Hi All, I’m looking to purchase an external LCD monitor for my laptop set-up at home. I just went to Newegg.com and was overwhelmed by the number of options, esp. with respect to brand, size, widescreen vs. normal, LED backlight, resolution, etc. Can anyone here tell me which factors matter most and help simplify my decision-making process? Let me know if there’s a better site where I should be looking at. Thanks for helping out…I’m not a computer guy at all and can’t really tell one monitor from another. I know a bunch of you guys know way more about this stuff than I do so I’m counting on all you gurus out there. thanks! http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=20&name=LCD-Monitors&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001487 I have a Samsung similar to this one at home - has worked pretty well.
Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8 > 2E16824001487 > > I have a Samsung similar to this one at home - has > worked pretty well. Max resolution is 1920 x 1080 -> Crap
numi u basically should be looking for 1920*1080 HD resolution, with LED backlight and a 120 refresh rate
comp_sci_kid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Analti_Calte_Equity Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8 > > > 2E16824001487 > > > > I have a Samsung similar to this one at home - > has > > worked pretty well. > > Max resolution is 1920 x 1080 -> Crap What resolution do you recommend?
Thanks pimpineasy. I can always count on you for sound feedback. comp_sci_kid – you say that 1920x1080 is crap but isn’t that pretty standard? FYI I am not a “computer whiz” or a comp_sci_guy for that matter 
I do like decent displays in case I watch TV shows from time to time, but 95% of what I do on my computer is check e-mail, use Microsoft Excel, and read AnalystForum or some other finance-related work.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks pimpineasy. I can always count on you for > sound feedback. > > comp_sci_kid – you say that 1920x1080 is crap but > isn’t that pretty standard? FYI I am not a > “computer whiz” or a comp_sci_guy for that matter > I do like decent displays in case I watch TV > shows from time to time, but 95% of what I do on > my computer is check e-mail, use Microsoft Excel, > and read AnalystForum or some other > finance-related work. Higher resolution - more real estate on your computer. Higher DPI (Dot per inch) - sharper image. So so dpi = resolution/screen size. 1080 is really doesn’t cut it when you need to have 2 or 3 windows open at the same time (like i do when i develop software) or when you are trading, so if you look for top notch monitor - look for those 2 parameters
Acer monitors are the best.
I like more than one screen. In general productivity increases with the number of screens (measured performance increase is about +29%). I like tree screens (or multiples of three) in order to have a primary screen ergonomically placed in front of me and two screens for stuff (research, models, data). A good laptop should support three 19" 1920x1080 screens. I do not recommend dual screen setups, bad for your neck. In that case I’d rather get a decent 27" (1920 x 1200) or 30" (2560 × 1600) screen. You can split such a large screen by shift-clicking the windows in the task bar and then right-click tile (you need special tools for this on a Mac). I would take LED screens primarily for heat, my home-office is quite small, so my screens tend to heat up the place. Also LED light is thought to be more natural. When I still cared for brands Eizo was the top brand, but HP seems decent to me. I current run a setup with screens from Dell. Oh, get a screen-lift if you care for looks, or just get an Apple Thunderbolt display.
I couldn’t find any better resolution than 1920x1080 with an LED backlight. Also, on Newegg.com, it doesn’t let you see the refresh rate; however there are other categories such as contrast ratio and response time. Do I care about this stuff, or should I just go with the “best brand” and ideal size? Let me know if you guys have brand recommendations…thank you sirs!
comp_sci_kid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > numi Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Thanks pimpineasy. I can always count on you > for > > sound feedback. > > > > comp_sci_kid – you say that 1920x1080 is crap > but > > isn’t that pretty standard? FYI I am not a > > “computer whiz” or a comp_sci_guy for that > matter > > I do like decent displays in case I watch TV > > shows from time to time, but 95% of what I do > on > > my computer is check e-mail, use Microsoft > Excel, > > and read AnalystForum or some other > > finance-related work. > > Higher resolution - more real estate on your > computer. Higher DPI (Dot per inch) - sharper > image. So so dpi = resolution/screen size. 1080 is > really doesn’t cut it when you need to have 2 or 3 > windows open at the same time (like i do when i > develop software) or when you are trading, so if > you look for top notch monitor - look for those 2 > parameters +1 csk living up to his namesake…
I recently bought a ViewSonic 24" monitor (2450WM) for around $160 and have been really happy with it (mine was refurbished from MacWarehouse). Unless you are a video editor, I wouldn’t worry too much about optimizing things… I’d just go to a Fry’s or a Best Buy or a J&R and look at monitors and see which one seems to have the best value and aesthetic appeal (but take a quick peek at the reviews on Amazon.com for whatever model you like, just to make sure there isn’t some problem that people are complaining about). In fact, someone suggested (and this turns out to be good), going to Amazon.com and looking at the lowest reviews for whatever you’re thinking of buying. If they complain about something you care about, then don’t buy. if they talk about how they ordered something and it came late or whatnot, then buy from someone else, but don’t worry too much about it. I took far too long to pull the trigger because I was busy optimizing, and I should have just bought the one I liked and then moved on to other things. I will say that LED is nice because it draws less power, and they supposedly last longer too.
I got a pair of the ASUS ML248H 24-Inch LED monitors not too long ago and I think they’re still considered top notch (for the price range). Screen quality is solid and the stand is quite convenient in my opinion (discreet and swivels both vertically and horizontally). Also 2ms response time if you like computer games. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236111 I think the monitor/TV market is maturing a bit, so size and aesthetics are probably the highest considerations unless you want extremely high/low quality. Also look at reviews for little annoyances that owners have.
I like Samsung and Viewsonic’s monitor.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I couldn’t find any better resolution than > 1920x1080 with an LED backlight. > > Also, on Newegg.com, it doesn’t let you see the > refresh rate; however there are other categories > such as contrast ratio and response time. Do I > care about this stuff, or should I just go with > the “best brand” and ideal size? Let me know if > you guys have brand recommendations…thank you > sirs! Contrast ratio helps when you have direct sun light exposure at your desk. The higher the contrast the better. Response time helps if you need the image to change very fast (e.g., in computer games). The faster the better.
Guys, thanks to all of you for your feedback. I’ve tried to digest all the information you guys have discussed and I’m thinking about getting this monitor here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XU73KY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER 23" monitor, ultra slim profile, 1920x1080 HD resolution, tilt and swivel, etc. Vertical refresh rate is 55-75 Hz though. Is that too low?
Numi, why are you looking at refresh rate? What you should look at response time that should be < 5ns. Refresh rate mattered for old crt monitors
^ only looked at it cuz someone said I should. The monitor above said the response time is 2 ms…which is a lot more than 5 ns. I don’t want to spend over $200 on a new monitor and so I thought the ASUS listed above could be a good buy within my price range
I have a gorgeous new HP 27" LCD but it cost $399… ($349 online but you’d pay for shipping) wish I’d done this a long time ago.