Different sized monitors

[Sportsman]

My daughters birthday is coming up and I thought I would buy her a larger monitor to watch movies/TV.

She currently runs two 22 inch identical monitors which work fine.

Would it be possible to replace one of these with say a 27 inch which would have a different resolution or does the resolution have to be the same on each monitor. I don't think she would have room for two 27 inch screens

[philocalist]

Under most circumstances, different monitors attached to the same PC (usually via the same video card) can display in different resolutions to each other - I'm currently sat at a PC running three monitors, one of which is in 'portrait' format (a 22" model), with two others of different sizes, both larger and running at different resolutions.

The stumbling block / limitations will come down to whatever video card is installed in the PC, and also to a lesser degree on the monitor(s) themselves - some older video cards will only support a single monitor, though you mention that your daughter already runs two concurrently, which is a good sign.

It's the 'power' of the video card that decides what resolutions it can display, and at what size - it's a fairly accurate generalisation to say that in most cases (unless it is a really top-end video card costing perhaps several hundred pounds), that as the size of a monitor increases, the maximum rsolution that the card can display will reduce in size - to answer that question, the only real way is to identify what video card is in there and then look at the spec either online or on the card manual.

There MAY also be some relatively minor complications with actually connecting a new, larger monitor, if the video card has older connections, though these are usually easily fixed with the appropriate cable, though such older technology may not make the most of a decent video card and large, hi-res monitor - and ANY decent brand of 27" monitor is unlikely to be cheap

Edited October 11, 2015 by philocalist

[Sportsman]

Thanks for that.

She has now decided that she doesn't want one anyway but I might just get one for myself

cheers

[philocalist]

Sportsman - if you decide to treat yourself, and it matters enough to you, try to take a decent look at the spec of any monitor you are tempted to buy. Most are a compromise of some sort - if you want something specifically for watching movies etc there are monitors available that do a spectacular job (without being overpriced) though they may not have other attributes such as massively fast response times, demanded by many gamers.