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I need a cheap monitor

NoSmokingBandit

NoSmokingBandit

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 13, 2008
1,579
3
The dvi port on my monitor took a crap on me so i would like to replace it. My budget is a modest ~$150 usd, so i cant go crazy, but i'd like it to be at least 20" and no less tan 1680x1050, though 1920x1080 would be preferred.

I hear Dell makes decent monitors, but nothing is in my price range at the moment. Theres a Lenovo i've looked at a little that fits my budget and criteria, but i dont know if their screen quality is good. Theres also an ASUS i've read a little about. Asus quality always seems to be top-notch, so this one interests me quite a bit.
I do a little bit of gaming and some simple design/photoshop work, but nothing really fancy. So i'd like something with good color and a low response time.

Any suggestions?
 
Umm... At your price range finding a monitor with something that most on here would consider "good" is not going to happen. Either monitor is fine, a neighbor has an Asus, seems fine after a year or so and I don't recally any large quality complaints.
 
I don't think you're going to find a really good monitor that retails for $150. Especially if you're used to Mac monitors. My iMac 24" blows most displays out of the water. You might be able to find one if you keep a lookout for deals, though. All I can say is that you should check this site 3x a day: http://slickdeals.net/

Right now they have this deal: Acer X183H BB 18.5" Widescreen LCD Monitor $90, but it'll probably be sold out by the time you read this post, which is why you have to check 3x a day.

Good luck!

EDIT: I have an Acer budget monitor that's held up for quite a while, but it has a slight blue tint to it. So, it's fine for the web or word processing, but not that great for image editing.
 
Dell seems to rotate monitor deals frequently and you should easily find one from them that will fit the bill and budget.
 
Tell us how you want to use the monitor. If your doing photo/video stuff VS simple office stuff (web browsing/email) VS gaming VS ??

Even more so what are you willing to live with VS what is important to you? For instance $150 can get you a refurb 24" 1920x1200 soyo monitor which makes a great heater in the winter and photo folks would be aghast to look at the beast VS the average joe would be just fine.
 
beala said:
I don't think you're going to find a really good monitor that retails for $150. Especially if you're used to Mac monitors. My iMac 24" blows most displays out of the water. You might be able to find one if you keep a lookout for deals, though. All I can say is that you should check this site 3x a day: http://slickdeals.net/
Click to expand...

Thanks for that site, I'm going to check it until I find a good deal on a monitor as well.
 
Because i dont have a lot of cash to spend on a good monitor. If i could blow $600 on a screen i might consider an ACD, but i dont, i have about $150.
Im just looking for the best screen i can get on my tight budget. I dont expect anything amazing, i just want to make sure i get something thats not going to completely suck.

The dell deals seem to pop up every day so i'll keep an eye on those.
 
NoSmokingBandit said:
I'd buy that in an instant but i cant find it on bing :(
Click to expand...
Yeah, sorry that site has a learning curve :p They use a lot of acronyms, and don't explain things all the time.

So, here's how you do it.
1) Go to: http://shopping.bing.com
2) Search "Dell"
3) On the right side there should be a column of ads. One should be for Dell and it should have a little gold coin with the words "Bing CashBack" next to it. Click that.
4) That will bring you to the dell website. Buy stuff.
5) Cashback will show up in your bing/msn account a few minutes to an hour after you purchase the monitor.

Quick! The deal is still going i think!
 
Awesome, thanks. I was searching in Bing for the actual monitor itself and hadnt seen it. I also had to turn off AdBlock Plus. :D
 
RE:
"Because i dont have a lot of cash to spend on a good monitor. If i could blow $600 on a screen i might consider an ACD, but i dont, i have about $150.
Im just looking for the best screen i can get on my tight budget. I dont expect anything amazing, i just want to make sure i get something thats not going to completely suck."

If you could increase your budget to the $200 mark, the answer becomes easy.

Get the Dell 2209WA 22" display. It's the highest-quality 22" display available, and sells 'round the $200 mark if you catch it at the right time.

Search for 2209wa here on MacRumors to see what others say about it.

- John
 
Dell has a 1080p 22/23ish inch monitor refurbished for $129 at the dell outlet store.
 
Fishrrman said:
RE:
"Because i dont have a lot of cash to spend on a good monitor. If i could blow $600 on a screen i might consider an ACD, but i dont, i have about $150.
Im just looking for the best screen i can get on my tight budget. I dont expect anything amazing, i just want to make sure i get something thats not going to completely suck."

If you could increase your budget to the $200 mark, the answer becomes easy.

Get the Dell 2209WA 22" display. It's the highest-quality 22" display available, and sells 'round the $200 mark if you catch it at the right time.

Search for 2209wa here on MacRumors to see what others say about it.

- John
Click to expand...

I would love an IPS display. I just might have to dig up an extra $50 and wait for those to go on sale. Too bad its not full hd, but i think i can live with 1680x1050 for an IPS at that price.
 
ymarker said:
Tell us how you want to use the monitor. If your doing photo/video stuff VS simple office stuff (web browsing/email) VS gaming VS ??

Even more so what are you willing to live with VS what is important to you? For instance $150 can get you a refurb 24" 1920x1200 soyo monitor which makes a great heater in the winter and photo folks would be aghast to look at the beast VS the average joe would be just fine.
Click to expand...

I think you use "versus" too much.
 
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