Situation.. Please Advise On Monitor

[Salvador]

I wanted to run this by the forum and get some opinions.

I basically have 2 computer systems right now; a work system with a decent 17" monitor and a cheap budget Emachines Celeron 366.

The work computer has a POS Jaton 8 mb video card and the Emachines has a 4 mb integrated graphics card.

The Emachines is basically a system to get me by and have something to tinker with (and learn) while I plan out my first computer build.

Right now I'm using a 14" Compaq monitor that's so fuzzy that I think I'm going blind so I really need to get something else ASAP. What I'm planning on doing is buying a 19" monitor now and then I'll have it for my new system that I plan on building in a couple of months.

The problem is that I'm not sure what I want to get. I'd like to get the Sony G400/G420, but the Samsung 955DF makes much for sense if I have to use it with one of these systems for now.

My question is basically this: Can I get by with a cheap video card on a monitor like a Sony G400/420? Can I even get by with it on a Samsung 955DF? Do you think this 4 mb integrated video card on the Emachines would flake out on something like this?

I'd really like to get the better monitor because I know that I'd be saving money in the long run because I'd have to upgrade less.

I don't know.. Advice.. Suggestions? Should I spring for the Sony now or get by with the Samsung?

Thanks and sorry for the long post.

Sal

 

[IcemanJer]

IMHO, the Samsung will probably give you better value for your money, and it sure will work with both video cards. But then again, don't expect either of them to push anything beyond 1024x768x32... of course the monitor can support much higher...

 

[Silver222]

Well, it's obvious you aren't doing anything too 3-d intensive with that setup, so you should be okay with either new monitor. If it gives you bad 2-d right now on that 14 inch screen, you'll just have bad 2-d on a larger screen. You won't kill the monitor. You can damage a monitor by forcing it to run at a higher refresh rate than it supports at a specific resolution (whichever one you are using. For example, you can hurt a monitor that has a max refresh rate of 75Hz @ 1024x768 by forcing it to display at 85Hz @ 1024x768). Is that what you were worried about?

 

[Salvador]

No.. I was more worried about it not working at all and I was worried about not being able to tell if the monitor was ok or not because of the poor performance of the onboard graphics card. I'd hate to think the monitor was bad (or worse), think the monitor was all right only to find out that when I got my other system up and running and could fully test the monitor out, I'd have a defect in it.

What's this about forcing it into higher refresh rates? I didn't know that you could do that. How do you select refresh rates anyway. Is it in the software that comes with your card or monitor?

Thanks,

Sal

 

[Silver222]

You select the refresh rates through your video card setup. To do this in Windows, right click on the destop, and select "properties". Then click on the "settings" tab and look the lower right. You will see a button that says "advanced" click on that. Then click on the "adaptor" tab, and you will be able to select refresh rates.

When you are buying a monitor, try to do it at a B&M if you can. Have the salesperson take the monitor you are looking at out of the box, and have him/her hook it up to a computer on the floor. Play around with the monitor a bit, and that should give you an idea. Don't buy one based on the display model on the floor, if you can avoid it.