🚀 go-pugleaf

staggers@cup.hp.com (Ken Staggers) writes:
>I just ordered a Gateway 2000 486-66V, so I figure I have a while to shop
>around for a monitor {{some text omitted here}}
>If you have any opinions, pro or con, about the following monitors, please
>let me know.  If you can fill in some missing info on each monitor, I would
>appreciate it.  Also, if you know of a magazine that has reviewed 20 inch
>monitors, please let me know.
>All of these monitors *should* be non-interlaced, multiscanning or multisync
>monitors with a minimum maximum resolution of 1280x1024. {{More text omitted}}

>				Pitch   Rate At	Features	Standards
>					Max Res
>====================	====	======	=======	========	=========
>Nanao T660i		20"	0.31mm	75Hz	Trinitron	MPR2;TCO
>Nanao F750i		21"	0.31mm	

I looked very hard and long at 20" monitors. The only decent review that I
found on these monitors is an article in PC/Computing, March 1992, p. 197,
in an article on "In Search of the Ultimate PC". The author ended up in
picking the Taxan Ultravision 1095. He would have liked the Nanao T660i
except that his video card did not fill the screen completely at 1280x1024.
Despite that, the December 1992 issue of PC/Computing p. 188) gave
the Nanao T660i its top award for a monitor (".... the T660i is simply
the best 20" high-resolution monitor available."). The runner-up 20" monitor
in this issue was the Philips FastRefresh/20 (about which I know nothing).

In December I bought a Gateway 486DX2-66V local bus machine, with
the ATI Ulra Pro with 2 Megs VRAM and the upgraded RAMDAC, and
the Nanao T660i.

That combination works great, in all resolutions, and the sceen is filled
completely at all these resolutions (all 19", which is the maximum viewable
area on this 20" monitor; the rest is masked off). Here are some synch
values which I ended up with during the Install process of the Mach 32
card (all numbers are non-interlaced):

	640x480		96Hz		40MHz option (8bit)
	640x480		72Hz		32MHz option (more colors???)
	800x600		75Hz
	1024x768	81Hz
	1280x1024	77Hz

Between the adjustments on the video card settings, and the adjustments on
the monitor, there are probably a number of other frequencies that will also
give you completely filled screens. There are also pincushion and trapezoid
adjustments, so the picture is absolutely square, right against the mask edge.

>How important is maximum horizontal and vertical frequencies, as well as 
>bandwidth?

Probably very important, in terms of flicker. But I can't see any flicker
even when adjusted to a low refresh rate (60Hz, non-interlaced).

I had done some calculations on bandwidth. I figured that you need at least
120 MHz at 1280 lines, and 160 MHz at 1600 lines. The bandwidth of the
T660i is 120 MHz, so it's enough for 1280 lines.

>Can you hook up BNC cables to the ATI Ultra Pro video card on a Gateway?

The ATI Ulta Pro only has the usual D-Sub connector. There are no BNC
connectors on that card, and the cable that came with the monitor is the
usual video connector cable. My guess is that this combination probably
won't deliver 120Mhz to the monitor. I have not seen any comments on the net
on whether switching to BNC connectors makes a difference. Just for
information: the T660i also has 5 BNC connectors on the back, in addition to
the D-Sub connector, and a switch on the front chooses which signal lines
the monitor should use. Looks like the monitor could be run from two separate
video cards.

>Any recommendations for mail order firms for monitor?  Any to avoid?

Look in Computer Shopper. There are only a handful of places that sell the
"big" monitors. I bought mine at CAD Warehouse in Ohio (Cleveland area).
Call 1-800-487-0485. I dealt with David Hoffer, who seemed quite well
informed and quite straightforward. Ask for a price, first, though. I ordered
mine in December, and had it 3 days later. Price: $2475 plus $49 for shipping
(via a trucking company - the box was 100 pounds!), exactly what I was told
on the phone. This is the second monitor I have bought for CAD Warehouse (the
other one in August), and I am quite satisfied with the company.


>Nanao F750i		21"	0.31mm	

This monitor has a bigger screen, but a more conventional tube. This tube
is not as bright as a trinitron tube (noticeably dimmer, at least judging
by its smaller brother, the F550i, which has the same kind of "flat" tube).
The latest price from CAD Warehouse for the F750i is $2090 plus shipping
(Feb 93, Computer Shopper). The big killer here is that the maximum
horizontal synch frequency is only 65kHz (compared with 80kHz for the
T560i and the T660i), which translates to a maximum refresh rate
at 1280x1076 of only 60 Hz. For a big-size monitor that's a serious handicap,
because your peripheral vision may be bothered by the flicker. I seriously
considered this monitor, and then decided that it would do properly
only 1024x768.

Re screen flatness: the T660i is absolutely flat vertically, but has a
horizontal curvature. Despite that curvature, the screen appears flat when
you look at it. Re the horizontal wires: yes, they are there, but in
most cases they  don't show up. When they do show up (white background),
they are very faint and easy to ignore.

The bottom line? I love my T660i. It does everything right. What else can
I say. Yes, I really splurged on the T660i. It was a hard decision to
spend that much money for a monitor. But now I am happy that I did. Windows
never looked better.