I have forgotten everything (except BIGGAER -= BETTAR!!!1!1! LOL!!).
So what do I need to look for, watch out for when purchasing a new computer monitor?
First thing to decide, do you want a CRT or a LCD. LCDs are still more expensive, but prices are dropping. I used to say that LCD resolution wasn’t as good as a CRT, but it’s getting better. If you want a CRT, get a flat-screen. The lack of that curve helps a lot. A CRT is measured just like a TV, that is, diagonally. A 17" monitor like mine is equivalent to a 15" flat screen, and it has about 17" of depth. A flat screen is just measured straight across. If you really want a good picture, I suggest at least a 17" monitor CRT with Trinitron technology.
The LCD screens I have seen suck at games and video, except for the $4000 Apple cinema ones.
Don’t buy a microwave by accident.
When comparing several monitors in a row, forget the pretty pictures the store has them set on. Look at text. Bring up the same size window, throw some text on it. (Even a good old MS-DOS prompt will work.) And then compare the monitors side by side. Try getting medium and smallish text. Note that:
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You will be doing most of your closest, focused, use of the monitor reading text.
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A monitor that doesn’t display text sharply won’t display anything else well.
Forget the pictures, focus on text readibility.
Note that cheaper LCD monitors might not have good refresh rates. This is bad if you plan on watching a lot of quality video on it. (E.g., movies or well rendered video games.) Play a movie on a demo if this is going to be important to you.
I recommend LCD, unless you are doing graphics. I don’t know about games, other than LCDs used to suck on games, but are getting better and better. A hardcore gamer would know more than me.
A few things about LCDs: Make sure you want to keep the monitor set at its “native” resolution most of the time, because that’s where it wants to be. (My 17" NEC MultiSync wants to be at 1280 x 1024.) I can set it to 800 x 600 or anything else, but it never looks as good as at 1280 x 1024. (It’s not quite as sharp.) So if you like your screen set at a lower resolution (so that everything—the icons, images, menubars are larger) than you might not like an LCD.
The thing about LCDs that I love is that there isn’t that irritating “flicker” that regular (CRT) monitors have. You need to keep the refresh rate high (at least 75 or so Hertz, I think?) to protect your eyes. (Usually you only dip below the recommended refresh rate if you have a high resolution and millions of colors set—which I always did when I used a CRT.) However, I now notice that whenever I see a CRT monitor, no matter what it is set at (my sister’s monitor is 85 Hertz or something) I notice the flicker! I didn’t before, so I guess my eyes are adjusting to a non-flicker existence. Which is good. Flicker is bad for your eyes. LCDs are better on your eyes. LCDs last longer. LCDs don’t emit eeeeevvvvvillllll radiation. They aren’t heavy and clunky and they don’t heat up a room in the summer.
Lots of reasons to love LCDs. But, if you are doing heavy graphics (for print—for web graphics, it doesn’t matter) then you can’t really use an LCD. Unless it’s an Apple Cinema Display, of course, but those are expensive, and require a special adapter if you use a PC.
Sorry, I should have said that (although my mother would love one) I am not going to get an LCD. I want to play FPS on my computer and do not want any blurry moving pictures. I cannot afford it, but I wonder how plasma would so as a gaming screen?
Anyway, I remember something about apeture grill size and dot-pitch. What do those mean?
Muad’Dib—have you seen a current (new) LCD monitor run a game? I have gotten flack for getting my LCD from people who haven’t seen the latest improvements. So make sure you see what’s out there before dismissing LCD outright.
Yes, yes, apeture grill and all that. From what I understand, you want to get a monitor with a “Trinitron” tube, because they are better, sharper, and have darker darks. They are also more expensive (but not as expensive as LCD, which, I might add, are going down in price). If the monitor you are looking at says something about “apeture grill”, you’re looking at a Trinitron monitor (Sony isn’t the only one that makes them).
If you see a monitor that talks about “shadow mask”, you are getting a less quality monitor. Sure, it’ll be fine for most things, but it just isn’t as nice as Trinitron. But it’s a little cheaper.
Some LCD monitors have DVI input connector, which is digital so they skip the analog to digital conversion. I assume you are using your old video card?
A 15"LCD monitor has about the same viewing screen as a 17" CRT monitor (maybe a half inch smaller).
Performance mostly depends on your video card.
Here is a cheaper LCD at Office Depot:
Microtek C593 15" LCD Flat Panel Monitor $359.99 - 10% coupon - $110 rebates ($30 rebate needs original UPC) = $214 shipped free. Search for 284636
Product Spec 350:1 contrast, 200 nits brightness, 3yr warranty
Best advice really…look for something you think you want, what are you going to spend 99% of your time doing, as somebody already mentioned: graphics won’t go well on LCD’s, and such.
Visit the store & look at them too, at least that way you know how they work with your eyes.
Don’t know why no one mentioned this but… dot pitch = sharpness of moniter.
lower the better.
I.E .22 is better then .24 (don’t get variable dotpitch… that means the center is crisper then the edges… gets really annoying unless of course you don’t care. I spend alot of time at my computer so its really easier on the eyes for everything to be in the same focus.)
I really recommend no less then 17 inch. 19 if possible. Or hell. dual crt’s. I use a viewsonic perfect flat 17 inch. everything is nice and crisp, but frankly it gets really annoying to have multiple apps open… ah thats just me ranting.
Watch for Dell sales that include free shipping - monitors are HEAVY and expensive to ship.
I got a Sony FW900 at 20% off & free shipping that way - 24" 16x10 CRT. Last CRT I’ll ever buy (based on 2 prior Sony’s lasting me for 15 years).
I expect in less than 15 years I’ll have a full wall display… half the time these days I use a DLP projector from the couch anyway.
Surfing on a 7 foot screen is amazing, even if it is only XGA.
How LCD’s compare to CRT’s:
Brightness:
LCDs: Not very bright, will look washed out in direct sunlight but fine with overhead light
CRTs: bright enough for most people
Colour depth: how well the screen reporduces colours.
LCDs: Depends on quality
CRT: depends on quality, generaly a bit better than LCD’s
Clarity: How well you can make out text and small details
LCDs: Absolutely fugging amaizing
CRTs: Depends on quality
Flicker:
LCDs: None
CRTs: Invisible to annoying to headache inducing depending on how sensitive your eyes are and the quality of the screen.
Ghosting: The residual image of past frames on the screen.
LCDs: Invisible to annoying depending on how sensitive your eyes are and the quality of the screen. 90% of people cant seem to tell on a screen with less than 25ms response time
CRTs: None
Geometry: How well is the screen aligned. ie: is a square a square or a oval pincusion.
LCDs: Perfect
CRTs: Depends on screen, no CRT will be perfectly aligned and you have to fiddle.
From a LCD user for a year, when you try to go back to a crt, everything just feels WRONG. On especially bad CRT’s I even start to get nauseous and dizzy after a while.