Monitor

[Dannie]

Not sure if this is the right news group and if not please point me in right
direction.

Want to replace my 19" CRT style monitor with a Flat Panel monitor. Would
appreciate pointers on what to look for (Brand etc) and additional features
(if any) I should look for. I have a Dell PC and more than likely my next PC
will be a Dell.

TIA
Dannie

 

[M and D]

Cnet Monitor Buying Guide
http://reviews.cnet.com/Monitors/4520-3173_7-6384019.html?tag=dir

PC Magazine LCD Guide
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1410910,00.asp

Much more:
http://www.google.com/search?q=LCD+monitor+buying+guide

Steven

 

[Guest]

Dannie:
M and D has given you some great resources to compare and select a new
flatscreen LCD. You are going to love it. One more thing to do after you
install your new monitor...

Right-click on an empty area of the desktop and click on:
Properties>Appearance(the tab along the top). When the dialogue box opens,
make sure the 2nd box down (starting with "Use the following method...") has
a checkmark in it. Then, in that same drop-down box, select "Clear Type" and
click "OK". then click Apply>OK.

You will notice a very big difference in video display on LCD Monitors when
this option is used. If you want to see the difference, uncheck the
aforementioned box, look at the display, and then go back in and change it
back. It's an amazing difference...

Good luck.
Mack

 

[John Jay Smith]

I like the pivot feature that lets you turn the monitor at 90 deggrees so
you can view a page
with its big dimension in hieght. (see
here)http://img.dell.com/images/global/products/monitors/1704_rotated_150x250.jpg

take a look at the Dell monitor info center
http://tinyurl.com/3wtxt

What resolution do you have your 19inch CRT at?

LCDs look good at only one specific resolution, and that creates havoc over
the newsgroups
with people complaining that their screen looks blurry. You might need some
help setting up the
font sizes, resolutions and cleartype.

I personally would get a dual screen LCD, since I always use 2 monitors
http://tinyurl.com/qnc8f
if I had the money I would get this baby... 3monitors
http://tinyurl.com/bw4l9
or this gigantic 30 inch one
http://tinyurl.com/ct9rm

In general dell does have some impressive LCDs.

 

[Chelsea]

I would echo what others have said about using ClearType with a flat panel.
You may like to know that there is a Microsoft Powertoy for tuning
clearType-by default it is either on or off. The tool is here
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx if you are
interested. I use it and it makes ClearType even better.

In the UK, Dell appear to be using mostly Viewsonic monitors with their PCs
and these have a good reputation. The best monitor for you depends on what
you use your computer for. Flat panels are still not as good at reproducing
wide spans of colour as Cathode ray types(CRT) and so if you do something
where colour detail is important such as photographic restoration or
proofing DTP before commercial printing, then bare this in mind. If you do
mostly word processing and text based things then TFTs' are great. Good
manufacturers include Iiyama, Sony and Viewsonic. If accurate color
reproduction is an absolute must then the choice is far more limited not to
mention expensive-I could only recommend Eizo or Lacie. All flat panels have
an optimal viewing angle and the screen will look faded and lack lustre
outside that angle, so where you position the TFT is important. Also flat
panels are far more effected by ambient lighting. Remember TFTs have an
optimal resolution, unlike CRTs . You should check what the optimal
resolution is before you buy, my reason being that your current graphics
card may possibly not support it. This will only apply if the TFT is bigger
than 19" As an example my TFT has its optimal resolution at 1920x1200, that
is quite high, but not unique among the larger screen TFTs. If you want a
large screen then possibly budget for a new graphics card. Also look for a
monitor with DVi input on the back. This allows a purely digital signal from
the graphics card to be fed to the monitor-sounds complicated but all you
need to know is your monitor has dvi input and your graphics card has a dvi
output socket-not all do. The image quality is substantially better if you
use DVi, however all monitors and graphics cards still support standard VGA.
DVi also requires a different cable. Hope that helps.

Chelsea