Review of Acer's Bargain 19" LCD

I purchased my first monitor in 1997. The purchase price was $199 for a Compaq 13” CRT. Let me tell you, this thing had some curves, but not in a good way. It was the opposite of a flat screen, with a convex piece of glass that was flat in no direction. I’m a firm believer in sticking with what works, and I definitely got my money’s worth out of my faithful 13” CRT.

Fast forward almost nine years later. The CRT still had a picture, but was holding on by a thread. The colors were as brilliant as soap scum. Text was mildly fuzzy. I could put up with this much for a few months more, but the last issue was the deal breaker. The image refused to stay in the middle of the screen, and every five minutes or so had to be fiddled with. Compounding the horizontal adjustment issue was that I often compute in the evening after the sun has set with the room dark. On a black monitor, with black controls, I often hit the wrong knob to recenter the picture, and the monitor was then further uncalibrated. This then necessitated a prolonged recalibration in order to continue the task at hand. One day I finally decided I would break down, pay the bucks, and upgrade to something better.

I started to look around online, and I spotted a sale at Microcenter. A 17” LCD for $159, and the 19” for only $40 more. When I looked into it a few years ago, the seventeen inchers were priced well north of $300, and their larger brethren more than $500. Perhaps my patience had paid off. So, there was a rebate involved, and it the manufacturer is Acer, which I have never purchased anything from before. I have heard of Acer, and they are known for their notebooks, which after all, have LCD's in them.

I drove off to my local Microcenter with my charge card in pocket. I walked around the LCD display several times when I spotted what I needed. After one look at the 17” Acer, my heart was set on the 19” model. I don’t see the boxes anywhere, so I patiently wait for a salesperson. He drones on in the background to a newbie customer about how fast his new computer will be with his cable modem connection. Of course, I think to myself, a 486 would be a fast web browser with a cable modem connection, so what a crock.

My listening is interrupted by a query from a fellow customer. With an Eastern European accent he queries “What you think this screen…too cheap?” He points at the Acer display. I reply that it is a good deal, wondering how many are in stock at this price to myself. The man then says “It’s for son…should I buy?” I answer, “That’s up to you, and what your son needs.” Right then the salesmen comes over to help the man, and I spot a stack of the LCD’s in a display. Ten minutes later, I had my receipt, my monitor, and my rebate.

Read on to see how I liked my new monitor, and if it was “too cheap for screen.”

--Jonas

Review