Desktop LCD Display Comparison

The screen size and resolution comparison tables compare common desktop TFT flat-panel monitors from different brands. The characteristics of today's LCD displays are listed side by side.

The compared screens are presented two lists, the first focusing on the pixel related aspects and the second on the physical area aspects. All selected displays are for stationary desktop use. Some of the shown values are calculated and can differ in reality (i.e. visible display diagonal).

Desktop LCD Monitor Comparison (Pixel Table)

This table shows the screen resolution, pixel density (pixel pitch in pixels per inch, ppi), size of one square pixel, aspect ratio of the screen, number of pixels (megapixels or MP), and pixel area gain compared to a 1024 by 768 pixel XGA resolution for various display sizes (measured by the viewable diagonal).

Size	Resolution	Density	Pixel Size	Ratio	Pixels	Gain
15"	1024 x 768	85.3 ppi	0.2977 mm	4:3	0.75 MP	100%
17"	1280 x 768	87.8 ppi	0.2893 mm	5:3	0.94 MP	125%
17"	1280 x 1024	96.4 ppi	0.2634 mm	5:4	1.25 MP	167%
17"	1440 x 900	99.9 ppi	0.2543 mm	16:10	1.24 MP	165%
18"	1280 x 1024	91.1 ppi	0.2789 mm	5:4	1.25 MP	167%
18.4"	1366 x 768	85.2 ppi	0.2982 mm	~16:9	1.0 MP	133%
19"	1280 x 1024	86.3 ppi	0.2944 mm	5:4	1.25 MP	167%
19"	1440 x 900	89.4 ppi	0.2842 mm	16:10	1.24 MP	165%
19"	1680 x 1050	104.3 ppi	0.2436 mm	16:10	1.68 MP	224%
20"	1400 x 1050	87.5 ppi	0.2903 mm	4:3	1.4 MP	187%
20"	1680 x 1050	99.1 ppi	0.2564 mm	16:10	1.68 MP	224%
20.1"	1600 x 1200	99.5 ppi	0.2553 mm	4:3	1.83 MP	244%
21"	1680 x 1050	94.3 ppi	0.2692 mm	16:10	1.68 MP	224%
21.3"	1600 x 1200	93.9 ppi	0.2705 mm	4:3	1.83 MP	244%
22"	1600 x 1024	86.3 ppi	0.2942 mm	25:16	1.56 MP	208%
22"	1680 x 1050	90.1 ppi	0.2821 mm	16:10	1.68 MP	224%
22.2"	1920 x 1200	102 ppi	0.2490 mm	16:10	2.2 MP	293%
22.2"	3840 x 2400	204 ppi	0.1245 mm	16:10	8.79 MP	1'172%
23"	1920 x 1200	98.4 ppi	0.258 mm	16:10	2.2 MP	293%
24"	1920 x 1200	94.3 ppi	0.2692 mm	16:10	2.2 MP	293%
26"	1920 x 1200	87.1 ppi	0.2917 mm	16:10	2.2 MP	293%
27"	1920 x 1200	83.9 ppi	0.3029 mm	16:10	2.2 MP	293%
30"	2560 x 1600	100.6 ppi	0.2524 mm	16:10	3.91 MP	521%
32"	1024 x 768	40 ppi	0.635 mm	4:3	0.75 MP	100%
40"	1024 x 768	32 ppi	0.7938 mm	4:3	0.75 MP	100%

See the table below to compare the gain in physical size of the active or viewable screen area to the extra real estate in pixels (resolution gain in pixel). The aspect ratio also affects the gained area in cm².

Desktop LCD Monitor Comparison (Area Table)

The following table shows the active diagonal, screen width, screen height, aspect ratio, viewable screen area and physical area gain compared to a 15-inch 4:3 monitor for various display sizes.

Size	Diagonal	Width	Height	Ratio	Area	Gain
15"	38.1 cm	30.48 cm	22.86 cm	4:3	697 cm²	100%
17"	43.18 cm	37.03 cm	22.22 cm	5:3	823 cm²	118%
17"	43.18 cm	33.72 cm	26.97 cm	5:4	910 cm²	131%
17"	43.18 cm	36.62 cm	22.89 cm	16:10	838 cm²	120%
18"	45.72 cm	35.70 cm	28.56 cm	5:4	1'020 cm²	146%
18.4"	46.74 cm	40.74 cm	22.90 cm	~16:9	933 cm²	134%
19"	48.26 cm	37.68 cm	30.15 cm	5:4	1'136 cm²	163%
19"	48.26 cm	40.92 cm	25.58 cm	16:10	1'047 cm²	150%
20"	50.8 cm	40.64 cm	30.48 cm	4:3	1'239 cm²	178%
20"	50.8 cm	43.08 cm	26.92 cm	16:10	1'160 cm²	166%
20.1"	51.05 cm	40.84 cm	30.63 cm	4:3	1'251 cm²	180%
21"	53.34 cm	45.23 cm	28.27 cm	16:10	1'279 cm²	184%
21.3"	54.1 cm	43.28 cm	32.46 cm	4:3	1'405 cm²	202%
22"	55.88 cm	47.07 cm	30.12 cm	25:16	1'418 cm²	203%
22"	55.88 cm	47.39 cm	29.62 cm	16:10	1'403 cm²	201%
22.2"	56.39 cm	47.82 cm	29.89 cm	16:10	1'429 cm²	205%
23"	58.42 cm	49.54 cm	30.96 cm	16:10	1'534 cm²	220%
24"	60.96 cm	51.69 cm	32.31 cm	16:10	1'670 cm²	240%
26"	66.04 cm	56 cm	35 cm	16:10	1'960 cm²	281%
27"	68.58 cm	58.16 cm	36.35 cm	16:10	2'114 cm²	303%
30"	76.2 cm	64.62 cm	40.39 cm	16:10	2'610 cm²	375%
32"	81.28 cm	65.02 cm	48.77 cm	4:3	3'171 cm²	455%
40"	101.6 cm	81.28 cm	60.96 cm	4:3	4'955 cm²	711%

TFT flat-panel displays with these characteristics and specifications are made by Acer, AOC, Apple, Asustek Computer, BenQ, Dell, Eizo, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM, iiyama, LaCie, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Maxdata, NEC-Mitsubishi, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Teac, Toshiba, ViewSonic, Westinghouse and other hardware manufacturers.

Today's flat-panel LCDs are available with glossy or matte antiglare screens.

Apple Macintosh Specifics

Screens with 1440 x 900 (17-inch wide-screen, used in the iMac), 1600 x 1024 (22-inch, no longer in production), 1680 x 1050 (20-inch wide-screen) and 2560 x 1600 (30-inch wide-screen, Cinema HD Display) resolutions are at the moment only available for Mac systems.

See the Apple Cinema Displays information for the available product lineup from Apple Computer.

Screen/Browser Survey

The display and browser window survey deals with the habits and preferred settings regarding screen and browser windows of Internet users.

Take the Display and Browser Window Survey.

Video Standards

XGA	1024x768
SXGA	1280x1024
UXGA	1600x1200
WSXGA+	1680x1050
WUXGA	1920x1200
WQXGA	2560x1600

Glossary

AMOLED:: Active-Matrix OLED
BLU:: LED-based backlight unit
CCFL:: Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp
cm:: Centimeter
CRT:: Cathode Ray Tube
DLP:: Digital Light Processing
DTV:: Digital TV
FED:: Field Emission Display
FPD:: Flat Panel Display
HD:: High Definition
HDMI:: High Definition Multimedia Interface
inch:: 1 inch = 1" = 2.54 cm
LCD:: Liquid Crystal Display
LCM:: LCD module
LCoS:: Liquid Crystal on Silicon
LED:: Light-Emitting Diode
mm:: Millimeter, 1mm = 0.1 cm
MP:: Megapixels, 1 MP = 1'024² pixels = 1'048'576 pixels
OLED:: Organic Light-Emitting Diode
PDP:: Plasma Display Panel
Pixel:: Picture Element
PLED:: Polymer Organic Light-Emitting Diode
ppi:: Pixels per inch (pixel density or pitch)
SDC:: Segmented Display Cell
SED:: Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display
SXGA:: Super Extended Graphics Array
TFT:: Thin Film Transistor
TV:: Television
UXGA:: Ultra Extended Graphics Array
WQXGA:: Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array
WUXGA:: Wide Ultra Extended Graphics Array
XGA:: Extended Graphics Array
1024 x 768:: Screen width and height in pixel (e.g. 1024 by 768)