[SOLVED] Best Monitor for Repairs?

For repairs I run cheapy monitors. Most client machines can't stress them anyway. It's my gaming machine that I like to get a bit more picky about.

BTW - We never did get a gaming forum did we?
 
No VGA or DVI. Kind of limits work on repairs.

Right - Ideally, you need something to connect all of the various choices you come across - don't forget DisplayPort (and miniDisplayPort). I'm too cheap to actually buy monitors - I have always used castoffs when they come my way. I've got 4 stations, and over the years have upgraded them as necessary - they were originally all 15" VGAs, then DVI came along, then HDMI & DP. We have a box full of adapters so we can make pretty much anything work on each station.
 
Found it on sale for $100

Nice - that's a great price. I like to use Dell monitors so I can put those speaker bars with them as well - lets me test audio along with everything else at each station. Much neater than having a set of speakers. I just wrap all of the cables together in a single umbilical for each monitor that loops over the top for storage and is long enough to reach the patient machine being worked on.
 
Anything that gives you options no matter how crappy it is. I buy monitors with VGA, DVI, HDMI & Built in speakers, and if you can find one for cheap that also has DP then you have found yourself a great bench monitor.

I forward this thought process to clients as well. They will be like oh I want a cheap crap monitor for my cheap crap employee. Oh really do you? So you don't think there's a chance that monitor might be re purposed in the next 5-10 years to someone who may need built-in speakers or HDMI for another $30?

It's always a treat when you buy a crap piece of hardware and the client comes to you asking you why you sold them a piece of garbage even though they requested it 2 years ago but can't remember... and now want you to buy a new cheap piece of garbage that will last 2 years because they're irritated you sold them garbage in the first place they have to replace.

Man I sound like an old grump and I'm only 34
 
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I personally use large TV's and KVM switches rather than individual monitors.

I remember when I got my first job in a shop at age 18 which was now 16 years ago. I'd be working on between 5-15 computers all at the same time but I was space limited to the amount of stations we had to repair so most of those had to be laptops. We had so many repairs we didn't have room for them so I was like running around the shop all day long (probably 1000 sq/f) and dealing with walk-ins (the glory days). Had I known as a young fellow about things like remote support so we could sit at a local terminal and just work on all 15 at the same time or KVM switches where could support 10 desktops instead of 3 at the same time, my god ... the money we could have made, well not me, the owner. Which is probably why we didn't know, which is probably why that business shut down because he was a piece of S owner.
 
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