Monitor Resolution Choice

[jonathan_phang]

Hello All,

I have recently been in the market for a new monitor and have been researching around till I’m sick to the teeth of hearing about greys, ghosting, banding etc…. But basically, my main choice is between getting a 22” or 24” monitor. I know that I could ask for opinions about monitors (like in a million other threads) BUT I’m not going to. I’ve settled on 2 choices – which may not be top of the range in their respective sizes but have done pretty well.

The main use for the monitor will be for gaming, so my concern is whether or not my rig will be able to drive 1920x1200 pixels at a decent frame rate. And before someone asks, I play mainly FPS and fast moving driving games and I would be happy with 30+ FPS, though ideally 40+.

For some reason my rig details have been deleted from the ‘My system’ so this is what I have currently:

X2 4200+ (939) – 2.2ghz but can clock to 2.5ghz
2GB RAM @ 400 or 500 depending on CPU OC
XFX 8800GTS 640 OC to 600 Core 900 Memory

I will be upgrading to C2D sooner or later, but until then – do you think that this combination will be sufficient? In benchmarks in stuff like Oblivion, NFSC, it states that the 8800GTS 640 would be able to cope, but that is slightly off as they test with a much better CPU. At that resolution, will my CPU be a big bottleneck, or would the capability of the GPU be more important?

FYI – the 2 monitors that I have chosen are:

LG 226WTQ
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=587955

Samsung SM-245B
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=608174

Both seem to be good for gamers but another thing that would swing the 24” my way is whether or not you could run at a lower resolution but have it scaled up with out looking like a POS. That would give me more latitude until the CPU gets upgraded. 24” seems to be the way to go – but 22” seems to be the safer option for better frame rates.

Opinions please – either way, Scan will be getting my money in the next few days… depending on your answers. Aren’t I trusting of you lot 

JP

[darrensen]

Hey there,

Not sure if you have seen the LG L245WP, but it has great connectivity. Obviously depends on what budget you are one, as it's a little more.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=644783

I would say your CPU will be fine for now. It will certainly help moving to C2D, but seeing as you have a 8800GTS you shouldn't have much of a problem running games at 1920 x 1200.

All in all and bearing in mind that you're going to move to C2D soon, i would go for the bigger screen.

[Hottentot]

1920x1200 is a slight struggle for my 8800GTX in games like Bioshock and Oblivion so I normally drop the resolution down a notch or turn off some eye candy. However I would still recomend the 24" screen, as in the long term you will keep your screen for longer than your graphics card and your next GPU should be able to drive 1920x1200 easily.

[kalniel]

You might find scaling isn't so bad. I've got an LG 20" at 1680x1050 and while it's best at that res, it's really nice at 1280x1024 as well - they clearly optimised it given that it was a popular resolution.

[usxhe190]

Your GPU should be *just* ok for most games for now for 1920x1200 if you are planning to turn on all effects....

but i think u will need to turn off some effects when you go future DX10 games...

[jonathan_phang]

Hey there, Not sure if you have seen the LG L245WP, but it has great connectivity. Obviously depends on what budget you are one, as it's a little more.http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=644783

I would say your CPU will be fine for now. It will certainly help moving to C2D, but seeing as you have a 8800GTS you shouldn't have much of a problem running games at 1920 x 1200. All in all and bearing in mind that you're going to move to C2D soon, i would go for the bigger screen.

The C2D update will probably be after Christmas, by that time we should have next gen games (UT3, Crysis, GoW) and see how the performance scales and I can pick the most cost effective CPU at the time. I reckon those engines will drive games for a long time. That monitor in the link is a little bit out of my price range to be honest. I can just about justify the £320 for the Samsung 24” to myself at the moment – but hopefully that doesn’t mean it’s a bad 24”

You might find scaling isn't so bad. I've got an LG 20" at 1680x1050 and while it's best at that res, it's really nice at 1280x1024 as well - they clearly optimised it given that it was a popular resolution.

Yeah that what I’m hoping, but strangely enough, I never hear the scaling mentioned in reviews. I’d much rather drop down a resolution rather than tinker with detail levels, but only if it doesn’t look like I need to wipe the monitor through blurriness!! It’s a difficult thing to describe and obviously subjective – but you rarely get a chance to see without buying one – most retail places don’t show 24” TFTs

1920x1200 is a slight struggle for my 8800GTX in games like Bioshock and Oblivion so I normally drop the resolution down a notch or turn off some eye candy. However I would still recomend the 24" screen, as in the long term you will keep your screen for longer than your graphics card and your next GPU should be able to drive 1920x1200 easily.

Really? I thought that with your setup that it would fly! I’m envisaging not having to use AA at native resolution and hoping to get by. In regards to your comment are you using lots of AA too???

But I am leaning towards 24” just for future proofing (And too see if the beast will fit on my desk without being too near to my face!) but it all rests on the scaling issue – going to try and find out if I can find anything in reviews about it… as I think that I may need to utilize it. And one more thing – do any of you with 24” have any probs with web browsing. I currently have a 19” WS and the size of that is just about right to read. From screenshots I;ve seen, it appears to be really tiny for the desktop – though that may just be a relative perception issue due to the size of the monitor.

Thanks for the opinions – keep it coming – especially if you know about the monitors mentioned.

JP