How to choose a monitor: types and characteristics

How to choose a monitor and only enjoy the image without unpleasant surprises? Is it enough that in the showcase it shows the most beautiful or in the online store the product is in the top? Not only the level of enjoyment, but also the health of your eyes depends on the image quality. To determine which monitor is suitable, take into account several key characteristics that affect image quality.

Types of monitors

The most commonly produced computer monitors are of these types:

• Liquid crystal LCD - compact, flicker is small, they do not emit electromagnetic radiation, they have a bright palette of colors.
• LEDs - run on LEDs. Colors are natural, deep and contrast. Minus - there can be uneven backlighting at the edges.
• Plasma PDP - no flicker, so safe for vision, bright palette, wide viewing angles. Minus - high price.
• OLED - saturated black color, high brightness. Over time, some pixels burn out, at low brightness there is harmful to the eyes pulsation.

Types of matrices:

• TN - at an angle the image dims, inversion of colors is manifested. Good image transmission in motion.
• IPS - colors are bright, at an angle doesn't light up, but it happens that the picture lags when playing a movie or a game.
• VA - both quality picture and fast response - a mix of the previous two types of matrix. Minus - unnatural contrast, weakly displayed halftones.

Diagonal and size

It is a measure of the size of the monitor aslant from the corner of the top to the opposite bottom. Diagonal is chosen depending on the purpose of the monitor:

• A monitor for the office worker. Diagonal of 20-24 inches is optimal. The whole screen will be in the field of view, which reduces the strain on the eyes. If you are a designer, designer or engineer, then you need a monitor with a large diagonal - 27-30 inches.
• Screen for the home computer. Diagonal choose depending on the location and tasks. For games, watching movies and photos fit the size of 24-27 inches, if the distance to the seat. 
• Monitor for gamers. Monitors 27 inches and larger give an atmospheric and impressive gaming experience. Video card memory should be more than 1 GB, 4K support is mandatory.

The most popular monitor sizes by aspect ratio:

• 16:9 - for watching movies.
• 16:10 - to work with professional programs.

The indicator of screen flicker

Flicker is a measure of the maximum change in frames per second. For vision, the optimal range is 72-75 Hz. As for the smoothness of playback, it depends more on the properties of the video card. It must deliver power that exceeds the refresh rate of the screen.

Display resolution

This indicator affects the clarity of the image, drawing down to small details. The resolution depending on the tasks:

• Working with texts and tables - 1280 x 1024. Less details are displayed, and the vision is strained less.
• Viewing movies, photos, working with graphics - 1920 x 1080.
• For design, video and photo work - 2560 x 1440. You need a powerful system unit and graphics card for this resolution, if you are going to play or watch movies.

Screen surface

There are two types of surface:

• Glossy - rich colors, but the image fades in the light.
• Matte - colors are less saturated, no glare in the light, the picture does not fade.

Choosing a monitor, pay attention first of all to the type and resolution of the matrix, screen diagonal, frequency. Not unimportant are brightness and contrast indicators, as well as the type of surface.