Great thread!
But I don't see much about grayscale viewing - so here goes . . .
I request guidance in regards to 19" SXGA (not widescreen) LCD monitors that would be good for grayscale viewing.
I understand that the best my poor old video card (a PCI ATI Radeon 7500) can put out is 8-bit grayscale, so an 8-bit LCD monitor (256 shades of gray) should be a good match. A 6-bit LCD monitor, which is what I have now, only gives 64 shades of gray - this is insufficient for what I would like to be able to do.
My intention with the new LCD monitor is to view conventional grayscale x-ray images at home for educational purposes. Teaching files and the like.
Not for actual diagnostic work - 10-bit (1024 shades of gray) to 16-bit (65,536 shades of gray) monitors are used for serious grayscale imaging, but they tend to run a little bit higher in price than what I have in mind for a modest home computer setup.
Other than that, the monitor will be used for nothing more demanding than web-surfing, email and word processing. No gaming, no photographic work, no DVD watching - so the monitor can be slower than cold molasses (by gamers' standards, anyway). I much prefer the 5:4 aspect ratio of the basic 19" 1280 X 1024 SXGA LCD monitor over a widescreen aspect ratio. The larger pixels of a 19" 1280 X 1024 monitor are also a plus for me - I need glasses to read print well and I tend to view a monitor at a distance of about 21". Glare-resistant screens are a plus - I find the reflections in glossy screens to be distracting.
I have already learned a considerable amount about LCD monitors from this thread. I would greatly appreciate further guidance in regard to my own situation.
Thank you,
Suetonius