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Computers and Electronics
Computer Peripherals
Computer Monitors
How to Measure a Monitor or Computer Screen: Easy Guide Download Article Know the size of your monitor Written by Rain Kengly
Last Updated: November 22, 2024 Fact Checked
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Finding Screen Size
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Finding Image Area
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Finding the Aspect Ratio
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This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. Rain is a tech writer and editor for wikiHow with over 5 years of professional writing experience. In the past, Rain has worked with other creative writers as a Writing Tutor at San Francisco State University and has published gaming features, guides, and news articles for a variety of media outlets. Rain shares a lifelong passion for writing and gaming and is eager to grow alongside new tech inventions. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 259,252 times. Learn more...
There are a few ways to measure the size of your computer monitor, depending on whether you want to know the screen size (diagonal measurement), image area, or the aspect ratio. All of these measurements are easy to determine, using a ruler or tape measure and some simple math. Here's how to measure monitor size in inches.
Measuring Computer Screen Size
Use a tape measure or ruler and find the screen size of your monitor. Measure from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner without including the borders. The diagonal length is your monitor's size in inches.
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Method 1 Method 1 of 3:
Finding Screen Size
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1 Measure from the top-corner to the opposite bottom corner. You should be measuring at a diagonal in inches.
Only include the display area. Exclude the bezels/borders around your monitor.[1]XResearch source
Screen size is generally what you want to know when purchasing a new monitor. While monitors can range from 19 inches to 40+ inches, common sizes include 21.5 inches, 24 inches, 27 inches, and 32 inches.
2 Use the pythagorean theorem (optional). If the screen is too large to measure diagonally or if you don’t want to smudge it, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the diagonal distance. Square the screen’s height and the screen’s width, add the 2 numbers together, then find the square root of the sum, which is the diagonal measurement.[2]XResearch source
For example, if the height is 10 inches (25.4 cm), multiply that by itself (10x10=100). Then, multiply the length, 16 inches (40.6 cm), by itself (16x16=256). Add the 2 numbers together (100+256=356), then find the square root of the sum (√356=18.9).
Advertisement Method 2 Method 2 of 3:
Finding Image Area
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1 Measure the length of the monitor screen. Use a ruler to measure the horizontal length of the monitor from one end to the other. Don’t include the frame or structure around the monitor, measure only the viewing screen.
2 Measure the height of the monitor screen. Only measure the image area rather than the frame or border around the monitor. Use a ruler to determine the vertical height from the top of the screen to the bottom.
3 Multiply the length by the height. To find the image area, multiply the height of the monitor by the length of the monitor. Express the image area in “horizontal length x vertical height.”
For instance, if the length is 16 inches (40.6 cm) and the height is 10 inches (25.4 cm), the image area can be found by multiplying 16 by 10, which equals 160 square inches.
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Finding the Aspect Ratio
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1 Determine the aspect ratio by comparing the length and height. Computer monitors are usually made with an aspect ratio of 4:3, 5:3, 16:9, or 16:10. To find the aspect ratio, compare the length to the height and reduce the numbers if necessary.[3]XResearch source
If the length is 16 inches (40.6 cm) and the height is 10 inches (25.4 cm), the aspect ratio is 16:10.
If the length is 25 inches (63.5 cm) and the height is 15 inches (38.1 cm), the aspect ratio is 25:15, which can be divided by 5 to reduce it to 5:3.
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Tips
You can also find monitor size by looking up the model number of the monitor on the manufacturer’s website or on a search engine. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 4
There are several websites that will determine the size of a computer monitor for you based on the number of pixels they detect, such as https://www.infobyip.com/detectdisplaysize.php. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement
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Written by: Rain Kengly wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. Rain is a tech writer and editor for wikiHow with over 5 years of professional writing experience. In the past, Rain has worked with other creative writers as a Writing Tutor at San Francisco State University and has published gaming features, guides, and news articles for a variety of media outlets. Rain shares a lifelong passion for writing and gaming and is eager to grow alongside new tech inventions. This article has been viewed 259,252 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 9Updated: November 22, 2024 Views: 259,252 Categories: Computer MonitorsArticle SummaryX
To measure your monitor size, first use a ruler or measuring tape to measure the horizontal length of your monitor screen, not including the frame around the viewing screen. Next, measure the vertical height of the monitor screen, again, excluding the frame. Then, multiply the length measurement by the height measurement to get the area size. For example, if your monitor is 16 inches long and 10 inches tall, the image area will be 16 x 10 = 160 inches. To learn how to use these numbers to find the aspect ratio of your monitor, read on!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Download Article Know the size of your monitor Written by Rain Kengly 
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Written by: Rain Kengly wikiHow Technology Writer This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. Rain is a tech writer and editor for wikiHow with over 5 years of professional writing experience. In the past, Rain has worked with other creative writers as a Writing Tutor at San Francisco State University and has published gaming features, guides, and news articles for a variety of media outlets. Rain shares a lifelong passion for writing and gaming and is eager to grow alongside new tech inventions. This article has been viewed 259,252 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 9 Updated: November 22, 2024 Views: 259,252 Categories: Computer Monitors Article SummaryX
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1 Measure from the top-corner to the opposite bottom corner. You should be measuring at a diagonal in inches. 
2 Use the pythagorean theorem (optional). If the screen is too large to measure diagonally or if you don’t want to smudge it, you can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the diagonal distance. Square the screen’s height and the screen’s width, add the 2 numbers together, then find the square root of the sum, which is the diagonal measurement.[2] 
1 Measure the length of the monitor screen. Use a ruler to measure the horizontal length of the monitor from one end to the other. Don’t include the frame or structure around the monitor, measure only the viewing screen. 
2 Measure the height of the monitor screen. Only measure the image area rather than the frame or border around the monitor. Use a ruler to determine the vertical height from the top of the screen to the bottom. 
3 Multiply the length by the height. To find the image area, multiply the height of the monitor by the length of the monitor. Express the image area in “horizontal length x vertical height.” 
1 Determine the aspect ratio by comparing the length and height. Computer monitors are usually made with an aspect ratio of 4:3, 5:3, 16:9, or 16:10. To find the aspect ratio, compare the length to the height and reduce the numbers if necessary.[3] 
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