LCD Monitor Basics

What size LCD monitor do you need?

In determining the monitor size you want, the diagonal measurement is less important than the resolution (number of pixels) and shape. A larger diagonal size does not necessarily mean a monitor has more pixels.

Conventional (4:3 aspect ratio) 17- and 19-inch monitors both have a resolution of 1280 by 1024 pixels. This means that while you'll see the same amount of a web page on the screen, the text and graphics will appear larger on a 19-inch model. Widescreen monitors that range from 20 to 22 inches have a 1680-by-1050-pixel resolution. In these cases, you get a wider screen, but about the same amount of usable vertical space as a standard monitor. That makes everything a little bigger, which is an advantage if you need larger text. The tradeoff is that text quality will not be as fine.

With the transition to widescreen monitors, screen-size specifications can be misleading. Most 19-inch widescreen monitors, for instance, have a lower resolution (1440 times 900 = 1,260,000 pixels) than a conventional 19-inch monitor (1280 times 1024 = 1,310,720 pixels), even though both have the same diagonal measurement.

If you have an older computer -- especially one with integrated video -- it might not support a very large monitor. As a first step, check the specifications for your video card or computer to find out which resolutions it will support.

Types of LCD panels

LCD monitors use a variety of flat panels. The panel is the "guts" behind the LCD monitor's frame. Panels are made by only a few companies, and many monitor brands actually use the same panel behind different frames and stands.

Most inexpensive and general-use monitors use TN (twisted nematic) technology. TN panels have several disadvantages compared with more expensive types, including narrow viewing angles, light blacks and inaccurate color reproduction. But unless you use your computer monitor extensively for editing photos or watching movies, or spend hours at a time editing documents or working on spreadsheets, TN panels are a reasonable and inexpensive choice. For gamers, TN panels are actually preferred because they have a faster response time. But the biggest advantage is that they are the least-expensive type of panel.

If you have a bigger budget, experts say two other panel types offer some advantages for certain users. For office use -- especially if you spend lots of time working in word processing, spreadsheet or database programs -- a monitor with a VA (vertical alignment) LCD panel might make sense. That's because a VA panel has a better contrast ratio than a TN panel, easing eyestrain when used for long stretches. VA panel variations include MVA (multi-domain) and PVA (patterned), which may also come in better, high-contrast AMVA (advanced MVA) and S-PVA (super-PVA) versions.

While VA panels have better color reproduction than TN panels, if you do semipro photo editing, video editing or other graphics-intensive work, a monitor with an IPS (in-plane switching) panel might be worth its premium price. Such monitors have the best color accuracy and wide viewing angles so they can be used effectively in a group setting. S-IPS (super) and P-IPS (premium) are the best-quality IPS panels.

Other types of panels exist but are uncommon in computer monitors. Note that many manufacturers don't disclose what type of panel a monitor uses, though some third-party sites attempt to provide that information. Those are listed in our Useful Links section. While there certainly are exceptions, where a manufacturer doesn't disclose the type of panel it's using, it is reasonably safe to assume it is an inexpensive TN panel.