Should I Upgrade Monitor

[axel]

I am about to purchase a new PC as mine is 8 years old and although it was a good spec at the time with an Intel Core i5-6600 processor and 16GB of RAM, it does meet the spec for Windows 11.

My monitor is a Dell 2209WA and is almost 14 years old. It works perfectly and does everything I need. I am not a gamer or video editor and do not need high specification graphics. Is there any benefit in upgrading the monitor as well and would I notice any difference?

If I choose to keep it, are there any restrictions on graphic cards that I should be aware of, when building a custom PC from here, to avoid wasting money due to the age and spec of the monitor?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[JediFragger]

My monitor is a Dell 2209WA and is almost 14 years old. It works perfectly and does everything I need. I am not a gamer or video editor and do not need high specification graphics. Is there any benefit in upgrading the monitor as well and would I notice any difference?

You've pretty much answered your own question, change it when you feel that you have to or need to. Doesn't seem to be yet.

 

[Quartz]

If I choose to keep it, are there any restrictions on graphic cards that I should be aware of

Yes. Your Dell 2209WA monitor doesn't have a HDMI or DisplayPort port and modern PCs use both; DVI and VGA have been deprecated. While the monitor has a DVI-D port and you can convert that to HDMI you may encounter problems with HDCP if you try to use it for media playback. A friend has precisely this problem with a pair of Formac DVI monitors. Second, that monitor is a lower resolution than 1080p (1920x1080 vs 1680x1050) so stuff designed for 1080p may look slightly odd.

Given that you're not a gamer, take a look at cheap 4k monitors like the Lenovo L28 which will cost you around £200. Keep the Dell as a second monitor for where precision colour work is required.