Monitor Suggestions

[Mac]

I wasn't sure where to put this question, but when I did a search for monitors, most of the results were here... :-D

I currently have an aging 17in LCD, which is beginning to show its age. So my wife has agreed that it is time to buy a new one (she hates the size of the CRT I have as a backup). So I am looking for suggestions.

I have modest budget...500-1000 usd. I would like to have 1600x1200, but I realize that this impacts cost.

My question is how do I know what a good display will look like? I work at a local hospital, and have seen a couple of brands that look good, but they are only being used as workstations, not photography. The Dell LCDs we are running are crisp and clean, seem to have good color to them, but are a little bright. The IBM and Viewsonic ones we use are not nearly as bright, but do not seem to give a true representation of colors. I currently run a pair of Acer 19in LCDs myself...but I have not been overly impressed with them for photos. Mind you, none of these are not high end monitors.

I have read many review sites, but the user reviews are obviously not written by people doing photo editing or graphics design, so I am not sure what to think of them. Are there any sites I can check out which have user reviews by photographers?

Thanks for any help... :-D

[Janika]

I hate to break the news Mac, but CRT monitors are still the way to go when comes to photo editing.

I could put my hands on a 19-inch ViewSonic VA902B LCD screen now for about $300- US, but My cheapo, 4 year old, Samsung 950b CRT still does a better job, even though the LCD has 8ms response time which is considered fast.

[brucep]

I got that Viewsonic from NewEgg.com, and really like it. You'll find many other threads about this topic if you use our Search, above. Mine was priced right: Around $230 if I recall. I'm sure I could tell the difference if I bought a $1,000 Lacie, but this is good for me.