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monitors

Monitors have really seen great development over the last couple of years. The advent of the LCD monitor (or Flat Panel) for Desktops have made high-quality screens commonplace in households all across the world.

to flat panel or not to flat panel, that is the question

 Of course I get asked all the time,

"Dan, what monitor should I get?"

Like memory for computers, Flat Panels are quickly becoming the standard for computers. In fact several companies including HP, IBM, and Dell are have run many promotions offering free flat panel monitors with the purchase of qualifying desktops. In my opinion, buying a flat panel monitor is forward-thinking, and poises you to keep pace with technology.

selecting a flat panel

Of course, once you decide to buy a flat panel, then you have to try and find a good one, and reading monitor specifications is like reading braille. Here are the things you need to know when buying a flat panel.

  • Native Resolution
    This is perhaps the most important spec you need to understand. Every flat panel, whether it is integrated into a laptop or standalone on a desktop, has a native resolution. The native resolution refers to the optimal display size. You can use other smaller resolutions, but the display may be fuzzy. The larger the native resolution, the more you can see on the screen, but the smaller it appears. So, as your resolution increases, so much the size of the monitor. This is why you see 19" flat panels 1900x1200 native resolution and 15" flat panels with 1024x768 native resolution.
  • Brightness
    The next factor is brightness, measured in Nits or cd/m2. As a general rule, you want a flat panel with at least 200 Nits. The higher the number, the brighter the screen. If you are going to be using the flat panel in a room with a lot of ambient light, especially sunlight, you may want to consider a monitor with 250cd/m2 or more.
  • Contrast Ratio
    The last important spec to evaluate is the contrast ratio. This measures the ability of the monitor to distinguish between varying colors of the spectrum, from black to white through the entire range of colors. Again, the higher the contrast ratio the brighter and more crisp the images on the screen will appear.

Of course, there are many other factors: size, connector type (Analog or Digital), color, and the list goes on. If you have any questions, contact me.
get lower prices online

I prefer to buy most of my peripherals (monitors, mouse, keyboard, extra hard drives, printers, scanners, etc) online. Exercise caution! Always check out an online store before buying. To save you time, here are a few sites I purchase from regularly that usually have very low prices.