What size monitor is my computer capable of running?

Question

1ghz
1.25 ddr sdram
l2 cache 512k
bus speed 133mhz
geforce fx go5200 32mb
i did a quick search without finding an answer. thanks in advance.
dave

Answer 1

As a rough gauge, here's the pixels from common size LCD monitors:
19" non-widescreen 1280x1024
19" widescreen 1440x900
20"- 21" non-widescreen 1600x1200
20" - 21" widescreen 1680x1050
23" - 24" widescreen 1920x1200
The widescreen monitors typically say widescreen in their description, and are, as you'd expect, wider than the more squarish regular-sized screens. Do your research on whatever you're honing in on. For example, the current Dell 20" - 24" widescreens have had issues recently. You can google that or read on Dells support site. There's some discussion on the Apple discussions in the Cinema displays group, too.
I just picked up a 19" Samsung 940BW widescreen display, which works nicely with our mac mini.
One thing to also keep in mind is where you buy the LCD monitor from. Some places like Sams, Costco, Best Buy, etc have easy returns. Some mail order places will only accept returns if there are a largeish number of dead pixels. That's the first thing you check on an LCD monitor, whether there are any dead pixels or not. Display a black background/picture and any dead pixels will show as white or non-black, it's pretty obvious. If there's only 1 in the corner, that may be OK, however, if there's a smattering of them where they'll bug you, then you want to be able to return it for another unit.
Manufacturer warranties generally are 3 years, however, some are only 1 year.