LCD monitor Recommendations

hal8000b · 01-03-2008, 03:58 PM

I'm looking for a new monitor, probably 17 or 19 inch. There are many widescreen monitors available now, but these would appear to be more trouble than theyre worth- for a start I may have to write a modeline to work at their resolution and some windows games look distorted.

Viewsonic VA926 looks reasonable its a 5ms response and works at a standard 1280x1024.
Anyone got any experience with this lcd monitor or indeed any other monitor
using linux?

Thanks in advance

bigrigdriver · 01-03-2008, 04:12 PM

I use a KDS 19 inch LCD without any problems.

Bruce Hill · 01-03-2008, 05:29 PM

On my workstation there's an AOC 203VW, which is a 20" widescreen (16:10) digital LCD. It works fine with this in xorg.conf:

Code:

Section "Monitor"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
#    HorizSync  30-64         # multisync
#    HorizSync  31.5, 35.2    # multiple fixed sync frequencies
#    HorizSync  15-25, 30-50  # multiple ranges of sync frequencies
# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.
    Identifier     "AOC 203Vw+"
        DisplaySize     433    270
        HorizSync       31.0 - 82.0
        VertRefresh     56.0 - 75.0
        Option         "DPI" "100 x 100"
EndSection

Section "Device"

    #VideoRam    4096
    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
    Identifier     "VESA Framebuffer"
    Driver         "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"

# If your card can handle it, a higher default color depth (like 24 or 32)
# is highly recommended.
#   DefaultDepth 8
#   DefaultDepth 16
#   DefaultDepth 32
# "1024x768" is also a conservative usable default resolution.  If you
# have a better monitor, feel free to try resolutions such as
# "1152x864", "1280x1024", "1600x1200", and "1800x1400" (or whatever your
# card/monitor can produce)
    Identifier     "Screen 1"
        Device     "VESA Framebuffer"
#       Device     "nVidia"
        Monitor    "AOC 203Vw+"
        DefaultDepth    24
SubSection     "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes      "1680x1050" "1400x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection

On my test box, which I also use to run WinXP for Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, there is a Samsung SyncMaster 930B digital 19" LCD (4:3), which works great with this in xorg.conf:

Code:

Section "Monitor"

    Identifier  "Samsung SyncMaster 930B"

# HorizSync is in kHz unless units are specified.
# HorizSync may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

    HorizSync   30.0 - 81.0
    Option      "DPI" "100 x 100"

#    HorizSync  30-64         # multisync
#    HorizSync  31.5, 35.2    # multiple fixed sync frequencies
#    HorizSync  15-25, 30-50  # multiple ranges of sync frequencies

# VertRefresh is in Hz unless units are specified.
# VertRefresh may be a comma separated list of discrete values, or a
# comma separated list of ranges of values.
# NOTE: THE VALUES HERE ARE EXAMPLES ONLY.  REFER TO YOUR MONITOR'S
# USER MANUAL FOR THE CORRECT NUMBERS.

    VertRefresh 56-75

EndSection


# **********************************************************************
# Graphics device section
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of graphics device sections may be present

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "VESA Framebuffer"
    Driver      "nvidia"
    #VideoRam    4096
    # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
EndSection

# **********************************************************************
# Screen sections
# **********************************************************************

# Any number of screen sections may be present.  Each describes
# the configuration of a single screen.  A single specific screen section
# may be specified from the X server command line with the "-screen"
# option.
Section "Screen"
    Identifier  "Screen 1"
    Device      "VESA Framebuffer"
    Monitor     "Samsung SyncMaster 930B"

# If your card can handle it, a higher default color depth (like 24 or 32)
# is highly recommended.

#   DefaultDepth 8
#   DefaultDepth 16
   DefaultDepth 24
#   DefaultDepth 32

# "1024x768" is also a conservative usable default resolution.  If you
# have a better monitor, feel free to try resolutions such as
# "1152x864", "1280x1024", "1600x1200", and "1800x1400" (or whatever your
# card/monitor can produce)

    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       8
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       16
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       24
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection
    Subsection "Display"
        Depth       32
        Modes "1280x1024" "1024x768" "800x600" "640x480"
    EndSubsection

EndSection

You will "have to write a modeline to work at their resolution," but that should be part of the joy of using Linux over Windows. It took me a little bit of work to get the information about these monitors and edit xorg.conf, but they both proved to work better in Linux than in Windows once I did that.

Here's more info on the AOC:

Code:

mingdao@silas:~$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 240, current 1680 x 1050, maximum 1680 x 1050
default connected 1680x1050+0+0 0mm x 0mm
   1680x1050      50.0*
   1400x1050      51.0     54.0
   1600x1024      52.0
   1440x900       53.0
   1280x1024      55.0     56.0
   1280x960       57.0     58.0
   1280x720       59.0
   1152x864       60.0
   1024x768       61.0     62.0     63.0
   832x624        64.0
   800x600        65.0     66.0     67.0     68.0     69.0     70.0
   800x512        71.0
   640x512        72.0     73.0
   640x480        74.0     75.0     76.0     77.0
   576x432        78.0
   512x384        79.0     80.0     81.0
   416x312        82.0
   400x300        83.0     84.0     85.0     86.0
   320x240        87.0     88.0     89.0

Code:

mingdao@silas:~$ glxgears
60726 frames in 5.0 seconds = 12145.139 FPS
73546 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14709.050 FPS
74324 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14864.702 FPS
75863 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15172.552 FPS
70357 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14071.358 FPS
68316 frames in 5.0 seconds = 13663.186 FPS
70619 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14123.630 FPS
75990 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15184.977 FPS
75957 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15191.284 FPS
75719 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15143.676 FPS
76231 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15246.026 FPS
74839 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14967.647 FPS
76420 frames in 5.0 seconds = 15283.961 FPS
71352 frames in 5.0 seconds = 14265.601 FPS

We don't play games on computers, so there is no comment about that problem. Besides, this is a Linux forum.

AOC monitor info

lazlow · 01-03-2008, 05:49 PM

I am running a Samsung syncmaster 940Bw (widescreen). At least with Fedora 8 there was no added hiccups. The extra workspace is extremely useful. Even playing 4:3 videos widescreen is not distracting. I think once you try it for a while you will really like it.

elliott678 · 01-03-2008, 07:33 PM

I picked up an HP w2207 22" widescreen and I love it, I believe they sell it in 19" and 20" models too. I didn't have to touch my xorg.conf when I moved from a 19" CRT to this, though I credit Nvidia for that.

pixellany · 01-03-2008, 07:43 PM

The "small" widescreens do not make sense to me--you can wind up getting less total area than a similarly-priced monitor with 4:3 aspect.

Setting up xorg.conf is not an issue--even if you do have to use a modeline.

I settled on the Viewsonic VP2030b---it seemed to have better specs than many of similar size. Watch out particularly for viewing angle. Some of the cheaper models do not do well when viewed from the side.

The best monitor out there (IMHO) is the Dell 24" wide screen. I have that at work---because they paid for it...

jiml8 · 01-03-2008, 08:49 PM

I have a 22" Mag widescreen on my system. My old 19" CRT failed and carried away the video card last spring. So I upgraded to an nVidia 7800 GS card and a new Mag widescreen LCD monitor. Supposed to be a 2ms device, but the manual provided with the device doesn't quite match the part number of the device and the manual says 5ms. Side to side viewing behavior is pretty good, but looking at it from below is quite bad.

The whole upgrade worked out of the box and has been perfect ever since. I picked it up for $260, and since that time I have not seen a 22" for the same price; I did really well.

fastTalker · 01-03-2008, 08:49 PM

I have bought multiple Samsung LCD monitors (for myself and family members) and have never had a problem with them . NO dead pixels especially. As for the widescreen resolutions, an nvidia card and the nvidia driver have always provided trouble free setup in linux.

Electro · 01-03-2008, 10:56 PM

Samsung LCD monitors are the best. If you care for 16.7 million colors, spend the time finding and the money on models with 8-bit LCD screens. The cheap LCD monitors are 6-bit which only provides 262 thousand colors. The difference is very, very noticeable. LCD monitors does look diffused, so I suggest looking for DLP or LCoS displays. Sony's SXRD, similar to LCoS, looks excellent. The response time of Sony's SXRD and DLP is very, very good. Better than LCD. Unfortunately, the sizes ranges from 50 inches and up, so does the price.

Creating modelines is not hard. Use gtf to help you.

I play UT2004 and I have no problems using the native resolution of my LCD monitor. My LCD monitor is in the notebook computer which uses a 6-bit display. UT2004 complains but it works fine.

jschiwal · 01-03-2008, 11:00 PM

If you have to come up with your own modeline, you can use the "gtf" program to generate one for you. Before my Laptops 1280x800 screen was supported, that is what I did.

fastTalker · 01-04-2008, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electro

LCD monitors does look diffused, so I suggest looking for DLP or LCoS displays. Sony's SXRD, similar to LCoS, looks excellent.

it is not really noticeable unless you are using a resolution lower than the monitor's native resolution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electro

The response time of Sony's SXRD and DLP is very, very good. Better than LCD. Unfortunately, the sizes ranges from 50 inches and up, so does the price.

i'm going to guess that hal8000b is looking for something he can sit on desk.