pc monitor wanted for laptop - what determines max resolution

longwalks1

Im after a decent 19 or 22" flat monitor to plug my laptop into and use as a desktop, what determines the max resolution on screen, my laptop or the monitor itself?

Any recommendations?

Many thanks in advance

asc99c

Generally the monitor itself. Monitors of that size will not likely go past 1920x1080 resolution (some older ones may offer 1920x1200, which I personally much prefer for computer use), and most laptops should be able to output that resolution without much problem. Samsung make one that's 2048x1152 which could cause problems on some laptops, but I think that's a 23" model, and you don't get higher resolutions that that until you hit expensive 27" / 30" models.

zyonchaos

It depends what you will be using the monitor as?
I connect my laptop up to a 32" tv for watching films and stuff and resolution is fine, so not really that much of a drama

vuvuzela

The max resolution depends entirely on your laptop's graphics card - monitors have their own optimal resolution though. If you know what it is, then you can google it and find out what it will run at.

Hammyman

vuvuzela wrote: »

The max resolution depends entirely on your laptop's graphics card - monitors have their own optimal resolution though. If you know what it is, then you can google it and find out what it will run at.

Absolute poppycock. Graphics cards have been able to run at higher resolutions than the best monitors for over 15 years.

The monitor determines the maximum resolution but with TFT/LCD the native resolution is in reality the only one as lowering it makes it blurry or screws up the aspect ratio. With CRT monitors, there is no "optimal resolution".

longwalks1

cheers everyone, its only going to be used to plug my laptop into to use as a PC, but I will be spending a lot of time in front of it so want a large (not too large tho), crisp, clear display to work on... any recommendations?

Hammyman

Any brand name. Important things to look at are contrast ratio (if it is a high figure and says "dynamic" then be very suspicious) and response time. Refresh rate doesn't apply to LCD/TFT/Plasma so ignore it.

longwalks1

Thanks everyone, what do you think of this monitor?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/196524

almillar

britishboy - Hammyman is being a bit of a graphics snob, and there are plenty of computers out there that can't handle great resolutions (especially with old, pre-widescreen drivers). As he indicates though, if you've got a new-ish laptop you're fine. Make sure your monitor will have the correct input for your laptop to output to, and don't scrimp on monitors, it's not worth it for your eyes.

longwalks1

Cheers almillar

my laptop spec is:

Dell Inspiron 1545, Pentium Dual core CPU, T4200 @ 2.00Ghz, 2Gb RAM

Its about 16 months old

longwalks1

oops forgot to ask, what connections give the best quality image?