Never though I would say this: 30" is too big

[TheOtherRizzo]

Yes font size can be a big problem with big displays IMO. One of the main reasons I wanted a bigger screen is so that I can place it at a further distance from my eyes, which is a lot less straining when you spend a lot of time in front of the screen, because constant low distance focus is not what human eyes are made for. But to be able to do this I had to change a lot of settings in a lot of programs to increase font sizes. Right now I'm using Firefox with min text size 18, Directory Opus with size 12 and WinXP set to large fonts on a 1680 x 1050 22".

Again, it's not about having problems reading small fonts, it's about feeling a lot more relaxed in terms of eye strain by placing the screen further away.

Anyway here's a calculator that will tell you the dpi of your screen: http://www.raydreams.com/prog/dpi.aspx

Some comparisons:

17" 1024 x 768: 75.3 dpi
27" 1920 x 1200: 83.9 dpi
19" 1280 x 1024: 86.3 dpi
17" 1280 x 800: 88.8 dpi
22" 1680 x 1050: 90.0 dpi
14" 1024 x 768: 91.4 dpi
24" 1920 x 1200: 94.3 dpi
20" 1680 x 1050: 99.0 dpi
15" 1280 x 800: 100.6 dpi
30" 2560 x 1600: 100.6 dpi

So yeah, 30" is about the worst you can get in terms of microscopic fonts while 27" is right at the other end of the scale along with the very popular 1280 x 1024 19".

 

[bryanW1995]

that's good info. every now and then we wade through the fud and find something useful!

 

[AmdInside]

I went from a 24" Dell to a 30" dell and I regret the purchase to an extent. It's great for photo editing and games that run smoothly at the native res but for 2D usage, its annoying having to turn my head to pan around the screen. It is very large. In retrospect, I wish I would have kept my 24".

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: potato28

Originally posted by: vhx
Guys, wtf, this isn't the time or place to be bidding on monitors.



... $500.00

$501

$550 and a spool of cheap DVD-R's! Ha, beat that.

 

[Jim H]

Originally posted by: TheOtherRizzo

Some comparisons:

17" 1024 x 768: 75.3 dpi
27" 1920 x 1200: 83.9 dpi
19" 1280 x 1024: 86.3 dpi
17" 1280 x 800: 88.8 dpi
22" 1680 x 1050: 90.0 dpi
14" 1024 x 768: 91.4 dpi
24" 1920 x 1200: 94.3 dpi
20" 1680 x 1050: 99.0 dpi
15" 1280 x 800: 100.6 dpi
30" 2560 x 1600: 100.6 dpi

So yeah, 30" is about the worst you can get in terms of microscopic fonts while 27" is right at the other end of the scale along with the very popular 1280 x 1024 19".

I've been using a 17" WS laptop at WUXGA for almost 3 years at 18-24" away and have no problems here. Thats 133 dpi!

Hope to soon pick up one of these 30" beasts to put in the middle of a pair of 24's. Possilby as early as next year monitors with resolutions of 3840x2400 are expected hit the market. Now that will be big!!!

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Jim H

Originally posted by: TheOtherRizzo

Some comparisons:

17" 1024 x 768: 75.3 dpi
27" 1920 x 1200: 83.9 dpi
19" 1280 x 1024: 86.3 dpi
17" 1280 x 800: 88.8 dpi
22" 1680 x 1050: 90.0 dpi
14" 1024 x 768: 91.4 dpi
24" 1920 x 1200: 94.3 dpi
20" 1680 x 1050: 99.0 dpi
15" 1280 x 800: 100.6 dpi
30" 2560 x 1600: 100.6 dpi

So yeah, 30" is about the worst you can get in terms of microscopic fonts while 27" is right at the other end of the scale along with the very popular 1280 x 1024 19".

I've been using a 17" WS laptop at WUXGA for almost 3 years at 18-24" away and have no problems here. Thats 133 dpi!

Hope to soon pick up one of these 30" beasts to put in the middle of a pair of 24's. Possilby as early as next year monitors with resolutions of 3840x2400 are expected hit the market. Now that will be big!!!

A better option for the sides of the 30" would be two 20" 1600x1200. The DPI will be the same, and you can rotate them to vertical, to maintain the 1600 height.

 

[Throckmorton]

For the first time I'm using my 30" and my 24" set up properly as dual monitors. I hate to say this, but instead of selling the 24" I'm leaning toward selling the 30". The color is worse, and the grainy texture of the antireflective coating is much worse on the 30". It's also slightly dimmer.

Feel free to bid, but so far I can get $825 on Craigslist 😀