Which flat panel display?

[imnotquitesure]

I am wanting to buy an LCD display. I'm not sure what makes a good one. What makes one better than another. For instance what should I look for, high contrast ratio?
For instance this http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail~dpno~372518.asp one is cheap, but is it good? What would be a good resolution for the size? How is DVI better than VGA? I need education on the subject. Is there an article on how to tell a good LCD from a crappy one?
Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Smileyguy]

Hey,

The first thing to consider is what you're going to use it for. Do you need coloue accuracy for photo/graphics work? I presume by the fact you're looking to buy cheap the answer is no.

What do you want to use the monitor for? Is it just for basic computing stuff? Will there be any gaming?

 

[combatcolin]

make sure the refresh rate is below 20ms, 16ms or below is good.

DVI for the connection method, vga for 2nd connecter is good if you want to connect 2 machines to the same Monitor.

Other groovy things are Composite and S -Video connecters for hooking up Games consoles, TV Tuners etc.

Some monitrs allow you to flip the screen, FANTASTIC for playing arcade shoot em ups via MAME on vertical screen mode.

USB 2 is common on a lot, 1 cable connects to your Mac and you can hook up a few (2 or 4 ports are common) devices.

Apple have FireWire on their Monitors and have come down in price a bit, there very good quality but Value wise Dell give you more for your £££$$$

And buy the biggest you can afford.

 

[Platform]

I am wanting to buy an LCD display. I'm not sure what makes a good one. What makes one better than another. For instance what should I look for, high contrast ratio?
For instance this http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail~dpno~372518.asp one is cheap, but is it good? What would be a good resolution for the size? How is DVI better than VGA? I need education on the subject. Is there an article on how to tell a good LCD from a crappy one?
Thanks for any help you can give.

There is a thread wich will show you the difference between DVI and VGA

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1266978#post1266978

If you don't bother look at the pic

 

[imnotquitesure]

Actually graphics is my business though I don't work much at home, color accuracy is a boon. I'm looking cheap, but if the benefits are worth it more than a brand name I'd pay more, thats why I started the thread. What makes one worth more than another? Gaming is not a concern, I will go with DVI though. Why is a lower refresh rate better, wouldn't a faster refresh be better?

Thanks again.

 

[joshua_msu]

Why is a lower refresh rate better, wouldn't a faster refresh be better?

Thanks again.

Cause you are dealing with decimals. Refreshing every .0016 sec is faster than .0020.

 

[wPod]

Why is a lower refresh rate better, wouldn't a faster refresh be better?

Thanks again.

lower number means less time b/w each refresh. refresh rate is measured in time b/w refresh, not # of refresh per time. so the less time b/w refresh the better!

 

[Smileyguy]

Actually graphics is my business though I don't work much at home, color accuracy is a boon. I'm looking cheap, but if the benefits are worth it more than a brand name I'd pay more, thats why I started the thread. What makes one worth more than another? Gaming is not a concern, I will go with DVI though. Why is a lower refresh rate better, wouldn't a faster refresh be better?

Thanks again.

I've started at least three threads in the last couple months asking for advice on monitors. Have a search and you should find some good advice.

If you want colour accuracy you'll have to pay really, especially with an LCD. Of course, you can get accurate CRT's cheap. Perhaps a cheap LCD and a cheap CRT? What's your budget exactly? What's the most you'll spend?

 

[shake]

guys !

LCD monitors have a refresh rate of 60hz !!!

16ms or 20ms or whatever, is the *response* time of the display. this means a pixel can go from black to white in 16ms. obviously, faster is better. and 16ms does not cover all colors, but is used as an average.

an example of a slow response time would be the original black&white game boy. any motion on the screen caused blurriness because the pixels could not respond in time.

go with an apple cinema display. i had one of those fancy dell 20" widescreen lcd's next to my 20" apple cinema display. it seriously is night and day between the two. the dell had hotspots, and uneven backlighting. the apple had consistent backlight and the colors even looked better. and yes, i color calibrated both of them.