LCD: 17" vs 19"?

[voxtreet]

Hi,

I'm shopping for a new LCD, for office work, no gaming. I'm deciding if I should go for a 17" or a 19". Of course, the 19" is attractive because "it's bigger", but I wonder: Since the resolutions of 17" and 19" LCDs are the same (1280x1024), it's not as if you can fit more on your desktop. Things are just bigger (unless you go through and change the default viewing font size for all your apps...I suppose...).

Mostly, I worry about the increase in size of the pixel pitch. 17" usually have 0.264mm, while 19" usually have 0.294mm. That makes sense, since the resolution is the same, but the screen is bigger, then obviously the pixels just have to be bigger, right?

Once, I purchased a Dell 1800FP, resolution was 1280x1024, pixel pitch 0.294. Even using DVI, when I looked at the image on the screen, I felt that white colors appeared to be "grainy", I felt like I could see each pixel, or more importantly, see the black edges in between the pixels. It looked like I put a mosquito net over the screen. I recently took a look at my colleague's 19" LCD, and I felt the same way.

So, I sold that one, and got a 17" (VPR Matrix, anyone remember that deal?) DVI with 1280x1024, 0.264 pixel pitch. Sure it was a smaller screen, but the image/text was so much more precise, and sharper, and the whites came through completely evenly, no "mosquito net" in the way. I felt this was because of the smaller pixel pitch.

Has anyone else noticed this? I haven't been able to find any articles online discussing the importance of pixel pitch, and comparing 19" to 17" LCDs...Doesn't it make sense that a 19" LCD with the same resolution would be more "grainy" than a 17" with a smaller pixel pitch?

Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[3chordcharlie]

I find even a 17" SXGA to be a wee bit grainy. I don't think I could stand a 19" one at all.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I had a 17" then went to a 19". The 19" was nicer to me because I like to sit a little further back from my monitor. The bigger pixels don't bother me at all.

 

[Tostada]

I've never noticed the screen-door like effect on a modern DVI panel. On the low-DPI ones, you probably would find the pixel size obnoxious if you didn't have ClearType enabled.

It's more an issue of how close you're sitting. If you're just going to be right on top of the screen, who knows? You might actually prefer the 17". Most people will adjust themselves, though, and sit back more of a reasonable distance from a 19" LCD.

I used to have a pair of 19" CRT's that I ran in 1600x1200. Then I got a 22" Diamondtron, and I ended up keeping my desktop in 1600x1200 just like before, but now I can actually sit back comfortably.

I guess the point is that nobody can really answer your question. You'll just have to figure out for yourself what you're comfortable with. If you think the pixel size on a 19" LCD is obnoxious, you obviously don't want to just go buy one because a lot of other people love them. There are plenty stores where you can play around with them. Unfortunately, the picture quality is pretty awful on most in-store displays where they have 50 screens hooked up to an analog splitter.

 

[voxtreet]

Huh, "Screen-Door Effect"... I like that. Much better than "Mosquito Net Effect"... Searches on screen door brought up a lot of discussions on LCD projectors vs DLP projectors...Not so much on PC LCD Monitors (except some people noticing it on the Dell 2001FP. Of course, others said they could not see it at all!)

So I guess it is a personal thing, maybe it's genetic. I was looking at my colleague's Viewsonic VP191s, and thought the "screen door effect" was quite irritating. But he didn't think so at all...

Maybe I just have sensitive eyes

Since I know I can notice these things, I'll probably go for the Samsung 172x...

I'd still like to hear others' opinions, so I can be sure that I'm not crazy...