To Gel Or Not To Gel

Earlier, we dropped in at the local computer grocery chain to look for that (fairly priced) LCD monitor I wanted to buy for the Wife. We were looking at an Acer 17 inch one, to discover that the display showed a lot of ‘ghosting’: pixels that appeared at spots where they were not supposed to be. The deal was off: if it was a demo model it shows that the screen will not stand the test of time. If it wasn’t a demo model, the question remains why would someone buy an LCD monitor of this low quality. Any experts?

I decided to buy a wireless mouse and a ‘memory-gel enhanced’ mousepad (Allsop)1. I’ve been using a ‘gel’ mousepad for years and I swear by them: the one from Fellows (plain gel/rubber/plastic) I considered to be superb. Upon entering the house and trying the new mousepad, I discovered it hurt my wrist within minutes. Buying a ‘memory-gel enhanced’ mousepad is a grave mistake. I can imagine memory foam being good for the sleep, but for the wrist you need the gel to support it, not to give in to the shape of your arm. After all the idea of the gel is to keep that wrist as straight as possible and (secondly) the cushion is there to support the wrist when you grab and move the mouse. Only a ‘gelly’ cushion does that right. Memory ‘enhanced’ gel does not.

Stay clear from that.

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4 Responses to To Gel Or Not To Gel

  1. alfons hoogervorst says:

    The IIyama‘s are pretty fine. (My model is excellent for video gaming, I assure you.)

  2. Arthur says:

    The IIyama’s are pretty fine.

    How many years do you have it now? Any ‘ghosting’ yet? Or is ghosting just a proof that an LCD monitor is of bad quality?

    (note, I have had many laptops and none of them were as bad as the Acer I saw in the store)

  3. alfons hoogervorst says:

    Since 2003 and just 1 dead pixel (it’s a 17″ monitor – and was cheap-ish though pretty much well-praised).
    I am not sure what you mean by ghosting: if you mean that you see still parts of previous frames, it hints at slow refresh rates. No wonder, btb, consider the huge amount of individual pixels that need to be turned on and off.

  4. Arthur says:

    I am not sure what you mean by ghosting: if you mean that you see still parts of previous frames, it hints at slow refresh rates

    Ghosting: faint silhouettes of objects in the foreground in ‘the background’. Probably to do with refreshrates…

    No wonder, btb, consider the huge amount of individual pixels that need to be turned on and off.

    I noticed that the higher end monitors actually had better and clear views, hence why we decided to call it off and wait for a couple of months. It’s almost Christmas: I presume Staples and others want to get rid of lower end LCD monitors.

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