second monitor Q

[Ashapalan]

I've found a nice and afforable 19" widescreen monitor to add to my 12" powerbook.

However, it is VGA, as opposed to digital and therefore i was wondering if this is a major problem or if the difference wont be too obvious.

So, should i go for it, or go for dvi instead?

cheers

 

[840quadra]

It all depends on how picky you are, and what you plan on doing with the second monitor.

If possible, see if the store (unless it is online) has one you can connect to your powerbook to test. The nice thing about portables is the possibility to test monitors with your own test images and graphics, as opposed to the stores' stock footage.

If you plan on buying this online, see if a local retailer has one of these displays for you to test, just act really interested

The best judge if this type of display will work for you, is to test it and see for yourself .

 

[Ashapalan]

yeh i agree, it is something you need to see, but yeh, its online.

here are the specs...

Acer AL1916ws 19" Widescreen TFT, 1440 x 900, 16.7M, 150°, 300 cd/m2, 500:1, 8ms, Analogue inputs, Silver/Black, Internal power supply, 3 yr warranty

i think the warranty is good, but im actually concerned about the 8ms response time, should i ideally be looking for 12ms+?

its just that i have used a 17" external monitor before on my rev d powerbook with vga and have noticed feint zebra lines running down the vertical of the screen.

this same monitor also had a dvi, which showed no image distortion.

guess i kinda talking myself out of it!

 

[840quadra]

No problems with that, if you have second feelings don't buy. I tend to avoid buying things like Monitors, or digital cameras sight unseen. If possible, start looking around at local retailers for LCD monitors, and test them out. After the testing, go online and start your price shopping. A few places here in the US will sometimes honor prices from well known (larger) retail chains, and match their prices. The nice thing about that is the fact that you can go local for support, or returns if the item is defective.

 

[Ashapalan]

thanks for the advice quadra, i will go and do some testing.

 

[840quadra]

thanks for the advice quadra, i will go and do some testing.

No problem, enjoy the testing, sometimes that is the best part about these kinds of purchases.

 

[Ashapalan]

does anybody know whether (10.4.3) my 12" rev D powerbook will support a resolution of 1440 x 900?

i know they will support 20" apple display, but this resolution is widescreen on a 19"

if you dont know, is there anyway to find out what resolutions the graphics card will support?

thanks

 

[ITASOR]

i think the warranty is good, but im actually concerned about the 8ms response time, should i ideally be looking for 12ms+?

I think you mixed up response times...you want the lowest response time, which means 8ms is EXTREMELY good for an LCD. Not even the Apple ones have that I'm pretty sure!

Sounds like a great LCD...nice resolution as well!

 

[Ashapalan]

I think you mixed up response times...you want the lowest response time, which means 8ms is EXTREMELY good for an LCD. Not even the Apple ones have that I'm pretty sure!

Sounds like a great LCD...nice resolution as well!

lol there i go again, bigger is better and such
but seriously...
lower is better, really!

well, that was my biggest quarm with the monitor, thanks for illuminating the dark world of response time!

 

[Dreadnought]

Yes! Lower is better. Apple now has 16 Ms response time for its ACD, which is a bit outdated, but the bigger the lcd is, the higher the response time. So 8 Ms for a 19" is very good. But not all manufacturers use the response time the same. The response time is measured with several pictures and colours. Going from one colour to another, or from one gray to another gray. The faster this is done, the better/the smoother it looks. But some colours or grays have different response time, and so some manufacturers only mention their fastest change in colour and others only mention their slowest.