New 19" Monitor

Thinking about getting a new monitor to replace my Hitachi SuperScan Elite 17.  Right now I am looking at three models:

  -Sony G 400:  best price so far is $395 + 39.96 S&H
  -Viewsonic PF790:  best price is $349 + 54.75 S&H
  -NEC MS FE950+:  best price is $321.67 + 39.50 S&H

Any suggestions on which one I should get?  Anyone seen any better prices for any of these monitors?  Thanks for the help.

Hhmm...those are some pretty decent prices for those monitors.  Personally, I like the Viewsonic monitors.  Although I like the Sony one also.  I was able to get a 22" Viewsonic for around the price of the PF790.  Of course, that's if you don't mind going on Ebay and bidding on your monitor.  All in all though, I'd recommend the Viewsonic one.

[quote author=Hulaboy link=board=hardware&num=995667262&start=0#1 date=07/21/01 at 00:40:24]
Hhmm...those are some pretty decent prices for those monitors.  Personally, I like the Viewsonic monitors.  Although I like the Sony one also.  I was able to get a 22" Viewsonic for around the price of the PF790.  Of course, that's if you don't mind going on Ebay and bidding on your monitor.  All in all though, I'd recommend the Viewsonic one.
[/quote]

Have you had any problems with your Viewsonic?  I have been told that you really have to watch yourself on eBay...even though I too have used their service.  I did get a dead on arrival IBM hard drive and tried for the longest time to get the people to stand behind it.  I finally went to IBM and fortuantely they sent me a new drive.  The other two faulty pieces of equipment came from a Market Pro Computer Show...a bad stick of SDRAM (256MB) and a bad floppy disk drive.  I did finally get the problems resolved and my computer seems to be running great.

Nope, I haven't had a problem at all with this 22 incher.  It's working very excellent and I have no complaints at all about it!  I LOVE this monitor! Yup, you do have to be VERY careful with some of the people there on Ebay.  I ALWAYS look at their ratings and mostly bid on items where the sellers have either one or two negative remarks and then I'd see what they were.  If it sounds like they've tried to make amends then it's a go but if the seller is just plain stupid about it then it's on to the next person. I can forward to you the guy that I got my monitor from if you want.  Last time I was in communication with him he said he has the Viewsonic P810s in stock most of the time. I got mine for $320 I believe.

Is your viewsonic one of the monitors that just came off lease...been looked at by technicians...certified with a one year warranty?  Was your guy "countrydrummer1"?  Just checked out his site on eBay and it looks pretty good.  If I could only be sure that it was on the up and up I might go for something like that.  Let me know about your experience.

Oh...one more   question.  Is the monitor a flat screen one?  I would like to go flat screen this time.  Man...I would love to have a 21 incher...used to have one at the office until the power supply went out.  Just never thought I could afford any more than a 19 incher.

Yup, my Viewsonic was off a lease and it was maintained really well.  There's not a scratch on it and the picture quality is as good as it was new.  The person that I bought my monitor from is mgoldb1022.  Not quite sure if you mean flat screen as in the LCD screens or the one's with the CRT tubes still.  Viewsonic classifies the monitor as a flat square display.  I don't know if that answers your question or not.

Viewsonic doesn't make these monitors anymore but they are equivalent to the G810's out right now. I've been saying 22 incher in the posts but it's 21 incher with 20" viewable.  Here's an article on the specs and the other features of the monitor.  If you look in the press release you'll see that it's the same as the G810.  Let me know if you have any further questions...

[quote author=Hulaboy link=board=hardware&num=995667262&start=0#5 date=07/22/01 at 17:33:44]
Yup, my Viewsonic was off a lease and it was maintained really well.  There's not a scratch on it and the picture quality is as good as it was new.  The person that I bought my monitor from is mgoldb1022.  Not quite sure if you mean flat screen as in the LCD screens or the one's with the CRT tubes still.  Viewsonic classifies the monitor as a flat square display.  I don't know if that answers your question or not.

Viewsonic doesn't make these monitors anymore but they are equivalent to the G810's out right now. I've been saying 22 incher in the posts but it's 21 incher with 20" viewable.  Here's an article on the specs and the other features of the monitor.  If you look in the press release you'll see that it's the same as the G810.  Let me know if you have any further questions...
[/quote]

Just went to eBay to look at monitors. Couldn't find your guy "mgoldb1022" but did find lots by "countrydrummer1".  He seems to have good write-ups too.  Only 2 negatives and he really did appear to have tried to take care of the problems.  

Is there a search engine on eBay to look for your guy...or does it only allow you to search for merchandise?  Anyway...I am still thinking about what to do.  The tax refund is coming, but my wife and I have different ideas on how it should be spent.  Even if I can get a couple hundred dollars I may be able to get something.  Still don't know if I want to go new or get one of these refurbished units.  Countrydrummer1 is offering a one year warranty.  What did your guy offer?

I just checked out countrydrummer1's profile on ebay and he looks pretty legit.  I also checked out the guy that I bought mine from and it looks like he doesn't have anything to sell at the moment.  There's a way to search for a particular seller and that is in the Favorites section. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and go to the section where it says Favorite Seller.  Add any seller you wish to that list and you can do a search as to what they're selling that way.

Anyway, back to countrydrummer1.  I checked out his profile and he looks pretty okay to buy from.  Of course, there is ALWAYS a risk of getting a crappy deal from anybody in these types of situations.  I can't even stress that enough.  I don't mean to frighten you away from bidding but just wanted to make sure you're cautious.  Make sure you have safety nets as far as paying for anything.  I paid through Paypal and they do offer some protection services.  Personally, I would buy from this guy. That's only my opinion of course.  Mine came with a 1 year warranty as well and so I totally worked the hell out of the monitor for a week and put it through the burn test.  It passed with flying colors.

He has one that's ending in about 4 hours at a really nice price...about $100 less than what I paid for mine. Hhmm...should I get another one??? Hahaha! If you don't get that one he also has a listing for a dutch auction that he's selling 8 units. If you bid on the one ending today and it passes $295, I would suggest to just go for the dutch ones. That would be the best situation for you if you don't get this one. Plus, the shipping really isn't all that bad either.  Well, I hope I've helped a little bit.  

Ultimately the decision is yours.  I was on a budget but I wanted something larger than the 17" monitor that I had because of the projects that I wanted to do.  The situation presented itself to me and I just had to take it.  I wanted the 21" one and I haven't regreted it ever since.