I'm looking for a 21" (or larger) monitor to use with my work laptop when working from home. I work with excel, word and some statistics packages (like STATA or SAS) mostly. I'm not a gamer so won't use it for that (Football Manager is the only thing I play these days and that's a glorified spreadsheet). Ideally I'd get something for around the £100 mark, but I don't know whether that's realistic? Does anyone have any recommendations?
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2I would be surprised if you could not find something at a local thrift shop that would work nicely. I have noticed that an e-commerce site I use here in the US for electronics seems to have monitors of 27" or smaller on sale regularly for US$125 or less with 21" usually below US$90.– Richard ChambersCommented Dec 12, 2017 at 13:51
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I recent bought 2 x 22" (1680 x 1050) monitors on a well know auction site for £25 each which is typical, and you can get a new 21.5" (1920 x 1080) for £90-£100. There is not a lot between them all, so for a specific recommendation, you'll need to provide more detail as to what your needs are.... cont'd..– CJMCommented Dec 12, 2017 at 16:12
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...cont'd... what connection type does your laptop support? VGA/DVI/DisplayPort/HDMI? What resolution do you need? What other features are important? Power consumption? Contrast/brightness? Brand? Warranty period?– CJMCommented Dec 12, 2017 at 16:14
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In all honesty, there are so many decent, cheap alternatives out there, with few stand-out performers, that you are unlikely to get much from this posting, unless you come up with a very specific/uncommon requirement– CJMCommented Dec 12, 2017 at 16:18
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Thanks, I don't really have any more detailed requirements. Still, helpful to know that I can pretty much buy anything and it'll be ok.– TaxpayersMoneyCommented Dec 12, 2017 at 18:00
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Monitors are pretty standardized for plug-and-play use. Just make sure that the resolution is compatible with your computer (i.e. not too low and not too high). I would recommend buying one used, to save some money, but make sure that the seller includes a money-back guarantee and preferably has some kind of certification for refurbishment (i.e. don't buy it at a yardsale unless you trust the seller). Well-established sellers such as Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Walmart.com, and Staples.com are usually trustworthy to purchase refurbished monitors from. If possible, I would recommend a clicks-to-bricks store so you can easily return it in person at a local store if there are any problems (shipping a monitor back might be difficult I think).
I actually just bought a nice 22-inch 1680*1050 monitor yesterday at my local computer shop for an amazing US$24.50. They had smaller monitors selling for as low as US$7.00! They are a Microsoft-certified refurbisher and all the monitors come with a 90-day guarantee. https://www.techreup.com/
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1Can you edit your answer to include a specific hardware recommendation please. This boils down to "buy used from one of these stores", which isn't really helpful. Please check out our Answer Quality Guidelines if you have any questions.– CfinleyCommented Dec 13, 2017 at 16:46
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My point was that you shouldn't need a specific recommendation for a generic (flatscreen) monitor. It's plug-and-play. In my experience when it comes to generic used hardware, the trustworthiness of the seller is more important than what is being sold (the monitor I bought the day before yesterday is a Gateway, who doesn't even exist any more). My recommendation is to check local shops in the area for used monitors before shopping online. Commented Dec 13, 2017 at 17:59