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Every computer needs a monitor. And because a monitor is an essential element, there are factors to keep in mind when making your purchasing decision. While a monitor is a plug-and-play piece of hardware, determining the best monitor for your needs may not be as cut and dried.
In this review, we'll look at a liberal sample of VGA and Super VGA monitors, and the various parameters that affect the display. The monitors in this product comparison are Amdek's AM738+, Compaq's Color Monitor, Dell's Super VGA, GoldStar's 1460 Plus, IBM's 8515, IOcomm's CM 4210, Mitsubishi's Diamond Scan, Nanao's Flexscan 9060S, NEC's Multisync 3D/S, Panasonic's C1381, Seiko's CM1450, Sony's CPD 1304, Viewsonic's 4, and Zenith's ZCM 1492.
HOW DOES A MONITOR WORK? In simple terms, a monitor works by passing a tight beam of electrons over a phosphor, thus "exciting" the phosphor and causing it to emit light. The intensity of the light is determined by the number of electrons that strike the phosphor in that particular spot, which in turn is determined by the color or value of the pixel being displayed at that particular instant.
For color displays, this process occurs with three electron beams firing at the same time, one each for the red, green, and blue components of a pixel. In CGA and EGA monitors, which could only input digital color signals, it was possible to have 16 or 64 different colors on the screen, respectively. With the more modern VGA color monitors, which take analog input, millions of different colors can be displayed.
Two of the monitors in this comparison -- the Sony and the Seiko -- use a Trinitron tube, which uses a single electron gun (as opposed to three). This can provide a significant focus advantage because with the three guns, you stand a greater chance of having a gun get knocked out of place or moved if the monitor gets jolted.
VIEWING MONITOR FEATURES. Before going monitor shopping, evaluate your needs. What resolutions does your graphics board support and which resolutions are You going to be using? Are you planning to upgrade your graphics board for higher resolution in the near future? How much desk space do you have?
Resolution is important because it helps classify the...