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Noobish question about gaming with LCD monitors...

raykorraykor Member UncommonPosts: 326
in Hardware

I am building a new system soon and I plan to buy my first LCD monitor.  It will be a 24" with a native resolution of 1900 x 1200.

Now, with CRTs it is easy to change resolutions but I believe it is locked on an LCD, at least with regards to desktop applications.

My question is: Can I choose any resolution in games or will I be forced to play all games at 1900 x 1200?

Thanks.

Comments

  • ZaynderZaynder Member Posts: 2

    You can choose any resolution that your monitor supports, and most of them support a LOT!

  • FionFion Member UncommonPosts: 2,348

    You can use any resolution they support, but they look best in their native resolution. I recently got my first LCD, a Samsung 22" 226BW with a native resolution of 1680x1050 and I play all games at that res. The monitor supports a wide variety of resolutions, but none of them look 'quite right' or as good as the native. LCDs are definitely 'finicky' and CRTs are easier to set up, don't require so much tweaking and are no fuss. But a good LCD (mine is one of the highest, if not the highest rated 22" on the market) looks simply amazing. The clarity, color, resolution, depth of their picture is simply stunning.

    image

  • OrthedosOrthedos Member Posts: 1,771
    Originally posted by raykor


    I am building a new system soon and I plan to buy my first LCD monitor.  It will be a 24" with a native resolution of 1900 x 1200.
    Now, with CRTs it is easy to change resolutions but I believe it is locked on an LCD, at least with regards to desktop applications.
    My question is: Can I choose any resolution in games or will I be forced to play all games at 1900 x 1200?
    Thanks.

    No its not locked, its native resolution.  A 17 or 19" LCD has a native resolution at 1024x768 (I think).  That means at that resolution, things will be looking slightly better (in a way) but that is hardly noticable for my poor eyes.

  • ShohadakuShohadaku Member Posts: 581

    LCD definatly look best in their native res. Some LCD look like total crap other then native res.

    Also make sure to get a DVI cable. Not the analog Cable your CRT used. It also makes a big visual difference.

    I personally went for a lower res because my games just preform so smooth in 1280

    1900 res is quite high. I hope you got a high end system to support it. If not, return it for a lower res model.

    image
    SHOHADAKU

  • raykorraykor Member UncommonPosts: 326

    Thanks for the replies.

    I remain a little concerned over Fion's comment that a game won't look "quite right" at non-native resolutions.  If that is the case then few graphics cards can handle running games at 1900 x 1200 and that's the root of my whole concern.

  • oakaeoakae Member UncommonPosts: 344

    Originally posted by raykor
    Thanks for the replies.
    I remain a little concerned over Fion's comment that a game won't look "quite right" at non-native resolutions.  If that is the case then few graphics cards can handle running games at 1900 x 1200 and that's the root of my whole concern.
    For graphics cards get the ATI 3870 or Nvidia 8800gt or Nvidia 8800gts 512mb. For monitors I do recommend getting a samsung. You can switch resolutions in game like any monitor and switching to a lower resolution is barely noticeable on good monitors.
  • EstrusEstrus Member Posts: 357

    They support far too many resolutions that are necessary.  1900x1200 is SWEET!

    You can select a lower res if you want, just make sure to pick a widescreen version.

     

  • FionFion Member UncommonPosts: 2,348

     

    Originally posted by raykor


    Thanks for the replies.
    I remain a little concerned over Fion's comment that a game won't look "quite right" at non-native resolutions.  If that is the case then few graphics cards can handle running games at 1900 x 1200 and that's the root of my whole concern.

     

    Quite right isn't the best way to put it. Quite as good I guess is better. The games still look great, but they look best in they are set at the monitors native resolution. Cheap LCD's look like crap in other resolutions, but a top quality one will look good in any res (so long as it's widescreen) but still best in it's native.

     

     As an above poster said, if you don't have a system to run games in 1900x1200, you might want to go for a 22" at 1680x1050, or even lower.

    image

  • Oversoul87Oversoul87 Member Posts: 123

    for christmas i bought myself an LG l246wp. I think its one of the best purchases I ever did for my pc. I dont see any ghosting, and the colors and brightness is amazing. It runs native 1920x1200, and have been running every application and game in that so far. If i ever play something out of that, it gives me a notice saying I should change each time I launch. It will run other resolutions, and can be set to keep it a 1v1, and display as the resolution is sent to it, or to stretch the image to fit the full screen. It also has a nifty trick of being able to rotate on its side. Currently conected to an 8800 GTS oc 640mb card and loving it.

    When out of native, it doesnt look that bad really, when in 1v1, but it looks  aweful stretched.

  • OrthedosOrthedos Member Posts: 1,771

    Yeah yeah that is true, good monitors makes a lot of difference.  I use a Samsung too, as an an old man with poor eyes, I do not notice much deterioration when I switch resolution.

  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,888
    A good modern monitor supports huge amount of diffirent resolutions, and is able to scale the image so well that diffirence in image quality is small. Especially in 3D games, where image doesn't need to be that sharp, you probably won't even recognize any diffirence.



    As long as you can set your desktop resolution in your operating system to that native resolution, and use programs with that resolution. Don't be conserned about what resolution you can use while playing 3D games.
     
  • raykorraykor Member UncommonPosts: 326

    Thanks again for all the replies.

    I now feel a lot more comfortable sticking with my plan to get a 24" LCD.  I am definitely planning to get a high quality monitor so it should scale down well in games.  I do like the Samsungs but I am leaning towards the new Dell 2408 WFP.  My graphics card will be the BFG 8800 GTS 512 MB (G92).

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