New Monitor Purchase - Understanding Monitor Specs
Mar 26 '00 (Updated Jun 02 '00)
Just like buying a TV right, how difficult can it be to decide on a monitor? Unfortunately even a monitor purchase can be confusing. Granted the store salesman can easily explain these terms but not always accurately or leaving out important details. The next few paragraphs will not only explain what the terms mean but how or why you should consider their importance.
What To Expect
The four key ingredients to consider when purchasing a new monitor are, refresh rate, size, resolution and dot pitch.
Common Advertisement
Brand Name
1. 17" (16" viewable)
2. Resolution 1,204 x 768 @ 80Hz
3. .28mm Diagonal DP (Dot Pitch)
4. Screen Shape: Cylindrical or Flat Square
Size and viewable area
To keep it simple, monitors are not measured like televisions. Monitor sizes are measured by CRT depth. The actual viewable area will then vary which in terms of quality can be substantial. A viewable area of 16" means the diagonal measurement of the glass is in fact 16".
A few years ago 15" monitors were the most preferred. However, after major decline in cost and advance in quality, 17" monitors either are or will be the most common and preferred. 14" Monitors are becoming rare, a computer store with 50 monitors may have one or less 14" models to choose from. Also available are 19", 21", and even 24" monitors. Getting into very large monitors such as a 19" will not only add demand to a system and hog desk space but a quality band name will cost a great deal more. As for the gigantic other choices one must first evaluate the system it will be run on and other factors of practicality such as physical size and 4-digit price tag.
Maximum resolution and refresh rate
Resolution
I don't know why manufactures continue to boast maximum resolutions. For starters, every monitor I have even used was capable of resolutions high enough to make a person squint. A 17" monitor may have a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 1,024. Not only does this ratio (5:4) cause image distortion but text is simply too small to read at this high of a resolution on this size monitor. A 17" monitor should use either an 800x600 or 1,024 x 768 resolution, which are the desired (4:3) ratios. A 15" monitor should use a 640x480 (4:3) or 800x600 resolution.
Refresh rate
What is really important is what the refresh rate will be at the maximum desiredresolution. To keep it simple, every pixel or dot on the screen is "refreshed" or redrawn many times every second. If one is able to detect this flicker it can cause eyestrain and image quality is simply not the same as if it were flicker free. The industry standard for flicker free images is 72Hz as very few people can detect flicker at or above 72Hz. Most flicker free monitors off a refresh rate of 85Hz. Those that use higher rates do not offer any additional advantage and could even be considered counter productive.
Tying the two together
Since refresh rate changes with resolution this information is not always readily available in an advertisement or even display. As resolution increases the refresh rate will decrease and visa versa. If full documentation is not readily available you can use your peripheral vision to test the refresh rate. Simply stand in front of a monitor and turn your head slightly away. If you cannot detect any flickering then the refresh rate meets your needs.
Video card
Monitor performance is at the mercy of the video card. Even inexpensive video cards are often capable of delivering what the monitor needs to live up to its full potential. However, in some cases substandard monitor performance can result from old or poor quality video cards.
Dot Pitch (DP)
Simply stated this is the distance between each dot on the screen. You are not likely to find a monitor with a DP so bad it is quickly noticed. Generally speaking this is the least dominant factor concerning quality since nearly all are within a close range.
Diagonal and Horizontal DP
Because of various technologies DP is not always measured the same. While always in millimeters, measurements can be taken horizontally or diagonally. The DP of a monitor with a diagonal DP cannot be compared to that with a horizontal DP. The standard for diagonal measurements is .28mm and .25mm for horizontal measurements. In either case the lower the number or closer the dots, the clearer the picture. Whether or not your eyes will detect the difference is another story. However, buying a monitor with substandard dot pitch is not recommended.
CRT screen shape
Today's monitors will have either a cylindrical or flat square tube, flat being the new standard. The newer flat screens offer less graphical distortion. Cylindrical screens have a curvature that causes image distortion. When making a new monitor purchase you will notice a reference to "flat panel" or "flat screen" but are not likely to see any reference to a cylindrical tube. Therefor it can be assumed that if there is no reference to "flat screen" it is the old standard. Do not confuse LCD flat panel with other flat screens. LCD flat panels are very expensive while flat CRT monitors are the norm.
Closing...
That is the basics in plain English that should aid in a new monitor purchase. For more information www.Webopedia.com offers exhaustively detailed and massive amount of reference material.
Review reformatted June 2, 2000
Factual content is nearly the same.
JZ
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