Another TFT monitor thread

[Anonymous User]

Ok, sorery to ask again, but I've been ioffered this monitor pretty cheap, is it any good?

Clicky


I do notice it doesnt have 32bit colour though....

[Whizbang]

I have not seen any that do in that price range, but you will not be able to notice the difference uinless you count all of the colors by hand.  ;D  Check off axis visibility though.

[Anonymous User]

Are you sure? On a CRT, the difference is very obvious, as you can see from how smooth gradients appear in graphics applications and on websites etc.

[Chandler]

32-bit doesn't provide any extra colours over 24-bit.  It provides a further 8-bits for transparency effects and also is faster to address (for the graphics card).

Both 24-bit and 32-bit give 16777216 colours.

[Anonymous User]

So there wont really be much difference between 24bit and 32bit?

[Chandler]

There ISN'T any difference between 24 and 32 as far as monitors are concerned.  The only differences are within graphics cards, but don't affect the output.

24-bit is excellent for a TFT monitor and is the maximum colour depth.  The common colour depth on budget panels is 18-bit, which is useable, but you do see dithering sometimes.

Graphics cards can process 32-bit faster than 24-bit, but the output from 32-bit is still 16M colours, as the output from 24-bit is the same, 16M colours.

[Anonymous User]

So are you saying that graphics will be slower, as the graphics card has to do more work?

[Chandler]

No.  I'm saying you run your graphics card in 32-bit colour and it doesn't make any difference to the monitor.  The 32-bit output from the graphics card is 16million colours.  The 24-bit output from the monitor is 16million colours.

The extra 8-bits in 32-bit colour are data which you don't actually "see".  But they do align up better data wise.  Identical to 24-bit visually.

Don't worry about it!

Think "32-bit colour is the same as 24-bit colour" for simplicities sake.

"32-bit colour isn't actually 32-bits of colour" information is another way to think of it.  It's still 24-bits of colour (but with 8-bits of transparency which you don't see)

24-bit = 16,777,216 colours
32-bit = 16,777,216 colours

And the colour depth of the graphics card has no bearing on the colour depth of the monitor.

Basically, set your graphics card to 32-bit colour, and your 24-bit monitor will be able to display ALL of the colours.

[Anonymous User]

But surely, even if not visibly, those 8 bits are going to make a difference one way or another?

[Chandler]

No they won't.  Not when referring to monitors.

There is no such thing as a 32-bit monitor.

[Anonymous User]

I mean not reffering to monitors, how would they make a difference?

Thanks for helping

[Chandler]

When talking about graphics cards, 32-bit is power of 2 (2^5) whereas 24-bit isn't.  This is the main reason that 32-bit is faster than 24-bit, even though it takes up more memory.

32-bit is better because it uses 24-bit colour information, plus an additional 8-bits which it uses for transparency/alpha-blending effects, like the menu shadow effect in Windows XP for example.  The end result is still 24-bit of visible colour information.

[Anonymous User]

So as its not a power of 2, does that mean it will be slower?

[Chandler]

Yes.  I apologise, my initial responses were a bit muddled, probably due to excessive coffee consumption! ;D

[Anonymous User]

Sorry if I seem to be asking obvious questions

The slowdown would be at the graphics card end, correct?

[Chandler]

Yes, but only when the graphics card is set to 24-bit.  Monitors don't suffer from this slowdown.

Setting 32-bit on the graphics card with a 24-bit monitor yields high performance.

[Anonymous User]

So 32bit on graphics card, 24bit on monitor, and there'll be no difference at all?

[Mark H]

32 bit graphics card = faster performance
24 bit graphics card = slower performance

Picture on the monitor is the same for both. Think of it as a speed thing rather than an image quality thing.

Mark H

[Anonymous User]

So basically if I buy a TFT monitor, I'll be slowing my computer down?

[Mark H]

The only thing controlling speed is the video card in your case. You will not be slowing it down by buying one monitor or another. Just buy the monitor and enjoy it. It will work and you will see all the colors.

Don't worry. :)

Mark H

[Anonymous User]

Its not the coliurs I'm worried about (any more) its just the fact that people keep saying how slow 24 bit is, and if I get a monitor that only supports 24bit, I will be slowing down the graphics card?

[Neon]

No, the monitor cannot signal the video card to slow down; rather, the video card tells the monitor how fast to go. Always.

As already mentioned, all of the monitors are display 24 bit anyway, so don't worry.

[Anonymous User]

Will it show up as 24 bit in my display settings panel?

[Mark H]

The display settings panel in windows is for the video card. Set it to 32 bit if your video card supports it. It is totally independent of the monitor.

Mark H

[Anonymous User]

So if I set it to 32bit, there wont be any speed difference?

[query]

Actually, all else equal, 32 bit mode (true color) will be slower than 24 bit mode (high color).  There is more data to be processed to draw the screen.

On fast video cards with fast CPUs, it makes little difference.  ON a slower Pentium II/III system, it may be noticeable.

[Anonymous User]

I thought 24bit was slower than 32bit though?

[query]

No;  rather, the other way around.

[Anonymous User]

Hmm... This is a quote from a game I have about performance:

16 bit mode is the fastest, with 32 bit being second fastest. 24 bit is the slowest

[query]

Maybe that game is an exception - overall, the less data need be written to the screen, the better - i.e., as color depth increases, performance decreases.