OT: Monitor Death, Help with a dying monitor Options

[John]

My monitor has been good to me for the past 6.5 years or so since I received it as a gift.

It is/was an NEC FP1370 display (20/21" CRT display).

Over the past couple months, it has sometimes emitted a high pitched squeal that seemed to go away once it warmed up 2-3 minutes after turning it on. Recently it stopped doing that and seemed to act normal.

Today, it emitted an arcid odor as if an electronic component had let out the magic genie (smoke) inside. The monitor did not stop working or appear to have changed display qualities other than the left hand side top was VERY hot to the touch and smelled of the same arcid odor that the monitor had emitted. We did not notice any smoke, just the odor. It took some time maybe 5 minutes to figure out that the odor source was indeed the monitor.

I unplugged the unit and am not using it as I am afraid it may cause a fire.

My main questions are:

1. Should I junk the monitor or should I search out some sort of repair facility. I have done no research on this.

2. Has anyone ever had a monitor repaired? Was it worth it?

3. How much is a 20-21" LCD monitor?

4. Any guesses as to what may have burned up, yet allow the unit to continue to function?

I know this was not an inexpensive monitor, and I already miss it. It was much larger than the 19" unit I am currently using. I hate to see it go, but if a replacement is to be made, I will replace it with an LCD display (less energy, less space, sharper image).

I use my display for CAD and graphic applications as well as surfing the web, so I opt for the larger displays.

Advice is always welcome.

[swl]

I'll join the 'junk it' contingent. Most repair shops will charge you more than the monitor is worth just to open it up. CRT's on the used market are a dime a dozen - you can't get rid of them. Big ones are harder to find but they are still out there.

For what it is worth... A student did some energy conservation experiments for us. At the 17" size range there is about 30 watts difference between CRT and LCD. I would expect that to be even greater savings with a monitor that big.

Again FWIW - If you go LCD don't cheap out too much. It you are sitting in front of this thing all day you want something that gets along well with your eyes. LCD's have come a long way from the early days and most are pretty good now. You still find some though that are not as sharp as you might like or have an annoying flicker - rare but be careful. I'm using a 19" Benq just now. That is a pretty cheap brand and it is just fine. ymmv so try to get some seat time before you buy. Your monitor is in my opinion the most important part of your computer.