buying an lcd

[rly723]

i never considered doing this since i already had a laptop, but the lcd cracked on me so its useless now. rather than spend $300+ on a replacement lcd, i ecided to order an lcd and use it as an external monitor for now.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=52470410&pfp=search&tabtype=rb

i saw this 19" viewsonic and price matched it at Office Depot for $159.99-$40 rebate. so i got it for around $120 or so plus tax. is this a good deal? i just plan to use it as an external monitor and for my 360.

only issue is it doesnt have DVI..should i shell out the extra $60-80 for an lcd with dvi? like this one from newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824254005

or should i just wait longer maybe the current lcd's with dvi will fall in price over the next several months. not looking to spend alot , probably in the $150 range

any thoughts on this? sorry i'm not too informed on dvi and lcd's, does it just offer a better overall picture? for what i'm using it for,would be necessary to get dvi? unfortuantely if i use it as an external monitor, my laptop doesnt have a dvi cable slot, so maybe i dont really need it. thanks for your help

 

[SOSTrooper]

The only drawback I see from the LCD you just purchased is you having to swap the VGA cable every time you want to use your Laptop or play the 360. You can always get a VGA switch box for about $20 - $30 if you don't like the hassle. Getting the LCD w/ DVI won't do you much good since you said your laptop doesnt have DVI out; you'll have to get a scaler to upconvert the analog signal of VGA to digital signal of DVI, and that'll set you back a couple hundred dollars, so that's out of your option. I would recommend searching for a cheap VGA switch box for your new LCD.