Would anyone like to share their wisdom regarding monitors? I need to buy one soon, but I've never been into that aspect of the hardware and always had all-in-ones or second-hand machines before. And now there's so many different brands and kinds out there that I don't even know where to start, especially since so much of the marketing and review material seems directed toward Windows gamers, whose needs I imagine are going to be pretty different from mine.
Here's what I know I need:
-- It needs to be compatible with the Mini I'll buy later this summer.
-- Flat-screen, fairly small footprint
-- At least 15 inches
-- I'm willing to spend up to $1000.
Here's what I really really want, but can live without if I have to:
-- It should be compatible (by itself or with some kind of affordable adapter?) with an old PowerMac 7300.
-- 17 inches, maybe up to 20 would be nice, but bigger than that would be too big.
-- I'd like to spend no more than $750.
-- Clean, simple lines, minimalist design. When I'm looking at the display, I want my attention on the content, not on the monitor itself.
Here's what I would also like to have, but isn't on the priority list:
-- I'd like it to be compatible with whatever the next computer I buy will be, which is almost certainly going to be a tablet.
-- Pivotable, so I can use it portrait style.
I'm not thrilled with the widescreen monitors, but am resigned to the idea that we're probably going to be forced into them in the future, since everyone's putting out software now with palettes and drawers that require more horizontal screen space. Once I have the Mini, I'll probably watch movies on it now and then, but I don't even own a DVD player now, so that tells you just how important movies are to me. The only gaming I do is Sims and MU*s.
On the other hand, clear and readable screen fonts are very important to me. My eyesight is blurry enough on its own, so I really appreciate a clear, crisp picture. But -- and this is a big but -- nothing drives me crazier than software that only supports higher resolutions, which smaller monitors may be "physiologically" capable of displaying but only by making all the fonts and icons tiny. The best, highest resolutions in the world are useless to me, if the GUI elements are too small to use comfortably. My office computer has 1280 by 1024 on a 19-inch (I think?) Dell, and that's about as small as I can handle, and that's using large fonts. So unless Tiger finally gives us back the ability to choose our own system fonts and sizes and improves the anti-aliasing (or allows us to turn it off completely), I'm _really_ hesitant about going to any of the "modern" higher resolutions.
I'm also used to Apple prices, so although I don't want to pay them this time, everytime I see something priced below $700, I automatically worry about the quality, and I don't know enough about AV companies to know which produce good hardware and which don't. The company names that are unfamiliar to me I don't trust because they're unfamiliar, and the company names that are familiar to me I don't trust because for non-computer media electronics, I've always bought the cheapo-only-used-occassionally versions.
Any recommendations? I really don't know where to start. Everytime I try to look at the possibilities online, I end up eek!ing at all the options.
Here's what I know I need:
-- It needs to be compatible with the Mini I'll buy later this summer.
-- Flat-screen, fairly small footprint
-- At least 15 inches
-- I'm willing to spend up to $1000.
Here's what I really really want, but can live without if I have to:
-- It should be compatible (by itself or with some kind of affordable adapter?) with an old PowerMac 7300.
-- 17 inches, maybe up to 20 would be nice, but bigger than that would be too big.
-- I'd like to spend no more than $750.
-- Clean, simple lines, minimalist design. When I'm looking at the display, I want my attention on the content, not on the monitor itself.
Here's what I would also like to have, but isn't on the priority list:
-- I'd like it to be compatible with whatever the next computer I buy will be, which is almost certainly going to be a tablet.
-- Pivotable, so I can use it portrait style.
I'm not thrilled with the widescreen monitors, but am resigned to the idea that we're probably going to be forced into them in the future, since everyone's putting out software now with palettes and drawers that require more horizontal screen space. Once I have the Mini, I'll probably watch movies on it now and then, but I don't even own a DVD player now, so that tells you just how important movies are to me. The only gaming I do is Sims and MU*s.
On the other hand, clear and readable screen fonts are very important to me. My eyesight is blurry enough on its own, so I really appreciate a clear, crisp picture. But -- and this is a big but -- nothing drives me crazier than software that only supports higher resolutions, which smaller monitors may be "physiologically" capable of displaying but only by making all the fonts and icons tiny. The best, highest resolutions in the world are useless to me, if the GUI elements are too small to use comfortably. My office computer has 1280 by 1024 on a 19-inch (I think?) Dell, and that's about as small as I can handle, and that's using large fonts. So unless Tiger finally gives us back the ability to choose our own system fonts and sizes and improves the anti-aliasing (or allows us to turn it off completely), I'm _really_ hesitant about going to any of the "modern" higher resolutions.
I'm also used to Apple prices, so although I don't want to pay them this time, everytime I see something priced below $700, I automatically worry about the quality, and I don't know enough about AV companies to know which produce good hardware and which don't. The company names that are unfamiliar to me I don't trust because they're unfamiliar, and the company names that are familiar to me I don't trust because for non-computer media electronics, I've always bought the cheapo-only-used-occassionally versions.
Any recommendations? I really don't know where to start. Everytime I try to look at the possibilities online, I end up eek!ing at all the options.
