Best New Computer Monitor Reviews 2012

No, a computer monitor cannot directly damage your eyes orcause you to go near-sighted, but it excessive use may lead to eye strain, eye fatigue, or headaches. Source: Robert K. Maloney, MD - Maloney Vision Institute.

Here's a few tips to help you avoid eye strain and fatigue:

1.) Blink! While using a computer monitor you blink less than you normally do, so every 10 minutes or so take a break, and try looking away for 30-60 seconds.

2.) Adjust the contrast and resolution of your monitor to fit with the lighting in your room and what feels comfortable. You can also adjust the size of the text displayed in your monitors settings.

3.) Add additional backlighting behind your computer. Lamps, ceiling lights, or even a window should work. Also remove any bright light sources behind where you sit.

4.) Get Computer reading glasses. Eyeglasses for your computer are optimized for reading at a distance of 20-26 inches and carry a different prescription than standard reading glasses. Computer glasses should help your eyes to focus more easily and therefore take away some of the strain. Ask your eye Doctor for more details.

5.) Better Ergonomics. Adjust the position of your monitor and keyboard. Ideally your computer should be at eye level so you can read with your chin pointing slightly up. Also make sure that your keyboard is at a location where you can type while your shoulders are relaxed.

LED monitors are LCD monitors. LED is actually the type of backlighting that the display has. LCD or "liquid crystal displays" arethin but require backlighting in order to be visible. CCFL or cold cathodefluorescent lighting was an efficient method that was originally used in orderto light LCD displays.

Later, LED or light emitting diode backlighting technology was introduced. LED backlighting is more energy efficient and environmentally friendly than the mercury emitting CCFL backlighting. In addition to being environmentally friendly LED monitors are thinner and typically produce deeper blacks through LED dimming.

Initially LED monitors were available at a significant premium, resulting in few sales. Today CCFL LCD and LED monitors are similarly priced and LED monitors have overtaken LCD in sales.

While the size of monitor you need may vary based upon the space you have for it, your personal preference, or what you can afford, studies, by Apple and Productivity501.com, show that a larger monitor, up to 24 inches, improves your productivity. This size gives you more screen space and allows you to put documents side by side. With the increasing affordability of large monitors many are choosing multi-display setups for even more flexibility.

Contrast Ratio - The measurement of a monitors deepest black and whitest white. This measurement can be somewhat skewed by manufacturers by showing the highest gray to gray number available.

Display Types - There are several display types available for monitors, all of which have advantages and disadvantages. TN panel displays are less expensive and carry fast response times. IPS or in-plane-switching panel monitors are ideal for photo editing as they have more accurate color reproduction.

Input Lag - The delay in the time it takes your computer tosend the signal to your monitor from a device from when it's actually displayed. This is important for time-sensitive applications like video games.

Resolution - Resolution is a measurement of the amount of pixels that your monitor has. This number is displayed horizontally and thenvertically. 1920 x 1080p, for example, is considered full high definition resolution. Resolution for IPS monitors for photo editing go beyond standard high definition to give editors additional pixels to work with.

Response Time - The time that it takes for a pixel to gofrom black to white and back again. Most modern TN panel monitors have aresponse time of 5 or lower (lower is better). Gaming monitors go as low as1ms.

A 24 inch widescreen computer monitor is ideal for most office jobs. Among my favorites is the Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED. At well under $200 the Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED monitor certainly isn't the most expensive 24 inch monitors; however, as far as TN panel monitors go and for the money, it gives you the best overall bang for your buck.

Design

The design is simple, sleek, and thin. The bezel is a bit large on the front, but it's used to conceal the integrated stereo speakers. This monitor is ideal where desk space is limited.

Picture

I was surprised at just how great the picture in this model looked. Its specifications boast full HD 1920x1080 resolution and a 20,000,000:1 MEGA Contrast Ratio, but with all the stat gimmicks out there I prefer to see the picture first and judge the feel of it. The VX2450WM-LED doesn't disappoint. The blacks seem deeper than previous LED monitors I've tried and the picture is crisp and clear. With a 5ms response time it was also good enough to do some gaming with little to no blurring present.

Cons: The disadvantages of this monitor have more to do with it being a TN panel monitor as the blurred viewing angles from the side are somewhat noticeable. That being said if you don't plan on sharing your monitor frequently and generally sit in front of it, then this shouldn't really matter. Jobs where viewing angle is crucial like photo editors and engineers may want to consider an IPS panel monitor.

Overall: In summary this is the monitor I'd recommend if your budget is around $200. I've listed a few other favorites of mine below.

Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24-Inch (23.6-Inch Vis) Widescreen LED Monitor 
Amazon Price: Too Low to Display

This is the size of monitor that I currently use. While most people think that 24 inches is large enough, for me in particular, larger seems to be better. I compare documents and spreadsheets side by side while I'm at work in order to create reports. Since I'm extremely near-sighted the large screen doesn't seem to fatigue my eyes as much as smaller sizes I've tried.

Whether you're looking for an office monitor or one to game with the ASUS VE278Q 27-Inch LED Monitor is a great deal at right under $300. The picture is in full high definition 1080p resolution with a 10M:1 dynamic contrast ratio.

Connectivity

Most monitors these days have 2 HDMI ports but lack diverse connectivity options. The Asus VE278Q comes with every option and includes a D-Sub, DVI, HDMI, and even DisplayPort so no matter what video card or motherboard you have you should be good to go.

Overall I give this monitor a 9.8/10 for options and price. If it's available for a decent price, then go ahead and grab it.

ASUS VE278Q 27-Inch LED Monitor
Amazon Price: $299.97 

A gamer's monitors is the portal that takes him from the real to the online world. The speed and responsiveness of that monitor often times determines the effectiveness of the player. That speed is often determined by one of two things:

1.) Response Time - This is the time it takes for a pixel to go from black to white and back again. A fast response time eliminates the blurring that can sometimes occur when these pixels move to slowly.

2.) Input Lag - This measurement is often not discussed by manufacturers. It's the lag between when a command or input is sent from a device and then displayed on the monitor. A good gaming monitor will have a frame or less of input lag.

Viewsonic VX2453MH-LED 24-Inch Ultra-thin Widescreen LED Monitor
The VX245MH-LED is one of the most popular gaming monitors available right now. Although its input lag hasn't been measured it has a 2ms response time, is inexpensive, and has an option to remove the stand and lean it back. At around 9 pounds its the perfect option for taking with you on trips or LAN parties.
   Amazon Price:    $199.99 

A great IPS monitor has the advantage of ultra-wide viewing angles and accurate color reproduction. This is especially true when supported by calibration software. Some of today's most advanced IPS displays now can display beyond true color with over a billion colors. While TN panel monitors only use 6 bits per RGB color, these display can display up to 12 bits per RGB color.

While high-end IPS monitors continue to be rather expensive there are several affordable options that have recently been released which, with some calibration, can be fairly accurate when using them.

Below I've listed a variety of popular IPS monitors that are useful when color accuracy matters.

3D computer monitors are optimal for gaming and movies in both 3D and 2D. This is because many 3D monitors have 120hz refresh rates which refresh at twice the speed of standard 60Hz LCDs, producing superior images.

In the last year two 3D monitors have really stood out to me, the ViewSonic V3D245 24 inch 3D monitor and the Samsung S27A950D 27 inch 3D monitor. While 3D is still not perfect on these monitors it just feels like these two do the best job in their respective sizes. One key feature is that these two keep their 120Hz refresh rate for both 2D and 3D viewing (not all 3D monitors do this).

Most computer monitors are compatible with your Mac Mini, Macbook pro, Macbook Air, and iMac desktop computers. That being said Apple makes a high-quality display which it updates every few years. The latest version is called the Thunderbolt, nicknamed after its Thunderbolt I/O technology that allows you to move data between your devices at up to 10-Gbps throughput in either direction. Apple monitors use a high-quality IPS display which can produce true color at up to 16.7 million colors.

Technical specifications for the Thunderbolt Display include a massive 2560 x 1440 Resolution, 16:9 Aspect Ratio, 3 USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet port, FireWire 800 port, Thunderbolt port, 178° horizontal/vertical viewing angle, 375 cd/m2 brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio, 12 ms response time, 2.1 speaker system , and FaceTime HD camera with microphone.