Whether it is for gaming, for work, or your studies, the right monitor is important. And as it’s better for us to understand how to choose a laptop, it is also recommended to know how to pick the right monitor. Here are top 5 elements you need to consider when getting a new monitor.
Size
Size is probably the first thing that you consider when it comes to monitors and that is because it is the most obvious thing about it. When you are choosing a monitor, it is best if you can go as big as your budget and table space allows. Smaller screens may be cheaper, but you will surely regret getting a screen that is too small for your desk so forget any monitor is that under 22-inches. The average monitor should be around 24-inches and it should give you enough space while still looking good at 1080p.
Screen technology
Most people will skip this part when they buy a monitor unless they are buying the monitor for a specific purpose, so you do not need to know much about this part if you are buying the monitor for general use. However, if you are going to use the monitor for gaming or any work that requires attention to colour and detail, you might want to read more about this part of your monitor. There are four types of screen technology, twisted nematic (TN), vertical alignment (VN), in-plane switching (IPS), and plane-line switching (PLS). IPS and PLS are essentially the same and they are currently the best that you can get.
Colour gamut, contrast, and brightness
Much like screen technology, these three aspects of a screen are seldom prioritized by those shopping for monitors, unless they have a specific need. The colour gamut is the total number of colours that the monitor can display, and it is frequently expressed in the form of a percentage of colour space. The colour space is meant to be used in colour matching across devices so that you can have a standard reproduction of a certain colour throughout different devices.
Contrast is the measure of the brightness values ratio between 100% and 0%, where the higher the contrast is, the more vibrant the colour will look. Most monitors will offer contrast above 1000:1, which is already good for the average monitor user but 1400:1 would be a better choice.
The last thing is brightness, which refers to how much light the screen of your monitor can emit, and it is usually expressed in nits. The typical desktop monitor can run up to 250 to 350 nits while screens that support HDR will tend to run up to 400 to 1600 nits.
Resolution and pixel density
Resolutions and pixel density are two other things that people think about when choosing a monitor. Resolution refers to the number of vertical by horizontal pixels that comprise the image while pixel density refers to the number of pixels per inch that the screen can display. The latter is the more important factor out of the two because it is what determines how sharp the display will look, as well as other elements like icons and texts.
Standard resolutions are Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixels), and 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels). The higher the resolution, the more expensive the monitor can be which is why some of the Samsung monitors with 4K resolution can easily be the same price as the computer itself. However, you should also take into consideration your computer’s graphics card because you will need a better graphics card to run systems on a 4K display if you want to get a nice sync between the two.
Refresh rate and pixel response
Refresh rate and pixel response are very important if you are planning on using the monitors for games and movies. Refresh rate is the number of times per second the screen can update, and it is measure in Hertz (Hz). The refresh rate affects motion blur and artifacts so for any task in which frame rate will matter, certain refresh rates may be an issue. The minimum refresh rate you want to go for is between 60Hz – 75Hz but if you are running fast-paced images, you will want a higher refresh rate for your monitor.Pixel response is how fast an individual pixel can switch states from black to white or from grey to grey and it is measured in milliseconds. The faster the pixel response is because it will give you smoother transitions. This, and the refresh rate, are especially important for gamers which is why gaming monitors like Dell monitors offer both high refresh and quick pixel response.
