I need a new computer monitor…
When I turned 50 two years ago, one of the biggest changes that I noticed about my body was I could not read nutrition labels when I go to a grocery store.
I have been using a 24 inch computer monitor that I purchased more than 10 yeas ago, and I thought I could use it for another 10 more years. But when I bought a new MacBook for coding bootcamp, I noticed how crispy clear letters are in MacBook compared to my old monitor.
So, I started to shop around to purchase a new computer monitor, and all of the monitor jargons were quite confusing, and I decided to write this blog to help anyone looking to purchase a new monitor. This is not a product review, and I am focusing on those who are using computer for primarily for work (reading and writing a lot of text, not playing games, video/photo editing nor watching movies).
Resolution: Resolution is highest number of pixels that a monitor can process and display. Higher the number, your image will be better. I can definitely tell compared to my 24 inch monitor with 1920 X 1080, MacBook Pro with 3072 X 1920 has much better images and letters are so much smoother in edges. I am looking to purchase a 1440p (2560 X 1440) 27 inch monitor. I compared it to another 27 inch monitor with 1080p, 1440p was much better when I was reading letters on the screen. I could go with 4K (3840 X 2160 which has four times as many pixels compared to 1080p), but there is huge price jump. For work if you purchase 24 inch or less, 1080p should be good, but anything bigger, 1440p or higher should be a better option.
Refresh Rate: Refresh Rate is the frequency per second in which the images displayed on monitor “refreshes” itself. 60Hz means images are reproduced 60 times per second. If you are playing high speed action game, you would want this Refresh Rate to be high (144 Hz or even higher). But for average person who are using the monitor for work 60Hz should be sufficient and better off spending money on a bigger, higher resolution monitor instead.
Response Time: Response Time is the speed at which pixels can change colors, and it is measured in milliseconds(ms). Again if you are gamer, you would want the Response Time to be very short, as little as 1ms. But for average work, 10ms should be good enough.
Contrast Ratio: Contrast Ratio is the difference between brightest color/image (white) and darkest color/image (black). The larger the number better the picture quality, especially if you are in a dark room. Typical monitors will come with 1000:1 Contrast Ratio. If you are using the monitor for video or photo editing, your will benefit from high Contrast Ratio (3000:1), but not necessary for office work.
Brightness: Typical monitors will come with around 250 - 300 cd/m2 (candela per square meter or nits). If you work near a large windows or in very bight room, then you will need higher Brightness. But too much Brightness can cause eye strain. If you have a laptop that you take outside, then you will want the Brightness to be much higher. for the reference, MacBook Pro comes with 500 cd/m2.
Last but not least: Look for a monitor with anti-glare screen that can tilt, pivot, swivel and adjust height for better viewing angle.
