What do I look for in monitors?

[t048]

I'm looking for a new monitor, and I found one that I like, but I don't know what to really be looking for in monitors. Is the following good?


Specifications: Picture tube: 19" High Contrast Flat Square CRT; 18" viewable image size; Superfine .26-mm DP; Double Focus, INVAR Mask, ARGAS; Anti-reflective and Anti-static Coating. Resolutions & max. refresh rates: 640 x 480 @ 120 Hz; 800 x 600 @ 120 Hz; 1,024 x 768 @ 110 Hz; 1,152 x 864 @ 100 Hz; 1,280 x 1,024 @ 90 Hz; 1,600 x 1,200 @ 76 Hz. Scanning rates: 30 to 95 kHz (horizontal), 50 to 120 Hz (vertical). Video Bandwidth: 150MHz +/-3dB. User controls: Power on/off, Brightness, Contrast, H/V-position, H/V-size, Pincushion, Trapezoid, Rotation, Degauss, Color-temperature, Unbalance, Parallelogram, V-moire, H-moire, Recall.

Features: Plug & Play (DDC 1/2B), MPU OSD Digital Controls, MPR II Low Radiation, Self Testing. Signal cable: 15-pin mini D-Sub Connector. Power Management: VESA DPMS / EPA Energy Star / Nutek. Electrical requirements: 100V to 240V AC @ 50/60 Hz. Certifications: UL, C-UL, TUV/S, FCC-B, DHHS, MPRII, CE, TCO 99 (Option). Size : 452W x 462H x 472D (mm) with base.


Also, what about a video card? I have a 15" monitor now, and it would be very helpful to be able to hook two monitors to my computer, but can I do that with different sized monitors? Thanks.

[Mark]

The specs you show seem pretty good to me. I'm sure there are better ones, though if you have the money. I think one of the most important things to look for is whether or not you like it's display. Some are brighter, sharper, more color saturation, etc. You have to make yourself happy because you're going to spend a lot of time looking at it. I like having the ability to adjust the moire. I've found it to be very handy. I would also look for the ability to adjust the convergence in case the electron guns aren't properly aligned. Convergence affects color purity i.e., is white really white and are there colored edges or shadows around objects on the screen.
Windows98 and above support using more than one monitor. Just make sure the two cards you plan to use are compatible in such a mode. Some are not. The one you use for your 19" monitor should have a ramdac speed of at least 350mhz in order to get the clearest possible picture at the higher resolutions. Believe me, 350mhz does make a difference.

Good luck shopping.

[Undertow]

The one big thing you really want to worry about is this:

Superfine .26-mm DP


The DP, or dot pitch, is how fine it can draw things. My monitor is .22, the lower the better. You have to be careful though, because there's horizontile DP and vertical DP and then diagonal DP. Diagonal is just the average between the other two and is the proper way to judege a monitor. Some resellers post the horizontile DP, which is the smallest, and is a cheap thing to do. Look around at different monitors at compare. Also go to www.pcworld.com (http://www.pcworld.com) and read their review of the top 10 monitors. I bought the one that they ranked #1. Is this a FD Trinitron tube monitor your talking about?

[LiLRiceBoi]

undertow is right. also, .26 isnt really that great compaired to the now better monitors they now have out. the best thing to do is to go to a store and see for yourself

[Buji]

Your refresh rates seem ok. They say 60hz is the minimum, but my eyes detect flicker below 70hz. If memory serves me right you need 2 vid cards to run 2 monitors.(Check the Windows manual)

[Undertow]

The only video card that I can say for a fact that you can run 2 monitors with different resolutions is the Prophet II MX Dual Head. I am sure you can do this with others but only this one I could say for certain because I have one. These are not very cheap so you may want to think about whether or not you really need to have 2 monitors.

Another option would be to get a kit that allows you to "use your computer as 2 computers" which supplies you with a second video card (nothing much special), keyboard, and other hardware to basically run a terminal off your computer. I have no idea how well these setups work as I have never tried one. It may be more trouble than it's worth to try that route as you could run into many problems while installing it. On the other hand, it could work perfectly. I saw one of these kits in the www.tigerdirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com) mail catalog for $150.

One other thing: My monitor's refresh rate @1600x1200 is the same as yours, 76Hz. When I have it on that resolution I can see flicker. Maybe my eyes are just more sensitive than most, but it's something to consider http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[reddog4629]

A Matrox G400 video card will support 2 monitors. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif
http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/mill_g400/applications/dh/home.cfm

[Ygor]

Sony and Mitsubishi (probably others too) make monitors that use an aperture grill instead of an invar mask.

These give a flatter display but may take some getting used to. At first they may seem concave to your eyes. There are also 2 faint horizontal lines in the grill. After a while you notice neither, just a crisp clear and flat screen.

Many feel that the Sony monitors have the best colors and display accuracy. (Mitsubishi uses Sony crts too.)

Your eyes are the ultimate judge. You're the one looking at it so you have to be satisfied.

I'd beware of bargains tho. A year or more ago we saw a 19" kds monitor at a great price. Later we heard that either the refresh rate or something else was screwy on this particular model and after an hour or so many got headaches. Others have kds monitors and love them, so it was a certain model in the kds line, not all of them.

[Ed_S]

Best advise I can give on a monitor purchase is this - buy LOCAL, from a reputable store with an easy return policy!
No matter what the specs, and no matter how good it looks on store display, it WILL look different with YOUR system & under YOUR lighting.
Last time I was in the market for one, it took three trys to get one I was happy with, a Sony CPD200ES (17") Can use this thing for hours of text work w/o headaches or eyestrain.

If you get a good one, this is the one component that'll carry from system to system as you upgrade. Don't skimp on it.

Ed

[t048]

Thanks for all of your advice. I think I found some good lookin' monitors at a local store. So I think I'll look at those. I was trying to get a black monitor to match my case and other accessories, but I can only find white(ish) monitors locally and in most places on the 'net.