I have a NICE problem.One of my sons gave me a 22" LCD wide screen monitor for Christmas today.The setting for it is is 1680x1050.It is a ViewSonic VX2235WM..My video cards max is 1280x1024.Since the pixels are fixed in a LCD monitor will this create an unusable image or will it be reasonable for use.?

81 Newbee

It will definitely look like crap if you don't use the native resolution.


Try updating your video card to the most recent driver for better resolutions.

Visit the Basement

If your monitor is the Viewsonic 2235WM monitor & you have an ATI video card, check for what is called an "Omega driver". Special drivers are made for my 9200SE card (& others) which will allow you to get full use of 1680 x 1050 native resolution.

I know this because this is my setup. I have the above equipment & it is performing wonderfully.

Fred

See www.omegadrivers.net/ati/win2k_xp.php

What is your video card???

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

What I have:AMD Athlon CPU

Graphics: Nvidia GeForce2 MX 200 64 MB AGP graphics Accelerator w/TVout

81 Newbee

If you don't like the way it looks with that card you can always get another VD card that supports that resolution. I'm using a Nvidia GeForce FX 5200/256 MB on my 22" WC & they're only about $60 bucks here in Canada. The screen is beautiful. If you been using a CRT monitor you'll be astonished at the difference!!!

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

Depends on the monitor, some of them don't look too bad at less than their native resolution. Give it a try and see what happens.

I play games at lesser resolutions on my 24" monitor and it doesn't look too bad. Same for the desktop.

Thanks Howard I have considered doing that.Since pixals on a LCD are fixed size I thought I would find a solution before I tried that .I am glad to hear yours works OK Thanks again

81 Newbee

The monitor will work at lower resolutions, but it will look progressively worse as you get farther from the native resolution. No matter what anyone tells you, it will look much better at the native resolution. It will also look better with a digital connection, if both the monitor and the video card offer digital.

Shelly

The monitor offers digital as well as analog connections but my Nvidia card does not have digital output. I downloaded the latest version for my card but the highest output is 1280x1024.Monitor recommwnds 1680x1050.How much degradation ,Shelly, do you think that will cause?This machine is a 2002 build with a few upgrades since (Larger power supply,increased memory etc but it's the original graphics card( with the latest downloads)I guees I could add a better card and use it later on any new build,(Of course at my age ,I don't even buy green bananas )How many steps below 1680x1050 is 1280x1024 ? Maybe I will hook it up next week and see how it looks
My 17" ViewSonic CRT has been a faithful workhorse and looked great no matter the settings .. I appreciate the help!

81 Newbee

Just hook it up and let you be the judge. What I find horrible you and others may find it to be big and pleasing to the eye.


Your AGP card is obsolete and can't support your new beautiful monitor. Even if you bought a new AGP you're still using the obsolete AGP interface and chances are won't be compatible in your next PC.

PCI-E is the way to go now. I'd buy or build a new PC.

Visit the Basement

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

ugh, PCI? I guess.

Visit the Basement

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

Hi Dave, a local (small ) store has this card (new)for $35.It has settings up to 2048x1536.Will it work in my machine?
Nvidia EVGA e-GeForce 6200 LE 256MB PCI-Express Video Card
Whoops I just noticed PCI E I will look further Thanks

81 Newbee

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

Hi I just took a quick look at craigs list for local ads found this NEW for $29 .EVGA Nvidea FX5200AGP video carc. Specs
Performance
-NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200
-250 MHz GPU
-Pixel Pipelines
-350 MHz RAMDAC

Memory
-128 MB, 64 bit DDR
-400 MHz (effective)
-3.2 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

Interface
-AGP 8X
-VGA, S-Video

Resolution & Refresh
-240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
-2048 x 1536 x 32bit x 60 Hz Max Analog
I am sure I can find others now as there are lots there locally.I will see if any have digital output.Is this the type I should be looking for?I can live with the analog if necessary but digital would probably be better .Are there many PCI cards for my machine that have digital output ?Thanks

81 Newbee

Yea your on the right track. There should be some that have DVI. Mine's analogue & I sure can live with it. I would love to see both analogue & DVI side by side just to see if there's noticable difference.

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

Heres another local ad.I like local one because I can see the product and the seller and his place.After looking at pricof same card elsewhere I will really look close here!($75)
Radeon X800PRO AGP
ATI Radeon X800 Pro
GPU
Radeon X800Pro (R420)

Bus Type
AGP 4x, 8x

Memory Amount
256MB

Memory Type
GDDR3

Memory Interface
256-bit

Memory Clock Speed
450Mhz

Engine Clock Speed
475Mhz

Pipelines
12

Pixel Fillrate
5.7 Gpixels/sec

Geometry Rate
475 MTriangles

Technology Features
Smartshader HD, Smoothvision HD, Videoshader HD, Hydravision

Video Output
VGA, DVI, YPrPb, S-Video, Composite

Is this a fit or is my Athlon 64 too old?

81 Newbee

That looks good but always check with the seller before purchasing any card. Me too I like the small shops that I can go in & check things out. They usually have what I'm looking for.

Dave101

"The only goddamn thing you know about the law is how to break it." Chief Lafleche

John, have you looked at the solution that Fred offered in his post above?

Nevermind, I see you're using an Nvidia video card.

The X800 Pro would work just fine.There is also some Nvidia 6200 agp cards still out there for around 50 bucks that would work also.I'm not sure if the X800 needed the extra power connector so ask about that if you don't have any spare connectors on your power supply.The 6200 doesn't need one.Edit:At Adam why would he do that if the current one is doing just fine.50 bucks isn't a huge investment

Nvidia 6200LE AGP 4X8X . Click on Specifications. Max resolution is 2048 X 1536. $50.00


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130014







ed

1280 x1024 is a different aspet ratio, it is not wide screen. It will result in a 4x3 image instead of 16x9. If you try to streach it to fill the screen, it will result in geometric distortion. A circle will look like a horizontal oval.

There are many video cards selling for under $35 that offer both the correct resolution and a digital output.

Shelly

Thanks to all.I found a NEW card on craigs list.A Leadtek Winfast A400TDH
GeForce 6800 128MBDDR.The Guy selling it works at Stanford U. but only lived one mile from me.He brought it to my place ,installed it and set up my monitor to the correct setting at no Extra cost !.He is a young man from Russia who has been here for several years who learned English while in Russia .There are a four games which came with the card etc but I am not into games but I'll give these to my grandson.It has DVI ,VIVO/TV out and VGA
connections.Currently the monitor is connected to VGA and set to the recommended 1680/1050 settings. The resolution is oustanding on the screen .The smallest type is crisp and easy to read.Thanks to all for the help.
PS The guy called to see if I was satisfied and said if I had any problems in the future to give him a call.

81 Newbee