Understanding gaming PC monitor

The monitor is responsible to display the images that the video card will send to it. The quality of the image relies mostly in the video card and monitor. A monitor with a small size and resolution will provide better 3D performance at the cost of a smaller screen. A monitor with a big size and resolution will provide lower 3D performance but the screen will be bigger, is just a matter of tastes. That’s given that we are using the same video card with both monitors set at their native resolution. The most common monitor types in present days are LCD monitors. LCD require less space than CRT monitors and consume less power. They were so welcome by customers that CRT monitors ceased production. Common brands are: Acer, Samsung, LG, NEC, ViewSonic and AOC. Features to look on them are as follows.

Features to look for when choosing a monitor for your a gaming PC

1) screen size – the bigger the size the bigger the picture but a more powerful video card and CPU will be needed to get desirable 3D performance. Popular monitor sizes are 17”, 18.5”, 19”, 20”, 22” and 24”. A 17” standard monitor will suffice for our gaming PC but if you want a bigger picture you are free to pick the size that you like.

2) native resolution – this is the biggest resolution the monitor can display. The bigger the resolution the better the picture but more powerful components will be needed to get desirable 3D performance. The resolution of the 17” monitor that we intend to pick has a native resolution of 1280X1024.

3) aspect ratio – this is the proportion between width and height. Standard monitors have a 4:3 aspect ratio while widescreen monitors typically have a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 17” monitor that we intent to choose has a standard aspect ratio.

4) response time – this is the speed at which the monitor changes the colors of the pixels and it is measured in milliseconds. The lower the better. Common response times are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 milliseconds. We should pick a monitor with a low response time.

5) brightness – this is the luminosity over a specified area and is often measured in nits. The better the brightness the better the picture. We should pick a monitor with a high brightness.

6) contrast ratio – this is the contrast between the brightest and the darkest points of an image. The higher the contrast ratio, the better the range of shades the monitor can display. We should choose one with a high contrast ratio.

7) viewing angle – this is the angle at which the screen can be viewed without loosing too much image quality. The higher the number the better so we should pick one with a high viewing angle.

8) connection type – the most common are D-Sub which transfers analog signals of lower quality and are affordable and DVI which transfers high quality digital signals and are more expensive. We should pick a monitor with a DVI connector to get the best image possible.

That’s pretty much everything important concerning our monitor. This tutorial is almost done. We managed to pick all the basic hardware for our gaming PC. Now is time to choose the Operating System.