Cheap Flat Panel Monitors - Buyers Guide

The flat panel monitors (or LCD monitors) will slowly but surely replace regular monitors (CRT monitors). They will save you lots of space with their flat design, minimize desk clutter, and give your office that new look. When flat panel monitors first came out they where very expensive ... not anymore. Today, a cheap flat panel monitor is a must have for most people. Over time, prices have decreased and the variety has increased. I've looked all over the internet to buy a cheap flat panel monitor and have found the lowest prices and best selection at TigerDirect.com

Plug in a cheap flat panel monitor into the VGA port on your laptop or into the USB port on the Port Replicator if your laptop doesn't have a VGA port.

How to choose the right cheap flat panel monitor?

When selecting a cheap flat panel monitor for your basic computer needs like word processing, emailing and internet browsing, you really want to get these 5 things right:

Low Price

Here is how the prices vary depending on the size:

15" : average price $220-320
17" : average price $320-500
18" : average price $400-560
19" : average price $550-$700

No flickering

These means that the screen should redraw itself (or refresh) with a high enough frequency for the human eye not to catch it; so it doesn't get tired. Refreshing rates of 70 Hz and higher are preferable. Most of today's cheap flat panel monitors support 75-85Hz.

Fit more images on the screen

The larger the screen size, the higher resolution it will support, and the more you will be able to fit on the screen!

800x600, 1024x768 - these two resolutions are the most common today - they let you see the most on your screen and are still ok for your eyes.

Graphics and photographs will look good in at least an 800x600 resolution. Though, some people would prefer much higher resolutions like 1280x1024, for example, to fit even more on the screen. But the more images you'll try to fit on the screen the smaller they'll become, and this could be hard on your eyes.

To compensate for this uncomfort, you can always adjust the font size in your internet browser or your word processor, or even on your Windows desktop, to a larger font size.

Sharper images

Check the dot pitch of your cheap flat panel monitor; the smaller the number, the sharper the picture.

The dot pitch is measured in fractions of a millimeter (mm). Common pitches for flat panel monitors are .30mm, .29mm, .28mm, .26mm where .28 is the highest you should go with.

You generally get the best dot pitch measurement (.26mm) with 17" inch monitors.

Brighter images

Check the contrast ration of your cheap flat panel monitor; you'll get brilliant vivid images and razor-sharp text with at least 400:1 contrast ratio while the 300:1 ratio is considered to be the most typical.

A contrast ratio measures the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. High contrast ratio, such as 400:1, represents a much better color representation on the monitor than a lower contrast ratio, such as 150:1.

Conclusion

Most of the software programs, web pages and graphics are designed today to look best with the 1024x768 resolution.

For basic computer needs: to get the best value for your money, you want a monitor that supports this configuration: 1024x768 at 75Hz with at least .28 dot pitch and with at least 300:1 contrast ratio.

So, from all these different sizes of the cheap flat panel monitors the 17" inch monitor would be your best bet to satisfy these requirements. Just a hundred dollars more than the 15" and much bigger this size will both suit you eyes and save you money. Many of the 17" monitors are specifically designed for the 1024x768 resolution with the 75Hz refresh rate.

But, of course, you could get a real kick from a bit pricier 18" or 19" monitor.

For laptop gaming: see my Laptop Gaming page for additional information on how to select the proper cheap flat panel monitor for gaming - the Response Time is another very important feature to consider.

For graphic design: a 17" monitor and higher screen resolution such as 1280x1024 at 75Hz is recommended to see more image detail. This size is still comfortable for your eyes. Also, superior a 500:1 contrast ratio for photo realistic images with unrivaled clarity and vivid color reproduction is recommended.

Example of a cheap flat panel monitor that fits the requirements...

Benq FP767T 17" White 1280x1024 16ms LCD TFT Mon.

• 17" active matrix TFT LCD
• 17" viewable screen size
• max res. 1280 x 1024 at 75Hz
• 0.264mm dot pitch
• 500:1 contrast ratio
• Response time 16ms

This cheap flat panel monitor is perfect for gaming or graphics design.

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