12
votes

I'm looking for a good, second 24" monitor. What specifications do I have to look for in general when buying monitors?

I know, because it's my second 24" monitor, that it should fit well next to the existing one (same height, as small border as possible). But what else do I have to consider?

When buying my first monitor all I looked for was the right size and a good price. I ordered it online and therefore haven't seen it in person before. Would it be better to first look at a monitor in a shop before buying it?

I guess the specifications depend on the intended usage. I'll use it mostly for gaming (I'll use the better one as my main monitor) and surfing. If the types of games also matter: Mostly FPS, GTA V and some rather old strategy games such as Anno 1503 or C&C Red Alert 2.

3
  • 1
    Do you care if it's different than your current one? For me, that'd be the factor to influence my decision the most. I couldn't handle two different monitors next to each other...
    – enderland
    Sep 9 '15 at 18:49
  • @enderland No, I totally don't. I already got a 21" next to my 24" one. I had to get used to it, but I'm totally okay with it. Like stated in my question I would just like it to be pretty much at the same height. Actually, I don't want your answers to focus too much on the fact that it'll be a second monitor. I'm just wondering what specs one has to look for and thus, what I've possibly done wrong when buying the first one.
    – Alex
    Sep 9 '15 at 18:54
  • 1
    I've closed this question because it's more of a general advice-type question, which are no longer in scope.
    – Undo
    Nov 2 '15 at 17:31
10
votes

If you are planning to use it mainly for FPS gaming, and you are competitive in it, you are going to want to have a monitor that is 60hz - 144hz with a low response time <5ms. The 60hz - 144hz is your refresh rate and it won't matter what graphics card you have if you have a monitor that is only running at 30hz.

If you're not on the competitive side then here are the different questions to answer to help you decide on what you want.

  • What resolution? (1080p, 1440p, 4k)
  • What refresh rate? (60hz, 144hz)
  • What type of panel? (IPS, TN)
  • What size screen? (You have already answered this in your question but still something to think about)
  • What aspect ratio? (16:9, 21:9, etc.)
  • What size of a bezel? (You mentioned this as well saying you want a thin border)
  • Price?

A site that I use to check some of these is pcpartpicker.com. You will be able to filter on all of these things directly from their site.

4
  • Thanks a lot! There is some information in here that I didn't know. I also had color depth in mind. But I suppose, since you didn't mention it, I'll only have to worry about that if I'm working with image editors (such as Photoshop) and that most modern monitors will have a big enough color depth for gaming. Is that true? I didn't really look into >1080p resolutions yet, because there isn't much content (e.g. movies) available yet. But since I do have a decent GPU I suppose a 4K monitor will bring me some kind of advantage (see more details) in modern games?
    – Alex
    Sep 9 '15 at 20:37
  • And don't forget about angle of view.
    – Jet
    Sep 9 '15 at 20:42
  • And wide / normal screen. If you play games where seeing left-right is more necessary than seeing what's on top/bottom side of screen (racing games, usual RPGs, most of shooters) then wide screen is a better option. But if you mostly play strategies, casual games then normal screens are good as well.
    – Jet
    Sep 9 '15 at 20:50
  • 1
    Also I would like to point out that it is also important to find out what video connections the video card and monitor support. (HDMI, DVI, Displayport, VGA, etc...)
    – Huntdogg
    Sep 18 '15 at 19:34

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