[Madison]

Hi all,

I have no idea what the monitor resolutions mean. I know that the higher the resolution is the better, but what's the deal with the frequency ratings? 1280x1024 60hz vs. 75hz? Higher frequency mean better refresh rates? Just curious...thanks.

[chabig]

Exactly. The frequency tells you how many times per second the screen image gets drawn. At 60Hz the human eye can see some flicker. The faster the better.

Chris

[tooki]

Note, however, that the "higher is better" rule has some exceptions:

1) on some CRT displays, if you go REALLY high, the image starts to get fuzzy.

2) the rule ONLY applies to CRT displays (and plasma displays, I believe). Digital LCDs do not have a similarly-comparable refresh rate, and on a Mac, don't even show any options. Analog LCDs do not like high refresh rates -- they work best on 60Hz -- and get fuzzy and/or jittery at higher refresh rates. Note that since it's an LCD, there will be no flicker even on a 60Hz input signal.

tooki

[chabig]

Good points Tooki.

LCDs generally don't flicker because of the way the image is drawn. On a CRT, when the beam scans across the phosphor in a pixel it glows brightly. But as the beam moves on the phosphor fades. That's why the image flickers on a CRT.

On an LCD, the pixels are "on" all of the time, so refresh doesn't flicker.

Chris