afshin6760 wrote on 2026-06-16, 11:16:
1.Is this Moiré mess just the limitation of a budget Shadow Mask tube?
No, moire can be present on any CRT, be it budget or high end.
Generally, shadow mask monitors are more prone to showing moire than Sony/Mitsubishi with apperture grille. But then those have their own set of disadvantages, so I can't say I necessarily recommend them over shadow mask.
I think the main issue here is that you are trying to push way too high of a resolution (and refresh rate) on your monitor than what it is capable of displaying well (the focus issues are 100% because of that.) In particular, your horizontal resolution is way too high. The higher the resolution you push, the more moire you'll get - that's just how it goes with CRTs.
Also, interlaced modes always look much crappier compared to progressive. 1080i should be supposedly superior to 540p... but in reality, I'll take 720p any day over 1080i, even if it's at half the refresh rate (e.g. 720p @ 60 Hz vs 1080i @ 120 Hz).
That said, "720p" refers to 1280x720 resolution... which isn't 4:3. The "correct" 4:3 equivalent - at least in terms of horizontal resolution, would be 1280x960. And in my experience playing with (and still using) various CRTs over the years (including for some (now-not-so-modern anymore) gaming) , I don't recommend going over 1280x960 on 17" CRTs. Most actually look best at 1152x864 IMO. Generally, apperture grille tends to degrade in (horizontal) focus even faster at higher resolutions and higher refresh rates compared to shadow mask. So for Sony/Mitsubishi, I tend to stay at 75 Hz or less. For shadow mask monitors, I might push up to 85 Hz... but that will depend on each monitor separately.
In summary, I try 1280x960 first... and if that has too much moire or looks too soft in focus, I drop down to 1152x864. On a few very VERY budget CRTs, I even had to drop down to 1024x768, since even 1152x864 was too blurry to display text clearly.
So I think you should ditch the weird interlaced high-resolution mode you're trying to push and use something more standard.
afshin6760 wrote on 2026-06-16, 11:16:
2.Would upgrading to an LG Flatron F700P (17" Slot Mask, 96kHz) fix the focus/Moiré at higher resolutions?
I wouldn't use the word "fix" here. At best, the moire might just improve a little. But no telling for sure. Again, moire is inherently present on all shadow mask monitors. How visible it is or isn't will directly depend on what resolution (and under and/or over -scanning) you set on your monitor. After all, CRTs are completely analog technology, so in order to improve in one area/aspect, you probably have to give up something in another.
afshin6760 wrote on 2026-06-16, 11:16:
3.Or should I just give up on CRT for modern gaming and buy a 1080p IPS panel? (Or maybe a dual setup: budget IPS + F700P?)
Do modern games just look inherently sharper, clearer, and more coherent on a native digital IPS compared to a 17" CRT?
I think MagefromAntares put it pretty well.
My own experience trying to push some (again, maybe not-so-modern anymore) games on CRT is that indeed either their HUD or their FOV was not created with 4:3 resolutions in mind, and hence they might actually look worse or at least the view could feel "off". The latter, for example, is something I've ran into with Fortnite - the view just feels very limited in 4:3, regardless of what resolution I am using. The game's FOV certainly looks better on a 16:9 and 16:10 monitor.
That said, and to answer your questions more directly:
Whether games look sharper/clearer on an IPS vs a CRT will depend on a lot of things.
The output resolution is not everything. If you're standing still in a game and nothing moves, then YES, an LCD monitor should look much sharper and clearer than a CRT - especially considering that modern LCDs are capable of much higher resolutions. But when things start moving around, that advantage may degrade or completely disappear. And indeed, as you probably noticed yourself, the "motion resolution" on a CRT is infinitely better compared to any LCD - basically it's much easier to track moving objects, because the image on the screen simply does not blur, unlike with LCDs. Of course, modern LCDs have improved quite a bit compared to the LCDs of the 2000's. So IMO, most modern IPS displays have finally become "good enough" in terms of motion resolution that I don't need to try to push my CRTs anymore for modern gaming. (For old games and lower / more "block-y" resolutions, of course, I still think CRT is king - especially smaller CRTs for DOS and Win9x gaming.)
And YES, I am a die-hard CRT supporter. But even then, I have come to terms that this technology has its limitations and isn't always "the best" solution.