Graphics Trends

May 16, 2008 by lyle in The Pit Blog

Other Research

Just like everything else on our PC's, the graphics subsystem continues to evolve over time. Monitor sizes continue to grow as costs fall, and screen resolutions continue to increase.

These graphs are of particular interest to software developers trying to decide which standard to write their precious code. These pages are automatically updated each month, so bookmark this page for future reference. Mouse over any graph for a more detailed analysis.

1024 x 768 Still the Standard

15 inch Displays Still Common

Comments (8) Permalink

8 Responses to “Graphics Trends”

Jerry C Says:
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
What are people thinking hanging on to their old 15 incher's except:
It is getting impossible to get a 4-3 screen lately. 16-9 wide screen is standard now. I see people expanding their favorite pic as desktop pic. Looks ridiculous if stretched to fit whole screen.
I can't understand who thought that widescreen monitors would be welcomed by Comper's.
kindred Says:
July 25th, 2008 at 8:04 am
i still use crt monitors,because i have a seizure disorder and i am a major gamer and to be able to game with less seizures you need higher refresh rate i run at 1024×768@150hz and i love it most lcd's i have come across have very low refresh rate every now and then you will see some with high refresh rate but being disabled i cant afford to spend the money to get one with that high of refresh rate and crt's are getting more harder to find unless you buy them used, it would be nice if they would think of the people out there with seizure disorders because we end up being at home all the time with nothing to do and one day we will be stuck with lcd's like ev1 else and then i might have to do away with comeputers untill they can drop the price of the high refresh rate lcd's thanks the kindred
Dan Says:
July 25th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I may be wrong, but a couple years ago, I read that there was a big difference between CRT "refresh rates" & LCD "refresh rates". I think the article said the two were NOT relatable.
I have epilepsy, so flickering light can't be tolerated. However, the ONLY time I have ever NOTICED any refresh flicker is with my CRT. (I'm fine with 85hz, but can notice a flicker at 75hz ) Even though LCD's refresh rate it normally 60hz, I have viewed dozens of LCD's and have never once noticed any flickering.
James Says:
August 24th, 2008 at 6:48 am
hi,
i'm from india,and i have seizure disorder too.I've been using CRT monitor with a refresh rate of 60 MHz,which is obviously straineous.Can nyone advice me whether to look for a CRT with higher refresh rate or go for LCD? i don't know which type is good for ppl having epilepsy.
Richard Says:
September 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
NEC 1735NXM
17" LCD
1152/864/70
…really can't justify anything larger and this monitor works very well.
Fire Says:
October 9th, 2008 at 7:04 am
As Dan pointed out the refresh rates of CRT and LCD are *not* relatable. They use different technologies.

In CRTs every pixel on screen (and thus the whole screen) is refreshed at its refresh rate (e.g. 85 Hz).
In LCDs the refresh rate shows how fast the display-electronics are able to show any *changes* on screen. No change = no refresh ("show and hold" display type). Only pixels that must change colour will do this at the rate of its refresh rate (e.g. 60 Hz).
This means that if your videocard pumps out 100 frames per second, and your LCD-monitor has a refresh rate of 60 Hz, you will only see 60 frames per second. The overstock of 40 frames is simply wasted on the LCD.

Typically, LCDs have slow response times and you will more likely suffer from blurred of smeared images in fast changes on screen. Flickering is simply not inherent in LCD-technology.

If you have epilepsy, you should definitely use LCDs, because they do not flicker. However, depending on the "hecticness" of the games you play, LCD may not deliver an enjoyable display-performance.
Barry Says:
December 13th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I can't believe people are still using CRT monitors. They stopped making them 2 years ago.
People will spend huge money on a car they use only a few hours a week, but won't spend $250.00 on a new 22 inch LCD monitor they sit in front of hours at a time. DOH…
James Hodson Says:
July 24th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Hi Kindred, Dan & James,

I'm sorry to hear about your seizure disorders. I'm epileptic too but fortunately not photo-sensitive.

However, some time ago I was fixing a friend's PC (for the second time in six months!) and used an old CRT monitor or mine.

Quite pleasurably, really.

James