Buying a Monitor - Top 5 Tips for Beginners

Summary

Buying a monitor can be daunting with all the technical jargon and specifications to consider. This insightful guide provides five crucial tips to aid beginners in selecting the ideal monitor size, understanding port options, and evaluating the relationship between resolution and desk space. It further delves into the intricacies of resolution versus refresh rate, differentiates between panel types like TN, IPS, VA, and OLED, and highlights the importance of features such as G-sync and Freesync. Also, discover the value of monitor stands, warranty policies, and why last year's models may still be a smart choice. By the end, you'll be equipped to choose a monitor that suits your needs and budget perfectly.

Highlights

• Start with your desk size and port availability to find the perfect monitor fit! 🖥️
• Understanding resolution is crucial, but balancing it with refresh rate and cost is vital. 💡
• IPS panels typically offer good viewing angles and vibrant color, making them a solid choice. 🎨
• G-sync and Freesync technology help smooth out gaming graphics, but know your graphics card compatibility! 🎮
• Monitor stands and warranty can greatly affect your user experience and peace of mind. 🔧

Key Takeaways

• Measure your desk space before buying a monitor to ensure it fits comfortably! 📏
• Ports like HDMI, Displayport, and USB-C matter for compatibility with your devices. 🔌
• Higher resolution means sharper images but usually costs more. 🖼️
• IPS panels are great for general use due to their excellent color reproduction and viewing angles. 🌈
• Consider last year’s models to save money without sacrificing quality. 💰

Overview

Thinking about getting a new monitor? Before diving into the jungle of technical terms and specs, consider these five essential tips. It's easy to get caught up in features, but starting with your desk space and port availability sets a solid foundation. Understanding these basics can save you from buying a great monitor that just won’t fit or connect properly.

Next up is the tug-of-war between resolution and refresh rate. While a higher resolution offers crisper images, it comes with a steeper price tag. The monitor's refresh rate impacts the smoothness of your on-screen motions—go for a higher rate if possible, especially if you're into gaming. However, resolution often is the better bet if you must choose between the two.

Finally, pay attention to some underrated but crucial aspects: panel types, monitor stands, and warranty options. IPS panels tend to excel in color and viewing angles, making them ideal for general users. Don't overlook the warranty policies and the potential savings from opting for last year's models. With these tips, selecting your ideal monitor can become a straightforward and rewarding experience.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Buying a Monitor This introduction chapter provides five essential tips for purchasing a new monitor, aimed at helping readers understand the technical specifications and choose the right monitor for their needs. It draws on the author's personal experience of buying monitors—including past mistakes—and promises to share recommended specifications. The chapter emphasizes understanding monitor size as the first tip and is tailored for both first-time buyers and those needing a refresher.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Monitor Size and Ports The chapter discusses two critical considerations when purchasing a monitor: the size of the desk and the types of ports available. The author shares a personal experience of buying a monitor that did not fit their desk, emphasizing the importance of measuring the desk depth before purchasing. They illustrate how they measure the available space, subtracting the depth of typical monitor stands, and using a specific chart to determine the suitable monitor size based on minimum distance requirements from Esports Tales.
• 01:00 - 02:30: Understanding Monitor Resolution The chapter discusses considerations for monitor resolution, starting with screen size. It notes that a 24-inch monitor is typically 2 feet, which is suitable for certain needs, and anything 32 inches or under is advised unless considering ultra-wide options, in which case 34 inches or under is appropriate. A 27-inch monitor example is provided for visual reference.
• 02:30 - 03:30: Choosing Between Widescreen and Ultrawide Monitors The chapter primarily discusses the factors one should consider when choosing between widescreen and ultrawide monitors. It emphasizes understanding the maximum resolution and frame rate that your computer supports, as this will influence the performance and display quality of the monitor. The chapter elaborates on the importance of resolution, explaining it as the number of horizontal and vertical pixels a screen has. A low resolution results in a pixelated image, which highlights why it's essential to choose a monitor with the right resolution for your needs. This section sets the stage for making informed decisions between different monitor types based on their technical specificities.
• 03:30 - 04:30: Refresh Rate and Response Time This chapter discusses the differences between 1080p and 4k screen resolutions, explaining how higher resolution means sharper image quality. The narrative clarifies common misconceptions about how images are displayed on lower resolution screens compared to 4k screens, particularly highlighting the effect of scaling. It notes that while on a 1080p screen the image will appear the same as on a 4k screen until zoomed in, at which point pixelation becomes noticeable on the 1080p display. The chapter suggests the natural inclination towards choosing higher resolutions for better image clarity.
• 04:30 - 05:30: G-sync and Freesync This chapter explores the relationship between monitor resolution (1080p, 1440p, 4K) and price, highlighting that higher resolutions tend to be more expensive. The chapter also touches on the link between resolution, distance, pixel density, and visual acuity. A suggestion is made that sitting further back could potentially save money by requiring lower resolution, and a resource from Esports Tales is mentioned for further reading.
• 05:30 - 07:00: Monitor Technologies and Color Reproduction In the chapter titled 'Monitor Technologies and Color Reproduction,' the discussion centers around choosing between widescreen and ultrawide monitors. A recommendation is provided for preferred sizes and resolutions for both types. The choice between widescreen or ultrawide largely depends on personal preference, with ultrawides offering more screen space on a single monitor and facilitating easier multitasking. However, the downside to ultrawide monitors includes difficulties fitting multiple monitors and the appearance of black bars when watching videos. The chapter suggests choosing based on individual needs and preferences.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Miscellaneous Tips: Stands, Warranty, and Models For miscellaneous monitor tips, consider using a single ultrawide monitor for specific needs, but opt for a widescreen for other purposes. When discussing monitor specifications, it's important to understand refresh rate and response time. Refresh rate indicates how many times the monitor updates per second, with a higher number, such as 144hz, meaning the screen updates 144 times per second. The chapter also highlights the importance of G-sync and Freesync technologies and their impact on monitor performance.
• 08:00 - 09:00: Conclusion and Recommendations The chapter discusses the benefits of using a high refresh rate screen, such as 144Hz compared to 60Hz, emphasizing smoother and more responsive visual experiences. While it's challenging to convey this difference through video, the speaker recommends experiencing it firsthand by comparing devices such as an iPhone 13 and an iPhone 12. Although primarily marketed to gamers, the speaker advocates for the adoption of high refresh rate screens for all types of workflows due to the enhanced user experience.

Buying a Monitor - Top 5 Tips for Beginners Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 If you're thinking of buying a new monitor, it  can get pretty overwhelming with all the words   and the numbers. So I'll give you  five tips on what the numbers mean   and how it relates to your setup. I've bought  a lot of monitors and made a lot of mistakes   along the way. At the end of the video, I'll  also show you the specs that I recommend for   getting a monitor. If this is gonna be your  first monitor, or if you just need a refresher   this is the video for you. Starting off  with the first tip, the monitor size. There's two main things I need to  know before even looking at monitors-
• 00:30 - 01:00 the first one is the size of my desk, and the  second is what ports are available. I've made   the mistake of buying a monitor first and  that's second and this is what happened.   It was a really great monitor but unfortunately  it just didn't fit. So I like to start out with   measuring the desk depth, in this case it's  30 inches. Monitor stands are typically six   inches deep, so that gives me 24 inches to work  with. So to convert that depth to a monitor size,   I use this chart from Esports Tales. Looking under  the category of minimum distance requirement,
• 01:00 - 01:30 24 inches translates to 2 feet which means  anything 32 inches or under is suitable   for my needs. If I was looking to get an ultra  wide that would mean I need to get something 34   inches or under. And just for reference here's  what a 27 inch monitor looks like on my desk. So other than monitor sizes, we need  to know what ports are available.   Modern ports include HDMI, Displayport  or USB-C. And within each port there's a   separate version for example HDMI 1.4 or HDMI  2.0. These ports and versions determine the
• 01:30 - 02:00 maximum resolution and frame rate supported by  your computer. Which leads me to the next tip. Tip 2 resolution. Now, I want to spend a bit  more time here because this is where things   get interesting. This is a circle. It doesn't  look like one but that's because it's one pixel   by one pixel. As I add in more pixels the circle  starts to form. Resolution describes the number   of horizontal and vertical pixels for a screen.  A low resolution means you get a pixelated image,
• 02:00 - 02:30 while a higher resolution means you get a sharper  image. Pictures like this are really deceiving   because it makes you think that the 1080p  screen can only show a quarter of the full image   compared to the 4k. And that might be true if  there wasn't any scaling. In reality what you   would see is that the 1080p screen would look  exactly like the 4k screen- until you zoom in.   Then you get to see more pixelation for the 1080. So naturally it makes sense to get the  highest resolution possible but there's a
• 02:30 - 03:00 huge trade-off and that's the price. If we were  to take a 27-inch gaming monitor for example,   a 1080p resolution would cost $300 1440p  $500 and 4k would cost almost $1000. Now, you might be wondering what's the  relationship between resolution and distance.   After all you might be able to save  some money if you just sit further back   and this has something to do with pixel  density and visual acuity. Esports Tales   has done a pretty good write-up about this  and I've provided a link in the description.
• 03:00 - 03:30 If you're just looking for sizes and resolution  I recommend these for widescreens and these for   ultrawides. Don't worry about taking notes,  I'll put this chart back up at the end. Now   as for widescreen or ultrawide it really comes  down to personal preference Ultrawides means you   get more screen on a single monitor  and it's easier to split things up.   The trade-off is that if you wanted multiple  monitors, it gets a little bit hard to fit.   And also when watching videos you get these black  bars. So my suggestion is that if you were only to
• 03:30 - 04:00 get a single monitor, go for ultrawide, but  for everything else I'd get a wide screen. Tip 3 refresh rate. So far I talked about  monitor sizes and resolution. Next, I want   to talk about refresh rate, response time, G-sync  and Freesync. These all describe similar things   so it gets really confusing really quickly.  For refresh rate it talks about the number of   times your monitor updates every second. So 144hz  refresh rate means your screen updates 144 times
• 04:00 - 04:30 every second. Comparing 60 hertz to 144, we  can see that the 60 has slightly longer trails.   Now this might not look like much but it really  plays a huge role. Mouse movement and scrolling   feels a lot more smoother and responsive.  It's really hard to show this on a video,   so I recommend going to a store and testing  out the difference between an iPhone 13   and an iPhone 12. Normally high refresh  rate screens are targeted towards gamers,   but I find it benefits all workflows so I try  to get one if I can. Personally, I recommend
• 04:30 - 05:00 getting something with 120 hertz refresh rate or  higher. But if I had to choose between resolution   and refresh rate, I'd stick with the resolution.  Now as for response time, the numbers from the   manufacturers aren't that reliable because they're  measured under ideal conditions. So it really   doesn't mean much for the user. I made a video  about why the 1ms response time is misleading   and what it looks like in real life. I'll  have a link to it at the end of this video. Next I want to touch on G-sync and Freesync  and they're technologies used by Nvidia and AMD
• 05:00 - 05:30 to reduce screen tearing. Take a look at this  example. When the frame rate drops, the top part   of the screen creates a disconnect to the bottom.  To correct for this, Nvidia uses G-sync while AMD   uses Freesync. Now there's some confusion about  G-sync monitors only working with Nvidia cards   and Freesync monitors only working with AMD. Don't  worry, your monitor doesn't actually care where   your graphics card came from it'll still work  normally. But if you do decide to mix and match   you won't be able to take advantage of  the G-sync and Freesync technologies.
• 05:30 - 06:00 Tip 4 color reproduction. Next I want to touch  on monitor technologies and color reproduction.   There's 4 main monitor technologies- TN, IPS, VA,  and OLED. TN is older and is known to have poor   viewing angles. It's improved a lot but it still  lags behind IPS and VA. Here's a side-by-side   comparison of the IPS and TN panels. Notice how  the colors become washed out as the TN panel goes   off center. In general IPS and VA both have really  good viewing angles. Normally IPS panels are flat
• 06:00 - 06:30 and VA panels are curved. I've made a video about  some of their trade-offs and I'll provide a link   in the description below. OLED is the newest  of the bunch and has some of the best colors,   but it does suffer from burn-in, where  the image persists and can't recover.   Out of the 4 technologies, I prefer IPS because  I found it to be quite good for general use. As for color accuracy the metrics used can get  really confusing. Different manufacturers use   different metrics and some don't even include any  metrics at all. Personally, I haven't encountered
• 06:30 - 07:00 any issues with IPS, VA, or OLED panels but if  you're serious about color consider getting a   monitor designed for color accuracy like the  Asus ProArt series or the BenQ DesignVue. Tip number 5. Miscellaneous things. These are  the things that aren't found on spec sheets,   but are still very important. The first one  is monitor stands. You can generally find   stands with height and rotation adjustments, and  I find that to be really useful when coding. But   if you plan on attaching it to a monitor arm,  just make sure it has a VESA mount. Some ultra
• 07:00 - 07:30 thin monitors don't have this, and others have  it in an off-centered position. The second one   is warranty. Normally monitors are  pretty good but defects do happen.   Personally I like the zero dead pixel policy from  HP but not every company offers it. Finally if you   want to save some money then it's always good  to look at last year's models. The LG that I   first purchased was over $700 when I bought it,  but now has dropped down to $500. Unlike phones,   monitors don't change much year to year, so  there's no need to get the latest and greatest.
• 07:30 - 08:00 Now I talked about a lot of different things and  I've really only begun to scratch the surface.   Here's a list of my recommended  monitor sizes to resolutions again,   and really it's just my recommendations as  a starting point. At the end of the day,   the monitor you select really depends on budget  and what you plan on doing with it. If you want   to learn more about response times or IPS and VA  monitors, check out these videos that I've linked.   Leave a comment if this video has helped,  thanks for watching, like and subscribe.