for all LCD experts, opinions please>>>

[mp19fan]

I'm planning on purchasing a 17" LCD for my Mac G4/400, and have narrowed it down to three monitors. First is the Dell 1701FP analog/digital (don't know exactly the res at which refresh rate). The next is the Planar PL170, analog, 3 year warranty, 1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz. The last one is the Pro View PL766, analog, 1 year warranty, 1280 x 1024 @ 75 Hz. Right now Dell has a special on their monitor, ~$400, which is simlar to the street price for the Planar. The Pro View is about $40 cheaper. I've heard good stuff about all three. I think all are compatible with Macs. Any opinions/thoughts are appreciated.

[Joshua]

Tough one. My wife had the Dell 17" and loved it. She just upgraded to the 18" Dell and is even happier. Her only complaint is that the Dell LCD's are very bright (I know, what's there to complain about).

She knocked down the Brightness and Contrast and is diggin' it.

I have NO experience with the other two brands, but I know 6 people using Dell LCD's ranging from 15" (crap size) to 20" (MINE!) and they are all very happy.

[eSDee]

My immediate advice would be get the one with the digital input. If you are going to be keeping this thing for a while you will definitely regret it down the road if you are still working on Analog in a couple of years while everyone else is on digital. It really does make a difference. I am using 2 Planar PL170's at work and although I like them very much, the Dell 1701fp is much nicer even with just the Analog input. I have purchased the Dell a couple of times for my users, and each time I have been jealous after I set it up. I would much prefer the Dell over my planar's. Also my friend has a 19 inch digital input Dell, and it looks amazing on his G4 733.

My second opinion would be only to get a LCD that has a 3 year warranty. At my work we will not purchase a LCD that doesn't have this type of warranty. This is the original reason why we purchased all the Planars. It just makes sense that if you plan on keeping the monitor for a while, to have it protected from dead pixels, power surges, etc.