Hi y'all
Just wanted to know if the screen or viewing area of a 15" flat panel monitor is comparable to that of a normal, CRT-type 17" one.

I suppose heat produced by the flat panel is also mech less?

Looking to upgrade my PC and saw a good deal from Dell.

Any other caveats I should be aware of regarding flat panel monitors?

Thanks.

Only that there is no data supporting the longevity of a flat panel moniter.
(but then I have had a CRT die in just over a year's time...top name brand too!)

The viewing area of a 15" flat is not comparable to a 17" CRT according to my resident computer guru, KHaN.

He says if you go with the CRT to get a flat screen model.

Flat screens like the ones on laptops SUCK for gameing.They dont have the refresh rate or the resolution that a good CRT can give you. If you just use your machine for work and web surfing then go for the flat screen,but if you are into shooters or NWN I would go with the CRT.

<font color="#66cc99">Just a thumbs up to what Hunter just said, flat panels are fine for work environment, but if you are going to game, just say no! </font>

Its all about veiwable inches. GO for a 17" over the 15" any time. Flat screen is nice, but if you set the sidepin (the setting that adjusts the width of the middle of the display) properly and sit central to the monitor theres not much distortion anyway.

Laptop displays are of course terrible for gameing, but they are improving. If you dont have much space the low refresh and limited resolution might be worth it for the extra space a flat panel can give you. Otherwise stick with the 60 years old CRT technology.

I agree with The Hunter of Jahanna DONT buy a flat screen monitor if you do much gaming on your pc it can`t handle grapic modes in games and if you look at it from the sides you dont se anything so go for crt monitor and the wiew is alomost the same on 15 inc flat screen as a 17 crt!! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Go for a CRT flat-screen. I've got 2 19-inchers, and they're great. The problem with LCDs is

1) Expensive as heck
2) Don't refresh fast enough, get blurring
3) Can only run well at one or two resolutions