I have CRTs but basically assume the tube is a wear item, and I also have a CRT with the same symptoms you describe. Supposedly it involves high voltage power supply capacitors, but the monitor with the problem uses plastic snaps to open and close instead of screws, so troubleshooting it is very annoying.

I have several NOS Lenovo LCDs that are 1280x1024.

I also got, as a test bench monitor, an Acer 22CV1Q 1920x1080. It has VGA input and displays all these resolutions as well. The size and aspect ratio is awkward for DOS era screens obviously. It does have an option to not stretch 4:3 resolutions, but it considers VGA text mode and 320x200 games as widescreen.

960x540 and 1280x720 scale beautifully on it. Problem is, the only program I can convince to use those resolutions is XFree86, because it exposes the Modeline directly. Perhaps the Cirrus 542x Windows drivers could be hacked to display them, but as of yet I haven't figured out how, and suspect they may use Int 10h to switch resolutions and so the modesetting code isn't to be found in there. I tried PowerStrip with a Cirrus 544x and 546x, because I'd heard of it as a good tool for custom resolutions, but has random crashes and doesn't seem to allow me to enter a completely custom Modeline with a Cirrus.

I have some CRTs, but don't use them often due to their size and weight. They are just too large, and modern stands so they don't take up a whole desk won't support them.

Right now my go to is an OSSC feeding into a 1440p display the support FreeSync. Lots of things scale into 1440p well, and FreeSync seems to let it be a little more lenient with Refresh Rates. Modern flat panels are just so much better than legacy ones, it's hard to rationalize sticking with the old washed out ghosting panels.

I've yet to find a satisfactory replacement for CRT monitors.

I have a pile of old CRTs, but at least half of them need work. They are one of the more challenging piece of retro hardware to maintain, but it can be done. They are dangerous too, so you have to properly discharge them if you ever open one up.

When it comes to replacing them, you have either the option of older LCDs if you want something in a proper aspect ratio (4:3), or newer LCDs with scalers, but then you have to deal with widescreen or ultrawide form factor.

I've tried maybe a dozen or so older 4:3 LCDs. There are even some that support native 70Hz (for DOS), but with older LCDs you have to deal with worse display technology and wear-and-tear that comes with used displays.

I also backed the Checkmate retro monitor hoping it might be a solution. While they have a nice aesthetic in terms of case design, the internals are terrible for retro PC use. And unfortunately guy who made them is clueless about PCs in general, so I don't think we'll ever get a solution there.

Shponglefan wrote on Yesterday, 23:39:

newer LCDs with scalers

Why jump to scalers though--genuine question--when there are brand new $70 LCDs being made with VGA input, and no trickery wrt 70 Hz or anything like that? The only downside is they are huge and 1920x1080 rather than 1280x1024

I haven't used one since about 2008. I had moved to LCDs around 2005 but kept the Samsung Syncmaster 19" around for awhile for the old machine builds but I lost interest in using it.

I had a 50" plasma TV for a long time. I enjoyed that thing a lot for old consoles and old PC games. Unfortunately the panel died last year.

https://www.arcooda.com/buy/26-inch-Arcooda-4 … x2160-4K--20217

And unfortunately guy who made them is clueless about PCs in general, so I don't think we'll ever get a solution there.

and grumpy and can only communicate via video which made the Kickstarter a torture for me as getting vital information often needed me to sit through countless uninteresting stuff. And then he wondered why people didn't use his kickstarter -> order page conversion correctly (or at all).
Sorry for the rant 😀

I don't care for CRTs personally, I have a pretty core memory of my dad replacing the CRT used for the family PC in the 2000s with an LCD and being amazed at how much better all my games looked. That has stuck with me and frankly I've never understood the obsession with CRTs some people have.

I search Ebay for new in box CRT's all the time. Last year I picked up a new Lenovo 17inch for $165 after shipping, still deals to be found.

I've got a 15inch HP in my cart right now.

jakethompson1 wrote on Today, 00:15:

Why jump to scalers though--genuine question--when there are brand new $70 LCDs being made with VGA input, and no trickery wrt 70 Hz or anything like that? The only downside is they are huge and 1920x1080 rather than 1280x1024

It depends on how the monitor handles aspect ratios as well as having control over upscaling algorithm used.

For example, I've got an Asus ProArt 24" monitor. It's native 75Hz and would be great except that it doesn't render DOS VGA resolution properly; it stretches it to fill a 16:10 aspect ratio. Whereas if I run it via DOSBox and use that for upscaling to the monitor's native resolution, I can get a proper 4:3 aspect ratio.

Dothan Burger wrote on Today, 00:59:

I search Ebay for new in box CRT's all the time. Last year I picked up a new Lenovo 17inch for $165 after shipping, still deals to be found.

I've got a 15inch HP in my cart right now.

That means a good tube, but doesn't guarantee anything on capacitors, cracked solder joints, etc. In fact the monitor I have that clicks on and off when powered on was NOS, and I only got maybe 10 hours of use on it before that started.

rmay635703 wrote on Today, 00:26:

https://www.arcooda.com/buy/26-inch-Arcooda-4 … x2160-4K--20217

Have you used an Arcooda monitor for retro PC?

I've been interested in Arcooda monitors for awhile, especially now that they have a 19" monitor based on the same panel as the Checkmate. But there is surprisingly little written about them for retro PC usage. They seem primarily aimed at retro arcade use.

jakethompson1 wrote on Today, 01:01:

That means a good tube, but doesn't guarantee anything on capacitors, cracked solder joints, etc. In fact the monitor I have that clicks on and off when powered on was NOS, and I only got maybe 10 hours of use on it before that started.

At least things like bad caps or cracked solder joints are more easily repairable than an issue with the tube itself.

jakethompson1 wrote on Today, 00:15:

Why jump to scalers though--genuine question--when there are brand new $70 LCDs being made with VGA input, and no trickery wrt 70 Hz or anything like that? The only downside is they are huge and 1920x1080 rather than 1280x1024

You're relying on the displays scaling abilities. As someone brought up some monitors can mess up some modes and not properly detect what is a 4:3 vs a 16:9 mode. Other modes might not display at all. Some scalers can also generate scanlines, while really nice ones can do CRT shaders which make the picture look really nice on modern displays.

RetroTINK just released the new 6X which is $230 and can do all the shaders the $750 4K one does but caps out at 1440p.

Many of the "cheap" new LCDs with VGA inputs don't give the best picture. And many modern monitors only have DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C inputs.

Dothan Burger wrote on Today, 00:59:

I search Ebay for new in box CRT's all the time. Last year I picked up a new Lenovo 17inch for $165 after shipping, still deals to be found.

I've got a 15inch HP in my cart right now.

This entirely depends on where you live whether you can find deals.

I just looked on Ebay and NOS monitors are approaching five hundred dollars in most cases and hundreds more to ship (from U.S. to Canada). Add in taxes and potential other fees and I'm probably looking at an even thousand for one of those.

SScorpio wrote on Today, 01:05:

You're relying on the displays scaling abilities. As someone brought up some monitors can mess up some modes and not properly detect what is a 4:3 vs a 16:9 mode. Other modes might not display at all. Some scalers can also generate scanlines, while really nice ones can do CRT shaders which make the picture look really nice on modern displays.

There is also the issue of the upscaling algorithm itself.

For example, on the Checkmate monitor while it handles aspect ratios correctly, the upscaler makes the image blurry as hell. It basically ruins what would otherwise have been a serviceable retro PC monitor.

Shponglefan wrote on Today, 01:07:

Dothan Burger wrote on Today, 00:59:

I search Ebay for new in box CRT's all the time. Last year I picked up a new Lenovo 17inch for $165 after shipping, still deals to be found.

I've got a 15inch HP in my cart right now.

This entirely depends on where you live whether you can find deals.

I just looked on Ebay and NOS monitors are approaching five hundred dollars in most cases and hundreds more to ship (from U.S. to Canada). Add in taxes and potential other fees and I'm probably looking at an even thousand for one of those.

Oh for sure! But if you can get one, why wouldn't you? The HP in my cart right now is $365.

I still use CRTs, to me the only negative thing about them is the bulkiness which can admittedly be a big issue if you don't have enough space. Unless the tube is worn out or it has a failed flyback that cannot be easily replaced, it's always worth it to try and save them.

I have 4 VGA monitors for retro PCs (1 14'' and 3 17'') and a 20'' TV for consoles, though I only keep one out of storage at a time depending on what I'm currently using. The monitors are all in great condition, refurbished by myself and with tubes that have very little use, so I expect them to last a long time. The TV is in need of some geometry/convergence adjustments as it is one of those newer finnicky "flat" CRTs, but the Samsung tube is in great condition so I will try to dedicate some more time to calibrate it properly. For some reason around here it's much easier to get old CRT monitors than TVs, it's as if most of the pre-2010 TV stock disappeared overnight.

Even though at some point I did try using LCDs for retro stuff, I have two main reasons for going back to CRTs:

• I really dislike how older games look on LCD, especially console games and early VGA 320x200 stuff... I think those games lose a lot of the appeal on LCD no matter how many filters I apply
• Above all, convenience: I just plug the CRT and it works with any graphics card/console. With LCD monitors, I experienced lots of issues with older VGA cards randomly going out of sync or not working at all, and newer monitors don't even have VGA input so I need to get another adapter for that. Even if I managed to achieve a pleasing setup using a RetroTink or whatever else people use now, it would probably be more expensive than getting an actual CRT from a local listing... I find that all this scaler stuff is just too expensive to get a result that doesn't even look as good as the real deal