Manufacturers have been placing more emphasis on LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors.  These have several characteristics that make them more appealing than traditional CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors:

• Much thinner and lighter than CRT monitors, making them attractive for those with limited desk space.
• Typically generate less heat and use less electricity.
• Emit much less UV and EM radiation than CRT monitors
• Published display size is typically the viewable screen area. (For a CRT monitor, it's the tube area.)

When shopping for an LCD monitor, be sure to consider:

• Contrast ratio (ratio of darkest to lightest colors the monitor can produce).
  If you plan to do a lot of image display and editing, you'll want to pay close attention to this value.  500:1 is a minimum, and monitors with 800:1 and higher are available.
• Display resolution to match your preferred desktop size.
  An LCD monitor has an optimal (fixed) resolution value. It can scale images and display them at higher and lower resolutions, but their quality may be compromised.
• Response time (speed of pixel state changes)
  For gaming and viewing movies, a lower number is better. We recommend 25ms or faster, and monitors with 8-9 ms response times are available.
• Dot pitch (distance (in millimeters) between individual dots on the screen)
  In general, smaller is better.
• Type of connector
  Two types are available — traditional analog VGA and DVI. You can get cleaner signal transmission from computer to monitor with a DVI connector.

Manufacturers measure and publish LCD specifications in different ways, so we recommend that you take a hands-on look at several monitors before you buy.

Content last updated May 5, 2005 by ptwillia
Page last modified February 14, 2006 by cawalker