I'm asking this not for me, but for a friend on a different platform. They're looking for a decent CRT monitor to go with their side computer, which runs Windows XP. They would prefer a resolution somewhere around 1600x1200, but they say anything above 1024x768 would do. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
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What are some good options for CRT monitors?
- Thread starter Drayson
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WindowsVista64x
New Member
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- Aug 31, 2024
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I'm the friend they were talking about
When I said those specifications I didn't actually do much research into it, and afterward I realized that 1600x1200 monitors are pretty expensive
Just something 1024x768 or higher, any aspect ratio works for me
When I said those specifications I didn't actually do much research into it, and afterward I realized that 1600x1200 monitors are pretty expensive
Just something 1024x768 or higher, any aspect ratio works for me
NeXT
Veteran Member
I think at this point there really isn't a lot of "cheap" options.
Mind you, I grew up and built machines during the CRT phase-out of the mid-2000's so I got my hands on cheap products from KDE, Mitsubishi and Viewsonic but I could never get my hands on Sony monitors (they really were not common on consumer PC's) until the higher-end workstations form the likes of IBM and Silicon Graphics started throwing them (21" GDM variants) into deals for free.
If you want a refresh above 75hz, you don't find it without an exponential cost increase. If you want Trinitron, likewise. Grab the first thing you see where they don't ask $75 for the jug, see if it does 1024x768 (which is idea because I've found the higher resolution monitors start to get fuzzy with age) and you're good to go.
Mind you, I grew up and built machines during the CRT phase-out of the mid-2000's so I got my hands on cheap products from KDE, Mitsubishi and Viewsonic but I could never get my hands on Sony monitors (they really were not common on consumer PC's) until the higher-end workstations form the likes of IBM and Silicon Graphics started throwing them (21" GDM variants) into deals for free.
If you want a refresh above 75hz, you don't find it without an exponential cost increase. If you want Trinitron, likewise. Grab the first thing you see where they don't ask $75 for the jug, see if it does 1024x768 (which is idea because I've found the higher resolution monitors start to get fuzzy with age) and you're good to go.
Maikudou
Experienced Member
1600x1200 were not cheap then, and not very common, mostly for professionals and in sizes of 20” plus, if the discuss refresh rates above 60Hz, 75 is minimum for most folks 85 is good, 100 is for very rich people.
Basically with crt nowadays you just grab whatever is available. All mid 2000s 17 and 19 are all good enough, in contrary of what TrInItRoN fanatics would tell you. Condition of a particular unit is more important. I second NeXT saying that the ones which are not top of the line LaCie or Radius become not very good above 1024x768. Just make sure you’re not buying early VGA capable of 640x480 max.
Basically with crt nowadays you just grab whatever is available. All mid 2000s 17 and 19 are all good enough, in contrary of what TrInItRoN fanatics would tell you. Condition of a particular unit is more important. I second NeXT saying that the ones which are not top of the line LaCie or Radius become not very good above 1024x768. Just make sure you’re not buying early VGA capable of 640x480 max.
The first 21" CRT I got my paws on was a complete false start because it was synch-on-green fixed frequency, I think it was badged RasterOps. This was probably Socket 370 era, so it was "you might be able to buy a weird and expensive and slow PCI video card to make it work with a mountain of caveats." and the schematic I found on Usenet to make a synch adapter wasn't enough to make the monitor live. I wonder if there are any modern solutions for scan conversion to make these monitors more useful.
I'd suspect given the choice, workstation monitors might be a good place to look-- they probably skipped the last couple generations of underengineered low-end CRTs designed to fill in cheap PC bundles, and if they require things like 13W3 to HD15 adapters, it might have kept them from being picked by people looking for turnkey cheap PC monitors in the last 20 years,
I'd suspect given the choice, workstation monitors might be a good place to look-- they probably skipped the last couple generations of underengineered low-end CRTs designed to fill in cheap PC bundles, and if they require things like 13W3 to HD15 adapters, it might have kept them from being picked by people looking for turnkey cheap PC monitors in the last 20 years,
thisisamigaspeaking
Experienced Member
Budget is the biggest question here, and how patient you are willing to be. Search ebay for monitors in your area with free local pickup. I think true flat aperture grill monitors are worth the money, but as with the rest of retro computing, there are a lot of overpriced units on eBay. I like the Sony CPD-E200 and derivatives (and the larger variants) and you can find them at a good price, especially say a Dell-branded one, but it may take patience and diligence. CPD-E200 can nominally do 1600x1200x65Hz but 17" and a .24mm pitch aren't going to show all those pixels.
I'd rather spend twice the cost at least of a random SVGA monitor from the mid-90s for a true flat aperture grill from the 2000s era, but much beyond that it gets to be diminishing returns.
Don't buy a monitor sight unseen without at least one good clear image of it displaying video. Otherwise the value is: e-waste.
I'd rather spend twice the cost at least of a random SVGA monitor from the mid-90s for a true flat aperture grill from the 2000s era, but much beyond that it gets to be diminishing returns.
Don't buy a monitor sight unseen without at least one good clear image of it displaying video. Otherwise the value is: e-waste.
This is for 17" crt search on ebay. Certainly location applies.
For years "gamers" have been drooling over large CRTs, the prices are inflated because there is enough demand at those high prices. Same like Voodoo, but a bit slower to sell, because of their nature and size, still sell fast enough that prices won't go down.
As amigaspeaking says, patience is your friend.
I got a Syncmaster for free from a collegue who had it gathering dust in the garage. It's got a perfectly good picture 1024x768 at 85Hz. I'm not sure why I should pay 300 euros or more to get maybe 100Hz refresh.
So my recommendation is just wait until some normal 17" pops up for free.
It's going to be a secondary screen after all. High refresh rates and best in class picture quality like those Trinitrons were used by professionals who stared at pixels for 8 hours daily.
Nowadays "gamers" buy them but that was not the case back in the day.
thisisamigaspeaking
Experienced Member
I think prices for 17" CRT are much different than that in the US with most being sold in the $125 range, some as low as $75 or even $50. If you live in a major metropolitan area (I understand not everyone does) it's just a matter of waiting until someone will offer one that they don't want to ship, at a good price, including Trinitrons and flat Trinitrons. In the $300 range you're looking at 19" Trinitrons here.
Some of the pressure on CRT prices from current gamers has been alleviated by OLED gaming monitors which have very good response times, unlike LCDs.
thisisamigaspeaking
Experienced Member
Correct, but people were buying 1600x1200 CRTs to run current games, not just retro. Some of it was also preference for 5:4 or 4:3 displays, but it's the widescreen CRTs that really command a high price. OLED eliminates a lot of the advantages of CRTs, in fast response time and black blacks, so highly competitive gamers may be finally making the move to digital displays.
Sure, for retro, it can be nice to have. I don't use my 17" Trinitron personally, it doesn't fit in the space I have at my desk. I am doing all my retro at my desk(s) now, so I can look at my other monitors and computers, and so I can use my comfortable chair. It was great to look at some games on the CRT, its tube is in great shape, but the size and weight just are not practical.
I use a 19" (or is it 20"?) 5:4 1280x1024 with VGA and DVI inputs and am in the process of building up a full array of scalers and such to convert every signal to DVI/HDMI. Used Extron equipment is proving very valuable and cost effective. There are a ton of cheap used 5:4 LCDs with VGA inputs.
If I had 15KHz retro equipment I might try to get a 32" RGB/SCART capable multisystem TV, but even there, there are very nice scalers for that (OSSC, Retrotink, etc.) and I would more realistically just put them on my 48" OLED in the living room and accept the 100% totally black bars on the screen.
I see CRT as a luxury item. If one has the space to build full retro systems with their original monitors that's great, I don't have that much space. I have 8 retro computers, most with their own unique keyboards and mice, and nowhere near enough space to set them up as original.
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Lately I have been collecting more modern systems and testing/fixing GPUs so I have been using LCD monitors.
I still have a large collection of CRTs for my older systems I collected over the years. From memory I have a few CGA monitors including a Tandy, a couple C64 monitors that I also use with my Atari 800, an Amiga 1084 that is currently connected to my C128 plus a 1080? that used with my A2000's. Both the Atari color and mono for my 1040 ST, a few Apple CRTs, various VGA including a NEC 3Ds I need to fix and a bunch of 15 and 17 Sony Trinitrons along with Gateway2000 and generics. I also have some oddballs like Sony broadcast 13" monitor, fixed frequency Supermac 20" that uses BNCs (heavy as hell), a Hitachi 20" that was used with an AVID video composer setup that can only do 800x600 I think but does sync to 15khz Amigas.
The Sony 19" 520 which I junked when it failed ages ago was the largest, I could fit on the L shaped computer desk I still use (both because of weight and back clearance). I passed on cheap 24" Widescreen Trinitrons because they were too heavy and needed massive space, same with professional 20"+ CAD monitors.
It wasn't that long ago I was worried that I would pay a big chunk of change to dispose of my PC CRTs when I get bored with them. For many years nobody would touch them, and they ended up in the trash.
I still have a large collection of CRTs for my older systems I collected over the years. From memory I have a few CGA monitors including a Tandy, a couple C64 monitors that I also use with my Atari 800, an Amiga 1084 that is currently connected to my C128 plus a 1080? that used with my A2000's. Both the Atari color and mono for my 1040 ST, a few Apple CRTs, various VGA including a NEC 3Ds I need to fix and a bunch of 15 and 17 Sony Trinitrons along with Gateway2000 and generics. I also have some oddballs like Sony broadcast 13" monitor, fixed frequency Supermac 20" that uses BNCs (heavy as hell), a Hitachi 20" that was used with an AVID video composer setup that can only do 800x600 I think but does sync to 15khz Amigas.
The Sony 19" 520 which I junked when it failed ages ago was the largest, I could fit on the L shaped computer desk I still use (both because of weight and back clearance). I passed on cheap 24" Widescreen Trinitrons because they were too heavy and needed massive space, same with professional 20"+ CAD monitors.
It wasn't that long ago I was worried that I would pay a big chunk of change to dispose of my PC CRTs when I get bored with them. For many years nobody would touch them, and they ended up in the trash.
thisisamigaspeaking
Experienced Member
I threw away a 17" Trinitron after I got an LCD in the 2000s. It was the low end model (of true flats) with no tilt-swivel base but still it was a waste in retrospect.
Bentendo64
Experienced Member
What is your location? I've got one or two low-end 17ers I'd be willing to part with pretty cheap, but not willing to ship. The one hooked up to my computer I use at 1152x864, 72Hz. They could definitely use a tune-up though. Text is a little hard to read.