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A couple of my friends joined me to discuss their tips and tricks when looking to purchase a new monitor. Size is important, yes. However, there are several other things you should keep in mind.

Jason is a gamer, so he is more interested in the response time of a particular monitor. The formal definition characterizes response time as the time it takes for an LCD pixel to change from completely active black to inactive white then back again. For now, to view your games at their best, look for a monitor with the fastest time possible; it does matter. Keep in mind that display quality is also important, so look for a high contrast ratio and small dot pitch coupled with a powerful graphics card to give you the best view possible.

Kat has something different in mind. She has serious trouble with her eyes, despite wearing glasses. Since she works from home on her computer, and does a lot of volunteer work online, she spends many hours a day in front of her monitor. For Kat, it’s all about size. Good contrast is also important to her to help prevent eye strain.

For me, there are a few things I look for in a monitor:

• Color of the Bezel The Bezel is the plastic case that surrounds the actual monitor. If all of your components are silver, you aren’t going to want a green Bezel on your monitor.
• Type of connection availableI lucked out when I bought Ponzi’s new monitor. It happened to have a VGA connection. Thankfully, Ponzi’s computer also had one. Do your research, and make sure you know what kind of connections are available on your computer for the monitor to plug into.
• Be aware of your desktop footprint. Make sure you have room on your desk or workspace for the monitor you are wanting to buy. This is especially important when looking for a second monitor, such as I have.

What things are important to you when buying a new monitor? Leave me a comment, or send me an email to chris@pirillo.com to let us know!

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