21"-24" Monitor for Laptop

[HTSS_TR]

Wife wants to have a larger display than her 15" 5 years old Asus laptop, to watch some online streaming movies.

She complaints about watching movie on small 15" display, she likes to have a new computer(desk-top) with 21-24" display. I don't know anything about desk-top, I like to buy an LCD display in the size 21-24" and hook it up to Asus laptop via VGA cable.

I did some research about computer display on Aamzon.com, their top selling models are mostly Dell, Acer, Asus and Vewsonic.

Which monitor you have that is reliable and has good resolution ?

Thank you for your opinion/input.

 

[mattwithcats]

I hooked it to the TV

My 32" Samsung had a VGA port,
a male to male cable with audio included was $20 at Best Buy,
and I had $10 in coupons...

Total $10...

 

[simple_gifts]

I'd make sure the laptop can drive a large monitor first. Most likely it can.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
I'd make sure the laptop can drive a large monitor first. Most likely it can.

I have no idea if the Asus laptop can drive a larger monitor with VGA port or not.

I think my Sharp Aquos flat screen TV's don't have VGA port, how do you test if a laptop can handle large monitor without having one ?

 

[simple_gifts]

It will @ least drive the same resolution as the laptop screen if that is not an issue; I should have worded it "see if it can drive a higher resolution"

What model is the laptop? Right click on the desktop, it should have a "screen resolution" dialog to choose.

If it is an elcheapo and only does 1280x720 or something, you might be disappointed shelling out $150 for a large monitor.

1600x900 is good; others can chime in because I hate laptops.

 

[JustinH]

Dell makes good monitors. I support about 200 of them.

Get a docking station and plug the dock into the monitor, that is the way to do it.

Displayport or HDMI.

 

[Killer223]

go buy a small TV that has 1080P the laptop will see it and auto adjust the resolution to that. you can also make it the default so the laptop screen is gone. or mirrored or side by side. does the laptop have a mini hdmi port? if it's kinda new i might. your sharp should have the port and cable. test it on it. the framerate might be kinda low but should be ok for movies.
if you don't want the TV option then viewsonic from costco, samsung, vizio most are decent. to test how good it is. tunr it on with black background or no picture look for white light from the edges. if none it's a good screen.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I recently replaced my older monitors with two Acer 27" monitors. I still write a fair amount of code and they're perfect for it. The colors are great, and having monitors that large are well worth it.

 

[racer12306]

I have an Asus monitor at home that is almost 4 years old and works well, and I have two Dell monitors at work that work well.

See if the laptop has an HDMI port, that would be a better option than a VGA.

 

[sicko]

How often is she going to be using the laptop with the monitor? Does it make sense to get a KVM so she can have a full size Keyboard, Monitor, and Mouse? That way she can plug in her laptop, then see everything on the larger screen and use the full size keyboard and regular mouse. I used to use this set up at home and my laptop would default to expanding the desktop when I plugged it in, so I got even more desktop real estate.

 

[sicko]

BTW, if it's not going to be used much, you can probably just get a good quality monitor off craigslist to save a few bucks.

 

[racer12306]

Originally Posted By: sicko
How often is she going to be using the laptop with the monitor? Does it make sense to get a KVM so she can have a full size Keyboard, Monitor, and Mouse? That way she can plug in her laptop, then see everything on the larger screen and use the full size keyboard and regular mouse. I used to use this set up at home and my laptop would default to expanding the desktop when I plugged it in, so I got even more desktop real estate.


To build on this, I have a HP Stream Mini hooked up to my TV, then I have this keyboard and a USB extension cable and it works great for using the computer as a streaming device.

 

[rjundi]

The wildcard is if the 5 year old Acer computer is decent enough to drive an external monitor or not as an extended display.

For her purposes an inexpensive model will likely suit.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Thank you all. I will think about all the recommendations, but I need to know which model Asus my wife has and what ports it has. I will post what I find out about that Asus and go from there.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
I recently replaced my older monitors with two Acer 27" monitors. I still write a fair amount of code and they're perfect for it. The colors are great, and having monitors that large are well worth it.


+1 I agree that 27" seems about optimal for doing anything real on the computer.

 

[Subdued]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
The wildcard is if the 5 year old Acer computer is decent enough to drive an external monitor or not as an extended display.

For her purposes an inexpensive model will likely suit.


my 8 year old HP is, I can't see why a newer Acer would have an issue.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
The wildcard is if the 5 year old Acer computer is decent enough to drive an external monitor or not as an extended display.

Why does it have to function as an extended display? The OP did not mention needing that.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Actually the laptop is not Asus, it is Acer Aspire xxxx. It manufacture was Nov 2007, so it is almost 8 years old.

How do I check if the Acer is capable of driving an external monitor as an extended display ? What are the advantages of this capability ? What are the problems if it doesn't have this capability ?

I don't know the screen resolution of this Acer, I need to play with Window 7 a little to find out what it is. My decade old Dell Vostro 1000 laptop is running on Window XP !!!

The Acer doesn't have HDMI port. It has 3 USB ports, 1 VGA port, 1 LAN and ear phone.

 

[surfstar]

I possibly have the same laptop. I run a VGA to ___ cable (edit, I actually believe that my older TV came with a straight VGA input, so I don't think I have a converter cable) anyways, works great! 42" TV setup

Also funny thing regarding viewing distance - you hold that laptop up at arms length or about the coffee table distance, while sitting on the couch, and it EXACTLY matches the footprint / viewing size of the 42" TV.

So, your wife would only get a "larger" screen by going to 21-24" monitor if it is the same distance away...

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think the monitor will be on the desk on front of her, the laptop will be on right side so that the distance will be the same. From 15" to 22-23" it will be seen as much larger.