Many people think of buying used monitors when they find high-quality ones too costly. When people cannot afford such monitors, they go for the next best option— second-hand monitors. You might think of buying a used monitor if you want a better-quality display at an affordable price. Many monitors, such as the LCD monitors, especially the big ones, are still in the high price range.
Gamers who like to have more than one monitor also prefer buying used monitors as they are low in cost. When you purchase such used monitors, there a few things you need to check. Is damage the only thing you have to worry about when buying a used monitor? Or is there something else you have to watch for? The answer is yes; there are a few other things you should look out for. We have listed some of them for you.
Checklist Before Buying a Used Monitor
- General Enquiry
- Price
- Age of the Monitor
- Physical Tests
- Display Tests
1. General Enquiry
Enquire the seller for the original bill of the monitor. If the monitor is under warranty period, you should also ask for the warranty card. You can also verify them by reaching out to the dealer on the bill/warranty card.
Contents
- Checklist Before Buying a Used Monitor
- General Enquiry
- Price
- Age of the Monitor
- Physical Tests
- Check the Settings
- Display Tests
- a. Dead pixels
- b. Gamma value
- c. Monitor test sites and apps
If you’re planning on buying it online, make sure you buy the monitor from a trusted website. Check if the selling website is a reputed brand. Do not buy products from unknown or untrusted websites. Buy from websites whose return policies are too good to miss. If any issue arises, you will receive a proper response. They could cover the charges of back and get you a refund.
2. Price
Always check the price of the monitor before buying it. Check if the price is affordable. Besides that, also verify whether the price is not too low for the monitor as a cheap monitor comes for a low cost for a reason. Also, compare the prices of a new monitor of the same model and the user monitor. If you can afford to buy the monitor at the seller’s price, you may think of a deal. Go for used monitors only if you get a reasonable bargain price, otherwise don’t.
Also Read: Fix Second Monitor Not Detected in Windows 10
3. Age of the Monitor
Never buy a monitor if it is too old, i.e., do not buy an overused monitor. Buy recent monitors, preferably below three years of usage. If it goes beyond four or five years, rethink if you need that monitor. I recommend that you do not buy monitors that are too old.
4. Physical Tests
Check the physical condition of the monitor, paying attention to scratches, cracks, damages, and similar issues. Also, check the condition of the connecting wires and connectors.
Turn on the monitor and leave it on for almost an hour. Check if the display color fades or there is any vibration on the screen. Also, check if the monitor heats up after running for a long time.
Check for a “dry joint.” A “dry joint” is the most common malfunction in used monitors. In this type of defect, the monitor does not work after it gets warm. You can check the monitor for this issue by leaving the monitor and working on it for at least 30 minutes to one hour. If the monitor does not work or suddenly goes blank after it gets warm, it is obviously damaged.
5. Check the Settings
Sometimes, some monitors do not perform well if you alter the settings. To avoid buying such damaged monitors, you must adjust the settings of the monitor and check. Try adjusting the settings in the menu of the monitor settings using the monitor buttons. You should check if you can adjust the following settings and if it works fine.
- Brightness
- Contrast
- Modes (auto mode, movie mode, etc.)
6. Display Tests
You will have to perform various display tests to check if the monitor is still good in condition.
a. Dead pixels
A dead pixel or stuck pixel is a hardware error. Unfortunately, you cannot fix it completely. A stuck pixel is stuck with a single color, while dead pixels are the black ones. You can check for dead pixels by opening single-colored red, green, blue, black, and white images in fullscreen. When doing so, check if the color is uniform. Make sure that there are no dark or light spots when you open the colors.
To test your monitor, open your browser in fullscreen resolution mode. Then open a webpage consisting of nothing but a single color. Test for colors red, green, blue, black, and white. You can also change your wallpaper to a plain version of these colors and check for dead pixels.
b. Gamma value
Most LCD monitors possess a gamma value of 2.2 since it’s great for Windows, and 1.8 would do good for Mac-based systems.
c. Monitor test sites and apps
You can download various display tester apps from the internet to check the quality of your display. These display testers come with tests to check for stuck and dead pixels on your screen. Also, you can check various noise levels and the overall quality of your monitor using such apps. You can also use a variety of websites to test your monitor’s performance. One such web-based testing site is the EIZO Monitor Test.
Other methods
You can also check the monitor visually for flickering, image distortion, and colored lines on the screen. You can search for various screen test videos on YouTube and play them on your monitor. While conducting such tests, always use the fullscreen mode. In these ways, you can check and find out if a monitor is worth buying or not.
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We hope this guide was helpful and you were able to utilize this checklist before buying a used Monitor. Still, if you have any doubts then feel free to ask them in the comment section.
