"Unfortunately, you are blessed with extreme 'Gamma' radiation also by using a CRT."Unfortuntely for your credibility, this statement is completely false. Please read this article about the very topic:http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/dis...d-guide_17.htmlA snippet:"4) Next to the X-ray radiation goes gamma radiation with quantum energies of tens of megaelectron-volts. It is created during nuclear fission reactions or as deceleration radiation when particles of energies of tens of MeV are being slowed down. Evidently, there are no nuclear reactions going on inside the monitor case, and there are no million-volt voltages in it, so it cannot emit gamma radiation."Were you getting "extreme gamma exposure" for all these years I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to read well enough to type your post!Cheers

Similar and the same is different hoho. I do understand the idea of sharper--less diffusion between the phosphor and the glass that happens with CRTs vs LCDs. I use an LCD at work BTW and while the edge of a single pixel diffuses light less, the overall image couldn't possibly compete with this screen I am looking at now at home. But with this particular model I am using at home, not the lesser one, but this one, the .22 grille pitch and other elements offset this quite well as you are starting with a much tighter resolution. Plus, there are zero viewing angle issues that you have with your best PC LCD. The real world is analogue not digital--it's why digital photography still isn't quite as good as the best traditional photography, though it's certainly getting close I guess. Yes, I would agree that sometime in the next few years some LCDs will outperform this CRT in terms of IQ that is. Don't think we'll see one with the sort of grille pitch as this for anytime soon. Too expensive. Honestly, were you comparing this exact model? BTW, they don't even make the .22 grille pitch model anymore.Plus, response time? A non issue. Anyway, I am glad I don't feel the need to switch to an LCD at this point, because unless I see 12ms or better response time, and 1600x with some sort of dot pitch better than the Sony SDM-HS94P/B that is def at the top of the heap, I am happy to hang on to this behemoth! Hopefully it won't die before my desired LCD specs arrive. Noel

I use the Samsung Syncmaster 213T It's a 21.3" LCD, native resolution of 1600 x 1200.I have it connected using the DVI connector to a Radeon 9800 Pro.The specs say the response time is 25ms but I have seen no problems with ghosting on either FS9 or any of my FPS games.IQ is amazing. Would not go back to a CRT now.I think you can pick them up for $899 these days.Regards,Glenn

Watching the hairs stand up on the back of your hand is PROOF of my warning. This dosen't happen with LCD.I rest my case. Next you will telling me that Microwave ovens don't leak!!!!!I am a registered 'Radio Ham' I sat and passed an examination that confirms I understand about these things!I won't be suffering your headaches by sitting close to your CRT.Note; Prolonged exposure to Gamma rays promotes Cancer of the bone marrow.It really dosen't matter to me! I know what I want to use. Carry on.All the best,Dave.'Three greens and soft landings'

Well said, Dave! Got a good chuckle out of that response.JS

I was not in the market for a new monitor, was quite happy with my 17" Sony Trinitron CRT. But after Tom got his ViewSonic I got jealous and started looking around. Tom had done some research and recommended the Samsung 172X. I got brave and bought it, and have never regretted it. I've viewed the two monitors side-by-side, and now consider a CRT unuseable. Some reviews will say that CRTs give you truer, richer colors, and "you might want to use one if you do graphics work", but in my opinion that's nonsense. The LCD is far better in clarity and focus, and there's no shortage of anything else. I highly recommend LCD monitors, IF they're a quality piece of equipment. I paid about $500 for this 17-incher. The vendors are darn near giving away CRT monitors now, for good reason... no one much wants them anymore.Tom is quite correct about the response time... get the fastest you can afford. With a flightsim (or any gaming), you probably won't be happy with a 25-30ms response time.[table][tr][td valign=top]http://www.avsim.com/other/usaribbon.gif[/td][td valign=center]Bob "FlyBert" StilesAVSIM Moderator[/b][/td][/tr][/table]"Don't stall on me, I have to soar!"~Richard Harvey, 1/21/2003

Bob:Helpful post, many thanks!Wow, I love this forum!JS

Hey, Tom:What do you think of this LCD monitor? It's 16ms response time as well:http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktopd...p201b/index.htmAppreciate your view and anybody else jump in if you have any advice on this.Thanks!JS

>Is that what you just got as part of your new system? I guess it might go nicely with my DELL Ultrasharp 19" LCD....That's it. I bought it not as part of the Dell package but separately with my 3.6 GHz HT 800 FSB system (1 gig and Radeon X800XT 256 mb card). I'm using the DVI connection. The monitor is extra special because of the additional USB ports on it.

You may be a Radio Ham, but I think you are mixing gamma rays and gamma correction. There are no gamma rays that comes out of a CRT. There are no x-rays and no micro-waves either (see ARPANSA Technical Report, "Video Display Terminals - Health Concerns and Radiation Emissions" (ARPANSA/TR092)).The only reason I contest your statements is that they are not accurate, and you are creating false reasons for people to move to LCDs. Image quality, unit weight, electricity consumption, and more overall electromagnetic radiation (in the safe bands, NOT GAMMA RAYS) should be reason enough.And further, I get no headaches, though some do. Cheers

A poster talked about response time. I've been playing Doom III (the demo), Far Cry and Splinter Cell. I played these games on my Dell CRT 19". And I can tell you, particularly Far Cry (since it is such a beautiful game as well), hands down my new Dell Ultrasharp slaps silly in terms clarity and sharpness the CRT and there is no noticeable "ghosting" or other aberrations typically ascribed to LCD's. Now I don't know the response time but there should be no concern whatsoever with this LCD.

JS,"What do you think of this LCD monitor?"Very cool. It wouldn't fit in the slot on my desk but that is no concern for you. It has a more conventional computer aspect ratio. My ViewSonic & Bob's Samsung are both 1280X1024 which is a bit taller than the "standard" 4:3 we are used to. 1280X960 would be 4:3. It looks pretty great to me. If you have no problem with the $900 price tag and have the desktop space I'd say go for it. :)

Allow me to correct myself. That one would fit into my monitor space. I'd have to raise the shelf but the width is 17.6"... would leave .2" on either side. :-lolBut my wife would kill me if I replaced a fully functional (and pretty dern good) monitor that was only a few months old. :-eekAt some future time (in a galaxy far, far, away) I might relegate this one to as you put it "undocked functions" on the analog line and bring in a big gun like that for my main screen.In the mean time I have too many places my money needs to go. Like my new convertible:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/105130.jpgThe '02 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder on the right is new to me... the '88 RX-7 Convertible beside it was my trade in. I just have too many hobbies. ;)I do like that monitor. If you decide to get it I hope it serves you well! :)

Thanks Tom. I shall reflect further and see where it leads....JS

I take your point about overall image quality and looking outside the cockpit window it is hard to argue convincingly that the LCD is better. However the thing that struck me was how much sharper the various PMDG panel views are with the LCD - particularly the 2D ones. I can easily read numbers that are only just discernable with the CRT. Also the FS Navigator window is much sharper with the LCD. But in my case I need to replace my second monitor and with LCDs rapidly overtaking CRTs in all aspects there would need to be a very good reason to continue with two large CRT monitors on my desk. Never-the-less after reading some recent articles on Tom's Hardware it became clear that choosing an LCD monitor is far from straight forward and that gains in response times have been achieved at the expense of other factors. Bruceb