thanks for fixing it

Both of those screens are way too big for DOS IMHO, unless you're planning to sit on the other side of the room. It's not easy finding a decent 14 or 15" CRT so my current solution is using a more modern 17" CRT and adjusting the image size down to a 14" screen's image size. It's working well and if I swap to a Windows 95 machine then the monitor can handle higher resolutions too which is good news, I was sick of swapping monitors around.

I use a Dell-branded Sony Trinitron 21" CRT. I can sit back from it a little, which is nice.

Monitors are a really subjective thing, just use the one that appeals to you visually.

I guess it helps if the monitor you choose supports whatever resolutions you need.

SquallStrife wrote:

Monitors are a really subjective thing, just use the one that appeals to you visually.

Exactly. Some people claim that the 60 Hz and lower refresh rates used by older monitors cause them eye strain, but it never really bothered me much. It comes down to personal preference.

If you have the space and really like CRTs, you might as well hold on to them both – they won't always be easy to find, and the phosphor on whichever one you start using will decay eventually.

I remember visiting this computer expo around 1991 or so - they had a 386 machine running Prince of Persia on attract mode with a Sound Blaster (definite "WOAH" factor back then), but the kicker was the 21" VGA CRT. Biggest goddamned PC monitor I'd ever seen at that point - seemed like a behemoth next to the standard 14".

*snaps out of it* yeah, well... these sizes might be overkill for DOS, depending on the sort of stuff you're playing. But as Jorpho says, you'd do wisely to hold on to both.

Im currently using the Sampo Alphascan 912 but Im really not up to speed on the technical side of monitors so I thought I'd ask.

I sit about half a meter - 1 meter away and i really enjoy the size.
Pain in the as%$ to move because it weighs about 80 kilo ;-P

I still remember the first time I sat in front of a 21" CRT running 1600x1200 resolution... It was a system I was professionally optimizing for someone who wasn't computer literate so I had to just pretend I was used to such a thing. ;D

I actually like the pixelization effect from viewing low-res graphics on displays that are way too large for them, but I know not everyone does. ;)

However, size should also be a factor of practicality. The 23" widescreen LCD on my current system weighs a heck of a lot less than the 17" CRT on my previous system, which is even heavier than expected due to it being a flat-crt where the flat surface is actually just a huge, thick, glass lens in front of the real CRT. (On the plus side, no static discharge if you touch the surface!) Where you intend to put it is also a factor. If my widescreen monitor was even just one inch bigger, it would be too big for the desk I've got it on. :P

I say go with the 18" and save the 21" for a rig that can take better advantage of its high-resolution potentials.