Finding the Right Monitor For You.
Sep 15 '00 (Updated Jul 26 '01)
The Bottom Line Know what you want, or you'll be stuck with something that you can't use.
It's difficult to find the right monitor. There are so many types out there 14" .28 dot pitch monitor to the 21" .25 dot pitch LCD panel, and everything inbetween. Choosing the right one for you is like the proverbial needle in a haystack. Perhaps, though, this opinion could be your magnet to finding the right one.
The first choice is finding the monitor of the right size. 14" and 15" monitors is for those of us who are not going to be using the computer too often, and then only to surf the web or do word processing. 17" monitors are recommended for gamers, so they get a larger field of view, or the type isn't that small. 19" and 21" monitors are for people who do graphic intensive so they can see the detail, or for programmers who will be at their computers for atleast 8 hours a day, if not more.
The next choice is deciding between the CRT monitor and the LCD monitors. The CRT monitor is basically like a 15" TV. If we can remember back to high school physics, the Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) shoots out a beam of electrons which are aimed at phosphor particles on the screen, which then light up giving you an image. The problem with this type of monitor, however, is that as you increase the size of the screen, the monitor must get proportionally bigger AND heavier. The LCD panel is pretty new technology and it solves this problem where the volume taken up increases alot compared with the size of the screen. On the other hand, CRT monitors are immensely cheaper than LCD monitors. For example, you can get a 17" CRT monitor for about half the price of a 15" LCD panel.
The next consideration should be the dot pitch. For those of us who don't have a clue to this, it basically measures the size of the pixel. A .28 dot pitch monitor means that the pixel on your screen is 0.28 millimeters in diameter. So a monitor that has a .25 dot pitch can fit more pixels in it's screen than a monitor with a .28 dot pitch. I've seen a 17" monitor that came with a computer have a .42 dot pitch. So dot pitch is definitely important when looking for a monitor.
So look carefully, and remember:
DO get the right size, bigger is not always better (especially if you move your computer alot)
DO decide between a LCD panel and a CRT monitor, price may play a role in this decision
DO pay attention to the dot pitch, or you may get ripped off and you could actually distinguish the pixels on the screen.
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