9th May 2008

A buying guide for CRT/LCD computer monitors

Welcome to our LCD/CRT Monitor buying guide.

Know what you want ?

Monitors for US Delivery click here.

Monitors for UK Delivery click here.

Buying a computer monitor separately from the rest of the PC is getting more and more common, in fact nowadays a lot of PCs are sold without monitors, this allows the customer to choose a monitor more suitable to their individual needs rather than just the monitor that comes as standard with that particular system.

When choosing a computer monitor it is useful to be familiar with some of the terms related to monitors, below are some of those terms along with a brief description.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Monitor

LCD refers to the type of display, a Liquid Crystal Display works by having two layers of polarised material with liquid crystal in between, when an electrical current is applied to the liquid crystal molecules they become scattered allowing light to pass through.

Modern LCD displays use either passive or active (TFT) matrixes, the later producing a sharper image but at a higher cost.

LCD computer monitors are excellent when space is a problem due to their slim design.

see LCD and TFT if you want more info regarding the technology.

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor

Sometimes referred to as a conventional monitor, the technology used in these monitors is similar to that used in conventional TVs, whereby electrons are fired from guns through a vacuum to force the phosphor coating to light up.

These types of monitor generally offer slightly better moving image quality than their LCD counterparts (especially the more economic LCDs).

Resolution

A monitor's maximum resolution refers to the maximum amount of pixels that it can display, the higher the number, the smoother the image will appear.

Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch

The image on a computer monitor whether it is CRT or LCD is made up of pixels (Picture Elements), dot pitch and pixel pitch refer to the space between the pixels on CRT and LCD monitors respectively.

The figure for example 0.26mm would mean that each pixel is 0.26mm apart, the smaller the gap between each pixel the better the quality of the image.

Selection of monitors

Cheap CRT Monitors (US Delivery)

image	description
	Viewsonic E70B 17-Inch Color Monitor 1280 X 1024 Resolution \| 0.23mm Dot Pitch Power consumption 75W Maximum \| 3 year warranty ONLY $119.99 !! Click here for more info or to buy now !!
	Scanport JB1995 19-Inch Color Monitor 1600 X 1200 Resolution \| 0.26mm Dot Pitch Power consumption 120W Typical \| 1 year warranty ONLY $99.99 !! Click here for more info or to buy now !!

Cheap LCD Monitors (US Delivery)

image	description
	Acer AL1515b 15-Inch Color LCD Monitor 1024 X 768 Resolution \| 0.297mm Dot Pitch Power saving modes \| 3 year warranty ONLY $169.99 !! Click here for more info or to buy now !!
	X2Gen MG17R 17-Inch Color LCD Monitor 1280 X 1024 Resolution \| 0.264mm Dot Pitch Power consumption 40W \| 1 year warranty ONLY $209.99 !! (currently $139.99 with mail-in rebate!!!) Click here for more info or to buy now !!

Can't find what you want ? click here

Cheap CRT Monitors (UK Delivery)

image	description
	AOC 17-Inch Colour Monitor 1280x1024 Maximum Monitor Resolution 0.21mm Dot Pitch \| Plug and Play ONLY £59.99 !! (INC VAT) Click here for more info or to buy now !!

Cheap LCD Monitors (UK Delivery)

image	description
	Samsung SM713BM 17-Inch Colour TFT Monitor 1280 X 1024 Resolution \| TFT Active Matrix Power saving modes \| 24 Bit Colour ONLY £94.97 !! (INC VAT) Click here for more info or to buy now !!
	Proview MA982KC 19-Inch Colour TFT Monitor 1280 X 1024 Resolution \| TFT Active Matrix Power saving modes \| 24 Bit Colour ONLY £99.97 !! (INC VAT) Click here for more info or to buy now !!
	Advent X17TV 17-Inch WideScreen Colour TFT Monitor & TV 1280 x 1024 Resolution \| Power Saving Modes 24 Bit Colour \| Plug and Play \| Built-in TV Tuner ONLY £129.99 !! (INC VAT) Click here for more info or to buy now !!

Can't find what you want ? More cheap monitors at these quality online suppliers:

United States

United Kingdom

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