2405FPW shipped today!

[Gern Blanston]

I can't wait to get it, but I'm nervous. Will my Dell Dimension 4550 with the 64MB NVideo GeForce4 MX420 provide full widescreen resolution at 1920 x 1200? Will it look awful over the VGA connection? We shall see.

Hopefully it will look good for just business apps and internet browsing. I plan to get a better video card with DVI, but I don't know which one to get. I need an inexpensive AGP card with DVI that will support the monitor's full resolution for business apps.

The extent of my gaming is Solitaire, but I may get into some high end games and step up to something like an X800 XL now that I have the 2405.

 

[Continuity27]

It should. Heck I think the old TNT 2 Ultra from many years ago did 1920x1080x32 @60 hz. Don't hold me to that though.

I doubt you'll have problems running Winodws and those applications at that resolution.

 

[JBT]

it should work fine.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

if you only play solitaire it will work fine for you. but if you want games at the max res, get a 6800gt or x800xl.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: SuperTyphoon
if you only play solitaire it will work fine for you. but if you want games at the max res, get a 6800gt or x800xl.

If you want to play games AT ALL.. you will need to switch cards!

 

[raystorm]

<---- jealous



...but I'll get that monitor one of these days!! ...in fact.. maybe a Christmas present for myself!

 

[Gern Blanston]

Thanks for the info! It's out for delivery today, and I can't wait to hook it up.
I hope, hope, hope that there are no dead pixels.

Does anyone know if the XFX GeForce FX5200 will provide an inexpensive but decent DVI port until I spring for an X800XL? The card is available at Sam's Club for about $85, and they accept returns with full refunds if it doesn't work properly.

 

[Mullzy]

Originally posted by: Gern Blanston
Does anyone know if the XFX GeForce FX5200 will provide an inexpensive but decent DVI port until I spring for an X800XL? The card is available at Sam's Club for about $85, and they accept returns with full refunds if it doesn't work properly.

No idea, but you REALLY want to get something with decent DVI output... even if you don't game at all.

 

[kmmatney]

You will definately need to hit the auto-adjust button every so often, but it will look OK over the VGA connection. I have a 21.3" monitor that I use at work with my laptop over a VGA connection, and I usually hit the auto-adjustment button in the morning when I first boot up. I really wish my laptop had DVI output. BTW - my laptop has a GeForce FX Go5200 and it supports up to 2048 x 1536 resolution.

If your video driver doesn't list 1920 x 1200 as a valid resolution, you can add that resolution to your card and it will work fine.

You can do a lot better from NewEgg ($42) than Sams's club:

MSI Geforce 5200


Edit: And for $85 you could get a 9600Pro, 6200, or a FX5700, which are both a lot better than the 5200...

 

[Gern Blanston]

Very interesting. Thank you so much. I'll check Newegg.com

 

[martinez]

Originally posted by: Gern Blanston
Very interesting. Thank you so much. I'll check Newegg.com

Where would we(hardware noobs) be without the awesome forumers at AT?

 

[dwango]

When did you order the 2405? I ordered one on June 16th, and today I got the second delay notice that says it probably won't ship until July 11th.

Of course their site still says "ships in 5-7 days".

 

[Gern Blanston]

I ordered mine on the 16th as well. I was surprised that they shipped it on Wed 6/29 and I got it yesterday 6/30. I live 3 hours from Austin, so I guess that's why the ship time was so short, but I was fully expecting to get another delay notice this week.

Maybe they sent me a refurbished unit. (aaarrrghh, don't even think it)

 

[dwango]

I ordered mine on the 16th as well

Bastard. =)

Well, they've certainly given me a chance to think (and re-think) about my purchase. If I don't call by 8pm tonight, evidently they're required by law to cancel my order.

Haven't yet decided whether or not I'll call..

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Gern Blanston
Thanks for the info! It's out for delivery today, and I can't wait to hook it up.
I hope, hope, hope that there are no dead pixels.

Does anyone know if the XFX GeForce FX5200 will provide an inexpensive but decent DVI port until I spring for an X800XL? The card is available at Sam's Club for about $85, and they accept returns with full refunds if it doesn't work properly.

OMG $85????? No FX5200 is worth $85. Go on NewEgg, shesh. Altho from what I hear ATI has better DVI

 

[Gern Blanston]

Well, I've learned a lot. I installed the FX 5200 and found that the highest resolution that it supports is 1600 x 1200. I reinstalled my original 64 MB GeForce4 MX 420, and I've got 1920 x 1200 back, and it looks great over VGA. At least I know that the DVI port works on the 2405.

It seems like it's going to be tricky to be certain that a card will support the 1920 x 1200 before I purchase. Will sites like Newegg allow returns if the card doesn't do what you hoped?

 

[hans030390]

wtf thats stupid...why would a 5200 not support it?

 

[Gern Blanston]

Sorry for the stupidity. I don't know why it wouldn't support it, but 1600 x 1200 was the highest it would go.

 

[imported_Rampage]

ATI has better DVI, on frequency charts, but not in real world practice from what I've seen.

And you dont want a cheap ATI card, they are dropping support for anything below a R300 (9700 Pro) for longhorn.. yeah none of the cheap cards are great for gaming, and wont be when longhorn is out.. but at least you'll have driver support from someone other than generic Microsoft "standard VGA" drivers.
Get the 5200 from newegg..

 

[JohnAn2112]

Originally posted by: hans030390
wtf thats stupid...why would a 5200 not support it?

My buddy has a 2005FPW and he can't support 1680x1050 on his FX5200.

 

[MobiusPizza]

Originally posted by: Gern Blanston
Will it look awful over the VGA connection? We shall see.

If you are not using DVI, text you see will most likely to be blurred a bit
At least it is when I switched to VGA with my 2005FPW

 

[Gern Blanston]

I don't know what I'm doing right, but everything looks razor sharp on VGA.
At least I verified that the DVI port works. I'll probably get an X800XL sometime soon.

 

[Ronin]

Welcome to the fold. We should have our own AT2405 club!

 

[Peter]

Gern, bring on a dithered pattern and you'll know why people use DVI.

 

[Gern Blanston]

Ok, I pulled the trigger and bought an X800XL. I'll install it tonight and see what I'm missing.