# My old CRT vs a HP widescreen LCD monitor.



## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

I know there's trillions of articles out there about LCDs vs CRTs. Perhaps that's the problem. I don't know what search terms to use without drowning in information.

I'm fine with my CRT, but recognize that a flatscreen would save a ton of space on my desk. Now that I have a job, I have the money to get one. I also have a $30 giftcard for Best Buy. The last time I was in BB, I saw a widescreen monitor on sale for $100. This ISN'T the monitor, but it's as close as it gets:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+20...3490400&skuId=1807127&st=hp monitor&cp=1&lp=2

What I looked at was an HP wide screen in that size with about those same features. I just don't remember the model number. I'm not much into widescreens, but a flat in that size seems pretty good. Still, logic screams that my CRT is already good and I won't use the extra space on my desk anyway. I wanted other opinions. Here's what I do on the computer:
-Browse the internet.
-Watch videos.
-Program. 
Those are the three main things. Nothing graphically intensive. I wanted to know if a widescreen LCD is better than my CRT for these activities. That might give me more motivation besides just desk space.


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## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

If you want a CRT monitor, you'll have to scour garage sales and Goodwill stores. Go to a Best Buy and look at the monitors to get an idea of what size you want.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

If your computer is old, You may need a new video card to run a wide screen monitor.
A 20 inch wide screen has about the same viewing height as a 16 inch CRT monitor ...
and it's the viewing height that really determines how much you see ... (how big it looks) ...
You just see more width in a wide screen.

What's the size of your CRT ???


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## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

My comp is from 2004. Good call on that. I checked my graphics card properties, and found its maximum resolution is considerably below the native resolution of this monitor. So, I guess I'm sticking with the CRT until I'm forced into buying a better model. That's unless I can fix this with just an updated driver. 
And DoubleHelix, it's not a CRT I'm talking about buying, it's an LCD.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

The graphics card problem will be the available aspect ratios for the newer wide screen.
Ive been able to upgrade a few older computers to run a better monitor for about $25 > $50 .. And it was usually worth it.
You may have to also check your Power Supply to see if it's strong enough for a newer graphics card.
Look for the "simple" graphics cards.

Caution .... A LCD/LED will probably spoil you


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## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

How do I check on that?


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

How many watts is your current PSU ???


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

My old IBM Aptiva from 1998 and VPR Matrix from 2000 both still in operation, and a sundry of computers from 2000 thru 2010 of various manufacturers using on-board video cards all work with my wide screen monitor on my repair bench. Running at native resolution of a LCD monitor is highly over rated IMHO. Just be sure you have a LCD monitor that has a VGA connection (as I suspect you do not have DVI on your computer vid connection) - you should be good to go. Regardless of the resolution you use, the LCD will be a huge improvement over the CRT + the space saved. That's my 2 cents worth.


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## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

*To Novi:*

I didn't know exactly what would be important on the Power Supply, so I copied it all:
Model: NPS-305BB C REV:04
Input:
100-120V~/9.0A, 50-60Hz
200-240V~/4.5A
Output:
305W Max.
+5V ===/22.0A, -12V===/0.5A
+12VA ===/18.0A, +3.3V===/17A
+12VB ===/18.0A, +5V5B===/2A
Max combined power on +5V and +3.3 output is 150W. Max combined output current on +12VA and +12VB outputs is 22A.

The power consumption on the monitor I was looking at is 27W. I don't know if that's good or bad, because I can't tell how much power is currently being sapped by all the other peripherals on my computer.

*To Wino:*
So, if a monitor's plug and play (like this prospective widescreen), it won't throw a bunch of backtalk about resolution? It'll at least try to work? My fear is that I plug it in and get nothing, or that the software coming with it will be utterly incompatible.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

axeman61 said:


> .................................*To Wino:*
> So, if a monitor's plug and play (like this prospective widescreen), it won't throw a bunch of backtalk about resolution? It'll at least try to work? My fear is that I plug it in and get nothing, or that the software coming with it will be utterly incompatible.


I have never had a computer that would not operate an LCD monitor in lieu of a CRT from 1998 onward (as they are the only ones I've tried) Win 98 thru Win 7 and many versions of Ubuntu Linux. Some onboard vids could not run native resolution, but worked adequately and well in the resolutions in which they could operate.

The IBM Aptiva mentioned had one of the worst MoBo ATI onboard video ever, and worked quite well with LCD.


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## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

OK then. I called Best Buy, and they have a sale on a monitor for 90 bucks. Even with tax, that'll be 60 something after my card. Plus, there's a 30 day return policy if things don't work out. I'm going to go for it.

Thanks for your help on this one, guys.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

Let us know how it goes.:up:


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## axeman61 (Mar 19, 2003)

I have the monitor now. I just plugged it in and things worked. It doesn't blow my CRT out of the water in picture quality, but it is a little better. Also, the space on my desk now is nice to have. Yeah, I'm going to stay with it. I also got a 10 dollar warranty plan for 2 years, in case something goes wrong.
So, again, thank you guys for the advice.


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