Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've never posted here before, but this seems like a great resource for Widescreen gaming, so I thought I'd see if anyone could help me with this problem. I've seen threads related to my problem, but I haven't seen any solutions yet. I apologize in advance if this has already been answered and I missed it.

I have a ViewSonic Optiquest Q20WB*, which is a 20" 1680x1050 monitor, and newer games look great on it. I have an ATI Radeon X1800XT driving it via a DVI cable. I'm using Catalyst 7.5's on Windows XP, but I tried the Omega drivers based on 7.4, and they didn't work either. However, I have a lot of older games that don't support widescreen resolutions. Unfortunately, this monitor doesn't have OSD options for aspect ratio, and my Catalyst Control Center only gives me options for Stretch or Centered Timings. The monitor stretches everything anyway, though, because the Centered option looks exactly the same as the Stretch option. For some games, it's not a big problem because I can run them in a window. However, many games only run full-screen.

The way I see it, there are two possible solutions (of course, a third is to try to sell the monitor, but I kind of like it).
1. Is it possible to use Powerstrip (or a similar utility) to force my card and monitor to use a resolution with vertical black bars on the sides? I'm not sure how this would work within a game, but if it's possible, this would be the ideal solution I guess. If a utility can do this, a free one would be preferable, but I'd certainly consider commercial software too.
2. Are there any virtual machine apps (or something similar) that support 3D graphics? VM apps can run in a window, so this would force a game to run in a window even if it didn't support it. I've installed Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, but it emulates a 2D graphics card. Starcraft should work fine (I haven't tested it yet), but 3D games won't work this way. If there are any programs that support Direct3D and OpenGL, this would work for me too.

Thanks. I appreciate any help.

* Actually, I never meant to buy a WS monitor. I was specifically looking for a 4:3 monitor to avoid problems with older games, but I apparently didn't notice the "Widescreen" or the native res in the item description when I picked this one out from Newegg. Newegg only offers a replacement on this model, so I couldn't return it. That will teach me to buy things in a rush. :P

You want the video card to control the scaling, not the lcd. find an option that says something along the lines of ATI's scaling with aspect ratio control.

So whenever a resolution in a aspect ratio that isn't your is selected it won't stretch.



EDIT, I misread your post.. I see that you said there are only 2 options regarding scaling/AR on ATI's catalyst menu. I would wait for replies from other people b/c I don't have that problem seeing as how I use Nvidia's forceware :)

I would wait for replies from other people b/c I don't have that problem seeing as how I use Nvidia's forceware :)

Don't be so sure. After all, the Centered Timings option doesn't do anything, so it looks like the monitor is stretching everything, regardless of what the drivers tell it to do. Therefore, it's quite likely that an nVidia card would have the same problem.

Ah, I was basing that on just driver options, nothing visual.

Does anyone know what nvidia graphics drivers support aspect ratio scaling cause I wanna play with black bars on side too but my FX 5200 doesn't seem to do it so I might need a new graphics card..although I don't want to spend money..

I know the 9X.XX series does, I'm sure the 8X.XX Series did, perhaps your card itself doesn't support it.

You will have to wait for someone else to reply.

If you have a 5*** series card make sure your not using the retail drivers off the cd.

Thanks..well I got a FX 5200 (crap I know) isn't that 5 series? So should I have the option in my control panel? I don't have a WS yet so would the option appear if I had one attached to my computer? If the drivers is what I need for aspect ratio scaling then I might need a new graphics card. So basically I'd prefer the cheapest nvidia card with support for fixed aspect ratio scaling.

Yes, you would need a Widescreen LCD/LCD for the LCD panel Options in Nvidia's Forceware to show up.

Make sure you visit http://www.nvidia.com and always get the newest forceware

also, since you have that low of a video card I would recommend not going widescreen or if your set on it ..going with one of the smaller widescreen lcds, like a 20' 16:10 1680x1050 one.

Yep I just ordered a Dell 19" SE198WFP. It's gotten good reviews and it's really cheap too. Would you know how much better the Geforce FX 5500 256MB is compared with my 128MB FX 5200?

It would be better.. but You can get a much better AGP card for about $60...
provided you have an 8x slot.


*Note to other people* I'm aware AGP is dead, but I doubt he wants to build a new PCI-E rig right now. So don't flame my comment. :)