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View Full Version : LCD vs. CRT longevity


yanges
2005-06-11, 16:44
i am going to get a dual 2.0ghz PowerMac in early July and had pretty much settled on a e90f+sb ViewSonic 19" monitor to go with it...

partially due to the fact that i have always liked the clarity on my Apple 17" flat CRT Studio Display and partially due to the cost factor....

after playing around with a dual 2.0ghz PowerMac w/ an Apple 20" Cinema Display today at my local Apple Store i am having second thoughts...

the 20" Cinema Display's are very, very nice looking and the clarity is pretty close to my Apple CRT...

my concern is which type of display would have a longer life span....

i tend to use my Mac at home from 2-4 hours daily and sometimes longer on weekends...

i would have 3 years warranty on both, but i wondered which type of monitor would outlast the other or are they similar in longevity...

i could probably scrape up the difference for the LCD if it would be as long lived as CRT's tend to be....

any thoughts on this would be appreciated....

YS 2003
2005-06-11, 18:11
LCD is said to last up to 60,000 hours. Unless you are keeping it on 24/7, your LCD's back light bulb should last well over 8 years. The cyrstal on the LCD does not degrade. So, the only thing which will "wear out" will be the back light bulb. CRT will not last that long as it will degrade progressively as you use them (burning in the images as months go by). All of my "monitors" at home are LCD. No CRT. I cannot go back to the CRT era. Also, your LCD will more "energy efficient" than CRT. Before I go, I want to add LCD is much easier on your eyes than CRT. My eyes don't get tired looking at my beautiful 20" and 23" ACD and 24" LG TV monitors all day long. I cannot say that with my previous TV monitor (tubes).

Koodari
2005-06-12, 16:35
I am probably a 6hr per day user. My last CRT has held up 8 years with no problem. I replaced it with a LCD just now and am not the slightest bit worried about its longevity. :p

The LCD has a 3 year warranty. If it broke down in 5 years I'd be happy for the value I have gotten, but I don't expect it to do that.

pmazer
2005-06-12, 16:39
Yeah, monitors just don't seem to die that easily

Koodari
2005-06-12, 16:53
Also, your LCD will more "energy efficient" than CRT.This one might be true on the surface, but really there are multiple factors that make the difference cancel out.

- With LCD's, you're going to be tempted to go much larger than with CRT's. Really. :)

- Are you heating your house with electricity? Whenever you are, it doesn't matter at all how much your appliances burn. Every watt they consume is out of the heating bill.

- If you are replacing an otherwise good CRT monitor with a LCD one, if you care about energy from environmental perspective, you have to factor in that the manufacture of the new display eats a *lot* of energy.

yanges
2005-06-14, 19:54
Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

i am going to order my PowerMac in a few weeks so will decide then but am leaning towards the Apple 20" display... :smokey:

DMBand0026
2005-06-16, 00:26
My girlfriend's CRT just died the other day after almost 7 years on the job. She had it on most of the day, I'd say around 10 hours a day on average. It was dark and pretty much useless for the last year or so, but she's been holding out for an iBook update (and saving cash too).

Point is, I'd go with an LCD, they really are a lot easier on the eyes, and that's reason enough for me to never go back to CRTs.