how to select a PC display system

The display adapter and monitor you use can make a big difference in your computing enjoyment. The factors to consider are:

1. LCD or CRT
2. Monitor size and resolution
3. Acceleration and multimedia

LCD or CRT
LCD flat panels for desktop use have obsoleted CRTs because of their advantages; however, you can purchase a new or used CRT for peanuts. Flat panels take up less room on the desk; emit less radiation and use less current. Best yet, they provide a very crisp and pleasing display.

Two recommendations for LCD displays. Firstly, purchase a monitor and display adapter that are both DVI (digital). Then, the signals will be created in digital and remain digital. Otherwise, signals are created in digital, converted to analog and then back to digital again. Even though most flat panels come with both VGA (analog) and DVI (digital) inputs, most computers still come with analog VGA output and require installation of a third-party DVI display adapter to keep everything digital.

Secondly, be sure that the flat panel display's maximum resolution is the one you want to work with all the time. The sharpest resolution on an LCD display is its maximum resolution (see flat panel display).

Beware a too-good-to-be-true ad for a computer with a "flat screen." CRT screens became flatter over the years, providing more uniform sharpness at the edges. A "flat screen" may mean a CRT, not a "flat panel" LCD screen.

Monitor Size and Resolution
The standard resolutions are 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 and 1600x1200, the latter three being the most commonly used. For example, 1024x768 means there are 1,024 columns and 768 rows of pixels on screen. The higher the resolution, the more material is viewable on screen; however, a high resolution on a small screen makes text very small.

The graphical user interface (GUI) on today's computers simulates an office desktop, but when is the last time you worked at a desk one foot wide? Computer stores may advertise a 15" monitor as part of a package, but a 17" monitor is really bare minimum for viewing.

For an excellent Web surfing experience, choose a 21" monitor with 1600x1200 resolution, and two Web pages can be displayed side by side at about the same size as two sheets of letter-sized paper. Most Web pages are 800 pixels across, although they are increasingly being expanded to 1,000. Better yet, put dual monitors side by side and view four documents at the same time. While this may seem extravagant, consider how you look at papers laid out on your desk. Supported by the operating system and created by plugging two display adapters into the computer or one that supports dual monitors, a dual monitor configuration only begins to recreate the usefulness of paper pages on a real desktop. See dual monitor and flat panel display.

Screen Resolutions
These are the common screen resolutions. There are higher resolutions for special applications, such as document imaging. The higher the resolution, the more information (pixels) can be displayed on screen.

Acceleration and Multimedia
Placing drawing functions into the circuits of the display adapter speeds up rendering on screen. After Windows became popular, vendors added graphics acceleration to their cards, which put various screen drawing functions into hardware. Later, video acceleration was added, which put several full-motion video functions into the chips.

More and more functions are always being placed into the hardware, and new techniques for smoother rendering are never ending. The display adapter built into the chipset on the motherboard is not the same as the $200 to $600 high-end cards used for CAD, publishing, imaging and gaming (see graphics accelerator and video accelerator).

In addition, if you plan on capturing and editing analog video from a camcorder or VCR, or you need to send computer output to a TV or VCR, display adapters are available with analog video in and video out ports (see VIVO). See display adapter.

Video In and Out
ATI's earlier All-In-Wonder display adapters included a TV tuner and video connections. An adapter that contained connectors to a VCR or camcorder plugged into "A/V In," while an adapter for a TV and sound system plugged into the "A/V Out" socket on the card. (Image courtesy of ATI Technologies Inc., www.amd.com)