Buying an LCD Monitor

There are numerous choices for consumers looking to purchase a new or even used LCD monitor. In order to make the best possible purchasing decision, one should know all the options and features that are available in modern LCD monitors.

Perhaps the largest consideration is, forgive the pun, what size LCD monitor does one want or need. There are a wide range of sizes on the market at the time of this writing, everything from diminutive sub-14” LCD monitors to mammoth 30” LCD monitors. The size is certainly an important factor, but size is not that matters.

An important consideration is resolution, or how many pixels (tiny colored squares that comprise the screen) the monitor has. The current ‘norm’ would be 1920 by 1200 for most mid to high range LCD monitors while less expensive models feature less than that, and the titanic 30” LCD monitors generally pack 2560 x 1600 pixels. The more pixels in a given area typically result in sharper images, but that is not always the case. There are factors to consider such as speed, color gambit and saturation, and even the viewing angle to contemplate for making a final decision.

The speed, or response, time of an LCD monitor is how quickly it can adjust to new information. Games, and even fast moving video may leave ghosts of themselves if the response time is not up to the task. It is critical to realize that not all colors are created equal when it comes to response time and that changing from different shades of green is substantially simpler than changing from blue to yellow or black to white. Adding to the color complexity is the fact that not all LCDs represent all colors correctly, in fact most need at least tweaking to get close.

Even if an LCD offers fast response time, a staggering number of pixels, and looks great when viewed from a short distance directly in front of the LCD monitor, that does not mean much for anyone looking over the shoulder of the user, or sitting next to them. This is where viewing angles come into play. For those looking for a very private computing experience, the viewing angle may not be a factor, but anyone who might find themselves in a situation where they want to show off their work, or ask for an opinion will want as wide a viewing angle as possible.

Video connector standards have been rapidly evolving as well, so it behooves one to know what type(s) of connector(s) they will need. VGA is almost a completely extinct video connector standard, while HDMI seems to be the current dominant standard and DisplayPort may be the future. Each standard has its own strengths and weaknesses, but unless one plans on buying an adapter at additional cost they should know what they need and want as far as an interface standard goes. Last but not least are the frills. In the age of the internet, top tier monitors come with USB ports, and integrated microphones and web cams.