Friday, July 11, 2008

Fantastic Friday (sorta : )

So last week my monitor died. It worked earlier in the morning, and then it just wouldn't come back from sleep. My daughter was home with her laptop, so I used that to see about ordering a new monitor. First, let me tell you that my stubby fingers are not made for a laptop keyboard. At least not hers. Maybe there are larger sizes....

Anyway, after surfing the net for an hour or two, I found a monitor at Staples.com. A flat panel, LCD, 19" widescreen monitor. It had pretty good reviews and the price was excellent. Only $169 with FREE next day shipping. It was at my house within 24 hours.

"WooHoo!" I thought. Got it unpacked and plugged it in, fired up the old PC and....ugh. I hated it. The colors were slightly off, the letters weren't very clear and I absolutley hated the widescreen. I guess I don't take to change very well. I like the regular, not widescreen, monitors. Since I was getting a new one, I thought I would go bigger, but I didn't know wider would be so different.

I wasn't happy. Nope, not at all. Not the monitors fault, really. When I was looking at them at first, I was looking for a good price and speedy delivery (go Mr. McFeely!). I got that in this monitor. I didn't realize there were different pixel ratios and contrast ratios, etc. And those can really make a difference in the quality of the picture.

As a wahm, I spend a lot of time on my computer. I want to be happy when I am sitting here. So I researched and looked and surfed and found a different monitor that had the shape I wanted. In the size I wanted. And it has a great 2000:1 ratio (can't remember what that exactly means, but the first monitor was only 800:1). I want things to be clear. I want colors to be bright and vivid. So, I ordered it : ) Yes, I ordered a second montior within a week of the first. It is a business expense afterall. And I have been busy. And my birthday was in a couple days.

It was delivered today (making my friday fantastic). All I can say is I LOVE IT! It is exactly what I wanted in the first place. The picture is so crystal clear it is amazing. And the colors are just beeeautiful. It makes me happy : ) I am glad I got it. It is an LG 19" standard size LCD monitor. It was just over $200 with shipping. Isn't is pretty???? Oh yes, I am a happy wahm!


I'm not sure if I can return the first one since I opened it and used it for a week. There's nothing wrong with it, I just don't like it. So I am giving it to DD so she can hook it up to her laptop and watch her dvd's at college on a larger screen. She is exceited. It is now her early birthday present.

And this is just a random post about buying monitors....do some research and find out what you can get for your money. Know what you are looking for. And try not to be impatient. Take your time and get exactly what you want. You will be happy that you did.

6 comments:

Stitchen - Custom Embroidery said...

ooooooooooo Lynn, I LOVE the picture. Makes me want to be there. :) I will be spending a bit of time in front of my computer also. I like Nick's monitor better than mine so I think I will just use his computer. :) I'm glad you got what you wanted.

Kandas | GratitudeGeek said...

Wow! That's clearer than my TV! I really need a new video card. The fan on mine sounds like it's sick. Poor PC is louder than the A/C.

Lynn - the piggy bank painter said...

Last week when I had to disconnect the old broken monitor, I disconnected everything and took my computer outside for a cleaning. I try to do it twice a year, but it must have been longer than that. It had SO much dust in it, it was scary. I used Hubby's air compressor and blew all the dust out. It was like the computer heaved a sigh of relief. And it makes it run quieter.

So Kandas, I guess what I am getting at, have you cleaned the dust out of your computer lately? It may help....

Kandas | GratitudeGeek said...

Oh yes. Twice. It's not dust. It's old. LOL.

Lynn - the piggy bank painter said...

Ooooohhhh....so, have you backed up your hard drive then?

I am always worried about losing files now. I've lost so many in the past *sigh*

Lynn - the piggy bank painter said...

Oh, did I mention I LOVE my new monitor? My new little speakers should be coming today and I bet I'll be loving them too : )