What type of specs should I look for when buying an LCD monitor?

[Psyber]

What type of specs should I look for when buying an LCD monitor?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Psyber

 

[Regs]

Most Important -->
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Brand name. Examples: Sony, Samsung, Dell etc....
Native Resolution, higher is better. 1024 x 768:Typical
Response Times, Faster is better(The closer the milliseconds are to 0 the better). Typical:25MS's
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Secondary-->
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Pixel Pitch: Typical: .297
Brigtness:Typical:270 cd/m2

 

[Psyber]

How about refresh rate, I usually like at least 75 on a monitor, but are LCDs the same? I don't really want to deal with a flicker?

Also, what's the minimum response time that is still tolerable?

 

[Maverick]

contrat ratio (difference between white and black)...higher is better so you can get closer to true blacks.

 

[JammingJay]

Originally posted by: Psyber
How about refresh rate, I usually like at least 75 on a monitor, but are LCDs the same? I don't really want to deal with a flicker?

Also, what's the minimum response time that is still tolerable?

LCDs do not refresh so no need to worry about any flickering. I'd like to have LCDs with 25ms or faster.

 

[Matthias99]

25ms for office work is fine. 16/20ms models are better for gaming/watching video, but I'm still not ready to make the jump based on them. YMMV.

Also keep in mind that brightness and contrast ratio are often both inaccurate and inflated -- look for reviews of a particular model before you buy based just on specs. No monitor maker that I know of provides, for instance, colorimetry information (how accurately it displays different colors), which I've seen in several reviews.

 

[Mem]

Also a LCD with DVI input as well,using DVI will give the best possible image quality, however not all video cards have DVI connection but since most people change their video cards quicker then their monitors having DVI connection is handy for your future video card upgrade(since you can always buy a video card that supports DVI in your next upgrade if your current card does`nt).


You might want to look at the dead pixel policy as well since that varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

 

[Psyber]

Any specific model suggestions, I'm looking for at least a 17 inch, the cheaper the better. I'm looking for a good value LCD.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Psyber
Any specific model suggestions, I'm looking for at least a 17 inch, the cheaper the better. I'm looking for a good value LCD.

Samsung 170N is pretty good, good history in my family. A 17in could run you around 380-480 dollars. Planar LCD's are around the same, if not around 50-80 dollars more like usual.

 

[KristopherKubicki]

This is an interesting thread but raises a good point.

In my opinion response time is not a good judge of specification. It only measure black to white and doesnt give you any real realworld information. It is slightly helpful. Contrast ratio is a joke right now since there is no standard way to measure it. Brightness is still a good quality measurement. Viewing angle is a bit difficult to judge too.

Looking at the brand name isnt really that good of a judge either. Typically Dell builds monitors on great panels. They are a pretty safe bet. Samsung does decent things but they are expensive and thats not the best bang for your buck. Ill have more to write about this later, i am tired

Kristopher

 

[Psyber]

How's this one? The price is right, but I can't find the response time.

 

[KristopherKubicki]

psyber which one is that? Its probably 25ms if it doesnt say.

Kristopher