The Ultimate Guide for CRT Gaming on a Modern PC
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- Опубликовано: 18 фев 2024
- CRU download page:
custom-resolution-utility.en....
My last video on WHY CRTs are better than LCDs:
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Nvidia display detection firmware fix for pre-20 series cards:
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5:55 or just get a Displayport to VGA adapter (i had one, nice lil thing)
I forgot to mention that 😅
@@GTXDash have you ever done any testing to see how much input lag that hdmi/dp to vga adapters add? i assumed dp adapters were slightly better because its more flexible but idk
another method could also be done assuming you have integrated graphics and a motherboard with vga is set the gpu to high performance in the application, and allow the integrated graphics to output from the vga port. i was thinking of trying to find a board like that when i do a platform upgrade. its rarer now but some asrock boards still have a vga port
@@gamagama69 I wanna try that. Perhaps there's more latency than using an adapter, though? 🤔
@gamagama69 dp to hdmi adds no additional lag. There's a tiny bit of latency from hdmi to vga or dp to vga. However, because a CRT doesn't wait for an internal frame buffer before drawing the frame on screen, a CRT even with an active converter still has a lot less lag than an LCD.
FINE! I just bought a 19" CRT from a neighbour that can do 120hz at 720p just because of your videos. YOU HAPPY NOW!
XD
😂 happy and proud 😊
worth it?
@@tisen1241 I’ve connected it to my steamdeck and for me I think it was very much worth it. It’s resolution fits perfectly with the capabilities of the device plus I get a neat linux desktop now too.
That is very lucky
A note to anyone who's new to crts: If your Crt isn't pitch black after the contrast adjustments you might need to mess with the flyback transformer. Don't worry you won't get shocked by doing something as easy as that.
This is usually unnecessary. If you have the capability to access the factory adjustment menu (also called the service menu) of your monitor, you can lower its "sub-brightness" setting. This is just a simple setting that determines the range of the normal brightness setting, usually by its center point. On VGA monitors, this setting is usually set too high to achieve a deep black. On some TVs it's actually a physical potentiometer, but I doubt that's the case with any VGA monitor that sports digital adjustments. However, if you don't have the ability to access the factory adjustment menu on your particular monitor, then the G2 adjustment may be a good idea, though it could mess with color in slightly unusual ways.
Also, some VGA monitors, mostly just Sony sets, don't have a physical G2 adjustment potentiometer on the flyback. Those sets have digital G2 adjustment, which is well-documented on Sony sets because of how terribly it was implemented. I am unaware of any others aside from weird freak stuff.
@@Wyatt_James well I only owned samsung tubes so far and to access their factory settings you need to connect a "service jig" to the crt. G2 adjustment is way easier to do instead of going through some guerilla cabling only to adjust your brightness
Yeah, some manufacturers were very rude. If you can't access the factory adjustment mode, the G2 adjustment is the second-best option.
I forgot to state in my other comment, but if you use an HDMI DAC, make sure that you have it set to the correct setting between full/limited range RGB. You need to just try both out and pick the correct one; a mismatch will either cause clipping of near-blacks and highlights, if the DAC is expecting limited range and receives full, or it will cause lifted blacks and lowered whites, if it is expecting full and receives limited.
Instructions unclear, turned into Electro
People complaining about how heavy a CRT monitor is is invited to carry the 29" Sharp TV I used to have. All of its weight was at the glass tube, there was no reasonable place to grab it for transport and it weighted around 45 Kg or 99 lbs.
I got a 2004 29" Philips TV from a friend some years ago. Moving it was a pain, but the results are glorious. I still have to try it out as a PC monitor.
There's nothing more annoying for me in this life than trying to Carry Something heavy somewhere and no place to grab it.good.
I have a 2006 32 inch Sony Wega Trinitron. In my trunk still. Found it on the curb.
My kv36fs300 weighs over 200lbs easily
My grandmother had a I-don’t-know-how-many-inch Toshiba CRT. The thing was probably around 60 LBS!
wish I could’ve gotten that beast for my PS1!
Pro tip from 1998:
-LCD Gamma: 2.1-2.4 (2.2 recommended)
-CRT Gamma: 1.64-1.78 (tweaking required)
"unless you live in the middle of nowhere" ah,there it is. High prices for me.
Relatable.
I've found it can be even easier, I live in a town with a population of 500 so everybody knows each other so I just went door to door asking if they had any "old box computer screens". Got 2 for free!
They're all free in OLX (something like facebook marketplace) for Bulgaria.
Beauty of small towns @@Gr00t
We need modern CRTs.
Wow, so much good info in this video. You definitely know your stuff. Thank you for putting this all together into one clean video. There's a plethora of CRT info out there but it's all buried in obscure forums. Also, like you said, knowing the 'why' behind all these settings really helps. Seriously, thank you.
When you mention "DOS runs in 640x400" because the lines are doubled (320x200), that's actually not entirely true, only for games/programs using the graphics modes.
DOS (the prompt or whatever you'd call it) runs in 720x400 in VGA (textmode). And I believe it's usually at 72Hz, not 70Hz (yes, very weird).
The characters are 9x16 pixels each, resulting in (80*9)x(16*25) = 720x400 resolution.
MDA/Hercules is 720x350, EGA is 640x350, and CGA is 640x200 (respectively 9x14, 8x14 and 8x8 fonts).
Otherwise thank you for a very interesting video. I've got a Samsung Syncmaster 1200nf (a beast of a monitor) which is currently used with my retro PCs, but could be fun to hook it up to my modern gaming PC, especially for when I run PCem and DOSBox on it.
For clarification: With VGA, DOS was indeed 720x400. But since SVGA, DOS has always been 640x400.
Edit: I did not know that Dos also ran in 72Hz. Interesting.
I really need to look up the e-waste facilities around here. I've been maining a Trinitron for a while now, and it's really great (for everything except reading) compared to an LCD, and every day of my life I've regretted throwing out the Dell P1130 I pulled from a dumpster 10 years ago (threw it out in the name of "saving space on my desk" - and my desk did look great afterward, but... I was a fool).
The monitor I have now was being thrown away at work, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time (covering in a department I didn't actually work in, happened to be sitting there when someone walked by with it).
I need to channel that kind of luck more...
Loved your previous video and now this video on CRTs. Super underrated channel. ❤️
Recently bought a brand new (well, or at least unboxed for 20 years) HP s7502. Your channel's been a blessing!
Awesome video dude, especially the last bit about dos resolutions and what was considered "native" on PC back then. I remember...
🙂 neat, i have a Sony CRT in the attic, it was my brothers, I kept it for nostalgic reasons and because I felt sorry to throw it away, I'll bring it down one of these days and try some of ur recommendations, thanks and be good.
CRU is a blessing. Replaces old PowerStrip that used to do that way back in the day.
Great video. Some of this stuff I knew, but its been 20 odd years and is a very good refresher. Retro games never looked so good than on a crt.
Lmao the dell m991 that is on your eBay screen shot just so happens to be the exact one I purchased. A few weeks ago. I offered the guy 50 for it not expecting him to accept it but he did anyways. I couldn’t be happier with the monitor. 19 inches is the perfect screen size in my opinion
Brilliant! So happy you got it for an excellent price.
@@GTXDash the shipping was the expensive part but it was 100% worth it
Yoo. I have to that monitor as well, it's amazing, the curved screen has an unmatched image quality, also it does 1600x1200 60hz or 1280x960 75hz, it's sweet!, Enjoy it!. You might have to replace the capacitors on it at some point because that tends to fail early, but with maintenance it will last you years and years
i got the same monitor and it hits 2548x1536 at 60hz
@@josephdias5859 you are right! It's 96khz max horizontal sync, it can do 1600x1200 75hz, or 2048x1536 60hz. It's a beast!
My issue isn't price or anything like that... The issue is that I can't actually can't find a used CRTs for "pickup" here in south of Sweden. I have found a couple of CRTs, but they are generally quite old. Like Hansol monitors from the mid 90's for over 100EUR (which is pricey considering the age and they are not really that sought after), or really old monochrome CRTs from the 80's. I just want a decent CRT that can display 1280x1024 at 75Hz, preferably built in the early to mid-2000's.
One very important thing i would like to add, while the cheap HDMI to VGA adapters that you showed are fine, they have a very limited pixelclock. They are made to not support anything over 1920x1080 at 60hz, in the description for most of them it even says so. For monitors with smaller resolutions (1280×960 or under), that isn't a problem at all. However if you have a 1600x1200 monitor and want to do even 65hz, these cheap adapters will not be enough!
If you have a monitor like this, you will need a more specialized adapter. I believe the Delock 62967 is what a lot of people recommend. It supports resolutions up to 2560x1600 @ 60hz, which for most monitors should be more than enough. I myself am using that adapter with a Fujitsu Siemens 19T3 which i am running at 1600x1200 @ 85hz.
This is true. In those rare situations if a person has one of those legendary monitors, then that person buying the adapter need to check the max res and hz on the packaging. Fortunately, nowadays, hdmi 1.3 to VGA adapters aren't expensive at all. Between $15 and $30 last I checked.
Yeah if only it was easy to find those higher pixel clock adapters. I went on a search for a few days and websites are all sold out
@phil_matic I was able to get better results by searching "4k hdmi to vga adapter".
I found some, but I was never sure if they'd match up to the
Sunix DPU3000,
Icy Box IB-SPL1031
DeLock 87685
These are the most commonly known to be the best for this purpose, and unfortunately they seem to be out of stock and out of production.
no need for Delocks and such, I have a Vention DAC which was about 15 bucks and it runs my FW900 without any issues at 1920/85Hz. As long as it is a newish active converter it should do the job
This was such an awesome video. I have been daily driving my Sun CRT for almost a year now, and I love it pieces, and I discovered most of the guidelines here on my own. Thanks for making a video that condenses the best tips for CRT usage all in one video! I will definitely make a resolution just for movies at 72 hz, I had no idea about that, and will definitely make a 640x400 resolution as well.
Here are some CRT tips I can provide as well.
1. If a game will still not adhere to the resolution or refresh rate you have set up, try running the game in borderless windowed mode. If the game supports it, the game will adhere to your current desktop resolution and refresh rate and it will be really nice. If the game doesn't have borderless windowed, get Borderless Gaming.
2. Some games, mostly older ones still have dev consoles or CFG files to configure to fix resolution and refresh rate disparities. For example, 2 commands I use all the time in id tech games are r_displayRefresh "x", and vid_restart. Some of these games are locked to 60hz by default, and by putting r_displayRefresh and vid restart once you start up the game will force the game to run at that refresh and resolution combo you set up. Removing those unwanted resolutions and refresh combos like in the video will also fix this problem, but for some reason if I screw with my resolutions to much, the name of my monitor will be "wired display" in the settings pannel and in some games and that bugs me a bunch.
3. Some games will not support 4:3 aspect ratios anymore. Examples of these include the newer RE Engine games, the newer call of duty games, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and The Last of Us Remake. A common fix for this is to get flawless widescreen and fix the aspect ratio that way, or to get a ultwawide mod. Try that or in the case of call of duty, check out the config files and set the aspect ratio to "standard."
4. It also doesn't hurt to run games at stretched 16:9 aspect ratios if you cannot fix the problem at all. I run Pizza Tower at 950x540, and Syndicate 2011 at 1280x720, and they look fine for the most part. Pizza Tower in particular looks incredible with the perfect scan lines. Also 1280x720 can produce very faint scan lines, not as noticble as 1024x768, but it is still there. Running a game like Eastward at that resolution is really awesome, as that is a game that is letterboxed and has a native resolution of 720p given it is a Switch port.
5. If a game as a super sampling option and your GPU can handle it, definitely take advantage of it! In the case of Call of Duty, The game has a super sampling slider in the options, so I can run the game at 800x600 at 160hz and with 2x super sampling making it 1600x1200, it really sharpens up the image making almost look like 1600x1200. You get the advantage of high refresh rate, higher performance and a sharp image.
6. A good fix for most of these problems is just launching your game at the resolution and refresh rate you want to play at before you launch the game. This is especially good for games running in Unity or Unreal Engine. If the resolution and refresh rate is different when you start the game, change it to the resolution you want, leave the game and come back and it will most likely adhere to what you want.
7. Finally, TURN OFF YOUR CRT WHEN YOU ARE NOT USING IT. Not only do they eat up more power than LCDs, but they can burn in as well if you have the same image on them for a really long time. I don't know if CRTs burn in faster than oleds, but its good to be safe. Use a screen saver, have your displays turn off automatically, and when you are done using your tube for the day, turn it off.
If any of these tips are incorrect or there are anythings I am forgetting, please tell me. CRTs are so incredible, and we definitely lost a ton of awesome stuff when we switched to LCDs. Even though CRTs exited my life around age 12, I am so fortunate to have a 21 inch beast of a display to play games on.
Your tips are pretty spot-on.
This is an amazing video with a wealth of knowledge that everyone into CRT’s should watch.
It’s really helpful if you ever need to set up an old CRT again. I wish I had mine, I only have 4 CRT TV’s here, but no monitors. I got rid of mine probably back in 2010
I was ultra close to go with CRT route for pc but instead settled with grandmas CRT TV for retro consoles + emulation with SCART converter from laptop. I hit jackpot after discovering that this old Phillips is capable of running both PAL and NTSC. When it comes to pc gaming, for me "CRT's are better" argument has finally fallen after experiencing recent 2024 OLED monitors, with HDR and VRR, running at over 120 fps.
Which I totally agree with. Apart from motion blur, OLEDs are superior in almost every way.
@@GTXDash They can be pretty expensive, though.
Step 1: find a CRT
Step 2: plug it into a modern PC
Step 3: game
And now you can beat Tyson!!
I have a bunch of tips for using a crt in modern games. Tip 1- most crt's are 4:3 but many modern games dont support that aspect ratio! You can add 16-9 or 16 -10 resolutions to get around this. Tip-2 because these aspect ratios are shorter, they use up less bandwidth for the crt. With a 16-9/10 aspect ratio you will be able to get even higher refresh rates than at 4-3. Tip-3 some games dont play well with weird or low resolutions. On amd cards(im sure this can be done on nvidia too) there is a feature called vsr that lets your gpu display a high res image on the native res screen, without software even knowing. For example my settings are 1022 by 600(16-9~) but with vsr windows lets me choose 1080p or 1440p 4k etc. -Tip-4 -experimental stuff. If you want the highest refresh rate, you need a shorter hight res, but that makes you loose out on detail. One way to this is with a 21 by 9 resolution! This will be quite narrow on an already small screen, but allows for some really high refresh rates while still maintaining a high res(on the witdth ) image. Ive gotten 150 hz with a res of 1260-540. Or 130hz at 1470 by 630
Excellent video m8 - very informative
I look forward to more videos on this subject. I am interested in CRT monitor technology and would like to learn more about it
Very informative, and well put together video. I'm planning on getting my first crt monitor soon, and this is very helpful
hi, CRT pc monitors are a wonderfull displays even in 2024 for modern gaming, i love them and i stil use them for overall gaming but, their worth usage against a modern display depends on some factors i see this video doesnt cover and also missinform:
for me and many CRT pc monitors enthusiasts, one of the best worth use of a pc CRT monitor against a modern display for even modern gaming is because its image motion quality which the vast mayority of modern displays fails to show as good or without tradeoffs making it not as enjoyable as it is on a pc CRT monitor, but to achieve the CRT motion goddess there are rules to follow:
you need to run the game at a constant framerate matching the refresh rate, for example: if you use 70hz, make sure your game is able to run at constant 70 FPSs, for 60fps, use 60hz and so on and a form of sync like vertical sync, scanlinesync, etc, to avoid seeing a horizontal line (tear line) across the screen during motion, although enabling vertical sync can increase inpulag, for example when i play some 60fps limited framerate games like console emulators at 60hz i disable vertical sync and use scanlinesync (from RTSS Rivatuner Server Statistics software which come with the afterburner software) instead which does a good job lowering input lag and hiding the tear line while in image is in motion just be aware scanline sync requieres some gpu headroom. or when i play a 90fps constant game at 90hz, i just leave vertical sync enabled since higher refresh rates and framerates also help reducing inpulag, and i feel it inputlag responsive enough that way to my likes.
60hz for 60fps gaming on CRT monitors is beautifull and one of CRT strong points as well due to this motion quality again.
be aware 60hz is not that badly flickery - flashing as this video bulp animation inaccurately shows, i dont say it is not noticiable at all, specialy on a white full screen background, but it stil feels way smoother than in that animation and i have watched this animation from my own CRT pc monitor at 60hz and is far smoother and non flashing than i see in that animation, as a matter of fact i see the CRT "flash" at 60hz more like the 70hz bulb, almost flash free on my CRT at 60hz, even watching it from flicker free devices like phone, and from LCD screens that real time bulb 60hz animation speed looks way exaggerated, and i have used many CRT pc monitor for decades on pc at 60hz and none of them flickers-flashes that exaggeratedly, and in games i dont note it, sure i would agree with this video 60hz is not recomended for CRT pc desktop usage (internet surfing, other uses rather than gaming) by the way i personaly dont have issues using 60hz on my CRT for desktop usage, but i am aware not everyone have the same eye sensitivity to CRT flicker. but for games i recomend to use 60hz for games that can not run higher framerate than 60 fps either because being locker at that frame rate like retro games, console emulators or pc being unable to run higher constant framerate than 60fps etc for the best motion experience on them, and since games rarely have full screen white backgounds, most time screen feels flicker free on games at 60hz.
sure the higher the refresh rate the better, i dont deny that as long as the framerate can constatly be matched with the higher refresh rate,
i personally don't have issues with CRT pc monitor 60hz flicker but i prefer higher refresh rates with matching framerate mainly because i feel less stroboscopic effect specially at mouse movements on games where i use the mouse since that makes feel motion even more responsive and more natural more lifelike.
but i would NOT recommend to use higher refreshes like 70hz on a 60fps capable only game because it will make game feel way stuttery when in motion due to the framerate missmatch with the refresh rate.
@@3dfan797 You could have said all this in like 3 sentences lol
Such valuable information. Thank you!
love the in depth explanation
one adapter i'd recommend is the startech displayport to vga adapter it works really well
Very well explained! Thank you.
Ah yes, i can finaly use my lighting McQueen crt for something
Thank you for this fantastic tutorial. I don't have time right now, but I have questions. So I will be back.
Just so you know, your knowledge is invaluable. Thanks.
thank you for useful information.
i personally use those tv color bars for brightness and contrast and lagom test for gamma
when entering the color bars i go down the contrast to 50 and up the brightness till i see the 3 black bars in the down right and then take down the brightness untill only one of the dark bars is visible
then i up the contrast at 100 and turn it a bit down till the brightest black bar starts changing
i end up always with contrast 99 and brightness right now is at 20
in lagom i just adjust the gamma accordingly so all those color, white point and black level tests are ideal as possible and i ended up in the gamma test with a 2.4 which from what i understand is pretty good
Great video. I have many crt tv use daily for tv and 1 like new dell pc crt. I play with on occasion.
If anyone is searching for an old 4:3 LCD monitor, look for 20" models instead of 17" or 19" ones. They usually have a resolution of 1600x1200 instead of 1280x1024 and higher-end models used IPS panels.
Yep. Or smaller ones that are 1024x768.
This was a very well-informed, honest video. Good job! Here are my notes, in the same order as they become relevant in the video:
1. If desk space is a concern, and you'd like your CRT monitor to face directly outward, you can usually scoot the desk away from the wall and let the back of the tube hang off. It's safe so long as the stand is fully on the desk, and it's a great way to keep the space hog at bay.
2. Using the on-board VGA output can be very convenient, but sometimes, the output won't be as sharp as an external DAC. I have an old ATI Radeon HD 5770 that I used to use in a dual-card setp just for its VGA output, but when I finally got around to buying some StarTech DisplayPort DACs, they blew the ATI card away in sharpness.
3. DisplayPort and HDMI DACs do actually have some trade-offs. DisplayPort DACs tend to support higher bandwidth output, allowing you to use higher resolutions and refresh rates without your GPU driver crashing or giving an out-of-range error (NOT your monitor). However, DP DACs cannot do interlaced output, and I can only assume that this is due to GPU firmware bugs. Unfortunately, Nvidia RTX cards also cannot do interlaced output at all for seemingly no reason, no matter the output, and I believe that modern AMD is similar. Intel... is a special case that I won't get into. Interlaced output can allow you to essentially double the perceived framerate of your monitor at no real downside in the context of gaming, which can be very nice across the board, though a select few games don't handle it correctly out of the box.
4. With HDMI DACs, you have to worry about the RGB full vs RGB limited range toggle in your GPU driver. Usually the DAC will simply be built to use one type, and will either clip or lose dynamic range depending on how the PC is set. Doing some testing with near-black and near-white patterns will help you to get proper black and white levels out of your DAC.
5. It helps to be familiar with the win+arrow key and win+shift+arrow key hotkeys to move programs from one monitor to another. Very useful!
6. I understand that you wouldn't want to go so in-depth, but knowing how the vertical refresh rate, horizontal refresh rate, and signal bandwith interact is very useful when creating weird silly resolutions. Obviously not good for a beginner's guide.
7. Your monitor ought to be able to handle 640x480p 140Hz, but only if you reduce the blanking and get lucky. Obviously not within the scope of this video.
8. You can add the detailed resolution of 1366x1024 if you'd like 4:3 1024p, and any DAC should be able to handle it. I don't remember how well games interact with detailed resolutions but I think it's fairly plug-and-play. Just be sure to use CRT Standard timings unless you know what you're doing.
9. I have never experienced issues using the Nvidia Control Panel for my custom resolution settings. Games pick up on my weird settings just fine, though admittedly I don't play many older games.
10. I appreciate the note on gamma and black levels at the end. Not too many people know about that.
Thank you for this. I learned a lot.
I'm using Windows 11 and surprisingly I feel that changing main display for it became way easier - to select my Samsung CRT I just open menu, select monitor and click "make this display Primary" and presto - every game by default launches with this monitor despite it being Monitor 4 normally (with 2 of my LCD monitors and TV being considered as monitors 1, 2 and 3 respectively). Can't say how it works on Intel or AMD since I only have one Windows PC and it has Nvidia card. But everything works and I'm glad that I have 30X0 series.
keep in mind in the nvidia control panel you need to disable scaling for the CRT. It might be buggy since a year or more due to windows stuff... You should be able to see scan lines for supported games which are also not borderless window and also allow the correct resolutions choices, not needing to set windows desktop resolution first.
27:09 RIP WeirdStuff, used to shop there all the time back in the day. A real treasure of a store that place was.
Technically, HDMI and Display Port are the same thing, just in differently shaped connectors. As in, the signals are the same. It's just that HDMI has a patent (requires a license to be used in products), and Display Port is more open-source-y.
as long as it plays melee at 4k hz polling rate
Excellent video! I have the Delock 62967 display port to VGA adapter for my LaCie electron 22 blue model II PC CRT monitor. My video card is the 1050ti GTX OC edition low profile model. I have noticed you are not using the Nvidia's control panel to set custom resolutions, is there a particular reason why you are using the CRU utility ? It can handle more resolutions and refresh rates ?
Thanks in advance!
I did explain it in the video at 18:37
this video convinced me to get a crt, i recently got one and its doing some black flickering, like it goes black and comes back every one or two seconds, im using a vga/hdmi/display port combo like you mention on your video, same happens when i do only hdmi on my laptop
only thing i can figure out is that 800x600 is not its correct resolution, but it doesnt let me go lower than that? and CRU doesnt make any changes, it stays the same every time i use the restar executable, what could i be doing wrong?
"highly covered E series" LOL they are ewaste, and I have many for free
20" viewable pc crts are vastly better than 17", much higher stats and very well worth it on modern systems
Intel iGPU is actually the best scenario for connecting pc crt, since you can access interlacing resolution for things like 1440x1080i@120hz, looks progressive due to high hz and res
Your explanation of cru was pretty alright, so far best part of the video besides where you have to be running cru on the crt, this is not true. you are also adding resolutions to the wrong field
ive never had the issue you're describing with the nvidia control panel across 3 computers, and in fact it is the preferred custom res UI due to how well it saves your custom resolution and how compatible it is
absolutely DO NOT do that gamma fuckery in the gpu control panel, raising the gamma level causes BIT CRUSH and you are crushing a lot of detail. you need to do a proper calibration. for black levels (which I thought you were gonna go into), search for the lagom black level test and lower or raise brightness until you barely see the second square, first can be crushed. then your blacks are fine.
And finally the MOST important thing you completely skipped is MAKE SURE the gpu is outputting FULL color space and NOT LIMITED. limited is selected a lot by default.
overall decent video but shoulda done more research
also use reduced blank 1 or 2 it makes things even smoother and in some ways allow you to go with a high refresh
the perfect guide thank you so much
🙂 cool, thank you, most of this stuff i never heard of, one thing I would like to add is I would highly recommend stocking up on used Invidia 700 series and 900 series video cards because those cards were the last generations of cards that have Analog output along with Digital output, and also I have noticed those cards seem to be more compatible friendly with most older motherboards and with new montors, u can still see the Bios screen. On amd cards they are hit and miss and I dont see the bios screen all i get a is a black screen so thats no good. I don't know what invidia does differetnly but the hdmi standard and or displayport standard is used differently by motherboards, its still a mystery to me on the Why? but yeah if u don't want to guess if it will work or not I would stick with invidia, amd is ok if u have extra video cards lying around to experiment with but if its ur only video card then stick with invida or u will be sorry.
Great video, subbed!
really wish there was some kind of comparable guide for linux users. this is one of the best sources available with general information at least.
And if you have integrated graphics like most Intel CPUs you can just plug the thing into your motherboard's VGA port and enable onboard video through the BIOS, if it isn't already enabled, in which it likely is through VGA because that's what's commonly used for debugging.
Thank you for good information! It was helpful for me to solve NVIDIA control panel rez problem. I wonder if this CRT method can be used for FHD Plasma TV to lose blur and make it sharper! Back in 2009 I had one DVI to VGA Adapter that had best Rez and Hz. Adapter can limit your CRT resolutions. I had Digitus HDMI to VGA dapter and it was difficult to get 19XX to 1200PX rez. I don´t remember all my favorite CRT resolutions but I have older GPU for older OS for full test. I still search good quality DVI-VGA Adapter for my favorite FHD rez for my Philips 107E. Fun fact about CRT. I had 2 same model Philips CRT monitors and only one was able to show 19xx to 1200px resolution. I want to try experiment with UPSCALERS and VGA monitor. Maybe I can UPSCALE digital 720P resolution or Lower to 19xx to 1200px resolution with no cost from GPU performance/memory loss. In theory it seems possible but having resolution and Upscaler tuning to this level is challenge. I want to USE ATI RADEON HD 3850 1GB for older DX 9 and DX10 gaming with 19xxto1200 rez but 1GB VRAM and GPU is not powerful to handle complex gaming engines. The ATI Radeon HD 3000 series was last ATI/AMD card to support Adaptive AA! This is why I put a lot of effort to this challenging project! I experimented cheap HDMI to HDMI Upscalers with my XBOX 360 and It was Impressive to have 480p converted to 1080p. It seems XBOX 360 has its own Upscaler built in because 480p upscaled with added upscaler revealed more details in some games. To my understanding all visual output devices give us 2D and 3D wonderful world with a lot of differences how 2D and 3D work with different technologies and how our eyes can process visual images differently. Some people don´t see the difference between 480p and 1080p. at least we have this visual adventure to find our own taste!
For older games yes, but I can't play most modern games on my 17" CRT monitor. There is just so much fine detail in the interfaces and textures that you loose a lot while playing below 1080p. Cyberpunk 2077 for example I think even 1080p already doesn't look that great.
I got this 17" monitor new in box in 2020 and it looks super sharp, but 1280x1024 or 1024x768 can only do so much. I also keep a 14" PVM at my desk to use with CRT Emudriver and emulators, but each has it's uses.
Even with the CRT superior motion handling I'll choose my shitty VA 24" 1080@144hz any day for a game of Overwatch 2.
Indeed. This is why I recommended that people pair a CRT with a modern display.
Been wanting to do this for some time as part of my muti monitor setup. And just recently got two displayport to VGA plugs, now I just need to hunt me down a CRT.
What about game titles that does not support lower resolutions the CRT monitor needed to run them? If future titles in the years to come requires specs beyond the typical maximum display the CRT can handle, then what?
Great video by the way. I hope to one day invest in one.
in my case, setting the HMDI→VGA adapter output to Limited RGB and YcBcR444 helped make it brighter than trying to push full RGB. I think it's because of the adapter expecting a TV on the other end and defaulting to limited RGB, but PC CRT is always full RGB.
either way, i ended up hooking up my old laptop that has VGA, even gtx 310m runs games like Thief and American McGee's Alice at 800*600p 120-160fps. if you don't have lots of space for a desktop, this is also a good way, especially if you want to watch old TV shows on it.
thank you for the very useful informations
Interesting thing. I have two 21" monitors. The IBM flat crt works with the DP to vga converter and is detected by windows.
My dell curved trinitron will not.
Displays no signal, but is detected by windows and nvidia and shows its even displaying.
Might need to try a different adaptor or even the BNC connections.
Im on a i7-12700K and 2080ti so it should work.
Also watch your vga cables. Older ones sometimes had the bare minimum of pins and while it will display, it wont detect the specific model of display.
I don't know if this apply to ever county but in Greece you able to find CRT monitor literally for free
Don't expect good quality monitor
But most people including my don't use CRT monitors and TV and the end up in warehouse bin street or recycling.
But it's what you find it may end work not work at all good or bad quality you can't able to be 100% sure what i will end up to be.
Good morning, I was fortunate enough to find a NEC MS97F a little over a year at the local thrift store. It only cost 35$ and after a lot of trial and error; it is now my daily driver running at 3200x2400
Im 21 and wanted a crt for the longest time found a gateway evf720 next door for 15 bucks i have 3070ti and since its a vga monitor it took some jerry rigging it but im running a hdmi to vga from the motherboard hdmi so i think the crt is running off of my integrated graphics either way having a crt in adition to your 240hz is such a nice contrast and is really fun to mess with im so glad people are starting to realize dont overpay you can find them all over. love the video keep it up
Appently, there's a way to get your graphics card to work through your motherboards video port or through a 2nd older card that still supports VGA. I mean, I don't know how to do it, atleast not yet.
I personally use a Apple Multiple Scan 20 for my VGA CRT. Using it at 1600x1200@60hz is great. I use a USB C to VGA adapter and then an old VGA to Apple DB-15 converter. Never had any issue with either my 1060 laptop or 3060 laptop
Nice Guide!
tip: you can plug into your motherboard vga port and utilize GPU pass through, that way you dont need adapters and your cpu's onboards graphics will convert everything. may or may not work depending on what GPU you have, I have an i7 7700k and it worked without any issue whatsoever
also, what makes it even better, is it allows you to use interlaced resolutions (unless you have an older GPU that supports it natively - mine doesnt but the onboard graphics will do it for you)
interlacing is an absolute game changer with CRTs and doesnt get mentioned enough
I was running my cheap 19" at 1600x1200@120i - it was beautiful. with normal progressive scan resolutions i would only be able to get 1600x1200 @60p, or 800x600 @120p - basically half of the equivalent interlaced resolution
Some days I really want an eink/crt dual monitor setup 😔
I have one of these on the floor in the corner. If i had the room for it i'd set it up. The resolution's somewhere between above 720p - below 1080p. Picture quality was quite good especially in older games. I'll definitely be using it if my current monitor dies but right now i have no way to have both going.
CRT is better for super low resolution videos, reason why 240p TV video was looking good back then and looks bad on lcd monitor is because CRT screen scales video in optical way like a projector... Let's say projector is 480p but, displaying on the wall - 40-50'' size image will look good even when projector is only showing 480p resolution and if we try watching 480p video on 40-50'' TV it will look like crap because - it's upscaled in a digital way and not optical like an image in CRT would be upscaled...
I like to do 75 Hz at 1200x900 instead of 72, though 70 Hz at 1280x960 is just snappy enough to not be a flickering mess. I had run 1024x768 at 85 Hz for the longest time but found that legibility in some games is important so I cranked the resolution.
great vid
I can buy a crt for 3$ used in my country and i'm using one currently. I want to get a widescreen LED soon though the one I was using broke.
I just started getting into this but another avenue is actually schools for acquiring crts. It may also help to give a call to your local schools and ask if they are selling any old hardware like pcs and monitors. They typically do bids on this kinda stuff so it can’t hurt to go especially if they’re in good condition. Also Facebook marketplace and local shopping apps are good I got 2 off of that
Is there anyway of accomplishing this without using VGA and instead a component input at 480i? I've seen tons of conflicting information on converters and adapters and what not. Could it be possible to convert from HDMI to VGA, but then convert from VGA to Component? Is VGA to component a less laggy solution than HDMI to Component? Or is a higher priced HDMI to component convertor necessary for a smooth experience? I ask because I've somewhat recently got a sweet little 13 inch Trinitron from 1989, and I love the way it looks, it would just be cool to see some new stuff on that screen. Thanks!
You can totally do that. However, the device has to be able to convert 60hz to 59.94hz. And a less than ideal device would just lead to tearing. But, experiment and see if it works out for you. Just make sure to have an LCD plugged in because navigating a modern OS at 480i is an awful experience.
congratulation for the HD subs
Worth noting on VGA converters, to run very high refresh rates or resolutions you need a very fast pixel clock in the adapter, some delock adapters will over 400+ mhz although a startech DP2VGAHD2 will run at 375 mhz which is overkill for most any monitor.
was so confused at 0:21 because i have the same linus tech tips video in the SAME place for my video recommendations so i legit thought my computer was glitching lol
Great video. Only have a couple of things to add which I feel are important.
First off, a lot of these crts are from the late 90's/early 2000's, and as a result, are plagued by bad capacitors (a lot of tech from back then have bad caps in them). This is, afaik, the reason a lot of these monitors get really hot (at least in my experience), or stop working altogether. Working on crts is really dangerous, and not everyone has soldering irons lying around, so if you have issues, you may wanna get the service of a modder to recap your monitor, which can sadly get pricey.
Second. Most vga adapters (both hdmi and dp) are capped at old hdmi specs, which afaik, is a maximum of 1920x1080@60hz. This is fine for most crt monitors, like the ones you have, but if you're like me and have an LG monitor capable of 1600x1200@75hz, those cheap adapters won't support the full capabilities of the monitor. In this case, you have, afaik, two options. The 'Delock 62967 displayport 1.2 to vga adapter' which I couldn't find in stock and is unreliable , and the, in my experience, much better 'StarTech DisplayPort to HDMI VGA Adapter - DP 1.2 HBR2 to HDMI 2.0'. These, afaik, support even the highest quality crts you can get. If you're unsure whether you're looking at the right product, just look at the reviews, as they should have people talking about how well they work for high-res crts.
Hope this helps anyone who may need it
Most standard hdmi to vga adapters can do 1600x1200 @ 75hz. The 1080p 60hz thing isn't a hard limit. Because it can't do 1440p @ 60hz, the next best STANDARD mode they can list is 1080p 60hz.
@@GTXDash I'm pretty sure the hdmi to vga thing I had was unable to support 1200p at 75hz, but I had other issues with that adapter anyways, so I'm happy I got the new one anyways. Nice to know at least
Also I am not sensitive to the flicker of CRT. Can use 480i and 60hz on my CRT fine
TM dev here, didn't expect to see tm 40 seconds into this video i randomly stumbled on lol
I'm speechless bro
a month ago i bought a syncmaster 794m for only 10usd through marketplace, the most useful thing to buy next is a dp to vga adapter, I bought several but finally one from startech worked
Thanks for the guide! So if I use not a CRT monitor, but a CRT TV and want to connect a Steam Dock to it, what should I have? A HDMI to AV converter? Also, a dock station for Deck to connect that HDMI cable?
That could work.
@@GTXDash Swell, thank you! I will try, then.
What do u think about the new breed of high refresh rate led and oled monitors? For gaming that is. Some of them using bfi or strobing.
Whoops. Just went through ur other video, That answered myu question.
Still if its possible to run older games at higher fps on high refresh rate monitors, isnt that more practical than a dual monitor setup?
I'm on a 1440×900 at 85hz, and omfg gaming on this thing is unreal, I will never go back to lcds
very nice 🤙
I love CRTs. I have several, of different types. But of the ones I have, VGA monitors are the least useful. Running modern games on them is a headache because these games aren't designed for the 4:3 format on such a small screen.
Old console games, running at 240p, look worse on the VGA monitor than on a 15Khz CRT monitor.
As for older 3D computer games, which would run well on the VGA monitor, they also support 16:9 at higher resolutions, allowing them to be displayed at high frame rates on a modern monitor.
That's why I think 15Khz CRTs are the most useful, since there are thousands of 240p 2D games that makes good use of it.
As for modern games, I make use of a Panasonic Plasma TV.
60Hz on the Plasma looks excellent, not as good as on the CRT, but it's much better to play on a widescreen 65-inch screen than on a 17-inch one.
If I had one piece of advice to give, it would be to go after a Plasma TV.
I've gone down the rabbit hole so far now that I'm at the point of screwing with potentiometers inside the chassis and hooking up serial TTL cables to tweak things with Sony's WinDAS
The heavest tv i own is an early 720p/1080i flatscreen with a glass front and solid metal body. Almost 100lb i think
Didn't think I could every find a CRT in my country that was not complete trash but then lo and behold a half-decent samsung in a nearby city.
ty sir!
I have like three CRT's now(all of them were found in the thrash in perfect condition for some reason), but i'm planning to sell two of them.
perfect for PCEM
Long live the 1080!
i still got my crt from the 2004 FamilyFund in england im still shocked its like 20yrs old tho i think its more like 21 yrs old
but its better than the first one they gave us that broke down sadly within one year that one had a boxer shape and looked older
but i now think it looked more cool as a classic style setup of 1999 rather than 2002 style
Pretty sure there is a big market for it, if some company choose to re-produce high-level CRT's.
You said you won't be able to break it by testing different resolution
well not severely
well on my belinea 10 70 50 if i use a custom resolution via adrenalin i managed to make the menus freak out on my crt by setting it to 640x480@150hz even though max refreshrate at that resolution is 160hz
at 160hz parts of the display went really dark and the out of range message disappeared that was present at 140hz, 130hz and 120hz
Same happens to me. The sync of the menu is out of whack when it comes to unconventional res/hz combos. Still won't break anything, it just looks weird. As for the darkening, maybe just stick with 144hz.
i need a good vga adapter for my viewsonic pf815 20 inch display
my gpu 6800xt
I already had a rtx 2070 on my rig when i got my crt monitor. I watched a video about a gpu pastrough with an older card that has analog out... They had a gtx 1070 and a 980ti, I though i would try this with an old gtx 550ti that i found but the drivers would not work together with my rtx2070!
Afterwards i bought an AMD radeon HD 7870, and plugged that in with my rtx 2070 and they work together nicely. Now i have 1280x960 @120hz because of interlacing and i can run modern games with fps that high too since my newer gpu is doing all the rendering... (I needed windows 11 for this to work too)
If you have a modern AMD card i guess you could do the same with an old Nvidia card for output. Different generations of cards from the same manufacturers dont work together because of the drivers i guess...
I also saw that video. It was one of the catalysts (a long with the LTT video where they said that they had to use an old Titan because it had the most performance still with an analogue output) that motivated me to make this video because... damn, that's complicated and too expensive for a lot of people.
I'm glad that it works in your case, but the fact that the 550ti didn't work with an RTX, may have been enough to cause someone to give up.
I used this tool for my CRT TV using an HDMI to AV adapter. It works nice, but I can't hear anything in the TV. Can you help me here, please?
Check your graphics card driver settings/control panel to see if any audio is going through the HDMI cable in the first place. Usually, these adapters with AV out should also have AV out for audio. You can also use an Aux (headphone jack) to AV converter cable or adapter.
Meanwhile me who loves the look of a CRT but have tinnitus and sensitive hearing so the ring/whine of them drives me insane
I can see that being a problem with CRT TVs. Fortunately, CRT monitors are a bit different. The sound is caused by the electron gun oscillating at roughly 15khz for TVs (humans can hear up to 20) and over 30 for monitors.