Need Quiet CRT Monitor

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jackylman
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Need Quiet CRT Monitor

Post by jackylman » Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:02 pm

I need a quiet CRT monitor. I'm currently using a 15" Daewoo CMC-1501BA1 (it's OK, but I want something bigger). I tried a 17" Samsung 790DF and it was horrible. An annoying flicker on the right side of the screen made me run it at 85 Hz just so it was tolerable. The buzz during operation was really bad and it also made a high pitched whine even when it was off. I had to unplug it every time I turned my computer off.

Any suggestions? I'd prefer a 19".

Oh, Don't suggest an LCD or I'll start ranting. You've been warned! :twisted:

perplex
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Post by perplex » Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:09 pm

what the hell do you mean your CRT is buzzing? maybe it's about to explode or something? my CRT is silent

IsaacKuo
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Post by IsaacKuo » Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:19 pm

As a fellow sufferer of CRT whine, I have only two words of advice: "Good luck!"

(Actually, I have few other words of advice, but I don't want to start a rant...)

jackylman
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Post by jackylman » Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:33 pm

perplex wrote:what the hell do you mean your CRT is buzzing? maybe it's about to explode or something? my CRT is silent
It would help if you told me which CRT you have. :P

IsaacKuo wrote:As a fellow sufferer of CRT whine, I have only two words of advice: "Good luck!"

(Actually, I have few other words of advice, but I don't want to start a rant...)
Surely, there must be some hope without buying one of those OTHER monitors (*shudders)...

Keep in mind that I'm young and can hear high frequencies.

perplex
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Post by perplex » Tue Jun 28, 2005 1:46 pm

sorry. i got sony g200 17" its the best CRT ever made - fact! 8)

so your saying your CRT buzzes like a honeybee breeding?

Mumrik
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Post by Mumrik » Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:02 pm

perplex wrote:sorry. i got sony g200 17" its the best CRT ever made - fact! 8)

so your saying your CRT buzzes like a honeybee breeding?
I'd go as far as to say that my FW900 is a bit better :wink:

No buzzing here either. Buzzing is mostly present in cheap low quality CRTs or very old ones.

I don't get the point about having to run it at 85Hz? why would you ever run at anything less on a CRT? It's bad for your eyes.

jackylman
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Post by jackylman » Tue Jun 28, 2005 2:54 pm

Mumrik wrote: I don't get the point about having to run it at 85Hz? why would you ever run at anything less on a CRT? It's bad for your eyes.
You would run it at less if the monitor was only capable of 75 HZ or if you don't notice flicker or eyestrain. Keep in mind that more refreshes could be harder on the monitor hardware.

Mumrik
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Post by Mumrik » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:52 pm

True, but to be honest, if your budget is so low that you have to settle for less that 85Hz at your preferred resolution, you might have a hard time finding a monitor that is "quiet".

Also remember that any high pitched whine (not talking about buzzing) from the CRT usually tends to go away (out of the audible spectrum) at higher refresh rates.


BTW even if you don't really notice the difference between 75Hz and 85+, the low refresh might still be putting a strain on your eyes.

I forgot to comment on the whine when the monitor is in stand by. Yeah, that's very common, I had a Samsung 959NF (lovely monitor) that did that too, but I've never had to unplug a monitor to get it to stop - turning it off was always enough.

Edward Ng
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Post by Edward Ng » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:13 pm

That depends too; on video cards where the image quality is poor, raising the refresh rate stabilizes the image but also causes it to blur. This blurriness causes many peopel to squint and strain, as it fools the brain into thinking that your vision is blurring, not the image.

-Ed

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:08 pm

Hah, I've got TWO 21" CRT's right in front of me... when they come on, they buzz loud enough to wake the dead... Each of them puts out crazy amounts of EMI, too. I'm gonna boil my brain with radiation...

wim
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Post by wim » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:24 pm

i don't think you can get a silent CRT, if you can i've never heard it (tautology not intended..erm..you know what i meant)

i think if you want silence you'll have to get an L..C...D! :twisted:

:lol: rant on!

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:28 pm

wim wrote:i don't think you can get a silent CRT, if you can i've never heard it (tautology not intended..erm..you know what i meant)

i think if you want silence you'll have to get an L..C...D! :twisted:

:lol: rant on!
LCD's are boring.... get a projector an project it from far enough away that you can't hear it.

Gxcad
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Post by Gxcad » Wed Jun 29, 2005 1:04 am

Oh man perplex, if you can't hear a CRT's buzzing you are DEAF!! Ok ok just kidding but man I haven't found a CRT in my life that is silent or even close. I have a Sony F500R so low quality is not the reason (drool FW900!!). Admittedly my definition of quiet is one of the lowest noise levels out of all SPCR users.

My monitor however, is placed so that the top of the monitor is above my ear level so the buzzing does'nt really make it to my ears (and has not much to reflect off of in my orientation). To be ergonomically sound (pun!) you want the top of the viewable area of the monitor to be at eye level and you want to look down onto most of the viewable surface for the least strain. Although 75hz is apple's standard and officially flicker free, research still shows a great reduction in eye strain by moving up to 85hz, I would recommend no less than 85hz. Above 85hz showed massively diminishing returns and as mentioned will get blurry, so 85hz or 90hz is the sweet spot. Higher refresh rates also does seem to put more strain on the hardware, though I can't confirm with technical know-how, only experience and observation.

I'm a CRT guy myself, I do not feel LCD's have the image quality of a good sony CRT. However, the chances of my next monitor being an LCD have increased dramatically in the last year. I've wanted to do a dual or triple monitor setup for a while now but have not had the budjet or desk space, of which space can be solved with LCD's and budjet is increasing...at the same time that P180 is tempting :roll:

Edit: Sorry forgot to make a recommendation: Sony G420 19 inch.

-Ken

perplex
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Post by perplex » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:19 am

are you guys being serious? if so, its commen for CRT to buzz? because mine sure as hell doesnt. maybe yours do because theyre old and on their way to explosion time?

Mumrik
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Post by Mumrik » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:41 am

Honestly, I don't concider it normal for CRTs to be noisy, and I have very good hearing.

I've never seen a CRT TV that wasn't noisy - 50Hz sets whine like hell, 100Hz sets can be heard buzzing a bit if you get close enough - but good CRT monitors at high refresh? I've never noticed anything - at least not from the standard sitting position, and I've used:

1) Daewoo 17" cheapie
2) Samsung 19" 959NF
3) Dual 21" IBM P260
4) Sony FW900

It might be because I haven't had a chance to listen in an absolutely silent enviroment, who knows...

The Daewoo would occasionally whine while in use, but it seemed to be vibration related in some way. At least it went away if I readjusted its tilt or something like that.

I've heard about a certain coil that can be damaged, causing CRTs to whine, but if should be fixable... :?:

fouster
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Post by fouster » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:20 am

perplex wrote:sorry. i got sony g200 17" its the best CRT ever made - fact! 8)

so your saying your CRT buzzes like a honeybee breeding?
Well I must dissagree here!!
The best CRT monitor ever made is SONY G220 !! :lol:
It's the same with G200 but it has USB hub!
:wink:
I used to have a Viewpoint something and it was had this irritating noise.
The Sony is absolutely silent.
The noise from the CRTs has to do with the electronics inside them and the cathod tube.
The difference in expensive and inexpensive CRTs apart from the quality of display is the quality of electronics.
I would bet that good models of Sony,Eizo,Viewsonic won't have such problem.
Try to find a comparison test of CRT monitors in which apart from the quality of the screens ,the quality of the electronics is examined.
In such a test i choose my screen.I t had 9,5/10 in electronics section.
I hope this was helpful.
Sorry for any mistake in writing

chylld
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Post by chylld » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:53 am

i'm in the same position as Gxcad and a lot of other people. I have a philips 109P4 and it's a brilliant monitor colour-wise and everything-else-to-do-with-image-quality-wise - but it's the loudest part of my system by far. even in your average 'quiet' system, it'd still be prominent. the noise is a high-pitched buzzing and doesn't go away with any res or refresh rate tweaks.

i'd swap it for an LCD but i do graphics/3d/web design so i need to have a crt as a 2nd point of reference - a lot of the initial designs i do look totally different when moved from one screen over to the other! :)

guess it's just random luck. all i can say is, avoid the philips 109p4, although ymmv. good monitor, but not silent.

Reachable
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Post by Reachable » Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:01 am

perplex wrote:what the hell do you mean your CRT is buzzing? maybe it's about to explode or something? my CRT is silent

How old are you, perplex? If you're in your twenties and you can't hear your CRT whine, then it's intriguing. If you are much older than that, then it's not, since after a certain age you can't hear the 15,000+ Hz whine anyway.

Mumrik
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Post by Mumrik » Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:24 am

Let's not confuse whining with buzzing... it's not the same thing.

jackylman
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Post by jackylman » Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:12 pm

It appears Sony no longer makes CRT monitors. All I can find are refurbs. (No thanks)

Money isn't a huge concern to me, but I don't want to waste money shipping($$$), RMA'ing, and paying restocking fees. If only there was a way to hear the monitor before I bought it. I've already exhausted all the brick-and-mortar options around here.

Hmmm. I'll look at some high end Viewsonics. OR I'll just suffer with this 15" 800x600 72Hz monitor.

Thanks for your help everyone.

perplex
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Post by perplex » Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:17 pm

Reachable wrote:
perplex wrote:what the hell do you mean your CRT is buzzing? maybe it's about to explode or something? my CRT is silent

How old are you, perplex? If you're in your twenties and you can't hear your CRT whine, then it's intriguing. If you are much older than that, then it's not, since after a certain age you can't hear the 15,000+ Hz whine anyway.
:shock: i'm 18... hey your getting me worried. maybe i need a checkup? :oops: :oops: :lol:

i'm putting my head to the case of the CRT and i dont hear anything? :?


jackylman why dont you just get a nice LCD? it's the perfect opportunity to get one surely?

nick705
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Post by nick705 » Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:46 pm

fouster wrote: The best CRT monitor ever made is SONY G220 !! :lol:
It's the same with G200 but it has USB hub!
No, sir... the best CRT ever made was, and is, the incomparable LaCie electron22blue IV. Get one now while you still can...

Mine certainly has a slight high pitched whine though, as has every CRT I've ever encountered to a greater or lesser degree. My GF says she barely notices it, and she has better high-frequency hearing than I do, so maybe it's just that some people are more bothered by certain sounds than others and not necessarily a physical hearing issue..

edit: regarding the recommendation, there's a more modestly priced 19" version as well...

perplex
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Post by perplex » Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:54 pm

i actually meant 17" CRT, and i doubt thats better than the equivalent sized Sony CRT. the dot pitch was around .22 if i remember correctly :roll:

bcat
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Post by bcat » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:50 pm

Jackylman..... not sure of your location in Pa. but have you checked out MicroCenter? They have a 21" Trinitron for $200. It is classified as a closeout / refurb but the link below has more info regarding their definition of refurb. The monitor is new, I have one and am very happy with the image.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=20348

http://microcenter.com/single_product_r ... _id=182542

I can't help you with if it is noisy, I'm way past my 20's and probably half deaf compared to a young set of ears :( :lol:

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