.

Anyway, consider this; 1920x1080 is 2Mpix ... a 2560x1600 is double that at 4Mpix.

You with all your photos to manage?... Do it. You won't regret it.

[flipper35]

At least look at more vertical resolution on a widescreen. 1200 or 1600.

What do you have at work for resolution? Buy a better one for work and buy the good used one from work?

[slodave]

More than likely, a couple of caps popped. Pretty easy and cheap to fix.

[GH85Carrera]

Will take it apart this evening and have a look. Fixing it would be great, but then I can't justify a new 2560x1600 monitor.

[slodave]

You can fix it and run it next to the new one!

[island911]

Oh my Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD Monitor - UP3214Q

using that^ as a data point makes the 2560x1600 monitors appear to be the reasonable, conservative choice.

btw, I now have monitor envy.