 People often ask me what type of monitor I recommend they buy - CRT, TFT or LCD.
These types of monitors have their own distinct set of advantages and disadvantages, which will be explained below.
CRT Monitors
A CRT monitor, sometimes referred to as a “Cathode Ray Tube” monitor, was the standard type of monitor used before roughly 2002, and many systems still use these monitors. They utilise the same type of technology as standard TVs, by means of projection.
Advantages
CRT monitors are usually viewed as better for gaming, they have almost instantaneous response, and suffer from no ghosting.
CRT monitors are a lot cheaper than their alternatives.
CRT monitors generally support higher resolutions for their size, it isn’t difficult to find a 15? CRT monitor with support for upto 1600×1280.
CRT monitors are the most durable available, their outer screen is usually made of glass meaning it can withstand quite a battering!
CRT monitors have very wide viewing angles, which means the screen can be looked at from near enough any angle without there being any distortion or inversion of colours.
Disadvantages
CRT monitors are falling out of favour, with TFTs becoming more popular. This means it is becoming harder to find CRTs as time goes on.
CRTs are bulky, weigh a lot, and take up a lot of room in comparison with flatscreen monitors.
CRT monitors are usually equipped with a VGA cable rather than a DVI, and so without the use of a special connector (found for around £5), are incompatible with most cutting edge graphics cards.
Size - it is generally quite hard/expensive to find a good CRT monitor over 22? in diameter, this is not the case with LCD/TFT.
TFT & LCD Monitors
These monitors are slowly becoming the norm for most newer systems, a lot of people favouring them over CRT monitors thanks to massive recent improvements in their technology.
Advantages
TFT monitors are generally easy to find, most shops stock them in all shapes and sizes.
TFT/LCD monitors take up less room than their CRT counterparts, as they employ flatscreen technology allowing for there to be little depth to the casing of the monitor. This is ideal for when space is at a premium.
TFT/LCD monitors are widely available in most sizes, anything from 14? to 30? is common.
LCD monitors often come bundled with TV inputs, and can be doubled as both a PC monitor and a TV
Disadvantages
LCD monitors generally come equipped with a DVI interface, and not a VGA, and so are not backwards compatible with older systems
Inch for inch, LCD/TFTs are generally more expensive than CRTs
TFTs generally have smaller viewing angles, which means that if the screen is viewed from a side or above, there may be some colour inversion.
TFT/LCDs are prone to dead pixels, which is where a pixel on the screen doesn’t work properly. As this is so expensive to fix, it is usually cheaper to buy a new monitor. CRTs do not suffer from this.
TFT/LCDs are not very durable, with very soft and easily damaged screens.
TFT/LCDs with higher response times often suffer from “ghosting” in games, which is where some of an past frame remains in the next frame, creating a “ghost” effect in anything that moves.
The above lists seem to suggest that CRTs have less disadvantages than TFT/LCDs, but this may not be the case. To some people, saving space might mean a lot, and so TFTs may be the ideal choice.
It has been suggested by some that CRTs are beter for gaming, and this is why I included it in the above lists, but as technology is progressing, the response time and picture quality of TFTs is improving exponentially, meaning that they are becoming more suitable for gaming. Also, all high-end graphics cards have DVI outputs, and so for a truly high quality picture, a DVI compatible monitor is the ideal choice, TFT and LCDs being the only feasible choice for this.
TFT vs LCD
TFT and LCDs also come into conflict, people are often unaware which one to choose, so to keep things simple, I like to use this as a rule of thumb:
TFTs are good where gaming and general PC usage is the main function, whereas LCDs make for good entertainment systems, and are, in my opinion, better for watching movies on. LCDs are also better for larger monitors (24? plus), whereas standard monitor sizes (21? or less) are better left to TFT
There are often arguments on which type of monitor carries the better picture quality, but this is usually down to the quality of the actual monitor, rather than the type of monitor. TFTs, however, are renowned for having larger viewing angles than LCDs, and because TFTs are becoming the de facto monitor for most PCs, there is a greater variety of them available. Some people have also noticed that TFTs last longer than LCDs, but this may simply be down to the care taken with the handling of the monitor by the end user.
Also, if you choose a TFT/LCD over a CRT, look for the lowest possible response time. 8ms is considered average, any higher, and ghosting will be a major problem in games.
Hope this helps you choose a monitor.
Enjoy myLot.
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