second monitor recommendation

[davegraham]

Hi folks!

At the momentim using a 17" Flat screen monitor which is quite usable, but as I will try to get deeper into CGI I thought about getting a larger working area!

What would you recommend me to look for?

I thought about buying a second screen and build a dual monitor setup but then there is the question whether to buy the sae size?! i mean is it usefull to have one 17" and on 19" next to each other?

or should I just buy a very large display (but actually I'd like to keep my 17" baby^^)

any suggestions?

hope you got some tipps for me :)

have fun everyone!


Well, i use dual 17" monitors at work (with a Matrox Digital2Go expander) but that's due to the laptop I use. :) at home, I use a 2407FP Dell screen (24") with an Acer 20" widescreen secondary for a "scratchpad" or workspace.

As far as brand recommendations: dell, viewsonic, samsung, acer (value winner by far)

I'd look for a larger screen for your primary and use the 17" for palettes, etc. (like a 24" primary and the 17" secondary)

dave

[rebuilder]

If by flat screen you mean TFT, be ready to pay through the nose for quality. Make sure you buy a model with a good viewing angle - cheap(er) TFTs tend to suck in that respect, so even at the optimal viewing angle there's colour variation across the display. Especially visible in blacks. And speaking of blacks, look for a monitor that has a good contrast ratio. Don't trust the figures the manufacturers give out, trust your own eyes. Make sure the blacks are black and the screen is bright enough. Finally, colour accuracy can get costly in TFTs. The recent advice at sijun was that you should be prepared to spend 500 - 1000 dollars for a decent tft, and the pro models can go up to 5000 or so.

Personally, I'm not rich and so I bought used 21 " Trinitron CRTs. Sharp, colour accurate, heavy and huge.

[Katzenminze]

thx mates for the replies :) ill check out some of your recommendations in a local store soon :)

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