Download July 2012 - Maximum PC

feature
By Jeremy Laird
LARGE
AND
IN
CHARGE
NO PC IS SO GOOD THAT IT CAN’T BE MADE
EVEN BETTER BY A BIG, SWEET LCD SCREEN
W
e’ve said it before, we’re going to
damn well say it again, and we’re
going to keep saying it over and
over until somebody starts listening. By
far and away, and without a shadow of a
doubt, the best long-term investment you
can make for your PC is a decent screen.
Repeat. LCD screen.
That’s especially true at the top-end
of the market, where some specs have
stagnated. Back in 2006, the pinnacle of
PC screendom was 30 inches and a native
resolution of 2560x1600. Fast forward to
the dawn of 2012, and absolutely nothing
has changed. That’s still as good as it gets.
In fact, if anything, prices of premium
panels have hardened. Premium 24-inch
monitors based on the better VA and IPS
panels are quite possibly more expensive
than they were fi ve or six years ago. The
problem is the market for higher-priced
panels—there isn’t one. People buy almost purely on price; they just want cheap
and cheerful.
That said, this obsession with cheaper
screens means the focus is on squeezing the most out of a sub-$500 budget.
Today, that figure doesn’t just secure full
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HD resolutions and stretch to 27-inch and
even 28-inch monitors, it also bags you a
multifunction monitor packing everything
from an integrated TV tuner to full stereoscopic 3D support using the technology of
your choice.
Until recently, what you wouldn’t get
was anything other than TN technology
for the panel, but there are now some
exceptions. Along with some affordable
VA panels, the new kid on the block is eIPS tech, which is effectively a cheaper
version of the IPS screens favored for
their color reproduction and found in
many premium devices including—yes,
you guessed it—Apple’s iPhone and iPad
gadgets.
As for the TN masses, the good news is
that the technology continues to improve,
closing the gap with IPS and VA. It’s also
worth noting that the increasingly widespread use of LED backlighting, even at
the ass-end of the market, has given TN
a kick up the backside, too. All of this
means there’s serious value to be had if
you know what you’re buying, which is
exactly where this month’s LCD panelfest
comes in.