Re: Monitor refresh rates

["Cepek, Marta" <marta -at- M3ISYSTEMS -dot- QC -dot- CA>]

About a week ago, someone said:

     If you must work with a really large monitor with a low refresh rate,
     do one of the following:

I don't know about the rest of you, but for me it's not just about monitors
and refresh rates!  When we're talking hardware, we're not just talking
comfort, but also work efficiency.  This is an area I've wrestled with a lot
lately, as I'm working on a user interface spec that has over 250 captured
screens.  Needless to say, this is not only monitor-intensive, but eats up
massive quantities of my hard disk.

     1. Drop to a lower resolution, which usually means much faster
     refresh. (You'll also be able to read your fonts and recognize your
     icons.)

Added bonus:  The lower the resolution, the smaller the .BMP file.

     2. Reduce the color depth (less data going to the screen, so
     potentially faster refresh rate).

What do you need 256 colors for?  Think you'd know the difference if you had
32K colors?  Doubt it.  I try to stick to 16 colors (believe it or not, some
graphics cards don't even support a "mere" 16 colors anymore).  The same
.BMP captured in 256 colors uses up 100K, while the 16 color capture uses up
only 50K (experience talking here).

     3. Upgrade to a better video card that supports high refresh rates at
     higher resolutions.

Always a good solution.  And if you're using graphics-intensive
applications, especially Windoze, go for as much VRAM on the card as you can
afford!

Cheers!
Marta