Widescreen monitor or standard screen?

[Kadence]

I currently have a 19" CRT and want to get a new monitor. Widescreen seems to be the norm these days, but I'm not sure if I really want one. I never watch movies on my PC, and most games I play are quite old, many even from the 90's; these probably wouldn't look great in widescreen. The only newer game I intend to play is Oblivion, and maybe Diablo 3. I mostly use my computer for work.

I think a standard screen would be better for me, but don't know how advisable that is, and they're hard to find. Are there any issues that I'm not thinking of which I should consider?

 

[NBPTL]

you've waited long enough.
treat yourself with one.
you can find a deal under $200 for 22" widescreen lcd

 

[Kadence]

Price isn't much of an issue for me, it's a business expense anyway. I'm just concerned whether widescreen is really right for me. But it seems to be what everybody's getting.

I might get a new standard monitor, though they're rarer and harder to locate.

 

[DSF]

Widescreen has certain advantages even for professional work. With a decent size widescreen monitor you can put two documents, images and/or webpages side by side more easily.

Also, I believe some widescreen monitors are capable of correctly displaying non-widescreen content with black bars at the sides. I'm not sure what the feature's called, as I'm content with my 19 inch CRT for the time being. I would look for a monitor with that capability if you're worried about your older games. Some games may also have patches/mods that let them play correctly in widescreen mode.

 

[lxskllr]

A 24"ws is nice even for office apps. You can have a couple of windows side by side to work with. A 24"ws gives you the same vertical height as a 20" standard. For older games and stuff, set your gfx drivers to not scale the image. That way the image gets keyholed in the middle, and you won't get any nasty blurring when using non-native resolutions.

 

[piasabird]

Go Dual Monitors.

 

[DSF]

If you're really stuck on a decision, maybe you've got a friend or relative with a widescreen monitor so you can take one for a test drive so to speak?

 

[Kadence]

I'm not interested in dual monitors, also I don't know anybody with a widescreen. And the older games I'm talking about would definitely not have widescreen patches

Does the HD4850 have drivers where you can set older games to not get stretched, for instance using black bars instead?

Also, would there be an option - either via video card drivers or monitor - to use a standard 4:3 aspect ratio when you want to just in general (e.g. to see what a webpage looks like on non-widescreen monitors)?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: Kadence
I'm not interested in dual monitors, also I don't know anybody with a widescreen. And the older games I'm talking about would definitely not have widescreen patches

Does the HD4850 have drivers where you can set older games to not get stretched, for instance using black bars instead?

Also, would there be an option - either via video card drivers or monitor - to use a standard 4:3 aspect ratio when you want to just in general (e.g. to see what a webpage looks like on non-widescreen monitors)?

I use Nvidia, but I would assume ATIs drivers are the same. I have 3 options...Use driver scaling(uses gfx card), use monitor scaling(uses monitors settings), and do not scale(my choice). In the case of my monitor you can set the resolution to 1600*1200(1920*1200 is native), and you'll get black bars on each side and be viewing in 4:3 format(same as a 20" standard monitor).

 

[oynaz]

Originally posted by: Kadence
e.g. to see what a webpage looks like on non-widescreen monitors?

That won't be a problem. I really encourage you to test a widescreen monitor. You obviously have no idea what you are missing. No offence meant

A large widescreen monitor, minimun 20", is by far preferable to 4:3, IMO.

 

[Paperdoc]

I went widecreen for my new machine and I never play games. But having lots of space at high resolution on a large screen means you can see more windows at once - very handy for business apps.

Important thing to consider: what can your video card supply to the monitor? I was buying all new stuff, so it was simple to ensure the video card could supply the max resolution (1680 x 960) my monitor wanted. Your card may not be capable, or maybe it is - especially if you update its drivers. Or, this may be an opportunity to upgrade the video card, too.

One cost item I was surprised to realize is the impact of shipping if you mail-order. Traditional monitors are heavy and more delicate than flat-screen new ones; hence, sellers of new CRT's charge a lot for shipping and sometimes limit their liability for transit damage. Buying one used has the same transportation problems (maybe even worse for shipping costs) and no guarantees. Shipping and warranty coverage is actually better on a flat-screen. IF you are mail-ordering, you may find the more expensive wide flat-screen, plus shipping, is not much more than an older monitor with shipping if you can find one. However, if you're buying locally and just picking up, or if the comparison is wide vs. "regular" but both would be new flat-screen anyway, these comments don't apply.

 

[BassBomb]

I think ATi's black bar feature now works AFAIK, nvidia's has worked for a long time

If you get the right monitor, it will be able to do it on its own.

 

[oynaz]

Resolution will only be a problem with the suckiest of onboard graphics.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Kadence
I'm not interested in dual monitors, also I don't know anybody with a widescreen. And the older games I'm talking about would definitely not have widescreen patches

Does the HD4850 have drivers where you can set older games to not get stretched, for instance using black bars instead?

Also, would there be an option - either via video card drivers or monitor - to use a standard 4:3 aspect ratio when you want to just in general (e.g. to see what a webpage looks like on non-widescreen monitors)?

my soyo 24" widescreen has the option built into the OSD to turn to 4:3 scaling.

 

[JackMDS]

In general, human Vision is much more suitable for the regular screen aspect.

Unless your work habit can really use extra wide screen stay with the regular aspect.

Wide screen was invented for movies, then the manufacturer discover that it became fashionable to have it (it also allows to advertize larger screen size while actually providing smaller screen space) so they scale dowm regular size production and put the emphasis on the Wide screen.

 

[octopus41092]

I bought a 22" wide as a replacement to a 19" CRT that I had. I can tell you it was definitely worth it. I've also had experiences with 19" LCD's both wide and standard. I would actually recommended the standard over the wide at that size because the vertical view is way too small. But however, like you said price is no problem I would go with either a 22" or 24". Those can usually be found for $200, and $300 respectively. However, the next problem becomes that when you do play the newer games you'll have trouble running it at native resolution with a bad graphics card. But if you don't mind the slight blurring when you don't run it at native resolution then that probably wouldn't be too big of a problem for you. Also, with the old games, like everyone has said you can run them with black borders around the edges. I do that for the older games, and for the even older games that run in DOS, I use DOSBox to run them and that makes them run in a window anyways.

 

[dawza]

In the 20-22" range, WS vs. 4:3 should be dictated by your need for horizontal pixel real-estate at the expense of vertical, or vice versa. If forced to choose, I would go with 1600x1200 over 1680x1050 any day, as most of my work involves large spreadsheets, and the extra 80 pixels I gain with 1680x1050 is not worth the 150 pixels I lose. A 24" WS would be the best of both worlds, at 1920x1200.

1600x1200 is also more flexible should you ever want to run multiple monitors. It is easier to fit two 16x12 panels side-by-side, the vertical resolution in landscape orientation matches that of a 24" WS, and the vertical resolution in portrait mode matches that of a 30".

That said, 20" 4:3 are more difficult to find, and you will almost certainly pay more.

 

[Kadence]

Thanks for the input everyone. If I got a widescreen it would be 24", and I just purchased an HD4850.

Originally posted by: octopus41092
But if you don't mind the slight blurring when you don't run it at native resolution then that probably wouldn't be too big of a problem for you.

I've also read elsewhere that widescreen LCDs blur on resolutions beside their native, though I don't know if that applies to all LCDs. If you watched in a 4:3 ratio on a widescreen LCD, would that cause blurring?

The blurring issue seems like a big negative to me.

Originally posted by: octopus41092
Also, with the old games, like everyone has said you can run them with black borders around the edges. I do that for the older games, and for the even older games that run in DOS, I use DOSBox to run them and that makes them run in a window anyways.

I use Dosbox too but in fullscreen mode, I don't like running inside windows.

 

[airhendrix13]

Originally posted by: DSF
Widescreen has certain advantages even for professional work. With a decent size widescreen monitor you can put two documents, images and/or webpages side by side more easily.

Also, I believe some widescreen monitors are capable of correctly displaying non-widescreen content with black bars at the sides. I'm not sure what the feature's called, as I'm content with my 19 inch CRT for the time being. I would look for a monitor with that capability if you're worried about your older games. Some games may also have patches/mods that let them play correctly in widescreen mode.

1:1 Pixel Mapping is what it is called BTW.

 

[sonnygdude]

Gotta go with the herd here and recommend widescreen. you may not think you need it, but after you have one you notice a degradation when you back to standard format. I received dual widescreens at work due to the fact that we run CAD on long skinny items, and it made my standard format monitor at home just feel... unfulfilling. Had to go out and buy a new monitor for my new build.

It's nice to have the extra real estate in applications like Excel, Project, Access, Powerpoint or any form of CAD (we run Pro/E at my company, and you NEED a widescreen due to the side mounted menu bars). Plus, you can have sidebars or other windowsopen on the side if your monitor is large enough

In my experience, if you work in a 4:3 format on a widescreen but don't use image scaling (i.e. black bars on the sides) there's no blurring, because you're using the monitor in native resolution - like airhendrix said, 1:1 pixel mapping - you're just not using all of it.

Gotta emphasize again - the extra real estate is nice