Re: Monitor question
On Fri, 24 Dec 2010 10:30:57 -0500, Mark Neidorff wrote:
> Running Lenny updated.
> I'm wondering what I lose if I switch to a large wide screen monitor. I
> currently have a "regular" 17" Viewsonic (VP171s). Works fine, but
> since my eyes are getting older, I'm tempted by the crop of wide screen
> 25" monitors on the market. If you want to tell me how great a
> particular brand of monitor is, please e-mail me off the list (I don't
> want to start a flame war on the list). My systems currently use the
> on-board video that comes with the motherboards. (I have multiple
> systems connected to the monitor) For my server, I want to keep using
> the on-board video, but for my desktop machine, putting in a video card
> is not out of the question.
When it comes to LCD/TFT, you have to pay attention to native resolution.
Look, 17" displays tend to use the same resolution (dots per inch) than
19" ones (1280x1024) so people tend to think they gain when buying a 17"
screen because they get the same viewable area but they pay less (17"
monitors are cheaper).
But I prefer to stick to 19" LCD screens (and avoid as much as I can
those wide/narrow screens, 16:9 or 16:10) because text and icons are
larger than in 17" displays and I get a good resolution (1280x1024 is
better than a wide screen (1280x800).
As per display brand, I like Eizo the most. They are very expensive but
they provide a superb quality :-}
> So, questions:
> 1. Will my on-board video cards be able to drive a new monitor to full
> resolution? If not, will I be able to run the GUI in a usable fashion
> or will I get a fuzzy display or will there be other compromises?
Modern cards, yes, they are capable of managing higher resolutions. Check
your card specs to be sure.
> 2. Are there monitors that do not support text mode out there? I'm
> asking because I do as much work on my server as possible in text mode,
> only using X when absolutely necessary. I also feel the need to watch
> the boot messages go by at times. If a monitor can't display text mode,
> then it will be useless to me.
I don't think so. You will only have to setup the resolution that fits
your needs.
> 3. Are there any other general suggestions about the wide screen
> monitors that I should be aware of?
None that I can think, just care about resolution, it can be "misleading".
OTOH, you can always adjust your DPI to a higher value (i.e., 120dpi) so
while you keep your current/recommended resolution, all, icons and text
will display bigger and your eyes will suffer less :-)
Greetings,
--
Camaleón
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