LCD Monitor: To widescreen or not to widescreen?

[coreywhite]

I'm going to be building a computer sometime in late December/early January, when I'm home from school. It's not going to be any behemoth, but probably one of those low-level ~$800 gaming PCs you see so many threads for in the "Build Your Own PC" forum. I'm also going to need a new monitor, which I think I'm going to ask for as a Christmas present, meaning I need to let my parents know what I want fairly soon.

I definitely want to get an LCD monitor, and probably either a 19" or 20" one in the $175-$250 price range. I will be using my computer for web browsing/educational stuff, but also for both movies and gaming, which is where my question comes in. I do some web development/graphic design work, but enough for it to be a big concern.

For movies, I would really like a widescreen monitor . . . my current computer is a 15" Powerbook, and with the widescreen display watching movies is at least as good an experience as with a 17" 4:3 monitor. I've really gotten used to widescreen, and I would rather not give it up. However, for gaming I know I may have some difficulties maintaining the native resolution of a widescreen LCD monitor, which I am given to understand is essential. What's more, I'm a little worried that even if I don't get a widescreen LCD, my computer may not be able to handle running games at the native resolution of a 19" LCD. I don't play any first-person shooters, but I will play some very system-intensive games, including Oblivion.

So . . . thoughts? Will an $800 computer be able to run games at the native resolution of a 19" LCD monitor, whether widescreen or not? Will a widescreen LCD monitor give me problems with games? Just how bad does it really look not to run at native resolution?

Other, more general questions: What brand should I get? I'm thinking Samsung or ViewSonic. How important, really, are the various statistics (response time, contrast ratio, brightness in candelas, etc.)? What do I need to look for in terms of connectivity (DVI, HDMI, etc.)?

By the way, I'm sort of leaning towards the Samsung 941BW. Anyone have any experience with that? Or reasons not to get it?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[AnotherMuggle]

My opinion is:

If games are more important then get a 4:3 screen. If movies are more important then get a widescreen. Personally I got a 4:3 screen because I don't watch a lot of movies.

Native resolution of a 19" LCD is 1280 x 1024...some monitors are OK with non-native resolutions whereas some just come out all garbled and horrible.

Samsung and ViewSonic are both very good screen manufacturers! All of the specs are relevant but imporatance is really down to the user. Personally I would look for a screen with a decent response time 12ms or less and with a contrast ratio of at least 450:1. Unless you plan to attach other things to the screen then no need to go for HDMI, DVI will be fine.

Hope this helps

[12twelve12]

Wide screen gaming FAQ's

Widescreen vs. Non pictures: This one is kind of neat. Pick a game and it will show you the same screen shot of that game in both formats so you can compare.

I know this only focuses on your gaming side of the question but hope it helps a bit.

[flanzig1]

To do an $800 gaming machine, your going to have to pick your parts carefully. On the CPU side,may need to to lower power chips or older types. To save some money, check the big box stores for sales and closeouts on stuff like cases,CD/DVDs, hard drives. Sometimes you pick these up cheaper than on line.

[RJ]

If you're already used to widescreen, then I would get a widescreen TFT.

There are no 4:3 19" TFTs anyway, so for 4:3 you'd need a 20", which are more expensive.

Personally I got a 4:3 screen

No, you didn't. You got a 5:4 monitor Yes, there is a difference. I don't like the nearly quadratic 5:4 .. hate it so much that I skipped the whole 17-19" TFTs and moved right from 15" to 20".

So . . . thoughts? Will an $800 computer be able to run games at the native resolution of a 19" LCD monitor, whether widescreen or not? Will a widescreen LCD monitor give me problems with games? Just how bad does it really look not to run at native resolution?

Any current computer will be able to.

By the way, I'm sort of leaning towards the Samsung 941BW. Anyone have any experience with that? Or reasons not to get it?

Don't have personal experience with it, but judging from the specs it looks like a good monitor.

RJ

[AnotherMuggle]

Originally Posted by RJ No, you didn't. You got a 5:4 monitor Yes, there is a difference. I don't like the nearly quadratic 5:4 .. hate it so much that I skipped the whole 17-19" TFTs and moved right from 15" to 20".

I stand corrected!

[jimmyrules712]

I personally own a 20.1 inch widescreen viewsonic tht I bought over the summer ,and I love it. I'll never go back. I play some games and for most games you can run them in widescreen mode, but not all.

Most games can be made to run in widescreen by just changing a few settings in the game.

If you know what games in particular you would want to be compatible, look HERE

that forum is dedicated to widescreen gaming, and you will be able to get info there on whether or not a certain game can be run in widescreen, and if so how to do it.

[Tin]

I have a 20.1" widescreen and it has a much more natural feel to it. Now when I get on my old 17" 4:3 710-N I feel like I have tunnel vision. Games that support widescreen resolutions actually allow you to see more than you would versus 4:3. No going back for me .

[jimmyrules712]

Originally Posted by Tin I have a 20.1" widescreen and it has a much more natural feel to it. Now when I get on my old 17" 4:3 710-N I feel like I have tunnel vision. Games that support widescreen resolutions actually allow you to see more than you would versus 4:3. No going back for me .

same with me about the tunnelvision. The regular sized screen looks very crowded and hard to work with now.

[Strider]

You stated that you do some web/graphic design work, while this might not be your most important thing right now your priorities could change in the near future. I'm going back to college and taking graphic design classes, having a widescreen monitor is nice to have for it give you a little bit more area to work with. I really notice the difference when I use one of my other computers hooked up to a normal CRT monitor. I have game with my widescreen and I really haven't come across a game that doesn't support widescreen or looks that bad on a widescreen monitor and I would guess as more and more widescreen monitors are purchase support for widescreen will increase.

[coreywhite]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! You've pretty much convinced me to go with the widescreen monitor (which is great since that's what I wanted anyway). Any more thoughts/specific experience with the Samsung 941BW, or others in that price range?

[Tin]

The Samsung is nice, but have you taken a look at the LG Flatron L204WT/L194WT? They have a 2000:1 contrast ratio compared to the Samsungs 500:1, making the whites whiter and the blacks blacker. I have an L204WT, and going from a 600:1 710-N to 2000:1 I noticed the colors had much more vibrance and the black actually looks black instead of gray. The 19" L194WT costs in the same ballpark as the 941BW.

[12twelve12]

I don't believe those LG's actually have 2000:1 contrast ratio. I was reading about them a few weeks back and it was something about how they, LG, comes up with that number in comparison to others. It's still higher than the Samsung's 500:1 but I just cant remember what the actual ratio on the LG was...I'll see if I can find that info. They are nice though.

Edit: Ok...it looks like the 2000:1 is a dynamic contrast but the actual is still like 800:1. Still a very nice contrast ratio.

[coreywhite]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Best Buy Black Friday sale? A 19" Samsung 931bw for $129 after $100 instant savings?

It seems like an incredible deal, but I can't find much information anywhere about the 931bw. It seems like it might be a new model number (but possibly not actually a new model?) made exclusively for Best Buy, and not available until Black Friday. I assume this is so people can't buy a monitor now and exchange it on Black Friday, pocketing the extra cash.

The specs listed on the Samsung site (which aren't linked to from anywhere and can only be accessed by searching for the model number . . . i.e., it's not listed if you just browse through LCD monitors) seem great . . . slightly better than the 941bw. For example, a static 700:1 contrast ratio rather than 500:1 and a 2ms GtG response time rather than 4ms. However, the only picture I can find of it concerns me . . . partly because it has an ugly chrome thing, but I can live with that, but also because I don't see any kind of control panel for an OSD. There has to be one, though, right? The link to the semi-buried Samsung page is here.

Thanks!

[cian007]

ops

[newbuilder14]

The Samsung 941BW is an awesome monitor. In fact, I'm using that very one right now. For the price and quality it cannot be beat.