Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hey guys, I'm looking at upgrading my 19" CRT to a 22" Widescreen, specifically, the SAMSUNG 226BW 22" WS 2ms monitor. A couple questions:

1.) This guy's native resolution is 1680x1050... is there a way to make the monitor display in 4:3 mode (ie with black bars on the side) and thus at a lower resolution? If so, what resolution does this display at in 4:3? I am wondering for two reasons - 1, for games that have poor or no widescreen support; and 2, for games where I want to run with less pixels being rendered so my hardware can keep up. Please let me know about this!

2.) What do you think of this monitor? Is this still "the" 22" WS monitor to get? Not only do I game, but I do video editing and graphics as well. Also, are there any new monitors coming out in the next few months that would give me reason to hold off on this purchase? And/or, are there any expected price drops coming up soon, or will it cost the same now as it will in December?

Thanks!

1. NVidia drivers have an option for "fixed aspect ratio scaling" which will add pillarboxes on the sides when using non-16:10 resolutions. This feature appears to be broken on 8800 cards atm, though.

I'm sure ATI's drivers have an equivalent option.

2. Can't say if it's "the" 22" widescreen to get, but I like my 226BW a lot ;). I heard that there's a 22" widescreen with a "better" panel coming out soon (all current ones have TN panels). If you do professional graphics and video editing you might want to look for something with better color reproduction.

1. NVidia drivers have an option for "fixed aspect ratio scaling" which will add pillarboxes on the sides when using non-16:10 resolutions. This feature appears to be broken on 8800 cards atm, though.

Broken, sort of. with 162.18 it works with 1 monitor and not the other. Hooked up to my westy 42w2 I can use stretched nvidia scaling or use my displays. On my benq FP231W all 4 options work. I don't know if the problem is entirely in nvidia's code or if individual monitor make a difference but at least in my case it seems to be that way. I also tried through my gefen video scaler which interfaces with the video card sort of like a monitor without a screen, it's got it's own device ID and such, and it too disables correct nvidia scaling and no scaling.

There's a howto around here on using powerstrip to make a custom res. to force pillarboxes, I haven't tried it though.

I don't know if the problem is entirely in nvidia's code or if individual monitor make a difference but at least in my case it seems to be that way.

I don't think it depends on the monitor. Fixed aspect ratio scaling worked fine on my Samsung 226BW with my old computer with a 6800 GT, but not not on the new one with an 8800 GTS (163.71).

[quote]1. NVidia drivers have an option for "fixed aspect ratio scaling" which will add pillarboxes on the sides when using non-16:10 resolutions. This feature appears to be broken on 8800 cards atm, though.

Broken, sort of. with 162.18 it works with 1 monitor and not the other. Hooked up to my westy 42w2 I can use stretched nvidia scaling or use my displays. On my benq FP231W all 4 options work. I don't know if the problem is entirely in nvidia's code or if individual monitor make a difference but at least in my case it seems to be that way. I also tried through my gefen video scaler which interfaces with the video card sort of like a monitor without a screen, it's got it's own device ID and such, and it too disables correct nvidia scaling and no scaling.

There's a howto around here on using powerstrip to make a custom res. to force pillarboxes, I haven't tried it though.

It doesn't work for all people, 162.18 or not. With 1 monitor.

Thanks guys! Does anyone know anything about this upcoming monitor with a better panel that flo mentioned?

That is good to know that there is that option for nvidia, I have an nvidia card (currently 7800gt) but will upgrade to whatever the g92 turns out to be when it releases in november (hopefully a 9800gtx). Hopefully the drivers will work with that.

Anyway with a 22" WS (native 1680x1050) - what is the native 4:3 resolution when using that option? (ie is it 1280x1024, or what?)

Thanks!

1280x1024 is actually 5:4. 1280x960 is the closest 4:3 ratio. You can either have it scaled up to the height of the monitor or windowboxed with no scaling.

Does anyone know anything about this upcoming monitor with a better panel that flo mentioned?

This is what I was thinking of. 22" S-PVA panel at 1920x1200 native resolution.

dsc, you want 1400x1050. It's a relatively common 4:3 resolution on laptops, and works fine 1:1 with a 22".

the Gateway 22" ws has hardware scaling and can do 1:1 fixed aspect and zoom as well as panoramic in analog mode + has tons of analog in puts for stuff

it also has a hardware de-interlacer and supports 720p and 1080i