Build Your Own

Home PC Computer System

While others extoll the virtues of LCD monitors versus the bulkier CRT display, I personally have little to no opinion on the matter. In my opinion it comes down to personal preference, life expectancy, and cost. But heres the rundown on what others say and you can decide for yourself whats best for the home PC computer system you're building:

Displays

When choosing a display for your computer, you have two key choices of technology: the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) screen, or an LCD screen. Both technologies have their advantages and disadvantages: CRTs are generally preferred by gamers and graphic artists, for both the price at which they can be bought and their generally superior response times, but this is offset by the added size and weight that a large screen requires. LCDs are generally more expensive than CRTs, but high-end models are generally preferred for tasks which need higher definition, such as movie editing, and are also popular amongst people with little-to-no desk space, as they do not need as much space as a similarly-sized CRT.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Displays) Panels

LCD's have the advantage of being a completely digital setup, when used with the DVI-D digital connector. When running at the screen's native resolution, this can result in the most stable and sharp image available on current monitors. Many LCD panel displays are sold with an analog 15-pin VGA connector or, rarely, with an analog DVI-I connector. Such displays will be a bit fuzzy, and are generally best avoided for a similarly-sized CRT. If you want an LCD display, be sure to choose a digital setup if you can; however, manufacturers have chosen to use this feature for price differentiation. The prime disadvantage of LCDs is "dead pixels", which are small failing areas on your monitor, which can be very annoying, but generally aren't covered under warranty - this can make purchasing LCD displays a financial risk. LCDs are generally OK for fast-paced gaming, but you should be sure that your screen has a fairly fast response time (of 12 ms or lower) if you want to play fast games. Nearly all flat panels sold today meet this requirement, some by a factor of 3. When picking an LCD, keep in mind that they are designed to display at one resolution only, so, to reap the benefits of your screen, your graphics card must be capable of displaying at that resolution. That in mind, they can display lower resolutions with a black frame around the outside (which means your entire screen isn't filled), or by stretching the image (which leads to much lower quality). Running at a higher resolution than your monitor can handle will either make everything on the screen smaller, at a significant quality drop, or will display only a part of the screen at a time.

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Displays

The other key type of display is the CRT or Cathode Ray Tube display. While CRT technology is older it often outperforms LCD technology in terms of response times, color reproduction, and brightness levels, although LCD displays are quickly catching up. CRTs can be very inexpensive, as many manufacturers have finished with the older technology and are happy to sell the surplus at low prices. There are two types of CRT displays, shadow mask and aperture grill. An aperture grill display is brighter and perfectly flat in the vertical direction, but is more fragile and has one or two mostly-unnoticeable thin black lines (support wires) running across the screen. CRTs are generally 2-4 times as deep as similarly-sized LCDs, and can weigh around 10 times as much, but this normally isn't a concern unless you will be moving your computer a lot. If you purchase a CRT display over the internet, shipping is much quicker, which is good for gaming, however, can cause headaches in some people at lower rates, so it may be ideal to pick a screen offering higher update frequencies at whichever resolutions you intend to use. Most people who have problems with low frequencies (60Hz) find it preferable to have at least 80Hz at the intended resolution. Some won't be bothered by this at all however.

Note that sometimes the CRTs with a flat screen instead of curved are called "flat screens" so this is not to be confused with the term "flat panel" used to refer to LCDs.

Samsung 225BW Black 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor