Size Matters: EYO's Guide to LCD Monitors

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EYO’s Guide to LCD Screens

They’re windows into the online world, your first point of access to the bizarre, confusing and ultimately addictive realm of computers. Yep, no self-respecting computer comes without an LCD monitor these days, but with such a bewildering array of products on the market, what do you need to look out for?

The main factors are size and resolution – and the importance of both these aspects differs depending on what the screen will be used for.

Size Matters

Size is the physical distance from one corner of the actual LCD screen (as opposed to the monitor casing) to the diagonally opposing corner. This is measured in inches – 17” is the entry-level size – and it goes up incrementally, 17”, 19”, 20”, 22”, 24” and 30”.

The physical size of a screen directly affects its resolution. LCDs have what is called a “native resolution”, which is the resolution they run best at. All LCDs can run below native resolution but the image has to be upscaled and looks ugly and pixelated. Most will not run above native resolution, displaying a black screen and an error like “Out of Sync”.

Resolution is measured in pixels and is represented as “Width x Height” For example, 17” and 19” LCDs like the BenQ FP71G+ and Samsung 940N have a native resolution of 1280 x 1024, which means they are 1280 pixels wide by 1024 pixels high, which equates to just over 1.3 million pixels. Finding the right resolution is important – a higher resolution gives you more digital space on the screen, which means that you can display more. But balancing it with size is important too. 17” and 19” LCDs have the same native resolution, but because the 19” is physically bigger, the image appears larger.

Ratios Rock

Standard LCDs use displays which operate at a 5:4 ratio. This means that the ratio of width to height is 5:4. Above the 1280 x 1024 resolutions offered by 17” and 19” LCDs, only 20” LCDs can display more than this. 20” 4:3 screens have a native resolution of 1400 x 1050 (1.4 million pixels), but beyond this screens venture into widescreen formats. 1600x1200 resolution can also be found on high end 20" 4:3 monitors, such as the Samsung 204B.

Widescreen means slightly different things depending on what you’re talking about. A widescreen TV runs at 16:9 resolution, whereas a widescreen LCD runs at 16:10. Again, size matters – is a 19” widescreen monitor better than a standard 19” LCD? 19” widescreens have a native resolution of 1440 x 900 – wider but fewer vertical pixels. Total pixel count is just under 1.3 million pixels, so you actually lose screen real estate. 20” and 22” widescreen LCDs like the Chi Mei CMV 221D operate at 1680 x 1050, and this is the point beyond which you start to get more screen area to play with.

What’s Right For You?

But what works best? For a home or business system, a standard 5:4 screen for word processing and surfing like the ViewSonic VX922 is ideal or the ACER AL2016W 20" monitor, and you’ll want a screen with at least an 8ms response time to avoid eye strain. Response times indicate how fast the screen can refresh, and if the time is over 8ms you’ll start to notice flickering and ghosting when watching fast moving images like movies or games.

Also, unless you’re intent on playing games or watching DVDs, widescreen monitors are of questionable value, mainly because they promote increased side-to-side eye movement, which causes eye strain over time.

For gamers and media lovers though, widescreens are excellent, and the bigger the better! In these cases though, a good response time is critical – don’t settle for anything above 6ms. Great examples are the Chi Mei CMV 221D, Acer AL2416WD, and the BENQ FP222W which boasts a 5ms response rate.


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