gunsmoke on 23/12/2008 at 11:32

---

I live in Columbus Ohio. I have 3 CRT's that are extra. You can have your choice of one for free. THey are all 17".

gunsmoke on 23/12/2008 at 14:30

---

lemme check. Ok.

I have 2 Compaq. 1 is a silver and black 7600. 2 is a white MV520

The other is under some stuff and I can only read the brand name, not model #; it is a white AOC.

All are 17" CRTs and they work great. I know that at least one of them is 85 Hz. The others I believe are 72-75 Hz.

They aren't state of the art, but they work great and I have gamed and surfed on all of them and love them all. Worst case scenario, he could use them until he can find a really nice replacement, and still keep this as a backup for the future.

My wife would LOVE to get rid of these :devil: , but I NEED at least a backup or two. I am currently on a 19 " Dell that is 100 Hz and can do 1600x1200!!! It has great contrast and blacks, and I wouldn't sell it for $200.

gunsmoke on 23/12/2008 at 18:07

---

actually they do 1280x1024. I just tested them. Your research is off. I'll dig out the other (AOC).

baeuchlein on 23/12/2008 at 19:43

---

The problem seems to be affected by the monitor's temperature. Maybe a component inside is getting old.

I have seen things like that about three times now, and in each case the monitor was the source of the problem. However, two of these monitors still work, so yours may still live for several months or more - but it may fail tomorrow as well.

One of the three monitors here which had similar problems was a Fujitsu 15". It began to briefly change the picture size, just for a fraction of a second, and then the picture went back to the original size. The "shrunken" picture was only a few lines smaller than usual, but it could be an irritating effect.

At first, this mainly happened with one particular video card which definitely had some other problems with this monitor (and only with this one), while other cards went fine. But just when I began to think that the ancient video card was the culprit, it started to happen with other video cards as well. Several months later, when I returned from lunch, the monitor suddenly was dead. Resurrection spells did not work.

The other two monitors are among the latest CRT ones I have. These are cheap 14" Belinea 10 65 40 models. About a year ago, both began having sudden and short changes in picture size, just as the 15" before, but after some weeks, the monitors' brightness could also change, resulting in some annoying flickering effect. Flickering and size changes vary when the monitor warms up or when I gently knock on the case. The brightness knob itself does not seem to be the source of the flickering.

I believe that some component(s) in these monitors get old and will eventually fail, but since both monitors still work and I even have one spare CRT stored in the attic, there's no need to get a replacement now. I'll wait until they die of natural causes or flicker too much for my taste.

You said it would be a nuisance to exchange your graphics card. Can you take another computer (maybe even a laptop) to the monitor and attach it to check whether the problem is still present? That would allow you to do as little as possible in the room where your CRT is sitting.

If that's not possible, try to run some program which displays a lot of changing graphics on screen, maybe a demo or a long movie. That ensures that not only your monitor has to do some serious work, but your graphics card as well. See whether the monitor acts weird again. Then, repeat that, but turn the monitor off meanwhile (allowing it to cool down). Switch the monitor back on and see whether the problem is present almost immediately or rather after the monitor has warmed up.

If the problem exists only with a warmed up monitor and not with a cold one (or maybe vice versa), then the monitor must be the culprit, since the video card is operating in both cases. If, on the other hand, the monitor temperature does not affect the problem, then it could be the video card, and you should really try out another card (or computer, with another card inside as well) to make sure it's the card and not the monitor.

Unfortunately, a graphics card may be responsible for your problems as well (at least in theory), but still work without additional problems when playing games. The components sending the picture to your CRT may be independent from the ones that create the picture. The latter are the ones which suddenly get a lot of work to do if you switch from reading texts from the internet to playing a (not too old) computer game. However, if the card creates the problem, I'd assume that the parts sending the picture to the monitor are defective, and these are not too much more stressed if you play games instead of reading a text.

242 on 23/12/2008 at 20:04

---

It's monitor.

I bought used aperture grille CRT (NEC FE791sb) a few months ago for about 100USD, it's like new, perfect colors, clarity, and brightness/contrast. Any under 800USD LCD can't come close to it for games/graphics/animations. You won't find new decent CRT nowadays, but at least here people propose lot of used ones, often in excellent condition and dirty cheap. Check local internet billboards maybe. I recommend CRTs with Mitsubishi's aperture grille tubes (natural flat), shadow masks are generally considerably worse.