i need a monitor recommendation

If somebody ask you for a monitor recommendation and the criteria is that it has large images (noting the fact that the user is use to a 800x600 resolution on a 17" screen), lcd (to fit in a college dorm room), inputs for an xbox 360 or other consoles, and perferably 19"+ (again for bigger images), what would you recommend?

 

One of those $199 movie projectors would work.

 

I'd avoid the 17-19" Dell monitors. Their Ultrasharps in that range have REALLY gone down hill with respect to display quality.

 

I might go for a LCD TV rather than a monitor.

 

LCD TVs typically have lower resolution yet cost more .

 

My 37" HD LCD is the best thing that ever happened to my computer period, but too big for a dorm room

When I was in the Marines I was seriously considering a projector myself so that I could have both a good size screen and be able to take it with me when I moved without any problems. I ended up just getting a cheap TV from another marine that was being stationed somewhere else used it untill it was my time to go, then sold it to somebody else so the idea was scraped.

Having a projector will have some fallbacks tho, for one they are not really cheap, and 2 they produce alot of heat and you will need an area to use it in, and a wall or screen to project it on.

These days LCDs are dirt cheap on places like newegg.com so its up to you to just get a Acer type quality monitor when they go on sale for less than 200$ or maybe invest in something nicer.

 

hmm, any specific lcd that fit my description?

 

A 17" or 19" LCD with 1280x1024 or 1440x900 (this would be widescreen) would probably suit the user best. You might also want to, depending on size preferences, look at a 22" 1680x1050 as well (though text MIGHT be a bit small).

Honestly, I'd suggest you take a trip to Best Buy & Circuit City to see some for yourself. Personal experience trumps recommendations any day.

 

22" are a bad spot to go, they are usually TFT panels and in a bad price point. Going up to 24" gives you better panels and a higher resolution making the price more justifiable.

In you case stick with a 17 or 19" LCD and you will be good to go. Maybe go look around at Best Buy or something but probably not a good idea to buy from there, online you can get much better deals.

 

Avoid the E2207WFP (I think that's the right name...its the 22" Dell). However, you MIGHT want to see if you can physically see a E207WFP...its the budget 20", but I think it might be worth the price ($239). To be honest, I kind of like it...but I need a few days to be sure.

 

The problem is that I don't have time to go out to a best buy. Would anybody know of places to compare font size in screenshot? I tried looking around for comparisons, but couldn't find a good image.

 

You said you are hooking up a 360 to it? That limits a good chunk of your options. Do not get a monitor that displays 1680x1050 (most 20" and 22"). Nor do I think it supports 1440x900 (I could be wrong on this one, do a google search). I have a Dell 2407WFP, and it works great on my 360. But here is the kicker too, I have the 4th revision of it. And it is the only one that actually does 1:1 pixel mapping. The revisions before all had a hard time with the 360.

Just about any monitor WILL "work" with the 360, but if you cannot match up supported resolutions, it will look bad. Also keep in mind, that if possible you always want to send the monitor it's native resolution. But for standard 2D (as in not playing games), you could turn the resolution down and it will look "ok".

 

well, i noticed that most of these monitors doesn't have a tv tuner. would that make it hard to plug in an xbox 360 to it?

 

No, TV tuner would be for tuning in a TV signal.

I dont think I have seen any electronic device that required a channel to be tunned in to play since my nintendo back in the day.

 

1:1 is great, but the most important thing really is just that it has aspect scaling, I have never had an issue with un-native resolutions on any of my monitors with there built in scaling it looks great. If they didn't have aspect scaling tho I wouldn't want to use it, but there are cheap ways around that.

 

but, won't i need the red blue and white input for the basic system like gamecube?

 

composite inputs are yellow, red, and white
component inputs are red, blue, and green with red and white as audio.
if you want to play gamecube on the lcd, you'll need something with composite/component inputs depending if you use analog out or digital out.
you'll usually find these inputs on westinghouse monitors, the higher end dell 24 inchers and some others. beware though, composite looks like $%#& on an lcd.

 

oh dang. is there a good fit for me where composite would look alright or do they all look like crap on an lcd.