im building a new computer and ive heard that some moniters only pair with certain grafix cards, like particular moniters only work with nvidia, and some only with avi, is this true? if im looking at a particular moniter on ebay, how do i know it will work with my grafix card? do some moniters work with both, but work better with one imparticular?

Post the monitor model and your graphics card model. Generally speaking what you heardis not true.

Certain graphics cards may not work in certain motherboards. Perhaps that is what you heard.

If you are buying an LCD display on eBay keep in mind LCD diplays can have bad pixels and be considered acceptable. Buying locally from a chain give you the option to return the display if you aren't happy with the dead pixels. IMO I wouldn't buy a monitor off eBay but that is just me.

what about newegg?

There is no monitor compatibility issues with either ATI, nVidia or any other video card for that matter.

There are several different input/output connectors that you need to be aware of though...D-sub, DVI, HDMI, S-video, etc. You'll wanna make sure your video card has the correct output connector to match up with the monitor's input plug, otherwise you'll have to use an adapter. DVI (digital video) is preferrable to the older D-sub (15-pin VGA).

And of course, there are certain monitor specs that you'll also need to be aware of (response time, contrast ratio, etc) to help you make your choice.

chopficaro

I buy most of my gear at Newegg.com. That said I won't buy a monitor from them because they use industry standards for exchange for dead pixels. I would rather buy from a place like Bestbuy, Circuit City, Sam's Club, Costco, etc. that will allow returns for any reason. Displays are about the only thing I won't buy from Newegg. I have a shipment in transit from them as we speak.

those places can be pretty expensive, and since im going to get a huge monitor (24 in hopefully more) i have to be very frugal, but i agree with u after reading some reviews from newegg. wheres the cheapest place i can buy a monitor that wont have dead pixels?

"wheres the cheapest place i can buy a monitor that wont have dead pixels?"

No one can guarantee that there won't be dead pixels. There are possible ways to fix them (the "pen trick" is one), but it *may* damage the monitor even further. If you were to get a bad monitor from newegg, you would have to ship it back at your own expense & that will probably cost you over $10, plus you'd be without a monitor for a couple of weeks. You'd be better off shopping locally & if there's a problem, simply return/exchange it. Keep an eye out for sales & rebate offers. And you might wanna consider a smaller monitor.

jam is right on. When these stores have a sale they are somtimes even cheaper than newegg.

In regards to eBay, IMO that is like buying a monitor from some guy selling flowers on the side of the road. OK for flowers, you get what you see.

how are these pixels dying? i thought lcds had wonderful longevity

The Display sometimes has dead pixels when it comes off the assembly line. The manufacturers have standards on how many and where dead pixels can be. IMO I don't want any in my display. If you buy from newegg or most online resellers you are stuck with the dead pixels if they meet the manusfacturers acceptable levels. You can't just return the display.