Acer 20" no DVI

[glp6746]

I bought this Acer 2016 wbb 20" Monitor from Staples, because of the price over the phone using a $30.00 coupon. It was advertised with having a dvi port, but it doesn't. How important is this as it is a hassle to send it back?

The display is a little small, although I coming from a 17" lcd screen and I am not used to this resolution. Also, one other thing I didn't realize is the refresh rate only goes up to 60 htz, can this be problem?

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/st...096&PID=404255

 

There is no shipping or restocking fee.

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[wevsspot]

Well,

 

Your link directs everyone to the main Staples website page. And it doesn't appear that they have that monitor in stock anymore after searching their website.

 

How important is a DVI connection??? Well it is as important as whether you need one or want one. Personally I always use the DVI connection if the monitor and video card both have DVI connections available. With that being said I know users who have DVI capability both ways and still use the D-Sub connection. With the D-Sub connection you usually get fine control over the monitor color control via the monitor OSD. With the DVI connection generally fine color control via the monitor OSD is locked (at least on the ones I've used or set up). With some monitor/video card combinations there is a loss of display quality when using the analog connections, on others I couldn't tell much of a difference between the analog and digital signals.

 

Also, some LCD monitors lock the refresh rate at 60hz when using the DVI connection - however I can't tell you if yours will or won't.

 

On some of the later LCD monitors you can force higher refresh rates if you are willing to drop down from the native screen resolution.

 

All in all, the Acer monitors that I've used or purchased for customers have been pretty good monitors at their price points. Colors have been vivid and pretty true, black level performance is pretty good and backlight bleed through has been minimal. And to date only one has had a stuck pixel.

 

Of course for everyone visiting this thread, one of the most important considerations is what type of outputs are available from your video card, and does your monitor have compatible inputs.

 

Some benefits I find from using the digital signal;

 

Not having to constantly resize the screen or adjust color settings because the DVI is managing it all. (however this could also be considered a drawback for some users).

 

At least to my visual acuity, a good LCD monitor + DVI + Good Video Card + DVI colors seem more vibrant and true. I wouldn't base your decision solely on my crappy eyesight and colorblindness though.

 

Text appears a bit sharper.

 

Running less than native resolution picture quality appears better to me.

 

I mean, some experts could write a whole column, article or book about DVI versus D-Sub, but in the end I don't really know if it would help you make a decision one way or another.

 

Maybe the real question here for you might be????

 

Do I ever plan on purchasing a video card that ONLY has DVI outputs? And if so, would I use the converter or upgrade my monitor again at that time?

[glp6746]

Thanks, you actually gave me the answers I needed to make my decision.

[wevsspot]

Thanks, you actually gave me the answers I needed to make my decision.

 

Great!

 

So what did you decide and why? Don't leave us hanging

[ReelFiles]

Refresh rate doesn't have as much of an impact as it did on CRT monitors, at least I can't see any flicker like on my Gateway CRT when I set my 19" LCD to 'only' 60Hz.

[wevsspot]

That is a great point Reel. Another thing I might clear up here is that when I use the term "refresh rate" it's just an easy term I think everyone understands. In the world of LCD's a better term would be pixel response time.