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Monitor is the fancy name for the computer screen. You'll stare at yours for hours at a time, so buy it carefully. If you can, look before you buy.

Monitor Types

Traditional (CRT)              

The traditional, TV-style monitor is a large tube, based on old cathode ray tube (CRT) technology. CRTs are still the standard: prices have come down (starting at under $150 for a 15" model). People have become used to their hefty size and weight, but shorter-footprint models are available now.

Liquid Crystal      

The new liquid crystal displays (LCD) are thin and light, take up little more space than a desk lamp, and can be lifted with one hand. And picture quality can be phenomenal.

LCDs have less flexibility than CRTs in their resolution. Each monitor has a "native" mode—often 1024 x 768—that may result in smaller icons than you like. Check it out before you buy. Although you can usually change resolutions, the native one provides the best quality image.

LCD prices have come down from a while ago. Now you can get a 14" or 15" LCD for less than $500. Larger 17"/18" models now start under $1,000.

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Monitor Sizes

Screen size is measured from corner to corner. Also, the case covers the edges, so you'll often see quotations like: 17", 16" vis—meaning, it's technically a 17" screen, but you can actually see only 16" The standard size for a CRT-style monitor these days is 17" with top-rated models now selling for $200-300. LCD sizes are truer, since the technology does away with the unused black band around the image that you're used to on CRTs. 15" is still common. 19" is cheaper than the slightly larger sizes, with good models available starting at $300! 21"—great for graphics.

Monitor Issues

Monitors refresh the screen—that is, redraw the entire image that you see, many times each second. This "refresh rate" can be important for how you react to the screen. The refresh rate to shoot for is a minimum of 85Hz at the resolution you use (cheap models may list 60).

To test your perception of a monitor's refresh rate, look past the screen so that you can see it in your peripheral vision. If it seems to flicker, it will probably bother you in the long run.

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