What should I know about LCD monitors? $$

I'm finally ready to move on from my trusty old CRT with the broken power button to little LCD. I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to debrief me on some of the things I should know about before I make a decision on the purchase. I'm thinking about a pretty standard 19" VGA. But there are technical specs that I don't quite fully comprehend the meaning and value of. Anyone point me in the right direction? Or perhaps someone would have a suggestion as to a monitor around the 2-3.5 hundred range?

Tx,
Greg

 

Hit the magazines is a good start. For example:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/139/widescreen-tfts/products.html

Viewsonic are usually well received by reviewers. I've been an Iiyama fan since I sold them ten years ago. I use them at work and at home.

One thing to consider is what you use your computer for. If you enjoy photography, colour depth might be most important to you. However, if you are into gaming then fps (frames per second) will be important. A good magazine review should point you in the right direction as to monitors that would suit your needs.

Personally I don't think the picture quality is as good with LCD as it is with a good CRT. So watch out; if you go for a cheap TFT you may be quite disappointed with the sharpness of small characters on a page. You need to get a good TFT to match a decent CRT. However, they certainly take up a lot less desk space, and are easier to drive at high resolutions (one of my systems with onboard graphic struggled to keep a picture steady on a 19" CRT. It's fine now I have a 19" TFT).

Also check you get one with inputs that match the outputs from your video card. Some only have DVI-D inputs, which will a problem if you have a VGA video card!