[lug] Picking a monitor.

[Maxwell Spangler]

On Tue, 2010-07-27 at 23:08 -0600, David L. Anselmi wrote:
> What do you look for if you were buying a new monitor these days?
> 
> When I bought my last one (not quite 10 years ago), it seemed
> relatively easy to find something that 
> was a reasonable balance of quality, performance, and price, and to
> find the sweet spot in size.
> 
> I suppose today you'd get a flat screen, perhaps wide aspect ratio and
> that you could certainly find 
> something cheap.  Are flat screens a commodity and you just get the
> cheapest in the size you want? 
> Or are there other performance factors to consider?
> 
> I guess I don't currently have any DVI video cards, will I have to
> upgrade my card too because VGA 
> is going the way of ATA?

I'm no expert but I'll offer my own experience:

Two months ago after buying a meticulously researched four-core AMD
based HP desktop I chose to remain ignorant about monitor technology and
let myself simply pick a matching HP 21" (2159m) monitor to go with
it.  

It was nice to not obsess about features and comparisons and such and
just pick based on brand, appearance and size.  So you can do that and
be happy.  OR you can educate yourself on features, do the typical
techie research and comparison, make a choice and be proud of the
features you've purchased (even if you never use them!)  These days I
find it refreshing to just pick based on small, medium or large and not
worry sometimes.

My criteria was:
* Well known brand
* 21" or greater
* As much resolution as possible
* Attractive bezel appearance
* VGA, DVI and HDMI inputs so I can easily use any as I like

I chose a 21" instead of a 23" or greater not based on size of display
but on pixel pitch (space between pixels).  I have a six year old HP
laptop with a 15.4" display at 1680x1050 resolution.  The pixels are
packed in really tight and text looks like ink - I love it.  The 21"
monitor has a dot pitch of .24 ? and the larger size monitors have a dot
pitch of .26 and higher.  Text looks blocky when viewed up close with
stairstepping on V, W, etc.  Move back a bit and things are nice, but I
never see stairstepping on my laptop.  A 23" with a higher pitch would
look more blocky and unhappy and I couldn't find a 21"-23" screen with
2560x???? resolution for a cheap price.  You may wish to consider this
as a valid feature to pay attention to.

The other thing I feel strongly about is ditching VGA.  You get a better
display by using a digital connection (DVI or HDMI) and won't truly
enjoy your new monitor with old VGA.

-- 
Maxwell Spangler
========================================================================
        Linux, Unix and Database Administration
        Currently: Boulder, Colorado
        LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellspangler