You probably haven't realised it but its size makes a serious difference to your enjoyment. Even if you bought your computer less than 12 months ago, you probably only scored a 15-inch monitor. But with all the power packed into the PC itself, there's no reason not to treat yourself to a bigger screen. Today, 17-inch monitors are definitely the way to go. Prices are dropping, and when the time comes to step up to a new computer you can hang on to a larger monitor and buy the PC without a screen, which will shave a lot off the price.
Any computer built in the past three years can upgrade.
Do your homework before you go shopping and you'll come home a winner. There are three main features you need to consider when buying a monitor - viewing area, screen resolution and refresh rate. When you hear someone talk about a 17-inch monitor, they are referring to the size of the glass picture tube you're looking at. But, because the tube has to be anchored inside a plastic box, the area of the screen you actually see an image on is generally smaller. For 17-inch monitors, it's usually between 15.8 and 16.1 inches.