This isn't true anymore; with all the technological advances you have choices now. So let's look at the differences. Of course you have the CRT, but now you have the LCD Monitors available to you. There are huge differences between the LCD and a CRT. LCD's have become quite advanced, and the technology offers you pretty much the same quality of picture as a CRT, but still many people still want the CRT monitor. CRT's of course are bigger and bulkier than an LCD monitor, they also consume more power and you get that annoying screen flicker. But LCD's are more expensive than a CRT. They also have the problem of viewing from angles, and they usually have less accurate color replication.



Each monitor as you can see above has its advantages and disadvantages. We are going to do a closer comparison of the CRT monitor and LCD monitor to hopefully help you out with your purchase.

CRT monitors were the only choice that people had for many years, the CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube, and it's been in use for over 100 years. It's what is found in most TV's and computer monitors. How it works is it moves an electron beam back and forth across the back of the TV screen or Monitor screen. When it moves across the screen it lights up dots on the inside of the tube, thus it illuminates the active parts of the screen. By doing this several times it will complete the screen image.

LCD monitors stand for Liquid crystal display. This type of technology can also be found in those digital watches and of course computer monitors. LCD's use two sheets of polarizing material with liquid crystal between them, when an electronic current passes through the liquid the crystals will align so that light will not pass through them. With several passes the screen image will be complete.

Pro's and Con's of each monitor. Resolution or how sharp your picture will look is very flexible on a CRT. In fact the newer models offer up to 1600 x 1200 displays. The LCD's resolution is fixed, it can be changed, but if you do so you will notice the performance will drop.

Both of the newer models of both monitors will give you a bright color display that is vibrant. LCD's though fall short in the color range. As far as sharpness of the image, if you are running your LCD at it's normal setting the picture will be perfectly sharp, while the CRT you will notice flaws in.

When viewing a CRT monitor you can look at it from any angle with no problem, however your LCD monitors you will notice the picture will fade or disappear.

As stated before with the CRT you may have that screen flicker, but with today's graphic cards that may be fixed almost completely. LCD's do not have this problem so a screen flickers!

Screen size of a CRT you will find most people buying 17" displays. With this you get around 16.1 inches of true display image. While with a LCD monitor if you buy a 17" screen you will have 17" of true viewing. The physical size of the two monitors is in no way even close. A CRT is heavier and bulky, while a LCD is much less weight and flat.

The big difference though is going to be the price, where the LCD wins in size it will cost you much more in price. CRT's although bulky will be much cheaper to purchase. Here are a few examples. An Acer 15" LCD will run you $195, which is a very good price, now a 17" CRT from Acer is $169. Not much of a difference but a little choice. Another example is Samsung 17" CRT for $125 compared to a Samsung 17" LCD at $480. Now that choice you see a huge difference in the price.

What you need to keep in mind is how much you want to spend and what kind of monitor you like the best. Just use this as a guide for some answers.