LCD Monitor Buying Tips & Recommendations
Desktop computer LCD monitor buying tips and purchasing recommendations.
Updated June 25, 2010 10:45 PM PST
Screen Size - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
Screen size is the measurement of the displayable portion of an LCD monitor that is normally determined by measuring the display area of the screen from the lower left corner to upper right corner.
Screen size is one of the easiest yet most important choices you’re going to make when purchasing a monitor. Deciding on a small or large monitor really comes down to your individual needs.
Larger screens typically give you more desktop real-estate depending on the displays resolution, and they are the perfect companion for individuals who work with a lot of applications at once and those who work with photo or video applications.
Smaller screens on the other hand still offer you what a bigger monitor cannot. For example smaller screens may be perfect if you are on a budget or if you need to squeeze the monitor on a small counter top or desk.
Aspect Ratio - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
A monitor’s aspect ratio is the number of horizontal pixels to vertical pixels in a display.
Choosing the best aspect ratio for your needs when purchasing a monitor is also very important. The majority of older displays appeared pretty square in shape and had a 4:3 aspect ratio. Newer widescreen monitors in comparison are more rectangular in shape and normally have either 16:10 or 16:9 aspect ratios.
Because the industry has shifted towards widescreen monitors this has made choosing an aspect ratio less of an issue than in the past. Most if not all LCD monitors including high-end digital LCD monitors and HDTVs today use 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratios and in the near future manufactures are going to go even wider. You will on the other hand still come across 4:3 aspect ratio displays for not every user prefers the widescreen format.
Widescreen monitors are wonderful for wide format movies in DVD and Blue-Ray formats and widescreen monitors are also fantastic for viewing two application windows side by side.
Standard 4:3 aspect ratio monitors are still a great choice for anyone that either doesn’t prefer the widescreen format or who needs a monitor with a narrower footprint.
Native Resolution - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
A LCDs native resolution is the actual physical number of horizontal and vertical pixels that make up the LCD screen.
For example, if an LCD monitor’s specification sheet says it has a native resolution of 1280x1024, this literally means there are 1280 physical pixels horizontally across the screen and 1024 pixels vertically across the screen.
Selecting an LCD monitor’s native resolution is a very important LCD monitor specification. You will want to make sure you pick the right balance of screen size and native resolution for optimal viewing pleasure. For example, if you choose a small screen size with a very high resolution, this may make text and other on screen elements too small for comfortable viewing.
A higher native resolution will offer sharper screen images and more desktop space to work with application windows, though the tradeoff is smaller text and on screen elements which can make text harder to read for individuals with less than stellar vision. But because of the sheer number of pixels and superb image clarity, a high resolution display is perfect for individuals who do extensive photo or video editing work, or who watch a lot of HD Blue-Ray movies on their computer.
While lower resolution displays aren’t quite as sharp and offer less desktop real estate for working with application windows, they are fantastic for individuals on a budget or who have less than perfect vision since on screen elements are larger and easier to read.
If text and other on screen elements are too small for your liking, you can always set the LCD display resolution lower than its native resolution to make text, etc. larger, though because all LCD screens technically display only their native resolution, forcing an LCD display to a lower resolution will cause the display to extrapolate or blend multiple pixels together to produce the images on screen, unfortunately resulting in slightly fuzzy images.
The only other option besides returning the monitor to the store is to increase the DPI setting in Windows. Increasing the DPI setting will make the text and other items, such as icons, on your screen easier to see by making them larger, and it will do so with your LCD monitor operating at its native resolution.
Of course the best advice then when buying a desktop or laptop LCD is to make sure you purchase one that has the right balance of screen size and native resolution from the get to, avoiding problems altogether. This will insure you can run the LCD panel at its native resolution without any potential viewing problems.
The absolute best way to determine that is to try a particular monitor size and resolution out before you buy it. If this isn't an option, you should at the bare minimum read online reviews to gather real world user feedback, for unless you’ve personally used a monitor with the same screen size and resolution before, you cannot guarantee it will be the perfect LCD for you.
Common LCD monitors screen size and their native resolution:
- 17-19 Inches: 1280x1024
- 20 Inch: 1600x1200
- 17 Inch Widescreen: 1280x800
- 19 Inch Widescreen: 1440x900
- 20.1 Inch Widescreen: 1680x1050
- 22 Inch Widescreen: 1680x1050
- 23.6 Inch Widescreen: 1920x1080
- 23 Inch Ultra Widescreen: 2048x1152
- 24 Inch Widescreen: 1920x1200
- 30 Inch Widescreen: 2560x1600
Contrast Ratio - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
Contrast ratio is the measurement of the difference between the brightest whites and the blackest blacks that the LCD monitor can display. Higher contrast ratios will deliver whiter whites and blacker blacks, and also a greater degree of gray values in between. For example, if a displays contrast ratio is low, an image may look washed out even if the image itself is bright.
Unfortunately contrast ratio isn’t exactly a great specification when comparing different LCDs because display manufacturers typically have different testing guidelines for determining a displays contrast ratio. Because of slight variations in the lighting behind the displays panel a contrast ratio vary throughout the screen, and so manufacturers tend to use the highest contrast ratio found on the panel.
So even though one manufacturer may list their panel with a higher contrast ratio than another, the other may actually be technically higher even though it is listed with a lower contrast ratio. This sort of ports contrast ratio in a grey area to so speak when comparing LCD panels, especially across manufacturers. When comparing panels offered by the same manufacturer, contrast ratio is a bit fairer of a comparison.
When shopping for an LCD monitor, a higher contrast ratio is typically going to offer you the brightest whites and the blackest blacks. Watch out for what’s called a Dynamic Contrast (DC) ratio however, manufacturers have been pushing DC numbers because they are substantially higher than a displays true contrast ratio. In my opinion DC is marketing jargon so I personally ignore Dynamic Contrast ratio when shopping for a panel and instead look for its Native or ANSI contrast ratio rating.
Of course the best advice if you have the option to do so is to try a display before you buy it. Manufactures can list contrast ratio numbers all day but the only true way to determine which display is favored in your eyes is to test it for yourself. And if you don’t have this option, jump online to see what others have to say, product reviews can do wonders for online shopping.
Brightness - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
Brightness is the measurement of how much light an LCD panel can produce. LCD monitor luminance is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2).
When shopping for an LCD monitor, a higher candela rating is going to be your best bet if you are going to primarily use it for movies and games. A lower candela rating in contrast is generally fine for basic computing tasks such as word processing and Internet surfing, and since monitors with a lower candela rating are often cheaper this makes them an ideal companion to a basic computer system.
For movies goers and gamers I highly recommend you pick up a monitor with at least a 300 cd/m2 or better candela rating. On the other hand 200 to 250 cd/m2 in my opinion is perfectly fine if you are going to pair your monitor up with a basic computer system.
Pixel Response Time - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
Pixel response time is how quickly an individual pixel can change colors. When electrical current is applied to the crystals of a specific pixel in the panel, the time it takes for them to move from an on to off state determines the pixel response time. Pixel response time is measured in milliseconds (ms) and lower ms numbers are better.
When comparing LCD monitors, a faster pixel response time will allow pixels to change faster so the chances of a ghosting or blurring effect will decrease when viewing a movie or rapidly changing image.
Years ago pixel response time used to be more important when choosing an LCD monitor, but the majority of today’s LCD monitors have pretty fast pixel response times so just about any modern LCD does not suffer from any noticeable ghosting. But if you do have the option when comparing LCD monitors to purchase one with a faster pixel response time it wouldn’t hurt to do so if there isn’t a huge price premium.
Viewing Angle - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
A LCD monitors viewing angle is the horizontal and vertical viewing angle at which at which LCD screen is fully visible.
These days viewing angle is less of an issue than it was with old LCD technologies, though LCD viewing angle is still something worth considering if you are comparing LCD monitors for there can still be a difference between panels.
When not facing an LCD screen directly, the brightness and color of images tend to shift when you view them so it is usually best to purchase an LCD with a wide horizontal or vertical viewing angle. Viewing angle is especially important for LCD televisions because of their nature but a computer LCD monitor also will benefit from a larger viewing angle, especially if you use it for movies, etc.
By default LCD monitors are rated in degrees for their visible viewing angle for both horizontal and vertical. For example, if a LCD monitor has a viewing angle of 180 degrees this would mean that it is fully visible from any angle in front of the screen. Here is a common example of a monitor viewing angle expressed in both horizontal and vertical: 178°(H) / 178°(V).
When shopping for an LCD monitor it doesn’t hurt to grab an LCD monitor with the best viewing angle, though remember there are many other factors to consider than viewing angle alone, so don’t sacrifice another feature unnecessarily for a slightly wider viewing angle.
The key to buying the perfect LCD is to find the best balance of each specification, and to put only your most crucial needs slightly above the rest. And if you have the option to try before you buy this is absolutely the best way to get a feel for the monitors viewing angle, and overall look and feel.
Screen Type - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
Today’s LCD monitors will either come in glossy or non-glossy/matte.
Glossy screens tend to appear richer in color and contrast because they don’t have an antiglare coating found in matte LCD panels, though because there is no antiglare coating, glossy screens suffer from reflective problems. Like a mirror you can see yourself in a glossy screen depending on the light in the surrounding environment.
In comparison, a traditional or non-glossy/matte screen has an antiglare coating on top of the LCD panel so images won’t appear as rich in color for some individuals, but because of this antiglare coating matte monitors don’t suffer from the annoying reflective problems that shiny screens do.
I personally am not a huge fan of glossy screen whatsoever because of their glare problems, though many of you may appreciate the super shiny look and richer colors that glossy screens tend to offer, especially if you watch movies often on your computer, play color rich games, or work with photos.
Non-glossy/matte screens in my opinion are perfect for any use and in any environment thanks to the anti-glare coating. This is especially true for environments with extreme amounts of light since the anti-glare coating will help substantially with distracting screen glare.
Best advice, go ahead and try each screen type out to find out what style you prefer.
Conclusion - LCD Monitor Buying Tips
We hope you've enjoyed our LCD monitor buying tips and purchasing guide. If you have any questions or you would like free purchasing advice, please Ask the computer tech.
Want to learn more about buying a desktop computer? Click any of the buttons below to jump to various desktop buying guide pages for additional purchasing information and advice.
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