new guy with questions

Hello and Great board, I've been on here a few times getting downloads and info over the last couple years and finally registered today and I have a couple ?'s I was going to buy a new system with 30" monitor but this computer still works well and wondered if I could upgrade monitors?



I have a 2008 or so dell xps with a ATI Radeon 3800 series video card, will this card be sufficient for a 30" or bigger monitor? It runs 2 24" monitors very well.

Is it possible to use a 36" Lcd hdtv for a monitor and it still be legible? It will only be used for viewing construction blueprints so graphics no real big deal as long as I can read the notes and dimensions.

 

Two of the issues will be what type of output jacks your video card has and what type of inputs the TV has.

Ideally, HDMI to HDMI is the easiest since it feeds both; however many flat screen TVs also have a SVGA (blue) input. The only drawback using SVGA is you'll have to use a 3.5mm audio splitter if you want to send the audio to both the monitor speakers and your external speakers.

If you buy a 32" TV/monitor, I'd look for one that's 1080 max. res. If and when you eventually upgrade your video card and/or PC to a model with true 1080 output, it'll be worth it (fyi, I found a 32" 1080 set w/ SVGA input at Fry's a few weeks ago for $249).

Hope this helps.

 

thanks for the quick reply, what is the big difference between the TV and Monitor? I've done some reading and from what I've read the clarity isn't as good on a tv is that because of the video card or something else?

 

When shopping, look at the maximum resolution the TV can display (example: 1920 x 1080) and compare it to the monitor you currently have.

The video card can also be an issue based on its max output. As an example, 1024 x 768 may be fine on a 17" screen; however a 32" screen has roughly 4 times the amount of screen space on it. Spreading a lower resolution like this over a much larger screen can reduce the sharpness and clarity of the display.

On the demo in my shop, I have a PC with HDMI (onboard) output connected to the 32" TV. I feel the display quality is good; so far I've had no negative comments about it from customers.

A dirty little secret to remember when shopping: Pay attention to what a monitor or TV is hooked up to. Having worked in retail, I know many major stores hook their lower priced or "sale" sets through splitters and 75-ohm (cable TV type) connections resulting in horrible picture quality. If you want to check out quality before shopping, hit the reviews on Amazon or NewEgg.