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Displays & Monitors
Display or Monitor: What's the difference?
Basically, displays and monitors are both screens that reproduce visual content. Large screens which are mainly used in digital signage and the interactive touch segment are typically called displays. Monitors on the other hand, are PC screens as you know them from home or the office.
Displays are suitable for businesses as well as public institutions and education. Displays can be used as:
The advantages of a display over conventional display or information boards are:
For more information on display's visit our Display Buyer's Guide.
What is important when purchasing a PC Monitor?
It depends very much on what you are looking to use a monitor for. For example, do you want a monitor that displays PC games in high resolution with a fast response time? Or do you need several PC screens for your office applications?
We'll explain what to look for when buying a monitor.
Screen size: How many inches?
The screen size determines the viewable area of your monitor. It is stated in inches ("). The larger the inch value, the larger the screen area of the monitor.
Monitors with a diagonal of 24" to 27" are popular. Converted into centimeters, you get a screen diagonal of 60 to 68.5 cm. Screens of this size are universally suitable for most applications in the home or business area.
However, if you work with several programs at the same time and would like to have a clear overview of multiple program windows and widgets, then we recommend larger screen diagonal of over 27". With a PC monitor with a large screen size, you also keep track of video editing and your timeline.
| Screen size below 24’’ | Mostly cheap business options |
| Screen diagonal 24’’ to 27’’ | Suitable for business, multimedia and gaming |
| Screen diagonal over 27’’ | Graphics, image processing, video editing, programming, high-end gaming |
Our tip: The bigger the screen, the further away you should sit. An ideal viewing distance with a 24 "monitor is about one meter.
Panel Type: TN, VA, IPS
The type of panel is probably the most important selection criteria in the search for a suitable PC monitor. Because it has a direct influence on the image reproduction and ultimately whether a monitor corresponds to the intended use.
So that no confusion arises: TFT and LCD are not panel types, but display technologies. They are used in almost all monitors. LED is a backlight technology that is also used in all monitors except OLED screens. However, a TFT-LCD screen with LED backlighting can use one of the three panel types: TN (Twisted Nematic), VA (Vertical Alignment), or IPS (In-Plane Switching).
The difference between these types of panels is the alignment of liquid crystals in an LCD screen. The different orientations simultaneously affect several properties of a monitor: some negative, others positive.
Strengths and weaknesses of TN, VA and IPS:
| TN | VA | IPS | |
| Contrast | low to high | very high | high |
| Colour fidelity | low | very high | high |
| Viewing angle stability | acceptable to good | very good | very good |
| Power consumption | low | moderate | high |
| Response time | very fast | slow | slow to fast |
These monitor panels are suitable for the following application areas:
| Panel type | Field of application |
| TN Panel | Is the first choice for gaming. It has the fastest response times among the three panel types (response time: 1-3 ms fast, 4-6 ms slow). A TN panel is also a budget alternative for the office and home. |
| VA Panel | Top for image editing and other demanding graphics applications. Increasingly, this panel is also being used in the medical sector. |
| IPS Panel | Outstanding picture quality can be found with this panel for all multimedia applications. Among designers and in the creative industry in general, this panel type enjoys great popularity. |
Screen resolution & Format: From Full HD to 4K
The screen resolution of a PC monitor is closely linked to its image format. For example, a Full HD screen (1920 x 1080) has a 16: 9 aspect ratio, the same for a 4K monitor (4096 x 2160), and a WQHD (2560 x 1140) monitor. A monitor with the resolution 2560 x 1600 (WQXGA), however, has a slightly higher format of 16:10.
This is to do with the fact that the format of a monitor is adapted to suit its native, optimal resolution. Put simply, the relationship between image and frame must be right as this is how the proportions and the quality of the picture are preserved.
You can also play contant of a higher resolution than the native on any monitor provided that your graphics card supports this setting, However, we advise against it. A higher resolution on a low resolution screen may cause, for example, the font and icons on the desktop to appear too small and possibly blurred. This fatigues the eyes and often causes headaches.
In addition to the above formats, we also have monitors in special formats in our range, for example, the 21:9 format. Special formats offer a larger workspace: large spreadsheets, multiple tools and application are now clearly arranged on a single screen. A practical alternative to the two-screen solution.
Popular screen resolutions and their format:
| Resolution | Format |
| 1920 x 1080 Full HD | 16:9 |
| 1920 x 1200 WUXGA | 16:10 |
| 3840 x 2160 UHD | 16:9 |
| 4096 x 2160 4K | 16:9 |
| 2560 x 1600 WQXGA | 16:10 |
Ergonomics
The term ergonomics often refers to a well designed piece of equipment working well in the workplace. Ergonomic design however, also plays a major role outside office life
An ergonomic design is particularly important for monitors: A height-adjustable and tiltable monitor that can be ideally adjusted to your eye level ensures a healthy posture and prevents neck and back pain. With a well-aligned monitor, you can also avoid straining the eyes.
A height-adjustable monitor perfectly complements your notebook with an external screen. You can set up a permanent PC screen in your office or home improving the experience, whilst you remain mobile with the notebook for work on the go.
Basically, you can distinguish between three ergonomic functions in monitors:
Our tip: Pay attention to a straight posture when working on the computer. A height-adjustable monitor can only compensate for a limited height difference. Therefore, we recommend that you also adjust the height of your desk and office chair accordingly.
Connections: DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort & USB-C
A modern monitor usually has several connections. Most commonly used is HDMI (High Definition Media Interface) followed by DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and the DisplayPort. Depending on the manufacturer, a monitor can also be equipped with several ports of one type, for example with two HDMI inputs.
Our tip: Make sure that a monitor has at least two digital inputs (eg HDMI and DVI). This allows you to connect two output devices to the monitor at the same time without having to change the cable.
The most common monitor ports:
| HDMI | HDMI is a digital interface. Both picture and sound can be transmitted via HDMI. Unlike an analog connection (VGA), HDMI transmits video signals of high quality (up to 4K). |
| DVI | Unlike HDMI, DVI transmits only image data. DVI-I transmits analog and digital signals, DVI-D digital only. The maximum supported resolution is 2560x1600. |
| DisplayPort | Transmits image and sound and is similar to HDMI. DisplayPort supports image resolutions up to 8K and a higher frame rate than HDMI. |
| VGA | Is an analog connection. A VGA connection should be used if your monitor does not have a digital connection. |
By the way: A very practical extra is a USB type C connection: This connection type is DisplayPort, HDMI and USB in one. In addition, USB Type C can simultaneously supply devices with power or recharge batteries, for example, from smartphones.
Technology for gamers: G-Sync & FreeSync
Monitors with G-Sync or FreeSync should be the first choice for gamers: These technologies synchronize the refresh rate of a monitor with the frame rate of a PC game. Thus, they eliminate the annoying tearing (ripping the image) and eliminate annoying jerks in the image. There's nothing standing in the way of liquid smooth gaming.
G-Sync is a proprietary, hardware-based technology from Nvidia. Monitors with G-Sync are therefore only compatible with Nvidia graphics cards (from GTX 650 Ti Boost).
FreeSync by AMD on the other hand, is an open standard for adaptive synchronization between monitor and graphics card. It is a hardware / software solution that works regardless of manufacturer. The only restriction is: Nvidia GPUs are not supported. But you can already get started with the graphics power of a Radeon R7 260 and a DisplayPort port of version 1. 2a.
