Computer Monitor Reviews, LCD Monitors vs CRT Monitors

By Phillip P. Daniel

Most people today have come to realize that most of their life will be spent staring into the face of a screen. Whether it's watching television or taking money out of an ATM, it is inherent to every modern person's existence that they will have to stare into the eyes of the glowing beast. Most people, such as myself and my fellow Newbie employees, spend more time then not sitting in front of one such piece of equipment and writing these little guides or reviews. That is why this here information is so frickin important. With the words written here, you can begin to understand what special glowing box won't cause your precious eyes to start bleeding out of the corners (something that actually happened to my fellow reviewer, Jason "The Southern Dandy" Dahlin). So before you plop down your hard earned scrilla on something that will give you glaucoma, read the following words…and bow down to me…Philip P Daniel!

Two Types of Monitors: CRT vs. LCD

There are generally two types of monitors that are popular amongst young people these days. First is what is slowly becoming a thing of the past, the CRT monitor.

CRT Monitors

CRT stands for cathode ray tube (not cool radical tubular as I once suspected) and is what most of the televisions that you have in bedrooms use as well. They are basically your run of the mill tube that shoots out an RGB (red green blue) spectrum and can have many different resolutions ranging from crappy to sweet. These big, heavy and cumbersome monsters generally handle both full motion video and graphic design better then their younger sibling, but are big, heavy and cumbersome monsters that are hard to transfer and generally take up large amounts of space on your desk. They tend to be the most modestly priced but are being phased out in most cases to make room for their sleeker, slimmer and more attractive brother.

The second type of monitor is the LCD, which is has been used for ages in laptops that date almost back to the middle ages.

LCD Monitors

LCD (which is liquid crystal display abbreviated) is the new craze that sweeping the nation, kind of like "The Swim" did back in the 50's and "The Robot" did in the eighties. As stated above, they have been used in laptops for quite a while now and are just recently making there way onto desks across the country. There are many advantages to these, the foremost being the fact that they tend to have a much higher resolution that can make even the smallest text look clear and the largest text look really clear. These monitors are also much more compact and can easily be placed on almost every surface. The only drawback is the fact that their increased resolution is so clear you will notice how pixilated and blocky some graphics on the web really are! As the technology advances, this has become much less of a problem and shouldn't discourage people from spending a little extra cash to get the pimp daddy LCD monitor of their dreams.

Bottom Line:

Like most reviews, this ends with the ancient saying: You get what you pay for. If you are willing to spend more money on an LCD monitor then I recommend that you do it, as your eyes will be thanking you later (although they will not be thanking you for watching Darma and Greg…what were you thinking!). CRT's are OK if you have a tight budget, but nothing can match the clarity and beauty of a new LCD monitor

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