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The large selection of computer monitors available make it difficult to choose which one is right for you. Here are some not so well kown tips for you to make a better decision.

Speed, Refresh Rate: Monitors come usually with 4, 8 or 16 ms (millisecond) refresh rates. For smaller monitors (15″, 17″ and 19″) and if you are doing mostly office work 4 or 8 ms are the better choice. For larger monitors (20″ and up) 16 ms can be sufficient, the bigger the monitor the less important the refresh rate.

• However, if you watch movies or play fast games, faster refresh rates are then also recommended for larger monitors.
• When working mostly with text, like office work, browsing, text processing, etc. a monitor over 19″ is not recommended as the text gets really small. And the distance to the monitor needs be more than the recommended 25″

Bigger screens have sometimes issues with an even brightness all across the panel. They can be brighter in the center and “fade out” to the corners. The bigger the screen the more likely that’s to happen.

If you consider getting a Wide-Screen 19″ monitor. They are really good to watch DVDs. But their screen surface is about 8% smaller than a regular 19″ monitor. For office work and occasional move watching, the regular 19″ is the better choice.

A contrast ratio[tag-tec] of 500:1 is recommended. Higher is usually better, but 500:1 or 600:1 is good for office work. A contrast ratio of 1000:1 is not double of a 500:1 [tag-ice]contrast ratio. A higher contrast ratio also means higher energy consumption, higher heat and more out-gassing.

Ideally, the monitor is height adjustable, so you can set the top of the screen just below your eye level.

A lighter color monitor frame is better than a black or charcoal color. This reduces eye strain and computer-vision-syndrome.

And last, CRT monitors, the heavy bulky, power consuming, high radiation, full of lead monitors are not anything to consider anymore.