Buying an LCD Monitor

[maniacmusician]

Can someone enlighten me on what I need to know when buying an LCD monitor? When I look at some of the models on newegg, I see specs like the following:


Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 700:1
Display Colors: 16.2 Million
Display Type: WXGA+
Input Video Compatibility: Analog RGB, Digital
Maximum Resolution: 1440 x 900
Panel: Active Matrix, TFT LCD
Pixel Pitch: 0.283mm x 0.238mm
Recommended Resolution: 1440 x 900
Viewing Angle: 150°(H) / 135°(V)

What does this stuff mean? What's good and what's bad? What do I need to watch out for, and be aware of when buying a monitor? Common under-handed tricks that companies use to try and sell their products? Any knowledge would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[blueturtl]

Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Just what it says, the higher the cd/m2, the brighter your monitor will be. If this value is very low you will notice that for example white might not be a pure white color. 300cd/m2 is quite fine. I have a monitor with this level of brightness and I really don't like looking at large white spaces.


Contrast Ratio: 700:1
LCD monitors typically have trouble displaying dark tones on colors, spesifically black due to the backlight that's always on. A higher contrast-ratio means that the monitor is better at displaying these darker tones and also that the spectrum of displayed tones is larger. 700:1 is quite alright. Have seen some that do even 1000:1 or better.


Display Type: WXGA+
Display type used to be the definition of the highest resolution and color capability a monitor or video card could do. This information is embedded elsewhere so you don't really need to look at this.


Display Colors: 16.2 Million
Maximum Resolution: 1440 x 900
These are the things that the display type namely implies. 16.7 million is the largest amount of colors that can be displayed using current technology. Also translates as 24-bit color. This monitor for example uses dithering to reach 24-bit color as it can only display 16.2 million real colors. Resolution is counted as pixels width by pixels height. This particular resolution seems to suggest the monitor is plenty wider than high (meaning it's a widescreen model).


Input Video Compatibility: Analog RGB, Digital
Some monitors have analog imputs, some digital. Others have both.
The main thing to realize is that digital input will in practise remove display artifacts and fuzzyness caused by a poor quality or bent cable, or poor conductivity or other problems with an analog video source. However depending on the source you might not even be able to tell the difference. Just make sure your video card has an output identical to the input on the monitor (DVI->DVI or VGA->VGA).


Panel: Active Matrix, TFT LCD
The opposing technology, passive matrix really doesn't exist any more so this is meaningless technical blabber unless you know what it means. Suffice to say active matrix is better than passive matrix. TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display. You can research liquid crystals at howstuffworks.com or Google.


Pixel Pitch: 0.283mm x 0.238mm
The image is made up of pixels. The size of a single pixel is defined by the manufacturing process. The smaller the pixel size, the more pixels can be fitted to a screen of a certain size. Obviously also this means that two monitors with the same maximum resolution can be different in size. If you know the size of your screen and the resolution it is capable of this information can also be deemed unnecessary.


Viewing Angle: 150°(H) / 135°(V)
Due to the technology used LCD monitors suffer from viewing angle problems. When you move sideways in relation of the monitor the picture might become dimm or completely unviewable. The colors might disappear or act weird when not viewing the monitor from right up front. Here listed are the degrees of angles for both horizontal and vertical viewing. Usually this is relevant when there are multiple people and they can't all fit right in front of the monitor.

As a good genereal tip I would say look at the monitor before buying. Most PC hardware is still being sold on technical merits, but practise has shown that components with equal spesifications can have quite big variations in quality. In the case of an LCD monitor I would look for a good guarantee seeing that the backlight of any LCD display has limited life as is. Some people are also disturbed by dead pixels (dots with no color, or constant wrong color in them) on the screen. If you can get a zero-dead-pixel guarantee take one.

As a final recommendation I would like to tell you to get an Eizo. I read glorifying reviews for years and after finally getting me one, I have to say looking at digital photos on this thing is like looking at paper images. The colors and contrast are simply amazing.

p.s. If you want to be able to look at moving imagery (aka games, movies etc) get a monitor that has a 16 millisecond delay max (8 is already perfectly adequate for fast gaming, although some monitor makers tout lower numbers).

There, I hope that covers what you wanted to know.

[use a name]

cd/m2: quantity of light emitted (in white). The higher the better.
contrast: light emitted from a white pixel : light emitted from a black pixel (they emit a little light...). The higher the better.
colors: :p
WXGA+: bit more than a WXGA (WXGA=1280x8000, see resolution
input: connector types. analog RGB is the most common one, not sure about the benefits of digital
panel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active-matrix_liquid_crystal_display
pitch: size of each pixel
view angle: the size of the (total) angle at which the screen can be viewed. 180 would mean that it's viewable from anywhere. Close to 180 is best.

brightness and viewangle of this one are not too good...

EDIT: what he (she?) said...

[ajgreeny]

p.s. If you want to be able to look at moving imagery (aka games, movies etc) get a monitor that has a 16 millisecond delay max (8 is already perfectly adequate for fast gaming, although some monitor makers tout lower numbers).

I fully agree with what was said by blueturtl, and think the last point he makes about refresh times is almost the most important. If you gat a monitor with a slow refresh of, for example 25ms, you will see terrible shadowing on fast moving images, which is very annoying. i6t shouldn't be a problem these days however, as most screens are much faster than that.

[Rhubarb]

Display Colors: 16.2 Million
If you're an artist and / or want truely excellent colour, then don't buy a Monitor that can only display 16.2 Million colours.

This is because a 16.2 Million colour TFT is actually just a 6 bit per colour display with dithering to give the illusion of 16.2 Million colours.
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=38517
(I'm sure there's better info about this on the net somewhere)

So, 2^(6+6+6) = 262144 colours. Add some fancy dithering and you get 16.2 Million (not quite right) colours
2^(24) = 16777216 true colours. That's 8 bits per colour (not 6 as above)

Most people should be fine with a 16.2 Million colour display, but if you're into digital photography, then definantly get a 16.7 Million colour display.

[mips]

Contrast & Resolution are important.

Something not listed above is the Response Time. Very important as a hight response time can give you a 'ghosting' effect which you dont want.

Look into S-IPS panels, they seem to be the better ones and provide better images at different angles of view if colour reproduction etc are important to you. Good place to look this up are the DPReview forums.


Browse places like Toms Hardware, Anand tech etc for reviews on lcd monitors.

What is your budget and what sizes/aspect ratios are you looking at ?

[maniacmusician]

thanks for the info everyone. If you can keep it coming, all the better.

mips: for my budget, I would prefer something under $200, and I probably won't spend more than $300. I was thinking about a 19" screen...it sounds big enough. I'm not too sure about that. Since I've only ever owned CRT's, I'm not too sure about aspect ratios. I was thinking about going widescreen for this purchase, since most people seem to recommend it, but I haven't made up my mind about it.

I'd like a 1600x1200 resolution as well (I realize that's a 4:3 aspect ratio...so if I buy a widescreen instead, I'd get whatever the widescreen equivalent of that is). edit: I guess that would be 1680x1050


also, I noticed that on Newegg, for screen sizes, there is a 20" category and a 20.1" category....what's that all about?

[mysticrider92]

I don't know the purpose of having both 20" and 20.1". I have been using a 19" widescreen (Samsung 941BW) for about 5 months and have been very happy with it. The widescreen makes it easy to have more than one application open in a decent size. With a bit of work, I can have nautilus, gedit, and a terminal open for developing programs, or open GIMP with room to spare.

[brentoboy]

If you are going to buy an LCD, remember that a good monitor outlasts the PC you buy it with. If you get a really sweet monitor, you will use it forever. (just make sure you dont get something with a 1 year guarantee ... etc -- or you'll throw away your money.)

This is a really excellent monitor:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1409385,00.asp

I know, its more than you planned on spending.
I'm surprised that it is still that much, I paid about that about 3 years ago. But it has been an incredible monitor!!!!

[mysticrider92]

This is a really excellent monitor:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1409385,00.asp

I know, its more than you planned on spending.
I'm surprised that it is still that much, I paid about that about 3 years ago. But it has been an incredible monitor!!!!
Yeah, mine is a Samsung too. Very clean and sleek looking. I can't see where a 21 in. monitor like that is so expensive though. I would buy a 24 or so inch widescreen if I had that much money. HDCP and over 1080p resolution!

[maniacmusician]

I don't know the purpose of having both 20" and 20.1". I have been using a 19" widescreen (Samsung 941BW) for about 5 months and have been very happy with it. The widescreen makes it easy to have more than one application open in a decent size. With a bit of work, I can have nautilus, gedit, and a terminal open for developing programs, or open GIMP with room to spare.
Cool. +1 for widescreen then. What resolution is your 19"? I might consider getting a 20/21" screen if it'll be worth the extra screen space.


If you are going to buy an LCD, remember that a good monitor outlasts the PC you buy it with. If you get a really sweet monitor, you will use it forever. (just make sure you dont get something with a 1 year guarantee ... etc -- or you'll throw away your money.)

This is a really excellent monitor:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1409385,00.asp

I know, its more than you planned on spending.
I'm surprised that it is still that much, I paid about that about 3 years ago. But it has been an incredible monitor!!!!

Yeah ,that is a bit expensive.....I really don't have the luxury to venture above $300 right now.

[Bigbluecat]

I'm looking into getting a monitor as well right now. So far the LG L204WT 20" wide screen seems to have a good price/performance mix and gets excellent reviews.

PCPro A list selection.

[m.musashi]

I have a dell 19" (1280x1024). It fairly nice but it does bleed light around the edges. If you do things with a lot of dark parts (like movies or perhaps some games) that could be annoying. It's not noticable during regular desktop use. Be sure to check that though if you think it will bother you.

Also, while wide screen is cool for some uses, it can be annoying. With web pages, for example, you will end up doing more scrolling but with multiple apps they are great.

And be sure to check the native resolution (i.e. use it before you buy it). If the resolution is high, which is usually a good thing, it can also make the text and such very small. You can make some adjustments but it usually never looks as good as native. On a 1920x1200 laptop screen (15.4 inches so definatley smaller than you are looking at) it is almost uncomfortable to use. I would think a 20" screen with that resolution would probably not be too bad. However, just be sure to check and make sure you like it.

[maniacmusician]

I've thought some more about it, and decided that I'll probably go for a 22". I've been looking at the following three monitors as prospective buys (newegg comparison at the link). I'm not buying this for at least 3 or 4 months, so I have time to decide.

What do you guys think? Newegg Comparison of 3 LCD monitors (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2100190020%201309822582%204018&bop=And&Order=RATING&CompareItemList=N82E16824116060%2CN82E16824112005% 2CN82E16824112009)

[m.musashi]

I really don't know anything about those two companies. However, in general I think you get what you pay for. If you only have $300 to spend you can either get a pretty nice smaller monitor or an average bigger monitor. In my case I either buy the better one and go into debt (and **** my wife off) or do without and wait until I have the money.

Of those three, however, I thought the specs on the SCEPTRE x22wg were pretty nice - mainly because it has HDMI. On the other hand, The ViewSonic has a 3 year warranty (vs 1 for the sceptre). A company's warranty speaks volumes in my opinion.

EDIT: One more (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096) to think about in the same price and size range. 3 year warranty and a name brand.

[maniacmusician]

which x22wg are you talking about? they're both variants of the same model.

I understand the thing about the warranty...I was leaning towards the 3rd monitor, on the far right, simply because of the immense savings. But by the time I decide to buy it, those probably won't be there, and then the one on the far left will be looking like the better value. The middle one is there because it's highly rated (as is the one on the right) and it won a Newegg Customer Choice award.

edit; the x22wg-gamer's reviews seem to point to the fact that it's DVI cable dies within a couple of months of purchase for a large amount of people, so I guess it really is unreliable. I guess I need to look elsewhere and still keep the ViewSonic under consideration.

[Darko Beta]

I have my eye on this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001094

It's 19 inch widescreen, and it has an excellent 2000:1 contrast ratio. This is important to me because I watch a lot of movies/tv on the monitor in the dark. My current LCD has just OK contrast ratio, so the black parts of scene look sort of navy blue and the details therein get washed out.

[maniacmusician]

I have my eye on this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001094

It's 19 inch widescreen, and it has an excellent 2000:1 contrast ratio. This is important to me because I watch a lot of movies/tv on the monitor in the dark. My current LCD has just OK contrast ratio, so the black parts of scene look sort of navy blue and the details therein get washed out.
yeah, that is definitely a nice one, I'll be considering it. As m.musashi said, it might be a good idea for me to pick a smaller, expensive screen, to get better quality than buy a bigger screen cheap.

edit: a similar one by samsung, but 22" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096

[Darko Beta]

Also: when I switched from CRT to LCD, they were both 17" displays. However, I also switched from native resolution of 1024x768 to 1280x1024, and it made a huge difference. Sitting at the same distance, my new LCD seemed really big.

Note that for most 4:3 monitors, the 17" and the 19" models often have the same resolution (1280x1024), so the bigger LCDs are just, uh, bigger but still the same res. For me, since I am always sitting right in front of the monitor the 17" was big enough--tho I am now wanting the 19" widescreen... :) (widescreens were not around as much when I got that LCD).

Just some things I learned from making the same decision. Good luck!

[m.musashi]

which x22wg are you talking about? they're both variants of the same model.
Sorry, didn't realize they were the same numbers. I was thinking the one on the right too (with HDMI) but I don't think I'd personally buy that one. Samsung, NEC and Benq are three brands that I have usually only heard good things about. Some off brands can be really nice too but you need to do a lot more research to make sure it's not a piece of junk. See what kind of reviews you can find on Cnet. That is at least a good way to get an idea.

I have a dell 19" (1280x1024) that is pretty nice. Nothing fancy but it looks crisp and clear and bright (I actually had to turn down the brightness). Unless you are doing graphic layout or something I think it's a great size. The dell stand is quite nice. I like how it easily adjusts up or down or can rotate (never use that much except when hooking it up).

In addition to the samsung, check out NEC. This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002146) looks nice and not very expensive. It's 19" but wide screen. The 20" NEC are pushing the $500 price range so that's why I picked a 19"

Final thought (for now) I haven't read any professional reviews on any of these so please be sure to try and find some more authoritative advice once you have it narrowed down to a few. These are ones that I just thought looked good re the specs and price.

EDIT: This cnet page (http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6529_7-6509063.html?tag=txt) has several reviews on different sized LCDs. I was surprised to see so many dells listed. You might want to check some of them out.

[maniacmusician]

Sorry, didn't realize they were the same numbers. I was thinking the one on the right too (with HDMI) but I don't think I'd personally buy that one. Samsung, NEC and Benq are three brands that I have usually only heard good things about. Some off brands can be really nice too but you need to do a lot more research to make sure it's not a piece of junk. See what kind of reviews you can find on Cnet. That is at least a good way to get an idea.

I have a dell 19" (1280x1024) that is pretty nice. Nothing fancy but it looks crisp and clear and bright (I actually had to turn down the brightness). Unless you are doing graphic layout or something I think it's a great size. The dell stand is quite nice. I like how it easily adjusts up or down or can rotate (never use that much except when hooking it up).

In addition to the samsung, check out NEC. This one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824002146) looks nice and not very expensive. It's 19" but wide screen. The 20" NEC are pushing the $500 price range so that's why I picked a 19"

Final thought (for now) I haven't read any professional reviews on any of these so please be sure to try and find some more authoritative advice once you have it narrowed down to a few. These are ones that I just thought looked good re the specs and price.

EDIT: This cnet page (http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6529_7-6509063.html?tag=txt) has several reviews on different sized LCDs. I was surprised to see so many dells listed. You might want to check some of them out.
thanks for the reviews, good sir. They were helpful, but I like to use my own judgement from reading the specs and everything, which is why it's important to me that I know what all the specs are.

For instance, right now, I'm putting a lot of weight on the contrast ratio. I don't know why, but I get the perception that it's a really important thing; am I giving it too much weight. For instance, there are some good monitors with contrast ratios of 800:1 or 700:1; I feel a considerable amount of pressure to opt for the monitors that have 1000:1 or higher. Am I wrong here? I think I might be.

Also, I see a response time spec in most of the monitors. Some of them say stuff like"8ms", some are along the lines of "5 ms (GTG)" GTG stands for gray to gray, right? What does this really mean and what significance does it have technically?

[m.musashi]

I'm certainly no expert on LCDs, and that is precisely why I think the reviews of professionals (or at least people who get paid to look at a lot of monitors) have some merit. But certainly the final decision has to be what you like. If you don't have the time to view 50 different monitors (or access to them) then listen to those who have looked. I would certainly never suggest you buy one based on one or two "professionals" but their feedback is useful. It helps you get a good perspective and educates you as well on what is really important.

Be careful with specs too. Better numbers don't always translate into a better product. They are one aspect but not the whole pictures - so to speak. Higher contrast, better response time (GTG does mean gray to gray), etc all contribute to the end result but if a manufacturer were to focus only getting a high contrast, for example, it might look good on paper but not be an overly good monitor.

For example, here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824136056) is an $1800 monitor that is considered top of the line. However, just looking at its specs you would be unimpressed - 550:1 contrast, 30ms response time. A gamer would be very unhappy with this but for a graphic artist it is perfect. If you do a little bit of everything look for a monitor that is a good all around monitor and don't get too stuck on details. You know what you like but even the best looking monitor isn't worth a hill of beans if it craps out in month.

Finally, you should definitely try and look at the ones you are most interested in. If that isn't an option, find one that most people seem to think is good and make a leap of faith. After all, it's only money:).

[Alvinius]

I have an LG 22" widescreen http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005088
that I have been using for about a month. I found it much cheaper that that new egg price locally at a popular brick and mortar.


It has a very interesting feature called the F engine, at the touch of a front button I can change viewing modes, like movie, enhanced text and a regular text, a user setup.
if you are very close to the monitor the movie mode appears to add a bit of film-like grain to the picture. this is not noticeable at over 12 - 14 inches away.

Usually I see this kind of thing as a gimmick, but it works surprisingly well.

I have been very happy with it, I use to edit photos (color match is great!) play games and watch television and DVDs,. No ghosting, it handles them all. I compared this with a 22" samsung for about a week and this one won hands down in the way it looks. that is how good this thing is.

cons - this monitor has a very slight brighter area (backlight bleeding} down the middle which is only noticeable in a completely dark scene and if you are really looking for it, nitpicky... and much less than other monitors I have used and seen. It did not come with a DVI-d cable, I think this is hit and miss lol, Not a con but a bit of a warning, no speakers, something I do not want or need.