Windows 8 monitor - advice please

dagi

New Member
Messages
3
Location
Britain
Hi everyone,

Last week I purchased a new Windows 8 Pro computer. This replaced my nine year old XP system and so it's great to be on the current Windows release.

I deliberately did not buy a monitor because of the uncertainty regarding "touch".

My current monitor is a 17" CRT screen, it's served me well but I'd like to replace this with something like a 27" LED widescreen.

What are your thoughts on screens for Windows 8? Will touch screens ever become mainstream for the Windows desktop market? Should I buy a normal non touch monitor or wait for the technology to develop?

I'm not convinced about using touch in Windows 8 in desktop computers, but I'm conscious that so much of the OS is designed for tapping. Clearly this is in part aimed at tablets, but will it take off for desktops?

Your thoughts and advice will be much appreciated.

dagi
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
If you want a large touch screen you could be in for a long wait. Although the ui is designed to work better for tablets that use touch I find it also works fine with a mouse and keyboard.

When looking at large monitors i found the price excessive so opted for a low pixel lag 1080 32" tv, connected through hdmi it works perfectly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
I purchased the new Acer T232HL 23" Touch Screen, Win 8 certified, IPS technology, 10 point multi-touch. Pricey at $499. Acer has the same monitor in 27" also.

I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 8 on 10/26 and purchased the monitor from Best Buy the following day. My assessment of Win 8 on desktop using a large touch screen - great! It's been an easy transition and I find I switch from mouse to keyboard to touchscreen seamlessly and have been able to improve my overall productivity. The learning curve has been quick from my perspective.

Like most technology, you can almost certainly wait awhile and get a Win 8 certified touch screen monitor at a lower price.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-4771
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-Pro
    Memory
    16 Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB
    Sound Card
    None
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer T232HL
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Primary - Samsung 840 EVO 250 Gb
    Secondary - Western Digital BLACK 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM 650W 80+
    Case
    Fractal Design Arc Midi R2
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK520
    Mouse
    Logitech MK520
    Internet Speed
    FiOS-15Mb
    Browser
    IE11 / Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast Free
You'd have to ask yourself if spending $400-$1000 is worth it for something that currently is just a glorified launcher. I still question the practicality of touch screen use in a desktop environment. Right now the app selection is dismal at best, so maybe months down the road if/when it catches on. But if you spend 90% of your time in desktop, using desktop applications - is touch screen really the way to go? Even the people that defend "Metro" to the gills admit they only spend a fraction of their time in it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
My assessment of Win 8 on desktop using a large touch screen - great! It's been an easy transition and I find I switch from mouse to keyboard to touchscreen seamlessly and have been able to improve my overall productivity.

I wonder how long it will be until we see monitor/tablet hybrids. I.E. When you're at your desktop you have a normal touch-screen monitor sat on your desk, but if you want to move somewhere else, you can just un-dock the monitor from the stand and use it like a tablet.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
My assessment of Win 8 on desktop using a large touch screen - great! It's been an easy transition and I find I switch from mouse to keyboard to touchscreen seamlessly and have been able to improve my overall productivity.

I wonder how long it will be until we see monitor/tablet hybrids. I.E. When you're at your desktop you have a normal touch-screen monitor sat on your desk, but if you want to move somewhere else, you can just un-dock the monitor from the stand and use it like a tablet.

They are already out there. The ASUS Transformer Book is just one of several.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    win8 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel core i7 3930k @ 4.17GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus p9x79 pro
    Memory
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance LP xmp quad channelled
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX660 ti, Signiture 2, FTW 2GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" Samsung tv, 21" Dell monitor both 1080 native
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 x2
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 830 256gb sata3 ssd, 4x250gb sata2 hdd RAID_0, 3tb ZyXEL NSA-310 (nas).
    PSU
    Tagan tg-800-bz 800w modular
    Case
    Icute mesh with 280mm side fan
    Cooling
    Corsair H80 (2x120mm push and pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft comfort curve
    Mouse
    Anker 8000dpi 1000m/s precision gaming mouse
    Internet Speed
    10MB
    Other Info
    Logitech 5.1 with phantom channels. xbox 360 pad for windows.
I am not interested in using a touch screen on my desktop system, so I can't comment there. However, I also upgraded recently, and went from a 20" widescreen to a 24" 1080p monitor, and frankly, it seems a bit big to me.

If you think about it, a 27" monitor less than 2 feet in front of you would be the equivalent of sitting 4 feet away from a 54" tv... probably fine for being immersed, but terrible if things might be happening all over the screen that you may want to pay attention to. I don't even like to go full screen on my 24" with my word processor because it is just too big to read comfortably. Of course, it is nice to have a tv window and a word processor open at the same time, both big enough to be effective. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire M3970
    CPU
    I3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128 GB SSD
    1 TB HDD
I just bought an LG E2242T-BN for 99 bucks, 50% off at Staples. Its a 21.5 inch 1930 x 1080P. I was thinking it was a little on the small side until I took it out of the box and set it up. I was quite satisfied with the size and picture quality. Mind you I only had it hooked up long enough to make sure it worked. It's going to be a Christmas present so its boxed back up and put away.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Good evening...

My opinion is that touch on desktops will take off, ESPECIALLY with the touch All-In-One PC form factor as most of the new Windows 8 AIO PCs are touch enabled. I'm not big fan of those as you can't really adjust them other than 178 degrees.

I would look into something like Acer's touch monitors, or ones that actually slide down from a range of maybe 0-178 degree angle, along with free and available space on top of your desk. THIS, is the best way I believe to enjoy touch with the desktop. You're close to the screen and can easily manipulate things on screen. It seems that most touch monitors also have built in web cams and mics, which is a nice plus. You can even use the mic for speech commands for Windows! :cool:

It really depends on what you want to do. I believe touch is the future, many PC makers think so, and Microsoft believes so as well. And it's just freaking fun to use!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
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