Wide Screen Monitors: What I've Learned.

[1Strive]

1680x1050 = 1764000

1140x900 = 1296000

Anyone can see the top number is alot higher!

Both of these are 16:10 not 16:9.

Higher Resolution = More Pixels = Better Gaming Experience.

So go with a 20 or 20.1 or 21 inch for a few more dollars than a 19" if the display supports 1680x1050!

The sad thing is someone (here) tried to tell me this before I got my 19" @ 1440x900. I am selling the one I have, taking the hit in price and purchasing a 20.1" at 1680x1050.

Things you should know when buy LCDs for Gaming...

Wide Screen is better for Gaming, but takes a higher end video card to support the resolutions required.

Wide Screens are measurements decribe from Corner to Corner.


Response Time is very important when Gaming. Lower "ms" is better. 5ms > 8ms
(This was a big deal when in the 16 and 12ms vs. 8ms. Because 8ms was 100% better than 16ms and 75% better than 12ms. Now 5ms is is better than 8ms but the difference isn't huge.)

Contrast Ratio is the measurement of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. Higher is best. 700:1 > 500:1

Maximum Resolution is the Maximum Resoulution your Monitor can handel. Make sure your video card and game can support the higher resolution. You may have to google how to get your game to run in widescreen. (like BF2)

 

[v-zero]

However, lower resolution 19" displays have become quite cheap - and hence attractive, of late... And it is worth noting that LCD's do not take well to non-native displays, so you need to have enough graphics power...
Lastly, don't forget that with a lower reso AA and AF will take less of a hit, and some low-quality textures in game such as Prey will look more pleasing...

 

[Sound_Card]

Someday when I get a wid screen, it will be 1440x900. Why? Because I don't wan't to keep updating my gpu so offten.

 

[x800professor]

1680x1050 = 1764000

1140x900 = 1296000

Anyone can see the top number is alot higher!

Both of these are 16:10 not 16:9.

Higher Resolution = More Pixels = Better Gaming Experience.

So go with a 20 or 20.1 or 21 inch for a few more dollars than a 19" if the display supports 1680x1050!

The sad thing is someone (here) tried to tell me this before I got my 19" @ 1440x900. I am selling the one I have, taking the hit in price and purchasing a 20.1" at 1680x1050.

Things you should know when buy LCDs for Gaming...

Wide Screen is better for Gaming, but takes a higher end video card to support the resolutions required.

Wide Screens are measurements decribe from Corner to Corner.


Response Time is very important when Gaming. Lower "ms" is better. 5ms > 8ms
(This was a big deal when in the 16 and 12ms vs. 8ms. Because 8ms was 100% better than 16ms and 75% better than 12ms. Now 5ms is is better than 8ms but the difference isn't huge.)

Contrast Ratio is the measurement of the difference in light intensity between the brightest white and the darkest black. Higher is best. 700:1 > 500:1

Maximum Resolution is the Maximum Resoulution your Monitor can handel. Make sure your video card and game can support the higher resolution. You may have to google how to get your game to run in widescreen. (like BF2)

This is why I wish CRTs were still around. My 22" CRT has no native resolution and can hit 2048x1536, which looks a great deal better than 1680x1050.

 

[i_am_mustang_man]

www.azatek.com has some pretty good prices on used crts, btw, and sometiems good shipping. anytime somebody asks me where they can get a crt, that's my top rec

also, i would recommend going not 19" if buying a monitor now because as gfx cards get more powerful, the resolution standard will continue increase, ie the pricepoint from a couple of years ago that was intended to game at 800x600 (omg! lol) is now at 1280x1024 (3dmark06 is default at 12x10). the industry moves up in resolution too, and with prices dropping so much, get 20" or higher, imo, if you have the extra 100 bucks

 

[cdawall]

top that price
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=714276&CatId=172
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1361776&CatId=172

 

[i_am_mustang_man]

top azatek? they have a 120$ sony 21" 2048x1536 with free shiipping, that's better than thos tigerdirects, plus cheaper when you calculate shipping (I don't live near any tigerdirects, so free shipping is a huge plus, plus i don't even have a car!) td is charging 70$+ for shiipping, where azatek has shipping usually for 40$.

i'm sure these monitors are good, but i stand by my previous favorite of azatek for good cheap crts

 

[x800professor]

www.azatek.com has some pretty good prices on used crts, btw, and sometiems good shipping. anytime somebody asks me where they can get a crt, that's my top rec

also, i would recommend going not 19" if buying a monitor now because as gfx cards get more powerful, the resolution standard will continue increase, ie the pricepoint from a couple of years ago that was intended to game at 800x600 (omg! lol) is now at 1280x1024 (3dmark06 is default at 12x10). the industry moves up in resolution too, and with prices dropping so much, get 20" or higher, imo, if you have the extra 100 bucks

800x600 used to be high. Heck, my first computer was a 286 with a 12" (I think that's what size it was) CGA monitor. That's....320x200? You want to see something funny, set 3dmark to 320x200. I did that with 3dmark03, and the graphics looked better to me. Now, they weren't actually better, they were much worse, but it made me flash back to the days before doom. Now, by those standards, 3dmark03 on 320x200 looks unbelievable. Now, I don’t know if I’m the only goofball that set 3dmark03 to 320x200 and suddenly thought about games from 2 decades ago, but I doubt it.

As far as pricing goes, buying a high native resolution LCD is a bad idea unless you plan on upgrading your card every year or so. Think about buying a 1680x1050 LCD today and then two years from now trying to play new games at 1680x1050 with the system you put together today. It probably isn't happening. Think about it, a decent card from two years ago was a 6800GT or even a 6600GT. Just try playing oblivion at 1680x1050 on one of those cards. Two years from now an x1800GTO or whatever decent card you might put in your system will not be able to handle new games at 1680x1050, so you'll have to buy a new mid-range or better card. You’ll probably have to update some other things in your system too. It’s all fine and good if you can afford it, but most of us can’t.

 

[x800professor]

top azatek? they have a 120$ sony 21" 2048x1536 with free shiipping, that's better than thos tigerdirects, plus cheaper when you calculate shipping (I don't live near any tigerdirects, so free shipping is a huge plus, plus i don't even have a car!) td is charging 70$+ for shiipping, where azatek has shipping usually for 40$.

i'm sure these monitors are good, but i stand by my previous favorite of azatek for good cheap crts

Oh, by the way, if you want an excellent CRT, look for a Compaq P1220 on EBay. The image quality is amazing. I've had people with gaming LCD's look at this and almost cry because they spent $300+ on an LCD that looks like crap compared to it.

 

[Chewy]

I think this is the best monitor you could buy
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...665000FS10073636&catid=23518&logon=&langid=EN

It comes in 21,26, 32, 40 inchs with 8ms responce time.
yeah it cost alot but concidering how long it would prob last you its well worth it, and you can use it as a tv.
Depending on where you want to set it up it is the best! I think. (I would want the 26 inch, 32 maybe 40 inch if I had enough money for a nice setup.

 

[BIOHazard87]

I dont like widescreens unless I go to like 24" or higher because when you go widescreen, you loose TONS of height, a 20 inch widescreen is tiny compared to a 20" 4:3 LCD

 

[v-zero]

I dont like widescreens unless I go to like 24" or higher because when you go widescreen, you loose TONS of height, a 20 inch widescreen is tiny compared to a 20" 4:3 LCD

And you gain tonnes of width...

 

[Tatty_Two]

equals the same surface area.

 

[x800professor]

I dont like widescreens unless I go to like 24" or higher because when you go widescreen, you loose TONS of height, a 20 inch widescreen is tiny compared to a 20" 4:3 LCD

After reading your sig...I have to ask. How on earth did you kill all of that? I've been playing around with computers since the 80's and have only managed to kill a 286 motherboard, 3 hard drives and a TNT2 Ultra. Do you just get bored with your old equipment and start using it as bath toys??

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

Higher Resolution = More Pixels = Better Gaming Experience.

Since when?


Perhaps this is what has been driving those crazy ps3 and xbox 360 fanbois

Many games are built around normal square aspect ratios and a widescreen monitor actually makes it *worse*

However, I much prefer widescreen

Wide is simply better because the brain arranges things horizontally better than vertically.. 1280x800 is impressive aswell.

 

[1Strive]

However, lower resolution 19" displays have become quite cheap - and hence attractive, of late... And it is worth noting that LCD's do not take well to non-native displays, so you need to have enough graphics power...
Lastly, don't forget that with a lower reso AA and AF will take less of a hit, and some low-quality textures in game such as Prey will look more pleasing...

I got a 19" for $250 2 months ago w/ a native resolution of 1440x900.

Now I just got a 7900GT KO 512mb and I am un happy knowing my Card could push games I play at 1680x1050 at maximum settings, but my display won't do it.

So I have sold my display for $150 and taken the $100 hit as a lesson.

Moral of the story. You only upgrade your display everycouple of years. 3 to 5 years for me.
Get the one you want for the extra money.

I haven't decided weather to get http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16824001081
for $300 + 50 Shipping

or a 24" from Dell for $700 + Shipping.

If you look at my system specs you can see that I have spent over $2,400 on my computer since March06. Why would I plug that into a VGA CRT or a Sub Par Widescreen LCD?

Since I have a 7900 series card I want a display that matches.

I also would like to point out that a display w/ a native res of 1680x1050 probally still supports 1440x900 and so on. So as your graphics card ages you should be able to tork down the resolution.
I however will just choose getting a better graphics card.

Just my 2 cents.

Later,
1STRIVE

 

[putergod]

1920x1200 on a 24" widescreen for me... EQ2 looks absolutely stunning!