What to Look For: Monitors/Displays

When I received my first computer back in the mid-90's, a monitor was usually included in the price of the computer.  In fact, it was usually assumed that when you purchased a new computer, you purchased a monitor to go along with it.  Now, monitors are completely separate devices.  While most manufacturers will offer to sell you a monitor with a new desktop computer, a monitor no longer comes in the package.  The assumption is that we all have one or more monitors already, and if we are happy with our current monitor, there is no need to change.

In today's tip, we will not focus on selecting a monitor.  We will instead focus on making sure that a new computer will be compatible with your current monitor and how to get the most out of your computer's display.

With phones and tablets, you have no choice of the display you receive, and you will be unable to change it.  However, remember that you can usually connect your device to an external monitor or television.  You can do this through a cable that runs from your phones miniUSB or lightening port to an HDMI or DVI port, or you can sometimes connect through a wireless device such as a Roku player.  I can actually connect my phone to the Roku player on my network and play Youtube videos from my phone on the TV.  Both the wireless and wired connections are usually easy to set up and use.

With a laptop, you are also not going to be able to change your primary display, but you often have more options for external connections.  If you are going to be considering connecting a new laptop to an external monitor, make sure your laptop has a port compatible with the monitor.  If you are interested in connecting your laptop to a television to watch movies, you will want an HDMI port.  (I will discuss these ports in the next paragraph.)

With a desktop, your choice of monitor is completely up to you.  However, if you are going to use your current monitor with a new computer, you will want to make sure the computer has a port for it.  Most new computers still have a VGA port.  While this port will not provide the best quality output, the fact that almost all monitors and computers still support it make it very useful.  Additionally, your monitor may have a DVI port or an HDMI port.  Of the two monitors that I use, one has VGA and DVI ports and the other has all three.  To determine what ports you have on your monitor, look at the back and compare it to the pictures in the links I provided.  Then, go to the manufacturer specifications for your computer and compare that to the video ports the computer has.

Finally, there may be circumstances where you will want to install a separate video card for a desktop.  Installing a video card can replace a faulty video chip built into your computer or provide additional power for processing graphics.  If you are using your computer for high-end gaming or complex graphics rendering, you will probably want to install a video card.  If you decide to purchase a video card, you will look for the necessary ports listed on the box or specifications for the card.

My Recommendations:
Phone or Tablet for Basic Use:  You are not going to be able to change your display, but if you want to connect your device to a monitor or television, check to make sure your device will be able to connect.
Basic Internet/Office Use:  Using the VGI port will provide ample quality, but you will get a crisper picture if you are able to use DVI or HDMI.  Make sure that your monitor and computer have a compatible port.
High Usage/Multitasking/Video Streaming:  I would recommend using a computer and monitor that can use either the DVI or HDMI port.  If you are going to be streaming video and want to connect to your television, make sure your computer has an HDMI port.
High-End Gaming/Video Editing and Rendering:  A high-quality video card would be a good purchase for these tasks, and DVI or HDMI capability on the video card will be important.