Let's get one thing straight: I'm not a "gadget girl", I don't have techno lust, I don't get excited over hardware. I recently had to buy a new monitor, though, because my computer screen developed a row of dead pixels down the middle of it. Way out of warranty, so there wasn't much I could do except buy a new one.
I have not been monitor shopping in years, so I went out expecting to spend about $300, which I really don't have to just throw around, but I need a new monitor! So my first surprise was how cheap monitors have gotten. $140 for an 22" HD screen? I can live with that!
I looked at a few different options. I remember a nice HP monitor and I think a Samsung. Although, I ended up getting a totally nice Viewsonic VA2231wm-LED screen. It has two inputs, a VGA and a DVI and it is fully HD, meaning 1920 by 1050, meaning that blue rays will play natively and my computer will finally be outputting video that is worthy of its GPU.
How will I play BR discs without an HDMI port, you ask? Playstation! Yes, this monitor is now sitting on my desk next to both my desktop and my PS3, and that's where it gets even better. My computer goes to the VGA port and my PS3 goes through an HDMI to DVI converter, into the DVI port. In other words, I just scored two monitors for the price of one.
Unlike the HP and Samsung that I looked at, where you had to go into the menu to switch inputs, the Viewsonic as two handy buttons right on front. If I want to use my computer, I hit 1 and I'm starting at my Gnome 3 desktop. Playstation 3 time? I can hit 2 and start playing Dragons Age like it's going out of style (and actually it kinda is, thanks to Skyrim).
In other words, I'm really impressed with my new monitor in every respect. Quality is great. Value is great. Price was great. And it's user-friendly and practically designed on top of all that. If you're looking for a new one, have a look at the Viewsonic VA2231wm-LED!
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