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Guide to choosing cheap computer monitorsThis page is a guide to choosing cheap computer monitors that will satisfy your needs without breaking the bank. Your monitor is the single most expensive component in your system. This means that a lot of money can be saved if you make the right decision and choose the right cheap computer monitor.
There's a lot more to computer monitors than just the size of
the screen.
Read on to find out what to look for when choosing cheap
computer monitors.
Or if your interested in having a look at prices for
The features of a computer monitor:
A computer monitor is like a high quality TV set. The difference
is that with a computer monitor you sit very close and try to make out fine
detail such as words.
This means that a computer monitor must have very fine
definition and an image that is nice and stable on the screen so you do not get
eye strain. You will spend a great deal of time staring at a computer monitor so
it is important that you get one that suits your needs.
When you are looking for cheap computer monitors you will be
given different specifications. These numbers can be confusing so lets look at
what the specifications mean when your sitting in front of the damn thing!
Resolution:
This is the number of pixels on the screen at once. Say your
screen is set to 1024 by 768 it means that there are 1024 along the top of the
screen. This means that if you had a picture that was 1000 pixels wide you could
see the whole picture without zooming out and losing detail.
Monitors will be described as having a maximum resolution. This
will be the highest setting possible. Usually the monitor will have an optimum
setting slightly below this resolution.
High resolutions are great if you want to look at graphics
because more of the picture will fit on the screen at once. However if you are
looking at text a letter 5 pixels high will get smaller and smaller as the
resolution increases. This means that if you are only going to surf the net and
do email then you will be wasting money and straining your eyes with a high
resolution monitor.
All new 15 inch monitors will do 1024 by 768. If you are looking
for a cheap computer monitor then get one capable of this resolution.
If things are too small then you can always lower the resolution
to 800 by 600. You may also be able to raise the resolution but doing this will
lower the vertical refresh rate. Read on to find out why you must spend more to
get a monitor to run high resolutions.
Vertical Refresh Rate:
This is a very important specification. The speed that a monitor
draws an entire screen, called the "vertical refresh rate" or
"frequency," is measured in hertz (Hz).
To prevent eyestrain you want your monitor to be running the
current resolution at around 85Hz. This will make the image stable. At lower
refresh rates the screen will flicker and you may not notice it at first but you
will notice the splitting headache you get after about an hour of use at a low
refresh rate.
The vertical refresh rate dcreases as the resolution increases.
In the monitor manual look for the resolution that has 85 vHz next to it. This
will be the optimum resolution for the monitor. Setting the monitor any higher
will damage both your eyes and your monitor over time.
Monitor size:
This is easy to understand. Bigger monitors make the picture
bigger so that you can have higher resolutions without text getting too small.
This makes less work for your eyes. Buy as big as you can afford. Currently 17
inch monitors are great value. If your interested in having a look at some great
prices for
Dot Pitch:
In trying to evaluate a monitor's quality, most people will
usually talk about dot pitch. In general, the lower the dot pitch (measured in
millimeters), the better the monitor. The problem is that dot pitch can be
measured in many different ways, and therefore doesn't necessarily mean much.
A low dot pitch will make text crisp but as I said there is no
standard measurement to compare. Usually spending more money will increase the
monitor quality.
Choosing cheap computer monitors should take time. There are
some excellent bargains out there at the moment. Remember if you don't have a
huge demand for a high resolution monitor then get a 15 inch. It will still
display sharp graphics at low resolutions and at these low resolutions things
will be nice and big for your eyes.
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Screen Reading Software( can read text directly from the computer screen)
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