In the last 3-4 days, my three year old, 19" monitor has started to occasionally make this weird “thiiiickkkk” sound (very softly), at which point the screen’s image momentarily shrinks in size, then quickly returns to normal. Didn’t used to do that more than 1-2 times every 6 months or so. I take this ain’t exactly per design specs.
Time to reach for the ol’ VISA card?
(BTW, do the new flat-screen slim monitors give as good resolution as the traditional models?)
I’d say the monitor is screwed. Maybe the Degauss function is mis-firing?
LCD resolution isn’t the issue, it’s whether you need the refresh rate to be high or not. If you’re planning on some high-FPS games, you need a regular monitor. I tried playing Rouge Spear on my UXGA laptop and, while playable, wasn’t good enough.
FYI, a 19" flat LCD is going to be pricy. I’d rather shell out for a 21" viewsonic P95(?) for the same money.
Make sure the monitor cable is secure. Beyond that, I don’t think there’s anything you can do to try to fix it. You might want to connect it to a different computer to make sure it’s the monitor that’s acting up and not the video card.
Yes, 19" LCD displays are expensive, but I think a 17" LCD display has roughly the same viewable area as a 19" CRT. As for resolution, the CRT can be set to a higher resolution setting (number of pixels) but that doesn’t mean you can resolve every single dot. An LCD usually has a lower pixel count (around 1280x1024 max for a 17") but you can resolve every single pixel sharply, resulting in a more crisp image. I have a dual monitor setup using an 18" LCD and 21" CRT, and when I want to read text I almost always drag the window to the LCD screen.
It sounds like something temporarily shorting out. It could be between components, caused by dust, etc. or within a component. An electrolytic capacitor is really good at causing this effect. But since there are so many caps in a monitor, find the one causing the problem is very tedious (esp. since the problem is intermittent).
If you are experienced and qualified for working around Something That Can Kill You, one approach is to do a search on Google and Google groups for you monitor’s model #. Sometimes these problems appear a lot and people post q’s and get a’s on which part it is.