Monitor recomendations

Perhaps it is too late, but I thought I'd weigh in on your question.

At this point in time I think it's not a good idea to buy a CRT. LCD's have come a long way now, and they are cheap enough and high quality enough to be feasible as a professional draftperson's monitor.

A high contrast ratio is something that is worthwhile looking for. The higher the constrast ratio, the more accurately the monitor will reproduce very dark and very light colours.

A number of the features you will need look for will be based on your computers. For example, if you have a DVI video output (typically white), you want to make sure you get a DVI compatible monitor, as it is the newest and best cable for transmitting video. You likely still have a VGA port (typically blue) on your laptop, which means that you don't have to worry about having a DVI-compatible monitor.

Another important consideration is the video card in your computer; this controls how fast it can refresh at a given resolution. If you buy a really high resolution monitor, you might find that the video card can not handle it and it will flicker annoyingly as the video card can not keep up with the resolution. Video card manufacturers will typical publish the resolution abilities of the card somewhere on their website. Any refresh rate below 60Hz is unacceptable in my view.

Above all, I would suggest going into the store and checking out the model that you prefer. They all have slightly different characteristics and you might appreciate some more than others. You may be able to find a better price for the monitor online, but ensure that you can exchange it if it has dead pixels or other problems.

Looks good. Make sure you make use of the DVI cable if you can.