Saying Goodbye to my Monitor

[pokeplayer984]

I've had a 15-inch 4:3 Samsung Monitor that has supported me well through its life.  Yet, the internet has gone ahead of me and I need to catch up again.  So, this is what I'm upgrading to.



A 17-inch HP Widescreen Monitor.  It's used and I probably paid more than I should have. (Shipping was a little high.) But I believe I'll be getting a great monitor, regardless.  After all, I trust HP.  They do great work with computers and I do expect a lot from them.

It should arrive sometime tomorrow. (If my other packages have been any indication, it'll come when I'm at work.)

My Samsung has been great, but it's time to move on.

That's all I wanted to say.  See ya!

[landbeforetimelover]

You should have gotten the 23" LG.  $169 with FREE shipping.  Why would you even get such a small monitor?  Just save up a few more bucks and you could have at least gotten a 20" for ~$20 more.  Heck, $109 at WalMart will get you a 20" and we all know that WalMart's prices aren't nearly the best compared to online stores.

[Petrie.]

20 inch would've been my starting point too, given the prices these days and the fact I can always use more contrast or larger font.

[pokeplayer984]

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb237/p.../Photo-0031.jpg

That is my desk right there.  And before you say it, NO I am NOT taking the top off, period!  So get that through your skull and deal with it! (Sorry, but I get really upset when people suggest that, so don't even bother.)

I can hold up to a 19-inch, but that's pushing it.  I feel that a 17-inch works well for me.

Besides, it's from a company that brings out good quality stuff, so why should it matter?  If I get what I like, it's all that matters.

I'm not like others out there.  I DON'T need the biggest screen or the best of everything.  Besides, there are times when what everyone claims to be the best, I do not prefer in the end.

At this point, I just need a widescreen monitor.  The size of it doesn't matter to me.

[Mumbling]

I like my 17 inch monitor, it's really not that bad. Mind you, people are just so used to great quality these days that everyone assumes that all the people around them want better, which is not always the case.

I'm assuming you meant the title to be 'waving' goodbye to your monitor ?

[Kor]

I hope the new monitor works well for you.  If you are happy with 17 inches or that is all the room you have that is good for you.  Not sure why others assume everyone should have large monitors or ones 20 inches and up or any monitor under 20 inches is no good.  It should be regarded as a unique case for each person.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, it finally came and I have finished setting it up.

It looks great!  I really, really like it.  However, the thing is that I've been used to a 4:3 monitor for SO long, it'll take time to adjust to my 16:9 monitor.

I need to run a few tests before I can give a full review.

So, until then, see ya later!

[landbeforetimelover]

When I got my first widescreen display, I honestly said aloud "shit, so this is what I've been missing." I hope you'll have a similar reaction.  Though your laptop screen is 16:10 so you might not have the same reaction.

[DarkHououmon]

You should have gotten the 23" LG.  $169 with FREE shipping.  Why would you even get such a small monitor?  Just save up a few more bucks and you could have at least gotten a 20" for ~$20 more.  Heck, $109 at WalMart will get you a 20" and we all know that WalMart's prices aren't nearly the best compared to online stores.

Actually 17 inch is not that small of a monitor. I'm currently using an 18 inch one and it's big enough for me and it is functioning just fine. How does being a few inches shorter than a 20 inch or so monitor make it any less functional? It's not like a 17 or 18 inch glitches out constantly or anything. In my opinion, bigger is not always better. Besides, there isn't really that much difference between a 20 inch and a 17 inch except the screen is wider. That's all a wider screen is going to do, which is, in my opinion, not that special or interesting. Not saying that I won't end up getting a bigger monitor someday; I'm just not that excited to get one.

[pokeplayer984]

Until my eyes adjust, I'm not going to the highest resolution possible. (The highest for my new monitor is 1440 x 900.  I currently have it at 1360 x 768.) You know, I guess that's why some people go for a bigger screen, since they can boast out a higher resolution, thus more pixels.  With HD these days, you can go pretty dang high in the end. (1920 x 1080, if I'm not mistaken, is the highest possible right now.) Right now, it looks like I have the bare min needed to get HD. (1280 x 720 is the minimum needed for HD quality.  Note that even if you have 1280 x 800 on a 4:3 monitor, you STILL won't be able to get HD, as HD is made exclusively for widescreen.) I have yet to test watching an HD video on YouTube, but I'll review that when I get there.  Still, some people like a bigger screen more, but as for me, I don't need it so much.  I just needed a widescreen.

Oh yeah, I think there's one last teeny, tiny, itsy, bitsy thing you need to render HD.

[landbeforetimelover]

You really need to bump up the resolution as high as it will go because the highest is usually the "native" resolution, meaning all other resolutions will render fuzzy text and lower quality images.  And you can't get a 1280x800 on a 4:3 monitor because that's a resolution designed for a 16:10 aspect ratio.  The reason why people go with larger monitors is because oftentimes a 20" and a 17" will both have the same native resolution.  But as you can see, a 1440x900 resolution on a 17" monitor makes everything really tiny.  You could have easily gotten the same native resolution on a 19" and it wouldn't be so bad.  

As for the largest resolution available, it's way past 1920x1080.  That's the resolution on my 24" Samsung SyncMaster.  Although it's very nice, my Samsung isn't anywhere near the best monitor on the market.  If you go with a decent quality 30" monitor, you'll even get a much better resolution.  But if you count professional grade monitors, the resolution can go past 3000x2200 (I don't know the exact resolutions).

And as for the difference between a 17" and 20" monitor, it is HUGE.  You wouldn't understand if you've never seen a 20."  I tried to explain it before, but you might not completely grasp the full effects unless you can actually see it.  As it is now, the smallest monitor I use on my personal computers is a 22" and I barely use those computers anymore.  My main master has a 24" SyncMaster and my office master as a 23" LG.  I do use a 20" monitor for repairing computers, but other than that you'll never see me on anything less than a 22.


EDIT:  Oh, and you should know that you bought an OLD monitor Pokeplayer.  I've seen a 6 year old hard drive on Walmart's shelves before.  They don't even make monitors with the 16:10 aspect ratio anymore, and that's what yours is if the max resolution is 1440x900.

[pokeplayer984]

Well, it still looks great, so what does it matter?  I'm STILL trying to adjust.  I was able to go to 1440 x 900 and my eyes have gotten used to it, so that's good.  However, it's my reflexes that need some work.  Since the adjustment, I can't tell where the scroll bar is anymore.  I need to get used to clicking at just the right spot again. :

I did try some videos on YouTube HD, and they look totally excellent and run quite smoothly.  Well, that is until I do 1080p, then I have lagging problems.  However, 720p is good enough for me, so I won't bother at the moment.

To be honest, with how well things have gone, I'm rather happy with my purchase.  I'm not giving up this 17-inch widescreen monitor anytime soon.

As for my old 4:3 15-inch monitor, it's being donated to those in need.  I probably won't miss it.  I at least gave it one last clean-up before sending it off.

So, in conclusion, happy with my new monitor and I won't be getting rid of it for quite a while.

See ya guys later!