Response from Jonathan: Dan,

The choice is up to you. We prefer to use the existing CRT whenever possible because we think they deliver a more authentic arcade experience. We like to refer to it as the “classic, old school” look. Basically the picture looks more like we remember it when we played the games initially. LCD monitors are a good option as well (especially for MAME cabinets) but you must remember that most LCD monitors now are widescreen while most arcade games were standard 4:3 resolution so the picture will be stretched on most games when playing them. There’s no doubt that LCD monitors have a nice, crisp picture but we just prefer the look of CRT. Again, this is totally our opinion and the choice is ultimately up to you. You really can’t go wrong either way.

Now, you might need some additional items if you decide to stick with the CRT. The good news is that a lot of Golden Tee cabinets have monitors that already support a VGA plug which means your PC would be pretty much plug and play. If the monitor in your Golden Tee cabinet does not have this plug, then you will probably need something (either a video card like the ArcadeVGA, a video converter board, or some special software) to convert the signal coming from the PC to one the arcade monitor can use. Additionally, you may need a video amplifier (or something similar) to allow you to hook up the VGA cable to the connector on the monitor as well. This can be a bit tricky but overall it’s not that bad. Of course, most LCD monitors are plug and play so this shouldn’t be an issue with them. Keep in mind though, that buying an LCD monitor will usually cost more than purchasing the items required for the CRT. Once again, the choice is up to you. We’re just giving you some things to think about.

Hope that helps. Thank you for your question and good luck with your future repairs.