what kind of external monitor?

[Paul Unger]

I've just purchased an X201 with the standard WXGA 1280x800 screen. I'm going to want an external monitor for my desk. Any suggestions? I've never used a second screen before... The Vector Video Standards picture shows the WXGA screen in the same 'resolution vector' as the WXGA+ (1440x900), WSXGA+ (1680x1050), and WUXGA (1920x1200). A whole lot of screens are 1920x1080... I assume an image would be 'smushed' or stretched to fit the resolution of the external monitor? What about connectors? The X201 spec sheet indicates a VGA out port; do any external screen still have those? Will I need an adaptor? Obviously, any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks,

Paul

[Harryc]

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-70299
DisplayPort monitor port supporting 2560 x 1600 maximum resolution.

[Daniel Bakker]

most screens still have VGA, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can really recommend a 1920x1080 screen, they aren't that expensive, and you get a lot of extra workspace. windows doesn't stretch the image, you can have two screens attached to a computer with different resolutions. you can use all space available.

[Paul Unger]

most screens still have VGA, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can really recommend a 1920x1080 screen, they aren't that expensive, and you get a lot of extra workspace. windows doesn't stretch the image, you can have two screens attached to a computer with different resolutions. you can use all space available.

Thanks for the info, Daniel. Good to know the image wouldn't stretch. I do think I'd really appreciate the extra 120 pixels of height provided by a 1920x1200 screen, since most of my work is document related. Has anyone worked with both (i.e., 1920x1080 and 1920x1200)? Any opinions either way?

[Daniel Bakker]

I've never worked with 1920x1200. it could be usefull for text, but they are hard to find, and probably more expensive than standard 1920x1080. and trust me, 1080 pixels high is a lot of workspace, I've never felt the need for more pixels in height.

[pianowizard]

I've never worked with 1920x1200. it could be usefull for text, but they are hard to find, and probably more expensive than standard 1920x1080.

If you want to save money, it's natural to settle for 1920x1080. But if you want productivity and high LCD quality, it's definitely worth paying more. I have used both 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 for viewing text and the former is much better than the latter. On a 1920x1080 screen, I can't even view the whole page of a PDF document at 100%, unless I switch to "full screen" mode.

Right now, Geeks.com has the HP L2335 23" 1920x1200 *IPS* monitor for $199.99 shipped. Go to http://dealnews.com/HP-L2335-23-Widescr ... 88638.html to see how to get this deal. I would be very interested in getting this if I didn't already have one 30" 2560x1600, one 27.5" 1920x1200, four 24" 1920x1200, one 20" 1600x1200 and one 19" 1680x1050 monitors.

Regardless of what you end up buying, avoid Acer monitors at all cost because they are by far the worst.

[Bánh mì]

Waht is your opinion on Dell monitors? Samsung? Which of the two brands are more reliable assuming equivalent or threabouts models?

BTW I want a dual monitor setup driven off my Ultrabase. How to acheive this? Im not interested in playing games. This is for work and real time monitoring of information and working on Office documents ie Excel etc. But I dont like low grade clarity want a sharp monitor good quality.

[Paul Unger]

If you want to save money, it's natural to settle for 1920x1080. But if you want productivity and high LCD quality, it's definitely worth paying more. I have used both 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 for viewing text and the former is much better than the latter. On a 1920x1080 screen, I can't even view the whole page of a PDF document at 100%, unless I switch to "full screen" mode.

Right now, Geeks.com has the HP L2335 23" 1920x1200 *IPS* monitor for $199.99 shipped. Go to http://dealnews.com/HP-L2335-23-Widescr ... 88638.html to see how to get this deal. I would be very interested in getting this if I didn't already have one 30" 2560x1600, one 27.5" 1920x1200, four 24" 1920x1200, one 20" 1600x1200 and one 19" 1680x1050 monitors.

Regardless of what you end up buying, avoid Acer monitors at all cost because they are by far the worst.

Thanks for the tip on Acer! Their prices have been tempting... But I'm willing to spend a bit more for quality and productivity--I'm going to be looking at this thing quite a bit. Unfortunately, the deal you referenced won't work for me as I'll be shopping in Australia (where 1920x1200 screens seem as rare as hen's teeth... ). It looks like Dell and HP are going to be my two top choices; thankfully, they've had some decent reviews on the models I'm considering. Thanks again for the advice.

[Paul Unger]

Waht is your opinion on Dell monitors? Samsung? Which of the two brands are more reliable assuming equivalent or threabouts models?

I have no opinion yet, but I found this page in my search so far. They do some fairly serious reviews of monitors, especially concerning their rendering of colour. Read a couple of their reviews to see if it scratches where you itch.

[AMATX]

I've never worked with 1920x1200. it could be usefull for text, but they are hard to find, and probably more expensive than standard 1920x1080. and trust me, 1080 pixels high is a lot of workspace, I've never felt the need for more pixels in height.

* Not at all hard to find 1920x1200.

* Can be had fairly cheaply.

* No comparison between 1920x1080 vs. 1920x1200. Doesn't seem like much extra with the 1920x1200 WUXGA, but it's definitely worth it. Go with WUXGA/1920x1200. Big diff surfing the web when you have the extra vertical space. I currently have -one- 1920x1080 monitor I bought on the cheap, and use with one of my laptops, mainly for web surfing. Can't really stand it, and $$ permitting, it's on the list for replacement...

* I've had several of the HP2335 referenced above, and have switched to buying cheap 24" Samsung monitors, 1920x1200, usually off of ebay. Great bang for the buck, especially on some of the used monitors. I like these better than the HP2335. Bit larger, sharper picture. Also, be aware that the HP2335 monitors often degrade into a slightly pink background, so be careful what you shop for.

[crashnburn]

I've never worked with 1920x1200. it could be usefull for text, but they are hard to find, and probably more expensive than standard 1920x1080.

If you want to save money, it's natural to settle for 1920x1080. But if you want productivity and high LCD quality, it's definitely worth paying more. I have used both 1920x1200 and 1920x1080 for viewing text and the former is much better than the latter. On a 1920x1080 screen, I can't even view the whole page of a PDF document at 100%, unless I switch to "full screen" mode.

Right now, Geeks.com has the HP L2335 23" 1920x1200 *IPS* monitor for $199.99 shipped. Go to http://dealnews.com/HP-L2335-23-Widescr ... 88638.html to see how to get this deal. I would be very interested in getting this if I didn't already have one 30" 2560x1600, one 27.5" 1920x1200, four 24" 1920x1200, one 20" 1600x1200 and one 19" 1680x1050 monitors.

Regardless of what you end up buying, avoid Acer monitors at all cost because they are by far the worst.

As he said.. Its a longer term investment.. Plus whats the point of going for a nice external LCD to augment your tiny itsy bitsy laptop and then going halfway..
If you can afford it.. go 30" 2560 x 1600. I wouldnt want to go back.
If not, 1920 x 1200.. Any less resolution.. not worth it. (PS: My gray old dad.. swears by 1920 res on his new W510.. Got him hooked back in the day on a Inspiron 15" with WUXGA... He realized how much sharper and better + more working room it was.. when he could increase size of menus & fonts to medium large..)
Wish I could get that on a 14" or 13" Thinkpad.. Dreams..

PS: Now that I've been working a lot on the 30" S-PVA .. God..now going back to my Thinkpad.. Now I FEEL.. that PAIN that you IPS Flexview crazy veterans used to talk about. Once you Black, you hate to go back.. i.e. when u work on a great LCD.. u get my drift

[pianowizard]

* I've had several of the HP2335 referenced above, and have switched to buying cheap 24" Samsung monitors, 1920x1200, usually off of ebay. Great bang for the buck, especially on some of the used monitors. I like these better than the HP2335. Bit larger, sharper picture.

Would you recommend several specific models? I have used only two Samsung LCDs: the 2333SW (23" 1920x1080) and the 204B (20" 1600x1200). Both are TN panels that are clearly inferior to the PVA screens of my Dell 2007FP, 2407WFP's and 2408WFP, but they are nonetheless tolerable and significantly better than all three Acer monitors I have owned (17" 1280x1024, 19" 1680x1050, 22" 1680x1050). However, the Samsung 204B has an issue where playing videos through DVI input causes the screen to flicker several times a minute. This is a widespread issue that Samsung has refused to fix, and after that experience I have been reluctant to buy another Samsung monitor. But if the price is really good, I may still consider buying one.

Also, be aware that the HP2335 monitors often degrade into a slightly pink background, so be careful what you shop for.

Large IPS panels tend to have a pink tint. It should be fairly easy to get around that by reducing the red channel a little bit.

If you can afford it.. go 30" 2560 x 1600. I wouldnt want to go back.
If not, 1920 x 1200.. Any less resolution.. not worth it.

Of course money is only half of the issue; desk space is the other half. For 1920x1200, the smallest monitor I am aware of is the Lenovo ThinkVision L220x 22" LCD, but unfortunately that's been discontinued. If 22" is still too big, a 20" 1600x1200 or a 19" 1680x1050 (like the Acer I mentioned above) would be the best balance between size and real estate.

Speaking of high-res monitors, I just ordered the Dell U2711! 2560x1440 IPS!!

[crashnburn]

I agree Deskspace is a pain point .

Then there are solutions:

Ergotron MX & LX LCD Arms. Brilliant pieces of articulation hardware.

Once you get it, its a long term investment and you wouldnt want to be without it.

[AMATX]

* Yes, the day of smaller, 1920x1200 monitors seems to have passed. Probably cuz of price reductions. Most of what I come across is 24" or larger; hence, my recommendations for Samsung 24" 1920x1200. I'm writing this post on a Samsung 22" 1920x1080 monitor, and while the smaller size is ok, I really don't like the chopped off vertical height that I get with 1080, vs. 1200. So, I'm sticking with my 1920x1200 choices. I wouldn't mind a 20" 1920x1200 display, but not available, so forget that.

* As far as Samsung models, for my needs, any of the 1920x1200 seem to work, so I can't say that any are 'bad' or to be avoided. I just shopped price on ebay, including mild, livable 'defect' displays, and when sumpin' hit a price point, I pounced. '2443 BWX', '2443BWT' are what I have in front of me now. I like the control buttons on the '2443BWT' a bit more, but as I leave my monitors on 24x7 and just hit Fn-F3 to dim them, control buttons are a non-event. Samsung has a very good power saving mode(1 watt drain, if I remember correctly), so there's some green-ness here, too

The Samsungs I have are much nicer than the HP2335. That said, the HP might be ok, if you can get it cheaply enough.

For me, it's functionality x price = BUY IT. Just a commodity for my setup, which is -not- gamer oriented.