Monitor specs, what do they mean?

axehead15

Honorable
Apr 9, 2013
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10,810
Can someone please explain to me what the specs on a monitor mean? Let's take this one for example, just for s&g's: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236205 VS this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236100

I understand resolution,dimensions, and I understand input types (HDMI, DVI, VGA). What I do not understand is contrast ratio, response time, refresh rate, pixel pitch, display colors, brightness, led backlight (good or not good to have), panel type.

Also, how come the second one is "Full HD?" Is the first not?
 

kyzarvs

Distinguished
The first one says "Delicate touches make a monitor truly great, VS229H ------>Full HD<------- LED monitor," in the first sentence of the overview?

Full hd is 1920x1080, HD is 1366(from memory)x720 - thus 1680x1050 panels aren't full HD

Rough n' ready descriptions:

contrast ratio - higher is roughly how bright white will be whilst black still being black and not grey
response time - time it takes a pixel to go from off to full white (usually)
refresh rate - how many times the screen is refreshed a second
pixel pitch - the size of the pixel
led backlight - lower power & heat (definitely) + more uniform light across the panel (usually)
panel type - the technology the panel uses, look them up!
 
HD is 720p, 1280x720, full hd is 1080p, 1920x1080.

Your eyes can't see past 1000:1, you will normally see higher numbers because it's dynamic instead of static. It's a marketing gimmick to think it is better. You may want to look at reviews for actual static contrast ratios.

Response times are black to white to black. But most of the time they do GTG, gray to gray which is really gray to white to gray since it will be a lower number. More marketing. It's also something that I would look up in a review.

That's something to be weary about when buying monitors you are not actually seeing. You will want to look up reviews to know the real details about it. Otherwise go to a local store to actually look at it. Although the showroom floor may be misleading since they usually aren't at the right settings. Really the best thing to do is ask here. Just give a budget and what you are looking for.