Daewoo 511B
Daytek DT-1531D
MAG Innovision DX500T
Magitronic C-SV1500PS
NEC MultiSync E500
Panasonic PanaSync Pro P50
Philips 105B
Samsung SyncMaster 500b
Sceptre Technologies Dragon Eye D54
ViewSonic P655
If you've been paying attention to the various advertisements from the many computer vendors, you'll have noticed that the new entry-level size for a computer monitor is 15 inches. Slowly but surely, the old 14-inch models are fading from the scene-something that should've happened ages ago.
But as the saying goes, better late than never, right? Well, yes and no. You see, now that 15-inch monitors are the norm, some manufacturers we've tried to get monitors from for this month's survey asked us: "are you sure you want to review 15-inch models?" After convincing them that we did, most decided to send us an evaluation unit, albeit hesitantly.
The folks who manufacture monitors assume that people who are currently in the market for a new monitor are looking to replace an aging 14-inch unit. Considering how prices have dropped drastically over the past couple of years on larger displays, the manufacturers are also assuming that upgraders will be looking at 17-inch units. You can get a fairly decent 17-inch model for just over $500, while a more advanced model would run you roughly $750. Even the top of the line 17-inch'ers are hovering around the $1,000 mark, so it's hard for some monitor makers to understand why anyone would want to upgrade from a 14- to a 15-inch display.
The obvious reason is cost. While it's true that the prices of larger screen displays have dropped significantly over the past couple of years, so too, have the 15-inch models. They can now be found for as low as $275 for a basic unit, or just under $500 for the creme de la creme.
Not everyone wants a 17-inch monitor sitting on their desks taking up space. They'd rather spend $350 on a decent 15-inch monitor rather then $750 for something that many would never fully utilize, and maybe put that extra $400 towards a nice family vacation. Nobody's going to argue that a larger 17-inch monitor is easier on the eyes and a pleasure to work with. But when you look at some of the 15-inch gems we review this month, you'll certainly have some tough choices to make about whether to go for something larger, or stick with something that not only costs less but will do the job more than adequately.
Choosing the right tube
Shopping for a monitor doesn't have to be a difficult task, but neither should it be regarded as "just another purchase." There's much more to choosing a monitor than its screen size and price. The first thing you should decide on is what type of CRT technology you want to invest in. The acronym CRT is short for cathode ray tube, which is basically a vacuum tube in a glass casing with all the air sucked out. It is this tube that is used to display the images that you see, so picking the right one should be a top priority. There are two main types of CRT technology, known as aperture grille and shadow mask.
An aperture grille is made up of many wires running up and down on the inside of the glass tube. This "grille" is used to channel the electron beams inside the monitor so that the appropriate phosphors are hit. To ensure that these wires stay put, two wires running horizontally, known as damper wires, are used.
In aperture grille monitors, these two wires are visible as two faint gray lines near the top and bottom thirds of the screen. Aperture grille technologies are available from Sony (known as Trinitron), from Mitsubishi (DiamondTron), and from ViewSonic (SonicTron).
The other type of tube is known as shadow mask. A shadow mask is a metal or ceramic plate with many holes used to direct the electron beam to the proper location on the screen. Monitor manufacturers often use the term "Invar shadow mask." A shadow mask made from Invar is considered a higher quality product. Invar is basically a special ceramic alloy that can better withstand deformations caused by the intense heat of the electron beam.
So how do you know which is right for you? Well, the truth is that each technology has its own desirable characteristics. For example, an aperture grille can display brighter images with richer, more saturated colors. For this reason, aperture grille displays are popular with folks working in the desktop publishing industry.
The advantage of shadow mask displays is that they offer greater precision when creating the images you see on the screen. They use a flat-square design that makes what you see on the screen look more realistic.
Monitors that employ shadow mask technology are popular with CAD/CAM engineers because of their flatter display screens, not to mention the fact that they don't have the two damper wires characteristic of aperture grille designs. To a CAD professional who works at high resolutions, a faint line running across the screen can be incredibly annoying since it can make it difficult to distinguish between the drawing on the screen and the wires themselves.
But generally speaking, if you just want a decent monitor, either of these technologies will do just fine. The type of CRT technology is really more of a personal preference than anything else.
Bombarded by death rays?
A common misconception in the world of monitors is that they give off harmful radiation, and as a result, many people are uncomfortable working at computer terminals for extended periods of time. The fact is that a monitor manufactured in the last couple of years is so well shielded internally, that you're more likely to get higher doses of radiation from a 100-Watt light bulb. That's not to say that anything made a few years ago is harmful, but rather, that today, even tighter measures have been taken to ensure that monitors are as safe as possible.
Two of the strictest standards that regulate the electromagnetic emissions of monitors come from Sweden, and are known as the MPR-II and TCO '92 standards. MPR-II was established in Sweden in 1990 and was designed to regulate the electromagnetic and magnetic fields, which in turn led to the development of low-radiation computer monitors. The TCO '92 standard was created two years later and uses even stricter regulations as well as energy conservation standards. Although most monitors these days comply with one or both of these standards, it would be in your best interest to look for the logos of either of these two standards somewhere on the monitor or in its user manual. For more information on emission guidelines and TCO, check out http://www.tco-info.com.
In a nutshell
So you've made up your mind, and are ready to go out and buy yourself a new monitor. The first thing you'll want to decide on is how much you're willing to spend. Try and think of your monitor as a long-term investment, not something you'll be replacing every year or every two years as with most components inside your PC. Your monitor is something you'll be using every time you turn on your computer, and buying a better quality model (along with a good graphics card) can even save you unwanted eyestrain.
As mentioned earlier, a typical 15-inch monitor will cost anywhere from $275 to $500. If someone wants to charge you more than $500, go somewhere else. As far as technical specifications go, a good 15-inch monitor will have no trouble handling a resolution of 1,024x768 pixels at the very least, with a maximum of 1,280x1,024. The most comfortable resolutions on a 15-inch monitor are 800x600 and 1,024x768. Although all of the models we reviewed this month support 1,280x1,024, you should only use them for brief periods of time when required to view high-resolution images. It's far too easy to develop eyestrain because the screen elements become quite small at such a high resolution on something with a viewable screen size of just 14 inches.
And right up there with resolution is the monitor's refresh rate capabilities. The refresh rate is measured in Hertz (Hz) and tells you how many times the monitor re-paints the screen in a given second. You'll want to aim for 70 Hz at the very least in the resolutions you'll be using the most. So be sure to check that the monitor will refresh 800x600 and 1,024x768 with 70 Hz or higher.
How can you tell? Check the manual, look at technical spec sheets on the manufacturer's Web site, or look in this month's comparison chart. Most of us can't detect refresh rates higher than 65 Hz, but with anything close to or below that number, it's quite easy to notice flickering, which will be followed by eyestrain and possibly headaches. If your screen is refreshing at more than 70 Hz, you should have no worries.
All of the monitors we review this month are capable of handling 1,024x768 at 70 Hz, so if you should decide on purchasing one of those units, you're already in good hands. Most can even go as high as 75 and 85 Hz, but none can sustain those rates in 1,280x1,024-yet another reason to avoid that resolution.
You may also be interested in knowing how versatile your monitor is when it comes to image manipulation. When you first take a new monitor out of the box and plug it in to your computer, you'll notice the images are not properly sized. You'll more than likely have black borders around the edges where they don't belong. Ideally, you want your image stretched to the edges of the screen to get the most from your display, and to do so, you'll need a monitor that allows you to manipulate what you see.
All of the models we tested support the basics such as horizontal and vertical sizing and shifting as well as pincushion and trapezoid patterns. Some even allow you to rotate the image either clockwise or counter-clockwise, as well as choose different color temperatures. Obviously, the more versatile the controls, the better your chances are of getting the monitor to display the ideal image.
Discrepancies in the numbers
Consumers often get frustrated with all the techno-babble thrown at them from the computer industry. This is especially true when the numbers manufacturers give you don't always fit the facts. In the world of hard drives, for example, there is the ongoing debate as to whether 1 MB should equal 1,000,000 bytes, or the actual binary equivalent of 1,048,576 bytes.
Similarly in the monitor industry, there are two measurements given to us by the engineers. When measuring monitor size, the manufacturer will list two different measurements on the data sheet for a single monitor, although both refer to a diagonal measurement from somewhere on the top left corner to somewhere on the bottom right corner. The first, and most common, is the general size descriptor for the monitor. In our survey this month, we tested 15-inch monitors.
The second measurement is the actual screen size, also known as the viewable area. This always turns out to be slightly less than the descriptive size. For example, what we call a 15-inch monitor will have an actual viewable area of 14 inches or less.
You can measure this distance yourself with a tape measure by going from the very top left corner to the bottom right corner of the glass. This is the number you should be most concerned with, since it is this number that will actually determine how much of your 15-inch monitor is truly usable.
Below is the test of Computer Today (march issue of 1998)
Monitors were judged by the quality of test patterns produced and overall price/performance/features were also taken into consideration. We asked vendors to send us what they considered their current "top-of-the-line" 15-inch monitor. We got a nice mix ranging from the very basic to ones with built-in speakers for instant multimedia without desktop clutter. Although the speakers found inside monitors won't please any true audiophile, they are, nonetheless very convenient for every-day use or multimedia presentations.
We would like to thank Matrox Graphics for supplying us with the Millennium
II video cards that were used for this month's monitor tests. The Millennium
II won our Editor's Choice award in February of this year for top 2D performance,
making it the ideal candidate to help us evaluate monitors. For more information
on the Millennium II, visit: http://www.matrox.com/mgaweb/products/products.
htm.
Note: we also requested a monitor from Sony, but it had not arrived when we went to press.
Daewoo 511B
Daytek DT-1531D
MAG Innovision DX500T
Magitronic C-SV1500PS
NEC MultiSync E500
Panasonic PanaSync Pro P50
Philips 105B
Samsung SyncMaster 500b
Sceptre Technologies Dragon Eye D54
ViewSonic P655
