Of an LCD

[LoC]

on newegg.com/ i see a 140 (h)/140 (v) angle or 160/160 and i was wondering how important this is to an LCD. also, is 300 cd/m^2 a good brightness level as well as a contrast ratio of 500:1? interestingly, the dimensions are posted as 15.0" x 15.4" x 7.1" yet it says it is a 17' LCD...im consufed.

[RJ]

The viewing angle is important. How important, depends on you. The thing is, the contrast ratio varies depending on the angle you look at the screen. And the lower the contrast ratio gets, the harder things are to distinguish.
A viewing angle of 140/140 means that when you look at the screen with an angle of 140°, you'll get a contrast ratio of 10:1.
With 160/160, you can go as wide as 160° to get a picture with a CR of 10:1.

But beware. I've seen recently a marketing trick for TN panels. TNs are the ones with the lowest viewing angle. They don't have such high angles like 170/170. So, some manufactures just re-define viewing angle to 5:1, then you get 170/170. . .but you cannot compare that to a 170/170 that is based on 10:1.

The contrast ratio of 500:1 at a brightness of 300 cd/m² is very good. 300cd/m² itself is already a very high brightness. . . is already too bright for some people. I prefer 200 to 250cd/m².

The dimensions are height, width and depth, I would say. A 17" TFT has 17" in diagonal. width and height are shorter than the diagonal. My 15" TFT has a screen width of 12", so I'd say the dimensions you posted do match a 17" TFT.

RJ

[LoC]

i thought it was a marketing ploy, like that CRT monitors - 20x15x16 or something like that and they claim it is a 22'. thx for your help. btw, is there a way to view the brightness levels? i like slightly darker than average.

[LoC]

oh yeah, is the quality of an LCD based on CR or the m^2 or a combination? and what about pixel pitch? and what about pixel pitch?

[RJ]

i thought it was a marketing ploy, like that CRT monitors - 20x15x16 or something like that and they claim it is a 22'.

With CRT it's different. The tube cannot use the entire front surface to display the picture. Therefore, a 17" CRT, for example, has a viewable size of about 15,4".

TFTs use their entire panel to display the image, therefore a 17" TFT has a 17" viewable screen size, and compares to a 19" CRT.

The sceen dimensions of a 17" TFT are:
width: 13,4"
height: 10,6"

So the dimensions you posted is the size of the entire monitor, not only the screen size. They are accurate for a 17".

btw, is there a way to view the brightness levels? i like slightly darker than average.

Um.. . not sure what slightly darker than average is. . . but I guess 300 cd/m² would be too bright for you. A CRT does around 130cd/m², so you can compare.

oh yeah, is the quality of an LCD based on CR or the m^2 or a combination?

I'd say it depends on all of them. You want more than just a good contrast ratio. You want a good brightness as well (not too bright), you certainly have some requirements about the viewing angle.
Also the background light plays a role here. Low quality screens don't have the same brightness all over the screen. . .the brightness varies from one spot on the screen to another.
On quality TFTs, the brightness difference is pretty low, so you have almost equal brighness all over the screen.

and what about pixel pitch? and what about pixel pitch?

Unimportant. All 17" TFTs have the same, there is no difference.

RJ

[LoC]

the viewing angle in particular i am not understanding. is a 160/160 better than a 150/135...as in u see more?

[RJ]

Yes. The higher, the better. See, when you look straight at the screen, that is 0°. Now you can go up to 90° either side, 180° in total.

Now the higher the viewing angle is, the more you can look at the screen from the side.

RJ

[LoC]

Oooooooooooooooooooooooh

[Jaggannath]

btw, is there a way to view the brightness levels? i like slightly darker than average.
You can just adjust this using the controls... get the best brightness, and you can always dim it if needs be

[LoC]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?CompareItemList=N82E16824009057,N82E16824005040,N82E16824160146,N82E16824009062&SubCategory=20
i am torn between these monitors. i am leaning towards the LG L1751S-BN Black 17" 12ms LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 550:1 0.264mm Pixel Pitch - Retail though b/c it is marked down so much i figure the quality is a better and so i should take advantage of this. however, if i buy my comp parts later and the $40 savings are no longer an option, which should i choose?

[RJ]

Hm. None of them has a DVI port. This isn't so good. Without DVI the picture can't be as sharp as possible, it'll always be a bit blurry. You might not notice it, though, so it might not be a big deal. But if possible, get one with DVI.

But if it's among these, I'd go with the LG, coz it has the best contrast ratio and a lowest brightness. The rest is identical (they are all TN panels, all similar viewing angles, all 12ms, all 17", none has DVI).

RJ

[Hi Ho]

THIS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824009055) Acer is in the same price range and has similar specs to the ones you are looking at but it also has a DVI input.

[LoC]

of these four monitors, which is the best? i am liking the LG and since it is $40.00 off i figure i should buy it now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?CompareItemList=N82E16824009057,N82E16824005040,N82E16824160146,N82E16824009062&SubCategory=20

as well, concerning power supplies should i buy one with a case? however, i fgure that it wil not be very good so i am stuck on wether to buy this one right now since it is cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?CompareItemList=N82E16817103452%2CN82E16817153009%2CN82E16817104154%2CN82E1681710 3450%2CN82E16817104974&SubCategory=58

i personally like the next one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104154

I think i will buy this one right now in order to take advanatge of the price. is it good enuf for AMD 3700+ San Diego with a 6800 GeForce card or X800XL or something like that?

[RJ]

of these four monitors, which is the best?

That's the same four monitors that you linked to earlier on. Since I already told why I think the LG is the best among these 4, I guess this link was a mistake and you wanted to link to other 4 monitors ?

RJ

[LoC]

whoops. yeah i messed that one up. just pay attention to the power supplies part. thx for noting that!