New gaming monitor

archie123

I Tunes hates Me
Vista Guru
Gold Member
Im buying this Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Its my first lcd , my lovely superbright diamondtron mitsubishi has finally bitten the dust :(

Ive done a bit of research and this is the monitor for me

problem is i know lcd's display best at their native resolution and for most things ill be running at at 1680x1050 , however with my current rig (and my upgrade being pushed back due to needing a new monitor) ill struggle to game at this res

so will it look/perform ok at 1280x1024 ingame? until i upgrade?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
Hi archie

I use the Samsung 226BW which is a 1680x1050 monitor. Any game i play that my graphics card cant handle at 1680x1050 i lower the res of that game to 1280x800 in the games menu.

As 1280 is pretty close to 75% of 1680 and 800 is pretty close to 75% of 1050 its the settings i use for games like Crysis Warhead etc. You'll see when you get the monitor what is best but a setting of 1280x1024 will give you 76% and 97% of your native resulution and will make the image appear distorted
 
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yeah of course im forgetting its widescreen now , nice one cheers :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
I have the Acer 2216w. which I also have at 1680 x 1050 for normal wear and tear. What I did since I am not a PC guru, I found a 16:10 widescreen chart and paste it on my monitor, this way, if I need to lower the res, because of any game, I can always use the correct setting and avoid exactly what Stew2 just warned you about.

Here are some charts that may help you

16:10 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Screen Size and Resolution Comparisons
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
nice one asta :) ta

I totally forgot as of today ill be widescreen ha ha what a muppet

so the image quality is still good? I was worried as everywhere i read the with LCD you need to set at its native res for best quality
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
You are correct in saying that the monitors work best at there native resolution, however by lowering the resolution the quality will not be to bad, it is only if you are trying to raise the resolution you may get problems.
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet
so will it look/perform ok at 1280x1024 ingame? until i upgrade?

It will be fine :)

It certainly won't look awful. Just a little 'fuzzy' compared to the native res.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    i7 3770K HT ON 4.7GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 2133mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Gigabyte GTX 670 OC WindForce SLI
    Sound Card
    X-FI Forte + ATH-AD900
    Monitor(s) Displays
    x2 Dell U2410 / 58" Samsung / "40 Sony
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1200 / 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x Intel 520 240GB * Crucial M4 128GB * 2x Samsung F3 1TB (RAID 0) * 2x WD Caviar Blacks 2TB (RAID 0)
    PSU
    Corsair AX1200W
    Case
    Lian Li PC-V1020A
    Cooling
    NH-D14: 3x140mm Gelid Wing 14: Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme
    Keyboard
    Topre Realforce // Ducky Shine Cherry MX Black
    Mouse
    Razer Imperator + Thermaltake Theron
    Other Info
    Laptop Specs:
    Clevo Sager P170HM //
    17.3 Matte 1920x1200 //
    i7 2720QM // 8GB 1333mhz //
    Dedicated GTX 485M //
    240GB Intel 520 + 750GB + Blu-Ray //

    Samsung Story 2TB USB 3.0
Yeah any resolution will look fine as long as you keep the percentages the same. When you get your monitor install the drivers and set its resolution to 1680x1050 then sit back and go WOW lol.

Then open a game and set its game menu resolution to 1680x1050 and see if it plays well. If it doesnt then use the closest settings it has to one of the ones iv listed below:

85% resolution - 1428x892
75% resolution - 1260x787
50% resolution - 840x525

Remember as well in the games menu to tick the fullscreen box so it uses the resolution you choose to fill the whole the screen.
 

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Remember as well in the games menu to tick the fullscreen box so it uses the resolution you choose to fill the whole the screen.

cheers for that Stew , ive only been gaming on the pc for twenty years , i didnt realise there was a fullscreen option ;) ;) ;) ;) (jk mate :) )

I was mainly worried about the eye candy effect of lowering the res for gaming , i am upgrading to lcd for the first time but im coming from a very good CRT , that said im expecting to be blown away (everyone tells me i will be ha ha im not convinced yet)


Thanks all for your advice :) , ive just got home from home from work...........and my monitor isnt here :( Gutted , i think the wife might have hidden it ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
If you've been gaming for twenty years you shouldnt need to ask these questions lol

Try to be helpfull and all i get is abuse :p but anyway it does look worse when lowering the resolution but then someone on a 1920x1200 resolution would see 1680x1050 as looking worse. Its all perspective.

Id rather lower the res of a game and bump up the texture, shaders etc to max rather than the other way round.
 

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yes but never gamed on LCD , they didnt exist when i bought my ZX81 ;)

i realise the higher the res the better the overall effect in game :)

my worry was , because ive never had an lcd , that the effect of lowering the resolution below the native resolution of the monitor would have an overall effect on the image , not because of the effect it would have on the textures but because of the effect i was worried it would have on the image the monitor was reproducing , because i was lower than its "native" resolution

anyhoo it wasnt abuse , just a little friendly banter :) Im gratefull for all the help :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
I was mainly worried about the eye candy effect of lowering the res for gaming , i am upgrading to lcd for the first time but im coming from a very good CRT , that said im expecting to be blown away (everyone tells me i will be ha ha im not convinced yet)

Archie, I don't know what kind of games you like to play, my Genre is FPS (First Person Shooters) and I gotta tell you, the Majority of today games are so poorly coded or ported from consoles to pc that the eye candy effect is hardly noticeable from 1680 x 1050 to 1024 x 768. Hell, some of them don't even support widescreen *cough* most UBIsoft games *cough*


i realise the higher the res the better the overall effect in game :)

my worry was , because ive never had an lcd , that the effect of lowering the resolution below the native resolution of the monitor would have an overall effect on the image , not because of the effect it would have on the textures but because of the effect i was worried it would have on the image the monitor was reproducing , because i was lower than its "native" resolution

Read my post whining post above ;)

For instance, Crysis was supposed to be the end of all FPS games as we know it and it tanked because it was a bloaded game, after a few patches, the game became playable and this was a game that was made specifically for PCs and by Crytek. Warhead was much easier on resources and it did not have the heavy requiremnts of crysis.

Modern Warfare is a very nice game and it plays well on most PC's.

I usually let the game dictate the optimal settings for me, unless I know who made it and I don't loose Frames per second because of more eye candy.

At any rate, if you have a decent CPU, RAM and Video Card, you will notice the eye candy difference :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
FPS all the way mate , MOH series COD series , Red Orchestra (fantastic btw) Darkest hour BF2 , even counter strike source (when i was much younger and faster ;) ) stalker , stalker clear sky our gaming community even has a left 4 dead server!!

Ive played a few console ports , rainbow six vegas , ghost recon advanced warfighter , i stay away from em generally but ghost recon was good gave it another go when nvidia started up with PHYSx just to see how it looked.

plying COD WAW at the moment loving getting back to WW2 but nothing will ever beat the original COD for me

If your bored pop by and say hello Team *MasheD*: News we let any rif raff post ;) ;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
yes but never gamed on LCD , they didnt exist when i bought my ZX81 ;)

Yup my first console had one button on the joystick, cough atari cough lol

You will notice a slight decrease in picture quality but as AstaLaVista says if its a FPS shooter it isnt hugely noticeable. Games like Empire:Total War on the other hand look horrible on a reduced res due to the amount of text in the game.
 

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