No personal computer is complete without a monitor. You need one. It's a choice you must make, though some computer models, such as the iMac and all laptops and handhelds, have the monitor included. Otherwise, the monitor is a thing you must select at the time of purchase.
All computer monitors sold are now color. All of them are technically similar with only a few variations. The only decisions you need to make about a monitor are its size and whether to go with the traditional glass CRT monitor or one of the snazzy new flat-LCD displays.
Follow these tips when evaluating monitors:
- You should look at the monitor in the store. See whether you like the way it displays colors.
- Most stores have graphics or animation running on their demonstration monitors. Ask to view a document to better judge the image quality. Is the text crisp?
- You don't need to buy the same brand of monitor as your computer console. If you want, you can buy the monitor separately, in which case the computer manufacturer knocks a few dollars off your purchase price. Be aware, however, that buying the same brand of monitor is usually cheaper because of volume discounts offered by the manufacturer.
- Beware of computers advertised without a monitor. Because you need a monitor, you must add its cost to the computer purchase.
- What you see on the glassy part of the monitor is the screen, or display. The term monitor refers to the hardware itself.
- No, you cannot use your TV set as a monitor for your computer. Although TV sets are good for watching TV, their resolution isn't good enough for viewing computer information.
- A game console is geared for using a TV set as its monitor. The WebTV adapter also lets you use a TV as a monitor. These are the two exceptions to the preceding point.
- A few handheld computers have monochrome (noncolor) screens, which usually display several shades of gray. For most handheld computers, this is just fine. The color displays generally add a few dollars to the handheld's price.
Understanding monitor measurements
The following are some terms and descriptions that should help you understand monitors:
- Bandwidth (frequency): The speed at which information is sent from a computer to a monitor, measured in megahertz (MHz). The higher this value, the better (less flickering).
- Dot pitch: The distance between each dot (or pixel) on the graphics screen (measured from the center of each dot). The closer the dots, the better the image. A dot pitch of 0.28 millimeters is the minimum acceptable; smaller values are better.
- Interlaced/noninterlaced: The method by which a monitor paints an image on a screen. An interlaced monitor paints the image twice, which tends to cause the image to flicker. You want a noninterlaced monitor, which doesn't flicker (as much).
- Scan rate: The rate at which a monitor's electron gun paints an image on the screen, as measured in kilohertz (KHz). The higher the scan rate value, the better (again, less flickering).
Seeing the correct monitor size
Monitors are measured like TV sets: diagonally in inches, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: How the computer monitor diagonal measurement is made.
A typical monitor measures about 17 inches diagonally. Low-end models measure 15 and 14 inches diagonally. If you want to spoil yourself, consider a 19-inch or larger monitor. Those sizes are nice, but the bigger they are, the more they cost! Here are a few more tips:
- Beware! A monitor's diagonal measurement may not be the same as its viewing area. On a CRT monitor, the screen size is a few inches smaller than the glass.
- LCD monitors have a diagonal measurement that's completely accurate; the screen size and image size are the same. Therefore, a typical 15-inch LCD monitor has roughly the same display area as a 17-inch CRT monitor.
- Large monitors are very nice.
- If you're vision impaired, a 21-inch monitor is the answer to your prayers! It shows nice, big text.
