20 inch computer monitor. Too much?

Kadoken

I just ordered a 20 inch monitor for my new computer, and I'm wondering if I should have gone with the 18.5 inch instead. The main thing I'm worried about is am I going to have a hard time trying to play games on this size due to how big it is, or because it's a wide screen will it's lower vertical viewing angle help me?

minor incident

Man, I wouldn't consider buying a monitor smaller than 22/23", so unless you're driving it off a 12 year old Celeron, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Kadoken

By "play games" I mean with the size I'm afraid since my face is kind of close to it, I won't be able to see all of the screen.

Edit: Meh, you know what? I'm good with it.

Esh

20" is pretty small really. Look at your standard iMac. The smallest they come in is 21.5" and the upgrade is a 27", which I've used and it's just fine.

Pariel

Sit farther back?

I just upgraded to a 23" from a 19"/15.4" on my laptop about a month ago, and I must say I do not regret a thing, or have trouble seeing any part of the screen.

admanb

The actual area you can focus on is much smaller than any monitor. Making it bigger gives you more area of peripheral vision and less you have to scroll to see, which is nothing but good for video games.

TychoCelchuuu

Widescreen sometimes has lower vertical views, sometimes more horizontal views. Depends on the game.

Cantido

My 22 inch HDTV later became a monitor for me. Anything around that size is excellent for a computer.

admanb

Studies have shown that 27" is the ideal size for productivity; only beat by a pair of 24".

Muriden

admanb wrote:

Studies have shown that 27" is the ideal size for productivity; only beat by a pair of 24".

And only half as awesome as 2x 27"

bowen

I went from 17" to 21", it was... amazing.

Muriden

If you can afford it and have a dedicated graphics card I cannot recommend getting a dual monitor set up enough. You will never ever go back.

grouch993

Went from a 24" to 27" recently. Was a pain. Had to get a new video card and a new computer build to house it.

Ran 1600x1200@32bpp for the longest time on a Viewsonic P815 CRT. Was a 17" high resolution monitor before that one. Switched to 5:4 LCDs in 20" until moving up to the 16:10 24". Am currently on a 16:9 27" so it is 2560x1440.

Dual set ups are nice, have one at work.

Thanatos

21-24" is the sweet spot price-wise, I think; getting much bigger costs a lot more, and you're still sub-$200 for a lot of the options in that range.

Hamurabi

Dual monitor setups might seem a little frivolous, but they're actually really nice for productivity. Getting a document you're working on over to a second monitor (especially if it's in portrait-mode) while working with sources on your main monitor is invaluable.

Djeet

I suppose it depends upon the distance between your nose and the screen, but I can't imagine that moving from 18.5 to 20 would be a huge difference*. I'm assuming they're the same resolution. If the 20" is a 1080P monitor while the 18.5 is a 1366x768 then you may need to up your graphics card to run at frame rates and detail levels you like in native resolution.

I'm running 3x19" (1600x1200) in portrait and I would totally use another couple monitors (or larger higher resolution panels) if I happened to luck into them. Though I don't really game much.

*Edit: other than providing immediate eye relief.

Tef

Hamurabi wrote:

Dual monitor setups might seem a little frivolous, but they're actually really nice for productivity. Getting a document you're working on over to a second monitor (especially if it's in portrait-mode) while working with sources on your main monitor is invaluable.

I agree with this one both points. I use a dual monitor at work and it's invaluable. On the times I've had to use a single monitor to do work stuff it was fairly frustrating.

Darmak

I had a dual monitor setup for the longest time and when I built my new computer and gave the old PC and one of the monitors to my wife, we both missed having second monitors. I'm going to have to buy two new monitors for us now and that's alright with me.

We just both liked having one screen for music, irc, Steam, whatever, and the other for web browsing or playing games and stuff. Also, we're using 19" monitors and will probably continue to do so (unless I buy two bigger ones for myself and give the other 19" to my wife).

GnomeTank

20" is actually a really small monitor these days. I run a dually setup with one 27" as my primary monitor (games, videos, etc), with a 24" sibling for web browsing, reading documents while coding, etc. Sometimes I even flip the 24" document-wise so I can read a long piece of documentation without scrolling.

Lucky Cynic

If your monitor is so close that you cannot see it all in front of you, it is way too big and or you are too close. Period.

Some people have the illusion that bigger is always better- but it isn't. You need something appropriate. 20" is actually pretty tiny these days. If it is too big for you, then you are waaaay too close.

admanb

Thanatos wrote:

21-24" is the sweet spot price-wise, I think; getting much bigger costs a lot more, and you're still sub-$200 for a lot of the options in that range.

I bought my 27" Samsung from Costco for $240. Now, admittedly, that's Costco. But still.

The Dude With Herpes

20in is super small to me, to the point of feeling like I'm looking at a calculator. Which is stupid, but I've had 27in'ers now for several years and I can't go smaller anymore. To the point where my last one died and I had a 20in LCD lying around and drove me nuts after a day or two and bought a different 27in monitor.

I can't imagine gaming on a 20in. And it's not like I'm far away from my 27 in either. It's just a normal desk and the monitor is right there. Honestly I've thought about going up to a 32 but then you need to get an HDTV instead and the quality of those at that range seems to be fairly lacking IMO.

I've been fairly happy with my ASUS 27in, and while it was more expensive than a 20in'er, not crazily so.

I've been looking at the Dell Ultrasharp 27in they have out, but it runs ~$1k and I'm just not sure the quality upgrade over what I have now would be worth the price.

Kadoken

Ok, I am completely fine with it. I got it a week ago. I think it is the right size for me, I really don't care about making the screen bigger, nor do I care that it is considered "tiny". Thank you for your help, but I am satisfied with my purchase.

floobie

Gotta say, on all the dual monitor stuff... I never really cared. I had dual monitors at work at various points. I'm a geologist, so it usually involves having a cross-section on one monitor and a map view on the other. In that situation, they're almost necessary. But, honestly, beyond actually needing them for work, I just don't care about having them otherwise. I've tried it here and there at home. I hooked up my Macbook up to a monitor for a while. I didn't care enough to keep using it, though. I always just end up using one screen as the primary screen, and just dump stuff I'm not immediately focusing on on the other screen. I can just as easily minimize that stuff, or stick it in another Space instead.

Then again, I'm not the sort of person who has like 20 applications running constantly. Usually, I just have Mail and Safari running. If I'm recording, I'll have Logic open and nothing else (to save precious resources). In general, I rarely have more than 5 applications running at once.

As for the 20 inch monitor... whatever works for you. I do the majority of my computing on a 13" laptop. I have a 22" monitor hooked up to my desktop, but I sit further away from it, so I barley notice the difference. The distance to size ratio is waaaaaay more important than only the size of the monitor. Sitting up close to a huge screen borders on nauseating. Sitting far away from a not huge screen feels like tunnel-vision. There's a happy medium to be found. And it sounds like you've found it.