Shopping for a 24" to 27" Flat LCD for computing?

Question

Has anyone made the jump to a large LCD panel for their computer needs? Dell sells at 27" but its very pricey. What are all you guys using for monitors bigger than 22"

Are you viewing it up close (2 to 3 feet)?

Are your eyes strained?

Is the images pixelated?

Thanks for your input...

Answer 1

Consider more then just size when shopping for a monitor upgrade..specifically what you want to use it for and if you have the hardware to support it properly.

If, for example, you wanted to upgrade it for gaming, then you would want to get a nice resolution with it ( probably 1600x900 or better). However, the higher the resolution the pricer the monitor. Keep in mind though, that a great big pricey monitor won't really provide the experience you want unless you have a video card that can keep up. You need a fairly decent graphics card to push that many pixels out to really make such an investment worth the money. Also, make sure both your graphics card and your monitor come with an HD cable connection vs. the standard analog connection. Without the proper graphics card and resolution..that will lead to a pixelated picture to the best of my knowledge.

Dell does have very nice monitors, but very expensive. 22" monitor isn't a bad size..especially if it is a widescreen format.

If its for watching movies and video editing..then you also want to keep an eye on the contrast ratio. The higher the first number the better. LCD has a tough time producing true black color and you may get what is refered to as bleed-through giving you a greyish tone to your black colors.

Just some thoughts, I would recommend shopping first at www.newegg.com. They have excellent service, product, and very fast shipping. Additionally, the offer shoppers to read reviews and comments about the product from their customers...which so far has always given me a fair outlook for the products i've gotten there.

Answer 2

I recently got a 22" widescreen LCD. Larger than that are not common (at least cheaply) for computer displays, more often they would be TVs (which have a lower resolution). I am viewing mine from about 1-2 feet, the images are not noticeably pixellated, and there is no eye strain. Be sure when you buy that you get the highest resolution you can (at that size 1600x1200 standard or 1920x1200 widescreen) and have the quickest response time possible (5ms or lower).

If you want to look around, you can check Newegg.com