Disadvantages of buying 'display model' LCD monitor?

I’m in the market for an external monitor to run with my Thinkpad T400. This weekend I was doing some browsing and came across an LG L194WT marked down to 90 EUR from 209 EUR; thing is- it’s a display model.

I didn’t have a lot of time to study it as the store was closing, but from what I could tell it seemed in decent shape. It was hard to judge image quality since it was spliced with another display. I asked one of the employees how long it had been on the floor (displaying) and he said around 3-4 months.

I am really considering this display due to the fact that it’s small and somewhat “temporary” as I’m living abroad. I will be going back to the US in a few months so I was thinking it might be a better idea to get something cheaper than to invest in something more.

When I go back, what should I look for? Two things I will investigate will be dead pixels and burn in. What is the best way to scan for burn in? I’ll look for dead pixels on a plain black background.

Besides the two points mentioned above (and physical exterior condition), are there any other disadvantages to buying a display model? Will 3-4 months of being on in a store drastically reduce the life and/or brightness?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

My last 4 monitors were display items and never had any problem with them.
Philips 107E (CRT)- Was on display for over 6 months before i bought it. Lasted for almost 4 years before dieing due to a power surge.
Samsung 17" (CRT)- Display item for 3 months. Lasted 1 year before i sold it (still works atm from what i know)
Samsung 17" (LCD)- 3 months on display. Still works fine after 2+ years.
HP 20" (LCD)- 2 months on display. Been working fine for 2 months so far.

All of them were compared with brand new monitors and never noticed any difference in display quality.

So imo, if the price is good, go for it. Usually display items have the same warranty as new items (at least here in Portugal) so if it dies during it no big problem

 

Thanks!

And yes the warranty is 3 years just like the other monitors.

 

As long as it has the same warranty then go for it IMO.

 

it's a sweet deal, go for it!

 

In that case go for it. Worse case cenario you will need to give it a clean when you arrive home (3 months dust FTL) but apart from that its a safe buy.

 

If it was run non-stop for 4 months it would have a total of 2976 hours. LCDs are generally expected to get at least 60,000 or 100,000 hours depending on the model (assuming CCFL backlight, LEDs can last even longer). That means with a useful life of 60,000 hours it still has at least 95.04% of its life left, or a bit over 13 years if used for 12 hours a day.

If it is in good shape (no scratches, dings, color issues, dead pixels) then buy it, the only thing you don't need to worry about is it being 'worn out'. It will be perfectly fine in that reguard.

Edit: After looking for some info it turns out that LCDs don't last that long anymore for most brands, and 30,000 is the new average. Even so that means you ~6 years at 12 hours a day between average failure times. If your nice to your stuff, it will generally last longer.

 

wow guys thanks for all the feedback. Now I just hope it's still there when I go for it.

Greedy- you mentioned dust. I've never cleaned an lcd monitor, but would simply getting some compressed air do the trick?

And quickly, are there images or fast ways to check for burn-in? Like an all white background? Or do I have to be in the complete dark (which might not be possible).

Thanks again!

 

one advantage to buying the display model is you actually get to inspect it before you buy it. buying one in a box is a crapshoot as far as dead pixels, etc....

 

yea this is a great deal, you are good to go since you have that warranty, i guess the worst thing you can have now is maybe a few scratches.

 

Compressed air works fine. And a microfiber cloth+non abrasive cleaning product works wonders for those nasty fingerprints that most likely will be on the screen