Widescreen 1680 x 1050 LCDs

[Hauk]

My 8800GTX doesn't list this as a supported resolution, nor do I see games benchmarking at that resolution. Is this where scaling comes in to play? Is this a resolution that pops up in games once I install driver? If someone can explain or give link, thanks.

 

[Yreka]

They work great for gaming. I have the Dell 2005 @ 1680x1050 and it works perfectly with my 8800GTX, as it did with my X1900XT and 7800GT SLI. Many games support this res natively, however a few games require hacks to get the res to work. Normally, they arent too difficult. It usually just a matter of adding a line to a config file, or shortcut string.

For more info:

www.widescreengamingforum.com

 

[Piuc2020]

Yeah, that Widescreengaming forum Yreka posted is all you need, remember you have an aspect ratio of 16:9 as opposed to 16:10 which most computer widescreens use.

I've yet to come across a game where you can't use a WGF solution and many games (say like Prey) have support for 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 built right in and it works great.

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Yeah, that Widescreengaming forum Yreka posted is all you need, remember you have an aspect ratio of 16:9 as opposed to 16:10 which most computer widescreens use.

I've yet to come across a game where you can't use a WGF solution and many games (say like Prey) have support for 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 built right in and it works great.

1680x1050 is 16:10...

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Yeah, that Widescreengaming forum Yreka posted is all you need, remember you have an aspect ratio of 16:9 as opposed to 16:10 which most computer widescreens use.

I've yet to come across a game where you can't use a WGF solution and many games (say like Prey) have support for 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 built right in and it works great.

1680x1050 is 16:10...

Yea I didn't get that either.
It's 16:10 and whether or not it's 16:10 or 16:9 the video card will support it. And you can also add custom resolutions too but 1680x1050 is supported.

 

[postmortemIA]

even on my 4:3 I can add 16:10 and 16:9 resolutions.. I like to play sometimes at 1600x900 with 1:1 ratio.

 

[zephyrprime]

I don't think that resolution will be available in windows display properties unless you actually have a monitor that supports that resolution.

 

[McArra]

http://www.mod-pc.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=46

I review @1680x1050

 

[AndrewL]

Would it be realistic to say 1440x900 is more commonly supported than 1680x1050 or are they about the same?

 

[McArra]

1680x1050 is used in every 20"W and 21"W and even 22"W, and shouldn't be any problem for modern cards, I've had not a single problem with it in my Samsung 215TW.

 

[videopho]

i've got three 1680x1050 displays (two dell's and one Viewsonic 22").
All three work wonder except the Viewsonic has an edge on response time (5ms) vs the dell's.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: AndrewL
Would it be realistic to say 1440x900 is more commonly supported than 1680x1050 or are they about the same?

I would say that are probably the same. Basically, it's like this: either games support widescreen resolutions natively or they don't, and require a "hack" or simply a manual modification of a text file. Generally, you won't see a game support one widescreen rez and not another.

It is still pretty shocking to me how many new games don't support widescreen out of the box. In this situation for me though, it isn't a question of whether or not to buy a widescreen monitor, but a question of whether or not to buy the game. So far, I've passed on the games that don't support widescreen properly, and I really haven't been upset about it as I have found that generally the games that don't support widescreen tend to also exhibit issues in other areas. The fact that most titles fitting that description just happen to be EA games may or may not be a coincidence.

 

[Hauk]

Wow! Switching to a widescreen was excellent.

It's like having a little movie theater on my desktop. Good sound and a nice screen certainly make it better. I just picked this deal up at Fry's and am happy:

New Viewsonic VX2035 w/ $50.00 rebate

This is the new version of the popular VX2025ws

 

[Yreka]

Congrats on the purchase, looks like a very nice display.

 

[xtknight]

If you don't mind, post a more in-depth review after a day or so of use. The VX2035 is probably faster than the VX2025. I'm not sure how color reproduction stacks up. Viewing angles are a little less than the VX2025. How uniform is the screen? Do you see backlight bleeding? I suggest you display a full black (or dark) image and turn the brightness/contrast up 100% to look for this.

Your 8800GTX will definitely work at 1680x1050 in 2D and 3D.

 

[Hauk]

I'm not an lcd expert, but the screen looks pretty darn good. Viewing angle is good, screen is very uniform, text is razor sharp at native resolution and one lower, games look incredible. Overall much better than my last two Samsungs.

Per your advice I checked backlight bleeding, and can see a very faint glow coming from center of each edge, but barely visible.

It's just coming out, so hopefully reviews will surface. The piano black is not my style, but sometimes change is good.

 

[Matt2]

1680x1050 is an awesome resolution for gaming.

I will never play a game on a 4:3 monitor so long as I live. I went from beautiful Dell 20.1" to my old 19" CRT running 1600x1200 when I visited my folks back home and let me tell you... The difference is astounding. The game just feels more immersive and the viewing angle just seems more natural.

When I played CS:S on that 19" CRT, everything just felt cramped and really tall.

 

[Captante]

I'm going to take the plunge & upgrade to my first LCD (at home anyway) within a few weeks & have settled on a widescreen 21 or 22 inch @1650x1050 myself, so I'm glad to hear that some of you have had good results gaming at that resolution.. now all I have to do is decide is I can put up with the shortcomings of the TN panels all the 22's use.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: Captante
I'm going to take the plunge & upgrade to my first LCD (at home anyway) within a few weeks & have settled on a widescreen 21 or 22 inch @1650x1050 myself, so I'm glad to hear that some of you have had good results gaming at that resolution.. now all I have to do is decide is I can put up with the shortcomings of the TN panels all the 22's use.

I was just gonna say, till I read that last sentence, be careful of the 22's. I've seen a TN panel in action and I was thuroughly underwhelmed.

I know they're cheaper than the LCDs with more expensive panels, but it might be worth it to you to check out the 20.1's or 21's.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: Matt2

Originally posted by: Captante
I'm going to take the plunge & upgrade to my first LCD (at home anyway) within a few weeks & have settled on a widescreen 21 or 22 inch @1650x1050 myself, so I'm glad to hear that some of you have had good results gaming at that resolution.. now all I have to do is decide is I can put up with the shortcomings of the TN panels all the 22's use.

I was just gonna say, till I read that last sentence, be careful of the 22's. I've seen a TN panel in action and I was thuroughly underwhelmed.

I know they're cheaper than the LCDs with more expensive panels, but it might be worth it to you to check out the 20.1's or 21's.

Thanks for the input ... I had a bit of the same impression myself, but I've had a tough time finding any decent 21 inch models setup in B&M locations so that I could compare the picture quality to the '22's.

I also want component inputs & HDCP compliance which has so far limited my choices (I have an EVGA 8800GTX which has HDCP) ... I'm considering two Gateway models as final choices, the FPD2185W 21" @ $449 (supposedly theres a $50 coupon for this too... havn't found it yet!) & the Gateway FPD2275W 22" @ $399 which again uses the TN screen.

Any suggestions as to other HDCP models with component inputs I should consider would be great!

Edit: Just found the Gateway coupon code cleverly hidden in plain sight on the product-page, so both panels are now $399.

 

[Matt2]

Get the Gateway 21" for sure.

My neighbor has that monitor and he loves it and I may like it more than he does. He paid $600 I think for it at the time.

Do the Gateway's have component inputs?

That's one thing I hate about my 2007wfp... no component input, only s-video and composite.

 

[Captante]

Yes, both of them have component, composite & S-video plus the expected DVI & VGA, also they have easy to use front-mounted controls... in addition the 21 inch has a swivel-screen with included software that flips the image to portrait-view when you rotate it... interestingly when I looked at this screen last night it was marked @ $499 too & with that coupon now might be the time to pull the trigger.

The only negative to the FPD2185W I can see is a standard 1 year warranty ($30 additional to extend to 3) & no DVI cable included.


Edit: http://accessories.gateway.com/Accessor..._381955/1540554R_proddetail.htm?seg=hm

 

[Matt2]

warranty and no DVI cable sucks, but I would definately pull the trigger on that 21".

Makes me kinda mad I only paid about $20 less than you're paying for my 2007wfp

 

[Captante]

The only reason I'm hesitating right now is that I'd have to buy it direct from Gateway & have it shipped & I can't locate any mention of their dead-pixel policy on the site (I'd hate to get stuck with one or more in a bad spot) ... Staples sells these & is very good about returns so I'm going to see if they'll match the price over the weekend.

 

[IEC]

It's 16:10 and it looks fabulous on my Dell I6000D... however, even if my display is capable of it the MR X300 is showing its age