EggXpert

Hi everyone.  Just wanted to get some quick help in purchasing some monitors.  We have decided to upgrade to LCD monitors on our office computers.  We'll be purchasing about 6-8, and I'm looking in the 17 or 19 inch range.  We are also on a budget and I'm trying to get the best monitor I can for somewhere between $150 and $200.  I've done a lot of searching on Newegg and things tend to get a little confusing.  Some questions I have:

- We are using 6 year old Dell computers with XP on them.  The computers have an (taken directly from device manager) Intel 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller.  Would there be any problem in using a widescreen display? 

- I've noticed that Hanns G, Samsung, and Acer seem to the be the most popular on Newegg.  According to the user reviews, Hanns G seems to have some tech support problems.  Should I lean away from, or towards, any of these companies?

- How much of a problem, and how worried should I be, about dead pixels?  Is this a very common thing with LCD monitors?

- Many of the monitors say that the recommended resolution is 1400 x 900.  If I don't use that resolution will it make the screen blurry?

 we run an insurance office so we're not graphics heavy by any stretch of the imagination.  I'm just looking for a good quality, long lasting monitor that has a clear screen that will be used primarily for web browsing and word documents.  Any recommendations or advice is much appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

People might hate you for giving them 19" Widescreens. I'll take 19" regular aspect screen any day over a 19" widescreen.

Hanns G does have tech support problems, so you're basically buying a monitor at a good price with no warranty, heh. I've got a 19" Hanns G, I'm happy with it, eventhough I know if it fails I'm SOL.

Looks into Samsungs & Viewsonics for quality displays.

as for dead pixels, ISO 13406-2  is the standard. but not all the manufactures  apply the same standard.

and it is better to use the  recommended resolution. no need to change to other resolutions.

i use Acer, it rocks. and Samsung makes great LCD. but for office purpose,  Dell will be my option.

 

@SergeiV: I was under the assumption that widescreen was becoming the standard and it would be hard to find standard aspect ratio.  I felt like widescreen would give people more room to use on their desktop.  You really think people wouldn't like it?  Also, if I got widescreen, would my video card be able to support filling up the display properly?

 @intelguy: how long have you been using your Acer?  One of the things I noticed throughout the user reviews were people having dead monitors after a year and half.  It seems like Hanns G had a good amount of those problems.  We don't want to have to be replacing monitors every year!

fcg1502:

Also, if I got widescreen, would my video card be able to support filling up the display properly?

Well here's what you're looking at. If people are used to working with 19" regular aspect monitors, in order to give the workers more working area, you would need to step them up to a 22" widescreen to maintain the height.

Doing quick area calcs, a 19" widescreen monitor offers less 'work area' than a 19" regular aspect (source) 

I'm used to working with regular aspect monitors, so when I go from 19" regular aspect to 19" widescreen i feel as if someone cut out the bottom portion of the screen, it sucks.

 

 

fcg1502:

@intelguy: how long have you been using your Acer?  One of the things I noticed throughout the user reviews were people having dead monitors after a year and half.  It seems like Hanns G had a good amount of those problems.  We don't want to have to be replacing monitors every year!

 i used it for  almost  a year. but not a year and half, it is great so far. i don't know much about Hanns G. 

Big thanks to both of you!  I think I've decided it's either going to be Samsung or Acer, and probably 17 or 19inch standard aspect ratio.  Thanks for the help!

Just another quick question that I'm still unsure about.  Can any video card support resolutions for widescreen monitors?  I try to see if I have the settings reccommended for a lot of these widescreens and it doesn't seem like our computers' video cards are capable.  I can set our resolutions to 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x600, 1280x768, and 1280x1024.  I currently have my monitor at 1024x768.  Do any of these resolutions support widescreen displays of 22" monitors?  And what would it be like if we used the monitors with something other than their reccommended setting?  Thanks!

Since the monitor that you try your resolution for is regular aspect monitor, then regular aspect resolutions will be available. Some video cards, like really old ones will not be able to do full, say 1680x1050, resolution. Try to check online with the manufacturers for the specs of the video cards and resolutions supported.

How much will using a non-reccommended resolution setting affect the qaulity of the image on the monitor?

Well, if you keep things proportional, you'll just get blurriness. If you use 1280x1024 on a widescreen and it gets stretched, well everything is going to be wider than usual, VERY bad idea.

I was reading an article online after I asked this question, and I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before, but if you just divide the width by the height of the screen and do the same with the aspect ratio, the number you get should match.  So for example, 1280/768 = 1.6....  If I take the dimensions of the reccommended resolution of this Acer monitor, 1680/1050 = 1.6.  Considering my video card supports the 1280x768, shouldn't this work?  Is it going to be so blurry that it will bother our eyes?  Am I just going overboard here and I have no idea what I'm talking about?  Thanks for all your help?

Yea, it would work, but everything will be blurred a bit and once again you're messing with the 'work area'. If a person is used to 1280x1024 resolution, and you give them something that's 1280x768, you just cut off the bottom portion of the screen some. Granted all the text and graphics look bigger (easier to read for the elderly) but less information could be viewed. It's as simple as this: More Pixels = More Information.

I understand that you're inclined to Widescreen monitors because that's the thing to have, but before you make the decision, carefully consider how the people would benefit from Widescreen opposed to Regular aspect (5:4). Their applications will look different, and it can either be a good thing or a bad thing.

EDIT: Looking at your original post. Word documents are 'portrait' orientation, regular aspect monitors are a bit better in that area. If you wanted to do it THE right way, then here's what you'd do (rotated monitor on the right is the 'right' way, might take some getting used to though). Ofcourse for that you'd need to make sure the video card offers rotation features.

Thanks very much Sergei.  You've been very helpful in my limited understanding of this subject.  I had a couple of different opinions coming from different people on this but I think we've finally make a decision, a 19" Standard size Acer for $200.  I'll leave the widescreen for later when I need a new monitor at home.  Thanks!