Quake3World

OK I am considering the leap from a 19" CRT brand KTC to a 19" LCD.

I say leap but really I am trying to convince myself the purchase is worth taking up, but it is looking good as a birthday is just around the corner

Now I haven't settled on a brand as yet but would probably go for a well known brand if only for warranty and service considerations. I am still reading up on dead/overbright pixel problems and working out if I am going to be lucky and/or going to take a chance opting for one of the cheaper models.

Still and unfortunately I am a believer in the old adage, 'you get what you pay for'.

Now I have done some searching on forums, lots of off/online education too, so I have a reasonably good understanding of what the technology is about but one question I have remains unanswered.

Please help me by responding if you have an opinion either way.

The question came up while shopping in-store, did I want to rotate the screen (though 90 degrees) so as to be able to read in portrait format if required?

Interesting as I hadn't previously considered this option and still pondering so I though I would ask opinions here.

So if you have the option on your LCD display to rotate do you use it?

If so please estimate the % of use in the rotated (portrait) orientation.

If you don't have the function, do you (now) wish you had, or would you rate it as a consideration if you were about the purchase a new LCD monitor?

one of my first lcd's (still have it) has that option and to be honest with you, i never rotated it after the initial setup.

i already know what lcd i'm going to get next and it doesn't have that capability and i don't care.

ymmv.

Useless option for me, wouldn't factor into a decision to buy at all.

Important factors for me were response time, screen size and casing design. Ended up going with a Samsung Syncmaster because they're pretty good response times (8ms apparently but I think it's 16) and the casing is minimalistic.

I have a Samsung at home, and we have a bunch of them at work. They're great LCDs, and they look good too. My 173P at work also has that rotate feature. Never felt that I've needed it though, so I've never used it.

I have a Viewsonic 20" with the rotate feature. It's fun playing around with it, but in truth, I have never actually rotated it when doing work. Pretty useless. It does have pretty good height, angle and swivel adjustments which is handy in positioning the monitor in a comfortable angle. Wouldn't pay extra for it, but nice to have.

I would buy strictly based on picture quality and reliability.

Size and response time should be your biggest concern.

I've got a 24" Dell wide screen and a 21" Samsung. Both of them have the rotate feature and I've never used it.

Just worry about getting a 4-8ms response time

Scarface wrote:Just worry about getting a 4-8ms response time

Thanks all

As I figured and you confirmed, it might be a nice feature to have and it would be rarely if ever used.

Yes I'd be going for a "brand name" and probably 4ms.

Thanks for the responses too.

Scarface wrote:Just worry about getting a 4-8ms response time

No. Worry about getting a screen with an MVA panel and not an TN panel. The image quality of the first is far better and the view angle is a lot bigger too. If you don't want your screen to get yellow/blue every time you move a bit to the side or up/down in your desk chair, get a MVA panel like Grudge's Samsung 173P. They are more expensive (than for instance a Samsung 730BF) because of the high quality panel.

It's also very recommendable to get a good 17" screen instead of a cheap 19". 1280x1024 is a bit low for a 19" screen.

Thanks for the response Oeloe.

It bought up a term I hadn't explored.

MVA is explained here in this link for those that follow