My Dell pc system is almost 10 years old, and although slow & temperamental still does what I need of it (just).
However, I would like to replace the large monitor, an 18" bulky thing, with something more space efficient.
If i visited Comet and their ilk etc I would be confused as to what to buy so any recommendations please...same 18" size and budget sub £100.
Thanks in advance,
your friendly Luddite
|
|
Does the signal lead of your current monitor terminate in a 15 pin D shaped Connector? ie where it plugs into the pc?
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 17 Feb 11 at 22:53
|
Is this a 18" diagonal measurement you've done or is that the monitor specified size. Seems an odd one to me.
Most LCD monitors will be widescreen so going for one of these you're going to be losing the height of the current screen. But something like a 20" screen is likely to be fine for you and fairly cheap. But get a quality name.
As Zero says knowing the type of connection you have will be very useful info. If the monitor is ten years old then likely to be the VGA 15pin D shaped connector type I would imagine.
|
The main issue is going to the resolution, it is unlikely that your graphics chip can handle any modern widescreen monitor. It will work but the image will look a bit squashed.
I pay around £65 for my work bench monitors, they are really well made and come with a 3 year warranty, the picture is very good too for PC stuff.
www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/49143/Edge-10-19--Widescreen-Monitor-16-9-VGA
I pay slightly less than that price as I get a tiny trade discount but they are great screens.
You only need to pay a little more to get something even better though. I just by the above for my business because I need to cut costs down and they work perfectly.
Rob beat me to it, but I have yet to see any monitor which dosn't have a VGA connector so that won't be an issue. I have even seen many 50" TVs with one.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 17 Feb 11 at 22:59
|
I got my Samsung 19" LCD from Ebuyer.com - about 6 years ago now it came with a 3 year guanrantee, and is still working as new -
I bought it on the basis of other reviews, and the price and wasnt disapointed
Good service, brilliant monitor, good prices.
|
My kids both have Samsung and there are litterally thousands onmy employer's estate. Work just fine.
Consumer displays will be predominantly widescreen but business models may still be available in resoluttions your old chip supports. Ours at work are Samsung 943N but they're a few years old now.
|
|
I would think twice about buiying a 4:3 unless it is cheap because this computer is 10 years old, it probably won't last much longer anyway.
|
>> My Dell pc system is almost 10 years old, and although slow & temperamental still
>> does what I need of it (just).
>> However, I would like to replace the large monitor, an 18" bulky thing, with something
>> more space efficient.
>> If i visited Comet and their ilk etc I would be confused as to what
>> to buy so any recommendations please...same 18" size and budget sub £100.
>> Thanks in advance,
>> your friendly Luddite
>>
Hi legacylad
We have a few monitors that I feel would be suitable to use with the Dell PC you have. Based on the idea that your PC uses a standard 15pin VGA connection, we have 3 monitors that currently cost under £100 and are available to purchase online or in most stores. These are all 19” LCD monitors, so would give you more room on your desk. I’ve provided you with links to these models below:
LG W1946S-BF.AEU
www.comet.co.uk/p/Computer-Monitors/buy-LG-W1946S-BF.AEU-Computer-Monitor/689920
ACER P196HQVB
www.comet.co.uk/p/Computer-Monitors/buy-ACER-P196HQVB-Computer-Monitor/676853
DELIUM LM9819A
www.comet.co.uk/p/Computer-Monitors/buy-DELIUM-LM9819A-Computer-Monitor/679020
I hope this helps
Chris from Comet
|
Well I suppose it makes a change from the man from staples!
Dont mention office chair.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 18 Feb 11 at 16:10
|
...Well I suppose it makes a change from the man from staples!...
On moneysavingexpert forums they have officially approved company/organisation posters.
But they are not allowed to tout for business.
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=781221
|
>> Hi legacylad
>>
>> We have a few monitors that I feel would be suitable to use with the
>> Dell PC you have. Based on the idea that your PC uses a standard 15pin
>> VGA connection, we have 3 monitors that currently cost under £100 and are available to
>> purchase online or in most stores. These are all 19” LCD monitors, so would give
>> you more room on your desk. I’ve provided you with links to these models below:
>>
They're all 16:9 though, which may seem a bit small to the OP, whose current 18" (presumably a 19" nominal) monitor is probably 4:3.
|
|
4:3 screens are hard to find, my supplier does not stock 4:3 screens any more. A 19inch wide screen will do the job for him nicely.
|
>> 4:3 screens are hard to find, my supplier does not stock 4:3 screens any more.
>> A 19inch wide screen will do the job for him nicely.
>>
Provided the OP is happy with the reduction in vertical screen height.
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Fri 18 Feb 11 at 16:43
|
>> Well I suppose it makes a change from the man from staples!
>> Dont mention office chair.
As the OP of the Office Chair thread a while back, I must warn you that I will shortly be visiting Staples to purchase the unmentionable. And I shall report back...
|
|
As I said earlier I would recomend a 16:9 simply because the Dell PC the OP has may not last much longer. The hard drive, motherboard capacitors, power supply capacitors etc are probably don't give much more to give.
|
>> As I said earlier I would recomend a 16:9 simply because the Dell PC the
>> OP has may not last much longer. The hard drive, motherboard capacitors, power supply capacitors
>> etc are probably don't give much more to give.
>>
A fair point, but judging by my experience at work a few years back, people tend to think that a 19" widescreen will be bigger than a 19" 4:3, whereas the latter will be quite a bit taller. I'd be looking to go to 22" 16:9 to replace a 19" 4:3.
|
|
Yep and they will cost little more too, I always recomend 22" as a rule. 19" is fine for the work bench as I am not doing anything productive but I can't imagine having anything less than 22" on my main desktop machine now.
|
In the traditional manner of answering a question that hasn't actually been asked, I have to say that this for me is a case where size doesn't matter. I have three small monitors on my desk instead of one larger one. Ok, they take more space, but the benefit of chucking windows across three screens more than outweighs that. Email permanently full screen on one, browser on the second, and yer actual work on the third. Works very nicely and I hate going back to just one. Two is bearable, just about.
And Google Earth is excellent across three screens.
|
|
I would love such a setup but it does requite a lot of desk space. I have done a few such setups for clients though. It tends to work a lot better with 4:3s rather than widescreens.
|
I fully support the idea of multiple screens - I currently only run a dual monitor setup, but have often thought of upgrading to 3 . SWMBO does not understand how I can watch 3 video streams (Cricket, football and tennis on one recent occasion), and browse or work on a spreadsheet or database all at the same time.
OK perhaps 4 monitors are needed for the best experience.
|
I use two screens, One screen is a 15" 4:3, one is a 19 inch widescreen
Almost perfect combo.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 18 Feb 11 at 21:11
|
Many thanks for all your replies. They are much appreciated.
I shall try to digest your information tomorrow when the grey matter is a little fresher, and report back in due course.
My new, and first, laptop is a 14" Samsung which I am using now, but i prefer to use it only when 'on the go'! The smaller screen size is difficult to adjust to!
|
>>>I use two screens, One screen is a 15" 4:3, one is a 19 inch widescreen<<<
SNAP
|
|
....and me on my Mesh desktop....that's getting on a bit now...(mmmm Apple...)
|
...(mmmm Apple...)....
Did somebody call?
Ah, Apple desktops.
Careful screen selection needed, so I've been told.
|
|
just bought myself Apple Imac 21.5 inch and very nice it is too.
|
When I got the iMac 20" back in 2008 I wanted the 24" but it was too tall for where I wanted it. Shelf above. The new office wouldn't be a problem but the new 21.5" iMac would be better.
Around 22-23" is a good size for widescreen display for computer use. My newish work laptop is now widescreen too and vertical size of screen is much reduced but resolution is not. I preferred the old aspect ratio.
|
>>>Around 22-23" is a good size for widescreen display for computer use.
Agree with that as a normal home/home business user without a need for multiple screens. My recent monitor upgrade as discussed a while ago was from 19" to 23" and that's just perfect. I've been waiting months to put the shelves up and bought the monitor first then worked round its dimensions!
I've just taken the stand bit off and wall mounted it on a Tesco tilt/swivel arm/bracket which has freed up the desk space under the monitor. Makes a big difference to be able to slide the keyboard right under it to the back of the desk when doing some writing or drawing.
|
>> just bought myself Apple Imac 21.5 inch and very nice it is too.
>>
Does it do anything other than remove unwanted hair?
|
|
It shaves pounds off your wallet for sure.
|
A computer savvy friend tells me that the innards of my old desktop will not support a widescreen..it will look 'stretched'.
He recommends buying a replacement flat screen with 4:3 ratio, but I do not want anything over 19" so the search is on for something reasonably priced. £100 max.
Thanks again for all your helpful comments.
|
Some cheaper 17"-ers as well (not all are 4:3 though):
tinyurl.com/6avatlp (ebuyer)
|
|
As suggested upthread somewhere you're more likley to find a 4:3 monitor under business products than in a consumer place such as PC world.
|
>>or £87 from ebuyer (see earlier post)<<
Good price! ... My 6 year old Sharp 17" does the job for me OK,
I did hook up my 19" W/S Panasonic telly to the computer once, but I prefer 4.3 for surfing, emails etc.,
If the Sharp went TU, I'd replace it with a 19" 4.3 Iiyama jobbie.
|
I don't think it will be stretched. I think you'll have black bars down the side, like when you see an old 4:3 tv programme on your modern wide screen. Go with a wide screen, then in another 5 years it will be ready for your new pc :-)
John
|
>> I don't think it will be stretched. I think you'll have black bars down the side, like when you see an old 4:3 tv
No it will be stretched if the video card in the PC cannot produce the correct resolution for it, e.g. 1440×900 or full HD 1920×1080.
Unlike a CRT you need to run these at their native resolution. If it were me I'd upgrade the video card. That won't cost much for a low end card.
First thing to check is what resolutions the video card actually supports.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 25 Feb 11 at 12:05
|
That is the issue it is likely to be AGP and they are getting more difficult to get hold off, for this purpose though a second hand one would do fine. Still many AGP cards can't support wind screen either so it will need to be a fairly decent low end one, which might draw too much power for the power supply.
It is likely this machine was a 200w PSU.
|
|
It does sound like he needs a decent 4:3 ration 19" monitor. But even then the native resolution will be something like 1280x1024 and for a ten year old PC that might be too high a resolution. First thing legacylad needs to do is check what resolutions his old PC supports.
|
New monitor required - Zero
