4:3 or Widescreen......

[Ed989]

I am going to be getting a new monitor for my computer. But, I'm having a hard time deciding if I should go with a 1600 x 1200 4:3 monitor or a 1680 x 1050 widescreen. I do a lot of gaming, movie watching, and internet surfing. I know the widescreen would be great for normal usage, but I'm concerned about some games not having native support for widescreen resolutions. I know there are tweaks to get most games to display in a widescreen resolution, but I'm really picky about games looking and playing right and some of the tweaks cause minor glitches. I have a Radeon X1800XT, so I think my computer should be able to drive either monitor without much trouble. I guess my main concern is being able to have games display properly. For instance, the tweaks I've found to get Rainbow Six: Vegas to display in widescreen cause glitches when night vision or thermal vision is activated. Do you think it would be safe to go with the widescreen monitor?

[TwoRails]

I'll probably get kicked around pretty good but I still prefer 4:3. There is simple less hassle / problems with them.

[Lespaul20]

I'd recommend checking into what games you are wanting to play. Knowing if the games you play support or have patches for widescreen will eliminate some of the hassles.
I switched to Widescreen and love it but the few games I do play support widescreen.

Also, a decent 1600 x 1200 is going to cost a little bit more than a 1680 x 1050.

Like I said I prefer my Widescreen over the standard ratios and I would recommend one but I haven't had any problems.

[Floppyman]

I used to be a 4:3 only fan until a I picked up a 22" widescreen LCD for less than $200 to use as the primary display with my laptop. It works well for normal office tasks and movie/video watching. I really don't game though, so I can't say much about that. I do really like displaying two documents/windows right next to each other though without anything getting to small. If gaming is important to you I'd check into that first to make sure everything will run correctly. However, with my experience so far and current prices on widescreen displays generally being less than 4:3's, I can't help but recommend them.

[Alaron]

Check out www.widescreengamingforum.com

[Tin]

I love my widescreens. 4:3 gives me tunnel vision.

[whubbard]

*kicks TwoRails*

after I got my 24" Samsung Widescreen, I'm never going back. I am brought to tears whenever I leave that computer, and go elsewhere and have to use a 4:3.

Also, most games have widescreen suppport (even many older ones...somebody was on the ball), and its great for movies.

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by whubbard *kicks TwoRails* after I got my 24" Samsung Widescreen, I'm never going back. I am brought to tears whenever I leave that computer, and go elsewhere and have to use a 4:3. Also, most games have widescreen suppport (even many older ones...somebody was on the ball), and its great for movies.

Ouch! That hurt

It may just be my lack of experience with wide screens. On the totally amateur level I do a fair amount of photo editing, most of which are my own. And as you got comfortable with your 24 inch widescreen, I'm used to my 22 inch ViewSonic Pro series 4:3 CTR monitor.

A good friend of mine, who is a very serious amateur photographer (he's been in a couple magazines and even has a photo in Wikipedia), was thinking of getting a new LCD as his CRT is getting old, and he wanted more desk space. We went shopping one day and we looked at the proverbial gazillions of monitors. He brought along a bunch of his own photos so we would have a true reference point for viewing. The big "turn off" was that simple things like Windows Preview would stretch the images. Nobody knew how to set the program to show as 4:3. Although he is not an avid gamer, he has tons to games that he has yet to play meaning they are all older 4:3 games and he doesn't want those stretched, either. We were both amazed to find out that 4:3 LCDs are almost nonexistent anymore.

Who knows, by the time this CRT needs replaced in about five to seven years, 4:3 monitors of any type might be nonexistent.

-- TR

[Lespaul20]

That seems weird. I have had no problems with any functions of Windows, including pictures, with my wide screen. Could the resolution been set wrong to begin with?

I agree, wide screen seems to becoming the norm right now and it won't be too long before they are phased out.

[TwoRails]

For giggles, I paid attention to my seldom used laptop with a 15.4 widescreen. Windows Preview on that does Not stretch the photos... but then it's Vista and the others were XP

[whubbard]

Ahhh...vista.

Tworails, I'm pretty sure you can find a bunch of 4:3 LCDs on newegg or you could pick up a widescreen, and a copy of vista

[HAL9000]

I picked up a 22" Viewsonic widescreen and love it... sure is hard going to work to look at a 17" CRT.

[TwoRails]

The last thing I want, whubbard, is Vista!! -- That's why I don't use the laptop much. I've heard lots of folks slam Zone Alarm due to it's warnings and announcements, but with Vista, you can't do anything without constant nag screens. (not to mention all it's other problems...)

[BeepBeep2]

tworailsThe last thing I want, whubbard, is Vista!! -- That's why I don't use the laptop much. I've heard lots of folks slam Zone Alarm due to it's warnings and announcements, but with Vista, you can't do anything without constant nag screens. (not to mention all it's other problems...)



I got a 5ms 20.1" widescreen from newegg-$199.99Sceptre 1000:1contrast 5ms: GREAT MONITOR!
I use it with my 8800 GTS for gaming. But some people might want to beware the glowing Sceptre logo>it doesnt bother me>

I also use windows vista home premium> just look down

[Lespaul20]

TwoRails - you can shut off all nag prompts in Vista as well as in ZoneAlarm.
Even in XP there is a Registry Fix to turn off the balloon notifications.