Monitors
Say goodbye to the old square monitors of last decade! Widescreen monitors are the most popular type of monitor for 2010. Laptops come with a widescreen by default, but you have more flexibility with a desktop. By the end of this section you will know exactly what makes a good monitor and which monitor is best for you!
Here is a monitor example:
19” Widescreen Monitor
· 1280x800 resolution
· 18.5-inch display area
· 16:9 widescreen format
· 5ms response time
· 5000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
Now let’s break each section down:
· 1280 x 800 Resolution
o This is the amount of pixels the monitor has. The more pixels, the sharper the monitor will look. The “1280” is how many pixels go horizontally across the screen, and the “800” is how many pixels go vertically. The standard resolution for HD(High Definition) is 1280 x 720. I recommend a 1680 x 1050 or a 1920 x 1200 monitor for the best visual look!
· 18.5-inch Display Area
o This is the actual area that you see on the monitor. The 19” measurement is the entire monitor. This is normal.
· 16:9 Widescreen Format
o This is the standard format for widescreen viewing. Remember those square monitors? Those were 4:3. 16:9 or even 16:10 is the widescreen standard for monitors.
· 5ms Response Time
o This is how fast images appear on the monitor. The slower the response time, the more likely you will experience “ghosting” on the screen. 5ms is a great speed and I recommend getting no less.
· 5000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
o The higher the contrast ratio, the better and brighter looking your monitor will be. This ratio is fairly on the low side. There are monitors with a 10,000:1 ratio out there. Go for those!