Monitors Noob question regarding LCD Resolution, Gaming and HD Movies

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WickedTA

Adept
This question was prompted due to a response (from morgoth) I saw on one of the other threads regarding the new BenQ Full HD LCD... suggesting that a really powerful graphics card would be required to drive the LCD (obviously at it's native resolution of 1920x1080).

QUESTION REGARDING GAMES:

Does this mean that gaming at 1680x1050 resolution on this LCD (or for that matter, any 1920x1080 LCD) would not automatically "scaled to fit the screen" image?

QUESTION REGARDING 1080p MOVIES:

What happens if you try to watch a 1080p video on a 1680x1050 native res LCD? Do you just lose 15 pixels each at the top and bottom of the image? What about the sides?
 
i think it is more like a washed out (blurred) appearance rather cutting pixels and all. i haven't seen it though. i need to ask if its possible to play in other resolutions rather than native resolution and if so how good is the image quality??? that summerises his question too
 
yea u can game at 1680x1050 even on HD resolution monitor , it will run in full screen but if u run at 1920x1080 u will get lower fps , so need more powerful card to enjoy gaming at that resolution but picture will be more sharper .

and when u play 1080p on 1680x1050 resolution u dont lose any pixels , just the picture is scaled to fit the resolution but u get as good picture quality as on original resolution .
 
WickedTA said:
This question was prompted due to a response (from morgoth) I saw on one of the other threads regarding the new BenQ Full HD LCD... suggesting that a really powerful graphics card would be required to drive the LCD (obviously at it's native resolution of 1920x1080).

QUESTION REGARDING GAMES:

Does this mean that gaming at 1680x1050 resolution on this LCD (or for that matter, any 1920x1080 LCD) would not automatically "scaled to fit the screen" image?

QUESTION REGARDING 1080p MOVIES:

What happens if you try to watch a 1080p video on a 1680x1050 native res LCD? Do you just lose 15 pixels each at the top and bottom of the image? What about the sides?
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Me not too knowledgeable about these things but let me try:

1- Games: Even if you play at lower res than default monitor res, you will get full screen. But unlike CRTs, LCDs have this peculiar problem where the only resolution which looks good on them is their default res. So at any other resolution the output won't be that clear and sharp which you can get on default resolution.

If you want to enjoy games in their full glory you out to run them at their default resolution. And if this resolution is 1920x1080, then you need a powerful card.

2- Movies: Full HD movies will be scaled down. You won't lose any detail but you will lose the joy of watching movies on bigger screen. Similarly, if the movies are of low res like 640X or something they will be scaled up but on a big screen like that of 1920x1080 they will look drab and blurred.
 
thanks guys. it seems high resolutions r not that good to have. if u have a decent midrange card also. low resolution movies and older games which work in low resolution will have a high time suffering in those full hd wallas.19 inch monitor res 1440 * 9xx is also hd rt(higher than 720p)
 
Go for higher resolution screens only if u have a high end cards and you are willing to upgrade atleast once a year to keep up with latest games at that resolution

1920* and above resolutions would need monster of a graphic card + highend CPU + lots of RAM

Decide your system config based on the resolution of your monitor and vice-versa
 
The issue is slightly different: 1680x1050 is a 16:10 resolution. 1920x1080 is a 16:9 resolution. An image of the former stretched to fit the latter will appear 'squished' marginally. Whether this affects you or not is a separate issue, but the picture will be distorted.
 
i got a samsung tv 13xx * 768 resolution or so connected by dvi to hdmi connector. but while fifa and all in 1024*7xx res is not that bad. i'm planning to get a monitor thinking it is the best for computer purposes like browsing and all. what do u think? afterall my 17 inch crt is doing perfectly well-samsung 793s will i be happy with any lcd monitor on clarity, motion response and all.....
 
morgoth, sangram and others, thanks a lot for your informative responses.

I currently have a 19" (non-widescreen) CRT on which I typically game at 1280x960. I'm pretty happy with movies (HD/non-HD) on it. But the question is, will I see a serious step up in terms of gaming experience by switching to a 22" widescreen LCD @ 1680x1050?
 
For games, if your graphics card is happy at 1680x1050, then you'll be happy :) For movies, bigger is (almost) always better.
 
so in my case of samsung tv resolution(13xx*7xx) is lower than 22 inch monitor. so it gives less strain on graphics card. so is it better for me to continue on that on gaming. finally what this high resolution brings to games...though i seems to be crazy after asking all this. becoz [low resolution and high setting] is better than [high resolution and medium settings] ...rt. is it that gives u wider view of the surroundings like in taking camera stills in wide angles:)
 
lilboy said:
so in my case of samsung tv resolution(13xx*7xx) is lower than 22 inch monitor. so it gives less strain on graphics card. so is it better for me to continue on that on gaming. finally what this high resolution brings to games...though i seems to be crazy after asking all this. becoz [low resolution and high setting] is better than [high resolution and medium settings] ...rt. is it that gives u wider view of the surroundings like in taking camera stills in wide angles:)
Click to expand...

As far as I understand, more pixels always equate to more details and sharpness. This is why people say that it is at lower resolution that you really need AA. At higher res, even without AA edges are pretty smooth and texture is sharp. But of course, at higher res you a need a monstrous card to drive the output
 
1. The pixels on your Tv are much, much larger. The image will not be as sharp as a monitor, and you need to sit further away to compensate.

2. At higher resolution, you're basically using more pixels to render an image. Just like music with a higher bitrate, the resulting image is closer to reality - provided the original is able to resolve correctly at those resolutions. It doesn't make sense to render an image originally in 1024x768 at 1600x1200, it will be blurry and distorted.

Reality is analog, but we use digital to represent it. And the more the resolution (pixels, or kb/s) we use, the closer we get to the real picture or sound.
 
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