Expert: Bobbert - 7/6/2007

Question
I am buying a new conputer, should I buy a mew widescreen or regular 19 inch monitor.
 I don't play games or watch movies, I use it for web browsing mostly. I do want a lcd monitor.

Answer
Well, it probably will come down to price for your decision. The advantage of a widescreen is usually for movies or multitasking, which could make it advantageous for what you plan to do with the system. However, the "regular" or 4:3/5:4 aspect ratio monitor will also be fine for multitasking, and likely better for gaming (more games support 4:3/5:4 resolutions than 16:9/16:10 resolutions).

I would suggest that if you choose the regular non-widescreen 19", that you go for a 1600x1200 instead of a 1280x1024 monitor, as the 1600x1200 monitor has a higher resolution and is likely going to be a higher end part than a 19" at 1280x1024.

If you go widescreen, you'll probably be limited to 1440x900 or similar, which isn't entirely a bad resolution.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

-bob