What's important when buying a new monitor?

[spadten]

I am looking to upgrade my display set-up soon, all my displays are several years old and I have no up-to-date knowledge about displays. As the title suggest, I want to know what quality are important and how they affect the performance of the display. 

 

What resolution/aspect ratio is commonly suggested? 

How does video bandwidth effect the display?

how does response time effect the display?

Is there any features I should look out for?  

 

I know that IPS panels are great for contrast and improve on viewing angle. 

 

Let know me know you experiences, thanks guys!

 

EDIT: What do you guys think of vertical display, are they useful? 

[Guest GRRigger]

What resolution/aspect ratio is commonly suggested? standard 1080p pretty much. cus the pixels are square

How does video bandwidth effect the display? no idea

how does response time effect the display? <5ms, response time is very subjective but usually lower is less blurry when you move aka "ghosting"

Is there any features I should look out for? 120hz is cool if you play fps, 3d gaming, and amazing fluidity

[Theblasphemouscoffee]

How big of a monitor are you planning on buying?

If it is any bigger than 24'' then I'd suggest going higher than 1920x1080 resolution as I find that the pixel density isn't high enough on the 27'' monitors I've seen. If you have a decent graphics solution and you are willing to pay more you can get a 2560 x 1440/1600 display but I would suggest a better 1080p one over the cheapest higher res one.

As for response times, the specs can sometimes be a bit misleading so make sure to check out some reviews of the monitor before you buy. As far as I am aware the best indication in numbers is gray-to-gray response time but I'm not sure.

You seemed to imply you are using several monitors at the moment? Is this true or have I misunderstood?

If you do and you want surround gaming look for a monitor with a thin bezel ( it's pretty obvious really :) )

The panel type is just personal preference really. Do you want the (usually) faster response times of a TN panel or the more vibrant richer colours of an IPS or PLS panel. I prefer IPS because of the colour and if you buy a decent one the response times aren't that bad.

Is is pretty much all I know about monitors so I hope it helps

[spadten]

How big of a monitor are you planning on buying?

If it is any bigger than 24'' then I'd suggest going higher than 1920x1080 resolution as I find that the pixel density isn't high enough on the 27'' monitors I've seen. If you have a decent graphics solution and you are willing to pay more you can get a 2560 x 1440/1600 display but I would suggest a better 1080p one over the cheapest higher res one.

As for response times, the specs can sometimes be a bit misleading so make sure to check out some reviews of the monitor before you buy. As far as I am aware the best indication in numbers is gray-to-gray response time but I'm not sure.

You seemed to imply you are using several monitors at the moment? Is this true or have I misunderstood?

If you do and you want surround gaming look for a monitor with a thin bezel ( it's pretty obvious really :) )

The panel type is just personal preference really. Do you want the (usually) faster response times of a TN panel or the more vibrant richer colours of an IPS or PLS panel. I prefer IPS because of the colour and if you buy a decent one the response times aren't that bad.

Is is pretty much all I know about monitors so I hope it helps

I am thinking of buying up to 3 displays, I have enough graphical power to use all of them. Not for gaming tho, just a general work/management station. 

[GoodBytes]

I am looking to upgrade my display set-up soon, all my displays are several years old and I have no up-to-date knowledge about displays. As the title suggest, I want to know what quality are important and how they affect the performance of the display. 

 

What resolution/aspect ratio is commonly suggested? 

How does video bandwidth effect the display?

how does response time effect the display?

Is there any features I should look out for?  

 

I know that IPS panels are great for contrast and improve on viewing angle. 

 

Let know me know you experiences, thanks guys!

 

EDIT: What do you guys think of vertical display, are they useful? 

 

Resolution and Aspect ratio is based onto your needs. The general rule of thumb is:

 -> on budget, or use the computer for mostly entertainment -> 16:9

 -> Multi-tasking, and doing work mostly -> 16:10. The extra height compensates for the task bar, program menu and tool bars, giving you more work area. 16:10 cost more, as the resolution is higher, and it's a much less in demand.

 

Video bandwidth... well... higher the resolution of the video, the better and clearly the image will be. I don't know what to say. I guess you can say that, because all content are currently, at best in 1080p, using a 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 will always scale your videos making them look like you are watching a 480p video on a 1080p display or something along that line.

Ideally you want to watch a video on their native resolution. If you wonder if 16:10 will stretch your videos weird. No it won't. Video players, including Windows Media Player, keeps the video aspect ratio. So you'll get thin black borders at the top and bottom of the screen. On IPS panel, these black bars will be pitch black, so it will feel like it is the frame of the monitor, and not be distracting in any way.

 

Response time is a B.S specification. Here I explain why:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/20580-cheap-matte-bezel-ips-monitor/?p=247101

 

Monitor features are based on your needs.

[spadten]

Resolution and Aspect ratio is based onto your needs. The general rule of thumb is:

 -> on budget, or use the computer for mostly entertainment -> 16:9

 -> Multi-tasking, and doing work mostly -> 16:10. The extra height compensates for the task bar, program menu and tool bars, giving you more work area. 16:10 cost more, as the resolution is higher, and it's a much less in demand.

 

Video bandwidth... well... higher the resolution of the video, the better and clearly the image will be. I don't know what to say. I guess you can say that, because all content are currently, at best in 1080p, using a 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 will always scale your videos making them look like you are watching a 480p video on a 1080p display or something along that line.

Ideally you want to watch a video on their native resolution. If you wonder if 16:10 will stretch your videos weird. No it won't. Video players, including Windows Media Player, keeps the video aspect ratio. So you'll get thin black borders at the top and bottom of the screen. On IPS panel, these black bars will be pitch black, so it will feel like it is the frame of the monitor, and not be distracting in any way.

 

Response time is a B.S specification. Here I explain why:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/20580-cheap-matte-bezel-ips-monitor/?p=247101

 

Monitor features are based on your needs.

 

Thanks a lot, the response time is certainly a interesting read.