Your current monitor is fuzzy, flickering, and makes a scary buzzing noise. So you want a replacement. Don’t be intimidated by the many features and statistics. Here’s how to pick a new monitor.
First, pick the type of monitor you want. Everyone’s used to the generic CRT screen: Big, bulky and boxy. And you’ve probably seen the newer LCD flatscreen monitors, which due to their flashier, more stylish appearance always appear in every Hollywood blockbuster.
But don’t just buy an LCD monitor right away. LCD and the older CRT monitors do have advantages over each other.
LCD flatscreen monitors are smaller and more stylish. They use less power and generate less heat. They’re also expensive. They are better at displaying “static” graphics: If your PC is for word processing or web browsing, great. If you play lots of video games or movies, then LCD monitors may not be the best choice. LCDs are best when viewed head-on; people viewing them off to the side will find it difficult to read the screen.
CRT monitors are heavier and take up more room. But they’re inexpensive. They’re better at showing high-speed graphics. If you can get an LCD and a CRT side-by-side, pop in a Jackie Chan DVD, and pay attention during the action scenes. The CRT displays as well as your TV, but the LCD monitor will have more smearing and blurring during Jackie’s high-speed kicks and punches. This same effect will happen with video games, and if it bothers you, stick with CRTs.
For the next step in a monitor purchase, we’re going to hire Tiger Woods to help us define three terms: Screen size, resolution, and dot pitch. We’ll take Tiger to a driving range, and have him hit thousands of golf balls. We’re going to draw a big square on the range and tell him to aim for the square. The balls landing inside the square will make up a picture, probably consisting of a Nike swoosh or a Buick.
The big square is our “screen size”. The bigger the screen size, the more information we can fit on screen.
“Resolution” is the number of golf balls Tiger hits: Adding more balls means the final picture will look more detailed and impressive.
“Dot pitch” is how close the golf balls are to each other. If they’re too far apart, our picture will look grainy and blocky. We want the balls close together to make a smooth, clear image.
In practical techie terms, your monitor’s screen size should be at least 17 inches. Your resolution should be at least 1024×768. Your dot pitch should be .26mm or smaller.
And shop locally: Visit your nearest computer superstore, and check out the monitors for yourself. Most should be available and turned on for you to see live examples of image quality and display performance.
With these recommendations, you’ll get a well-performing quality monitor. They won’t, however, have any effect on your golf game.