What resolution & colour depth is your OS desktop?

[Jonny M]

1400 * 1050 (lappie TFT)

32 bit colour

[unrealrocks]

4160*3120 @ 85/100/85Hz all 16bit. Tri monitor setup

Why do so many people use 32bit - can you honestly tell the difference between 32 and 16bit GFX, however 16bit allows better performance

[0iD]

I work with dual Iiyama Vision Master Pro 500's running 1280 x 1024, 32 bit 85Hz. Been using these monitors for years now, still pretty sharp. Good enough for draughting anyway. (and tops for Halo & Serious Sam @ lunchtimes )

[directhex]

modern cards render in 32bit, you will get better performance without the dithering.

and the color quality difference is noticable,

[Clstrphbc_donut]

1280x1024, 32bit, Refresh rate of 85 Hz.

[Paul Adams]

4160*3120 @ 85/100/85Hz all 16bit. Tri monitor setup

Why do so many people use 32bit - can you honestly tell the difference between 32 and 16bit GFX, however 16bit allows better performance

We're talking OS desktops here, the performance difference would not be noticeable, but the image quality difference when viewed side-by-side is.

When you get into the realms of full-screen fast-paced FPS games then you have to balance image quality with raw speed, having a great looking scene dragging at 5fps just isn't as much fun

I wait for the day when I can have a dual monitor setup and run a full screen game on one screen and have my desktop still operational on the other - even better if my 2 mice control independent cursors

[Nemeliza]

1600*1200 32bit color 85Hz on 21" Sony P1110. 1152*864 60Hz on sum 15/16" gateway monitor =/

[Tumble]

I've just started running 1280x1024 again, as I've got hold of a Brand new Dell thingy for £20... if you install the monitor properly.. it only lets you do 1152x864 at 75Hz...

so I promptly uninstalled the driver again, and the max sensible res I can get out of it is 1280x1024 I could push it to 180Hz as well, but 85 is nicer on the minces...

[Apex]

1280x1024 32bbp @ 85hz

[Rave]

1280x960- I like my circles round and my squares square. My Cornerstone P1500 can do 1600x1200 @ 85Hz easily but TBH I can't really tell the difference in games and I don't really need anything more on the desktop, I'd rather have the text big and clear rather than sit there squinting.

Rich :¬)

[Paul Adams]

1280x960- I like my circles round and my squares square. My Cornerstone P1500 can do 1600x1200 @ 85Hz easily but TBH I can't really tell the difference in games and I don't really need anything more on the desktop, I'd rather have the text big and clear rather than sit there squinting.

Can't tell the difference in games?
Certainly, games that don't support AA gain a huge amount from a higher resolution, and for the games I play I like to have the ability to view a lot more menu options, items in containers, etc.

I must admit though, to help Far Cry's performance I dropped it to 1280x1024 but had AA and AF on so it compensated a lot.

For the desktop I always use the highest resolution the card and monitor can handle at a reasonable refresh rate - if the font is too small then just enable cleartype and increase it

As I like desktop real estate space, I used dual monitors for a while, but so many apps tend to not cater for them correctly, and running games made one monitor obsolete, I gave that up.
I have 2 systems capable of dual monitor support, and a monitor capable of dual input, but I still have 1 monitor per PC hehe

[Rave]

Can't tell the difference in games?
Certainly, games that don't support AA gain a huge amount from a higher resolution, and for the games I play I like to have the ability to view a lot more menu options, items in containers, etc.

Well I'm not much of a gamer TBH but I've been playing the Farcry demos recently to test a 9500 for softmod artifacts, and going from 1280x960 to 1600x1200 really didn't seem to make much of a visible difference<shrugs>.

For the desktop I always use the highest resolution the card and monitor can handle at a reasonable refresh rate - if the font is too small then just enable cleartype and increase it

Does that work on a CRT? I had the idea that cleartype was for TFTs somehow? Am I being an ignoramus?

I have 2 systems capable of dual monitor support, and a monitor capable of dual input, but I still have 1 monitor per PC hehe

Hah, my monitor can take dual inputs so I'm thinking of installing 2 PCs connected to the one monitor. One purely for gaming, or at other times routing my broadband connection, and a dually for doing everything else.

Rich :¬)

[Paul Adams]

Well I'm not much of a gamer TBH but I've been playing the Farcry demos recently to test a 9500 for softmod artifacts, and going from 1280x960 to 1600x1200 really didn't seem to make much of a visible difference<shrugs>.

That's why I gave Far Cry as a separate case
It's AA and AF handling is superb, and there's no "paperdoll" window to take into account like some of the games I play - so playing at a lower res is fine.
Try City of Heroes or Asheron's Call at different resolutions (neither support AA), then you should see what I mean.
I don't have UT2004, but I imagine that to be the same case as Far Cry - and in the future probably less games will look any different beyond 1280x960/1024 I guess.

Does that work on a CRT? I had the idea that cleartype was for TFTs somehow? Am I being an ignoramus?

It's chiefly for LCD technology, but from Microsoft's site:
"ClearType font technology works with current displays. Readability on CRT monitors will be improved somewhat, but it will be dramatically improved on color LCD monitors, such as those found in laptops and high-quality flat desktop displays."
As soon as I enable it on my systems I find the text a lot more pleasant to read, and only 1 is a TFT.

Hah, my monitor can take dual inputs so I'm thinking of installing 2 PCs connected to the one monitor. One purely for gaming, or at other times routing my broadband connection, and a dually for doing everything else.

That was my incentive for insisting on the P1500 monitor - I intended to run my webserver (on 24x7) and main rig off the one screen, but what I end up doing is playing games on my main rig whilst having a browser/chat program up on the web server screen next to me

[robg1701]

System Information:

3 monitors
Current desktop: 4160x1200

[Merlin]

1024x768 @ 32 bit on an Iiyama 15" tft. It is so nice to have my desk space back after having a CRT. Not to mention crisp, clear text and punchy colour

[oyster]

1280 x 1024 x 32bit

at work that's on a Dell P1130 21" CRT
at home that's on a Hitachi CML174 17" TFT

I tried cranking up the resolution on the big CRT at work, but 1280 x 1024 just feels right - even though the aspect ratio (5:4) is wrong on the CRT (4:3).