LCD & laptop video card

[SaulofPittsburgh]

Buying a laptop that will be my only computer, but will be connected to free-standing monitor at home for photo editing. So, my questions are:

1. What 19" LCT or CRT do people recommend? can't afford high-end stuff (>$500). Have heard good things about Samsung 970p LCD. But have also heard CRTs preferred
2. Laptop (ThinPad) has options for discrete Radeon 1300 GPU card or built-in Intel GPU. I think of this as being useful for gaming (which I don't do much), but will it also help with display of photos?
3. Laptop has options for for XGA (1024 X 768) resolution or SXGA (1400 X 1050). How much difference will this really make? And how will this affect the requirements for the monitor?
4. What sort of match-up between the laptop's (card's) max resolution and teh monitor's resolution do I have to be concerned about?

Thanks for any help!

Saul

 

[Hose]

Buying a laptop that will be my only computer, but will be connected to free-standing monitor at home for photo editing. So, my questions are:

1. What 19" LCT or CRT do people recommend? can't afford high-end stuff (>$500). Have heard good things about Samsung 970p LCD. But have also heard CRTs preferred
2. Laptop (ThinPad) has options for discrete Radeon 1300 GPU card or built-in Intel GPU. I think of this as being useful for gaming (which I don't do much), but will it also help with display of photos?
3. Laptop has options for for XGA (1024 X 768) resolution or SXGA (1400 X 1050). How much difference will this really make? And how will this affect the requirements for the monitor?
4. What sort of match-up between the laptop's (card's) max resolution and teh monitor's resolution do I have to be concerned about?

Thanks for any help!

Saul

1. Samsung 970P is a high end model with a fancy-schmancy frame and hinge. If you want to save some money, search around Newegg.com for something in your price range where the customer ratings are high. There are lots of good choices for around $350 and less.

2. You will want to be SURE your laptop video card will display exactly the native resolution of the monitor you buy. If your laptop will display 1600x1200, you could check out the Samsung 204B, which most reviewers seem to like. It's $379 at Circuit City and has a $50 rebate good until Saturday.