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Any Monitor suggestions?

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Paulverisor64

Active member
Feb 16, 2008
37
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Northern Michigan
#1
I'd like to be able to improve my gameplay and I'm contemplating buying another monitor.

Presently I have Samsung's SyncMaster930B which is a 19 inch monitor with a maximum 1280x1024 resolution and a response time of 8ms.

I am considering Samsung's SyncMaster T220 which is a 22 inch monitor with a maximum 1600x1050 resolution and a response time of 2ms. The review is very good and the price is right.

Specifically to Red Orchestra I am wondering whether it takes advantage of the 16:9 screen size ratio or is it the 4:3 ratio? Will the new game have the 16:9 ratio?

Are there any more considerations I should be looking at that would make a noticeable difference in gameplay?
 
#3
RO fully supports wide-screen (if your resolution isn't listed in the game you can edit it in the .ini) but I think it cuts off the top and the bottom. I have no trouble with my widescreen monitor regarding not seeing the weapons right in order to hip-shoot properly like some people reported.
KF has a checkbox for widescreen in the menu and supports the resolutions as well but I'm not sure if it extended the view or cut the top and bottom. Haven't seen any comparison shots, but I also never had any trouble with it, which is all that matters really.

What you should look out for additionally is how the monitor looks at an angle. Sometimes you might want to watch a movie on it with someone else around or who knows, maybe play a (emulator) game in splitscreen.
Also you should make sure it can display blacks right. Some older monitors have trouble with that.
Go here and scroll down to the two doom screenshots:
http://liandri.darkbb.com/maps-wip-beta-final-f1/wipas-planetwarput2-t66.htm
The lower one shows how it can look on a bad lcd monitor. I exaggerated a good bit, but it gets the point across.
Some monitors can automatically cut off the sides if you are running a 4:3 app and some automatically stretch it out to fullscreen. I forgot what the feature is called, but its convenient for games without widescreen support to have the monitor be able to cut off the sides. The monitors that support it have a setting in the nvdidia driver settings (and I guess ATI as well). Those that do not support that don't even show the setting. If you are buying your monitor in a shop just ask the guy who tries to sell it to you.
Also make sure its brightness and color is consistent. There are test images around that show this better than a desktop or gaming environment. Just make sure it isn't darker at the top than at the bottom or that it isn't leaking red on one side.
Once you have it plugged in (preferrably right in the shop because pixel errors aren't a reason for a refund because there is a certain tolerancy for a certain number of pixel errors depending on the quality level of the monitor) check it for pixel errors. E.g. pixels that always stay the same color. Get one without them.

Oh yeah, and before I forget:
You will need this site:
http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Sooner or later. :)
 
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#6
fiftyone said:
I have a SyncMaster 2232BW and I luv it...
It was the bees-knees about a year ago not sure whats hot at the moment.

Absolutely out of the question of going back to 4/5.
Click to expand...



I also have a Samsung SyncMaster 2232 BW. It is awesome. 2ms response time, the colour is double awesome and lets you fine tune it well. It's 22" and I'd easily buy 2 more if I didn't know there is anything better out (is there?)
. It has 3000:1 contrast which is good but but not as nice as some of the LCD tvs out there, but much better than 1000s other lcds.
 
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#8
One thing to consider nowadays are the 16:9 ratio of screens (basicly 'HDTV' ratio rather than the PC standard of 16:10), you can pick up fairly good ones for cheap now that are ~22" @1920x1080. Though tbh I would only choose a 16:9 if you are going to/or see yourself using it with a console, bluray or even an HDMI tv box thing as well as your PC, as only in the last few years have PC games properly supported 16:9 though the majority do now, not sure about RO but it'll be highly probable that any new game would suport 16:9.

Thats what I do with my two screens my 1680x1050 for most PC games, 2nd 1920x1080 for dual desktop, extra photoshop/autocad space, movies & PS3 and when I want just a little extra res playing PC stuff.

EDIT: Read a review on the BenQ E2200HD
 
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#9
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#11
Mahnsikir said:
One thing to consider nowadays are the 16:9 ratio of screens (basicly 'HDTV' ratio rather than the PC standard of 16:10), you can pick up fairly good ones for cheap now that are ~22" @1920x1080. Though tbh I would only choose a 16:9 if you are going to/or see yourself using it with a console, bluray or even an HDMI tv box thing as well as your PC, as only in the last few years have PC games properly supported 16:9 though the majority do now, not sure about RO but it'll be highly probable that any new game would suport 16:9.

Thats what I do with my two screens my 1680x1050 for most PC games, 2nd 1920x1080 for dual desktop, extra photoshop/autocad space, movies & PS3 and when I want just a little extra res playing PC stuff.

EDIT: Read a review on the BenQ E2200HD
Click to expand...
 
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#13
Today I went to the local ABC Warehouse and they had one promissing looking HDTV, which I am seriously considering.

The set I am looking at is a Samsung LN32B550 which has a 32 inch screen. This TV looks very crisp.

The dynamic contrast ratio is 70,000:1
Response time is: 6ms
Resolution is: 1920 by 1080

This TV has a gaming mode. There is a VGA input but I would most likely use my DVI converted to HDMI.

My mind is not completely made up. I would like to find some 1st hand gaming feedback on either this specific set or the HDTV resolution at 1920 by 1080 with the Red Orchestra game.
 
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#14
Here you go:
dsc00211j.jpg


Red Orchestra @ 1080p at 32". Excuse the use of a bad wide-angle, the lack of a polarisation filter and bad bokeh while taking this picture.
You can even run the game in WQUXGA (3840 x 2400, or 9 megapixels) if you want too. It does stretch the HUD though.
 
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#15
SgtH3nry3 said:
Here you go:
dsc00211j.jpg


Red Orchestra @ 1080p at 32". Excuse the use of a bad wide-angle, the lack of a polarisation filter and bad bokeh while taking this picture.
You can even run the game in WQUXGA (3840 x 2400, or 9 megapixels) if you want too. It does stretch the HUD though.
Click to expand...

I see that Red Orchestra has a lot of stretching at the 1080p at 32". Have you modified the above mentioned ini file to try making this more of a true widescreen effect, or is this with the ini already modified?

How close do you prefer to be to the monitor when playing games on the 32 inch HDTV?

What type of connections did you use from the PC to the HDTV? The TV that I am looking at would require a DVI to HDMI converter. This would provide the HD video, but not the audio. I would still need a left and right Composite connector to get the audio. (I'm not sure how that would branch from the PC end). Otherwise I could directly use the VGA connector, but that wouldn't be true HD video.
 
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#18
Didn't change the ini. The Display menu already had an option for 1920x1080.
Paulverisor64 said:
How close do you prefer to be to the monitor when playing games on the 32 inch HDTV?
Click to expand...
I like to play at ~50-80 cm distance, but 1,5 m is doable as well.

Paulverisor64 said:
What type of connections did you use from the PC to the HDTV? The TV that I am looking at would require a DVI to HDMI converter. This would provide the HD video, but not the audio. I would still need a left and right Composite connector to get the audio. (I'm not sure how that would branch from the PC end). Otherwise I could directly use the VGA connector, but that wouldn't be true HD video.
Click to expand...
We used VGA, but if you really want audio through your TV you should use HDMI if your GPU supports it.
VGA only goes up to 60Hz at 1080p resolution, DVI goes higher but it's only an LCD screen so for us it's enough.
 
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#19

BTW if you do go for a TV make sure you read up on reviews about it, my friend got a 32" 1080p LG that just doesnt work right on his PC. Windows doesnt display properly at its native resolution so desktop/web browsing looks crap, while some games have the same problem or he gets horrible dark lines all over it, checked everything, drivers, refresh rate even different cables. A quick google on it showed that it was a known problem between LG TVs and some Nvidias, though dont make that put you off, just make sure you do a little research first, but from what we found VGA/DVI/HDMI have no difference on picture quality though as Henry said only HDMI carries sound and only on specific graphic cards, oh and get your cables off the internet for pennies and not the
 
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#20
I appreciate everyone's assistance!

It does look like HDTV is a great way to go, but I'll try to be cautious of the possible pitfalls.

It does sound as if it might not be a bad idea to just settle for the VGA connection as there doesn't appear to be that much of a step up with digital. (I'm imagining that I would still be able to use the optimal resolution available). Unfortunately my graphics cards are only DVI and S-video so I'd have to scale back with an adapter.

If it wasn't for the audio dilema I'd be happy to get a DVI to HDMI adapter.

Perhaps I would have to look at something such as the Creative Decoder in order to get the audio in check.

The salesman made the PC to HDTV connection sound so simple. I will want to question him thoroughly for details to make sure he's not just glossing over an important detail.

Mahnsikir, you briefly mentioned web browsing. Is there any restriction to web browsing over an HDTV? Can HDTV handle streaming audio and video? Does the widescreen make web pages go calywompus? Does HDTV in any way bottleneck the internet in gaming online?
 
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