question about failing monitor and "mini" atx

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Hello. I bought a samsung 753df about the time diablo 2 first came out.
I usually leave it on 24/7 but with a blank screen saver. After using
a few others computers I realised something was not right with mine.
The screen is very dark no matter what settings I play with. I blamed
it on the video card at first but I changed over to my gf's monitor and
wow what a difference.

I've been suffering through so many games before I realised this. Are
the tubes just getting old? there are some advanced settings like color
temps and v-moires that I have no idea what they are about. maybe I
messed up some settings that caused it to go bad?

Anyway when we get more money we were thinking of a lcd monitor. Whats
a good one for around 200? I see newegg has quite a bit in that price
range. Also do they last longer than tube types?


I also had one more question. I just had a very boring trip where I was
stuck in the hotel a lot. they had free internet access but the laptop
was worthless for doing anything besides web browsing. So I was
wondering are these mini atx computers worth the trouble? Would they
get past airport security? I dont know if it would be worth giving up
expandability for something I might only need to go out of town with 2
weeks a year.

thanks!