Monitor a most neglected device.

[cncinfotech 0]

Monitors remain the most neglected device when it comes to buy or upgrading. Most people only look for fastest processor, harddisk space and Ram. However, one important aspect of pc performance often gets completely overlooked, and that is the display. This should ideally be one of the more important things for any computer user to consider. First, because the display, which depends both on the monitor and graphics card, is one of the more expensive component that you buy- it makes up about a quarter of the cost of your entire system. The monitor is a long term investment. A good monitor can give you trouble free performance for years. A second and quality and equally important consideration is the newer software demands more and more from the display subsystem of computers. For example, there is no way that the 32 MB graphics card and 15 inch monitor that were the norm just one year ago, can do justice to the modern GUIs for games and operating system (Windows vista).With prices taking a drawturn, upgrading to bigger monitor is not a bad idea.But sadly the monitor is still taken for granted by most user. New Pc buyers usually just take whatever their vendor offers them. Newer monitors are more environment-friendly and generate less radiation. Moreover, you can turn in your old monitor and get a new one with a bit of reduction in price.

[kobra500 1]

Well I have three monitor that are all 19" and therefore I have 2 good graphics cards to power them... Well they were good when I bought them a year ago and tey work for me fine i'd tell you what it was called but I cant remember to be honest so never mind. I think the radion new 1's although I hardly ever use all three but I usuallly use one for music and onefor whatever else i'm doing so... I use it a TV lol

Edited January 9, 2008 by kobra500 (see edit history)

[dre 0]

Monitors remain the most neglected device when it comes to buy or upgrading. Most people only look for fastest processor, harddisk space and Ram. However, one important aspect of pc performance often gets completely overlooked, and that is the display.

This really applies only to the people who care. For instance, try to convince someone that myspace will suddenly become better if they go from 17in to 21 in, it just wont happen. If you play games or do video related stuff, great, monitor upgrading is something worth considering. If not, there's just no reason to.
A simple rule for choosing a good monitor is just to get Samsung, they've always made the best monitors and still do, so you just can't go wrong with them.

that the 32 MB graphics card and 15 inch monitor that were the norm just one year ago

More like 8 years ago.

[Saint_Michael 3]

Yeah I am with dre unless you need a real specific monitor like one used for HD quality then yeah then maybe you would upgrade, or if you go a new desk for you computer and the monitor just doesn't fit then ok maybe get a new one. Of course the main reason most people don't upgrade monitors is that nice little price tag, and why would they need a 21+ inch plasma, LCD, flat screen monitor for reading emails and surfing the net, its just a waste. Unless its a business or scientific enviroment there is no need to get the ultimate monitor, thats like telling people they need to spend $100,000 for that 150 inch plasma TV.

[cncinfotech 0]

Well i want to see, do people really care about monitor when they buy PC ? Today we have a wealth of choices available to us at reasonable cost. The prices of LCD displays have also come down. But sadly the monitor is still taken for granted by most users. New PC buyers usually just take whatever their vendor offers them. At best, a little thought is given to the size of the monitors. However, choosing a monitor suited to your needs is not simple. You need to strike a balance between picture quality and the amount of money you are willing to spend on buying a monitor.

Your eyes and monitor- For everyone who spends more than a couple of hours a day in front of a computer, eyestrain is an important consideration. A good monitor not only generates more vibrant and real looking images, but it is also much easier on the eyes. There are several factors that impact the eye-friendliness of a monitor.

Resolution – If design is your forte then your monitor should able to reproduce sharp image images at high resolutions. Resolution refers to the sharpness and clarity of an image. For monitors, the screen resolution is expressed as number of dots (pixels) on the entire screen. This means that a 640 * 480 pixel screen is capable of displaying 640 distinct dots on each of the 480 lines, which translates to about 300,000 pixels. Make sure that you choose a resolution setting that you are comfortable with- a 1024*768 resolution on a 15- inch screen might not be very comfortable to view even if your monitor support it.

Refresh Rate- This is the rate at which each pixel is redrawn on a screen. If you view an image at lower refresh rates (say, 60 Hz), the images will flicker, causing eyestrain. The ideal setting for flicker-free viewing is about 85 Hz, but 75 Hz is comfortable too. Make sure that your monitor supports a refresh rate of at least 75 Hz. If you have a powerful graphics card that can generate images at high-resolutions and refresh rates, make sure that your monitor is able to support them.

Radiation – Long hours spent in front of a monitor can cause damage to one’s eyes and in some cases even cause severe headaches. While moderns CRT displays abide by the new emission standards, it would still be advisable to use an anti-glare screen to further eliminate electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from display.

[A donut 0]

Really good advice there cncinfotech.I used to have a 17'' CRT monitor, but it was too dark to see and can sometimes hurt my eyes.But now I've got a 19'' wide-screen LCD and my eyes felt better when I use the computer.

[fffanatics 0]

one important aspect of pc performance often gets completely overlooked, and that is the display.

This is completely false. A monitor never will increase or decrease the performance of a system. Yes, if you set your display to a higher resolution you may notice lower frame rates in graphiclly intensive applications but this is not the fault of the monitor. This is the fault of the video card because every pixel is roughly 32-bits of memory (sometimes 64) so going from 800x600 to 1600x1200 is 4x time amount of memory the graphics card has to have available and this is just for the front buffer. Most applications are atleast double buffered so you are talking about 8x the memory needed for an application to run quickly. A monitor, however, may improve ones interaction with a computer but not the performance. The higher contrast ratio, the darker black is and the lighter white is. The higher the refresh rate the refresh rate, the better it is for your eyes because it helps your eyes blink more often.

[Tramposch 1]

This is completely false. A monitor never will increase or decrease the performance of a system. Yes, if you set your display to a higher resolution you may notice lower frame rates in graphiclly intensive applications but this is not the fault of the monitor. This is the fault of the video card because every pixel is roughly 32-bits of memory (sometimes 64) so going from 800x600 to 1600x1200 is 4x time amount of memory the graphics card has to have available and this is just for the front buffer. Most applications are atleast double buffered so you are talking about 8x the memory needed for an application to run quickly. A monitor, however, may improve ones interaction with a computer but not the performance. The higher contrast ratio, the darker black is and the lighter white is. The higher the refresh rate the refresh rate, the better it is for your eyes because it helps your eyes blink more often.

not true about the "a monitor will never increase or decreas the performance of a system"

What if you have a 22" monitor playing Crisis, you are getting 10 FPS.. you downgrade to a 15" monitor and you get 30 FPS... preformance just incresed.. or if you buy a 30" monitor, you get 1 FPS... preformance decreased.

[dre 0]

not true about the "a monitor will never increase or decreas the performance of a system"
What if you have a 22" monitor playing Crisis, you are getting 10 FPS.. you downgrade to a 15" monitor and you get 30 FPS... preformance just incresed.. or if you buy a 30" monitor, you get 1 FPS... preformance decreased.

Nobody makes you change resolution. Keep it the same, and your performance will be the same.

I think if you switch the refresh rate on the monitor from 60 to 75hz, then you might see a tiny drop in performance, I've read somewhere that it eats a bit more bandwidth, but LCD's don't have a set refresh rate anyways, so I don't think switching from 60hz is necessary.

[Tramposch 1]

I was just trying to say that monitors are part of performance.