How Long Do LCD Monitors Last? Here’s My Story About Two 17″ Dell LCD Monitors

So for years, I have been using two 17″ LCD monitors I bought from Dell, that middle monitor below was given to me I think, and so, from 2008 to 2016, I used these monitors. That’s 8 years that I used them, and eventually moved onto even bigger monitors. LCD is an old technology don’t get me wrong, but I think LED will last even longer, and OLED (I can’t really say unfortunately). The 17″ monitor on the right I got with a Dell Inspiron desktop, and the monitor on the left I ordered off eBaY. I don’t know why I ordered such smaller monitors back then but, maybe it was all I could afford. You can check out the selection of monitors on Amazon.ca through our affiliate link (which we may earn a commission from what ever you may buy). 

In the above picture, it does look like a mess, my apologies, but that was a quick photo back then and all my other setup photos are pretty organized (trust me!). I would of rather had matching monitors but you know how things work sometimes. One of the best parts of these old monitors was that they actually had buttons on the front of the bezel!. Now a days all the buttons are behind the screen (at least for the Samsung and LG models that I’ve bought), and there are some monitors that have touch sensitive buttons on the very front of the bezel too. I probably used these monitors on average 3-5 hours a day for 8 years before they started to go green, and below you will see some pictures (examples) of monitors when they tend to go green, and unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of those original Dell monitors doing that but next time I will document that stuff I promise.

I’ve used CRT monitors in the past but I never purchased one because when I started working and got a credit card I actually was able to afford a LCD monitor back then and I just ordered them from Dell.ca and financed them which was pretty simple. If you think about it, 8 years is a pretty good amount of time to own a monitor and sometimes monitors last even longer, which why I buy straight from the source now, being Samsung, LG, Sony or Sharp which are all great brands to choose from. That also goes for TV’s too. I have actually owned a 4k monitor before made by Samsung and I found the text was hard to read so I got rid of it and replaced it with a 1080p monitor again (yes, by Samsung) and have been using that ever since).

Just a heads up, for those who are looking for a good quality monitor, like I said, look for LG, Samsung, Sony or Sharp monitors and avoid the rest. If your on a budget, get a ASUS or Dell, and always avoid Acer and all the unknown brands you’ve never heard of before, as the known brands will cost more but will last longer as well. If you find a good branded monitor for a good price, read the fine print in the product details and make sure it’s not refurbished. Open box is OK I have bought those ones before. What ever you do, I would not recommend spending more than $1000 on a monitor unless you are rich and don’t care, look at all monitors priced below $450 or less, etc. I’ve seen the Apple displays go for so much like $3000 per display and that’s just outrageous for a monitor!.