Hi,
I'm replying to a PM here, in case other folks are also interested:
any suggestions on replacing my old CRT(s)[?]
I am running [dual] monitors and one CRT has turned yellow.
I think it is time to look at two new LCD screens. I have been looking at the power search on new egg but am not sure what to look for. Probably go with low 20 something inch size but what do I look for in terms of Manufacturer, minimum resolution, pixel pitch, contrast ratio, response time and such. I am running the latest DataCAD on Win XP and may migrate to Win7. I like Viewsonic, Samsung and I heard that LG was good. We just got two Samsung TVs for the house and they are really nice.
Yes I think that the 22" size is in the price sweet spot, so I'd look at 20-24". Things that I would look for are a DVI input (which is digital and looks better), so if your video card has a DVI output (or two, or a future video card has them) then you can take advantage of this.
The second most important thing for me, believe it or not is the viewing angles; especially the vertical angle. The ratings are often quite optimistic, but when they say it is 160 degrees, it may mean that some colors will appear differently at the top of the screen than they do at the bottom; especially if you sit close to them. In other words, with the narrower angles, some monitors will make it hard to tell is two blue lines are the same, or that two green lines are the same, when one is at the top and the other is at the bottom of the screen.
Another key thing is whether the screen is matte or glossy -- matte is definitely better (you do not see reflections in it), but glossy is much more commonly available. You should take a look at a monitor and judge for yourself whether this is something you need to worry about.
I use dual monitors, too, and having the width of the bezel around the screen be as narrow as possible is also helpful; so the two screens can fit close to each other.
Most screens sold these days are wide screen ratio -- usually 16:10, and as such I like having 1200 (or more) vertical pixels. Many 20" and 22" screens will have ~1000 though, and this makes things a little "pinched" when you are used to a 4:3 aspect screen (like most CRT's and older LCD's). Higher resolution is almost always better.
And with LCD's you should always rung them at their full (aka native) resolution, so things are as clear as possible. If text or icons etc., are too small for you, then you need to use the Appearance settings to increase their size; leaving the resolution at it's maximum.
That's what I can remember at the moment -- I hope it helps. Oh yes, Samsung is a good brand, as is ViewSonic. You may also find that Acer and others are pretty good as well. Try looking at a number of different monitors and you will start to notice differences -- and once you narrow the possibilities, I'd ask folks here on the forum about your best options.