It’s officially time to give up your CRT! Those ol’ tubes are only good for black and white televisions… and gamers. With as much time as I spend in front of my screen every day, I knew I needed to leap to the LCD level a few years ago. And once you decide go that route, you can never go back. ClearType is just too wonderful a thing on the 2D desktop, and digital photos are beyond vibrant. My eyesight has never been that good, so living flicker-free was almost mandatory. I’m currently running a 22″ next to another 19″ flat panel display. As you can imagine, this setup is met with extreme jealousy. Since this is my full-time gig, I could easily justify the expense (and call it a write-off). Liquid Crystal Display? Every last pixel. For weeks… er, months my girlfriend asked to have her environment upgraded. After all, she was stuck on a 15″ monitor at 1024×768. I was waiting for prices to drop a bit more before I played the upgrade card. However, today was a very special occasion - and she saved Lockergnome’s bacon at Gnomedex. If anybody deserved a treat, it’s Ponzi. So, I needed to find something that was less than $500, offered her more desktop real estate, and didn’t have a reputation for ghosting. Samsung has always been nice for me, so that’s where I started. Almost immediately, I found the Samsung 712N. For her, it’s absolutely perfect.

(Leo Feret) You’re correct, it’s no contest between CRT & LCD - CRT wins every time by my eyes. Try running a professional 17″ or larger CRT at 1600×1200 at a decent refresh rate. A color photograph with pixels from white to black shows detail and color clarity that can’t be matched on an LCD. An LCD looks modern and takes up less space and power, but IMHBCO, 100 years of CRT evolution can’t be beat (yet) by any LCD. And Cleartweak beats ClearType on my CRT to boot!

I was impressed with its generic specs, but the charactaristic that really caught my eye was its 12ms response time! Not being a terribly picky user, she’ll probably never see the value in that number - but she’ll have comfort in knowing that I’m giving her a new piece of hardware that’s slightly better than what I have. Nothing says “I love you” more than that (at least, when it’s coming from a geek). I was able to swap screens in no time at all, but finding a place to store the still-functional CRT was a small challenge. She was amazed with the change - taken aback with the crispness and sharpness of both text and images. Hey, that’s what a nice LCD monitor will bring with it! She’s got a single dead pixel (near the top-middle), but it’s not throwing off her total experience and enjoyment of the product. It was neat to watch her rediscover the images that were already on her system - they truly look better now. Imagine staring at a freshly-polished pair of shoes. They look new, don’t they? Give your PC a new lease on life, and consider upgrading to an LCD if you haven’t already. More than ever, I believe that refresh rates should be interlaced out of existence. Find one that suits your style and budget, and make the leap. I’m giving you a green light (although you might wanna ask your girlfriend / boyfriend before doing it). LCD vs. CRT? No contest.

(Jeff Partridge) The time to let go of CRT technology is the day when you can buy an LCD monitor, then turn around and take it back for replacement if there’s even ONE dead or stuck pixel. And, have that policy in place for at least an entire year. Anything less is simply unacceptable. Face it, the CRT will never go away until we reach that level of LCD support. You will NEVER see a CRT with a dead spot on it. How can you accept them on an LCD? Current policies vary by company, but none approach this goal, preferring, instead, to offer replacement if 7-15 pixels are stuck or dead. What!?? I’m going to plunk down $1000 for a product that can be defective and have no recourse??? Not THIS century, buddy!