Widescreen Monitor Question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gmercoleza · #1 03-01-2006, 10:03 AM

Just received my 19 inch widescreen LCD monitor last night. Apparently native resolution is 1440 x 900. I have an ATI all-in-wonder Rage 128 card updated to the latest driver, but I still don't have the option to display at 1440 x 900. Tried a dual-head Jaton GeForce-based card I had on hand, but same story. Closest I can get is 1280 x 1064 which is OK, but I know I can do much better. Plus, things are slightly S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D horizontally due to the improper resolution.

Any ideas? Does this mean I need to go out and spend more cash on yet another video card? Any cards that you know will definitely do 1440 x 900?

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

sfloriII · #2 03-01-2006, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmercoleza

Plus, things are slightly S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D horizontally due to the improper resolution.

This may simply be due the disparity between a 4:3 aspect-ratio and the 9:16 aspect-ratio of your large screen. The monitor streches the image to the edges of your monitor to make it appear as though it's wide-screen. I don't have a 9:16 monitor myself, but I think it may depend on what format the signal is broadcast in. Does it also stretch the image of other "full-screen" (4:3 ratio) images from other sources like DVDs?

On a side, I once noticed the stretched image on some high-end HD monitors at Best Buy. I asked the clerk why it does that just to see if he knew, and he said he didn't even see anything strange about the image. That kinda goes in hand with my opinion of Best Buy.

gmercoleza · #3 03-01-2006, 10:52 AM

No, it's not simply a byproduct of the disparity between 4:3 and 16:9 (actually, 16:10 in the case of this monitor). If I could use a display option of 1440 x 900 everything would be golden. Consider:

ASPECT RATIOS:
----------------------
4:3 = .75
16:9 = .5625
16:10 = .625

NATIVE RESOLUTIONS:
----------------------
640 x 480 = .75
800 x 600 = .75
1024 x 768 = .75
1280 x 960 = .75 (what the manufacturer says to use if 1440 x 900 is unavailable)
1280 x 1024 = .80 (what it's currently set at)
1440 x 900 = .625 (what it's supposed to be)

GermanStar · #4 03-01-2006, 10:57 AM

Yeah, I'm guessing you need a newer video card...

gmercoleza · #5 03-01-2006, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GermanStar

Yeah, I'm guessing you need a newer video card...

That's what I figure, but it's so annoying that these card manufacturers don't list the resolutions their cards will display in - I've checked half a dozen "specifications" pages and can't seem to find one that will do 1440 x 900.

Anyone here running that resolution? What card are you using?

GermanStar · #6 03-01-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmercoleza

That's what I figure, but it's so annoying that these card manufacturers don't list the resolutions their cards will display in - I've checked half a dozen "specifications" pages and can't seem to find one that will do 1440 x 900.

Anyone here running that resolution? What card are you using?

Try posting the question here: http://www.jcxp.net/forums/index.php?

DuckMuck · #7 03-01-2006, 01:13 PM

I was looking at the drivers for your video card and it is quite old...I think the newest release was around 2001...I am doubtful it has support for widescreen...I think you are right...you may need to buy a new video card...sorry could not have been of more help

gmercoleza · #8 03-01-2006, 01:17 PM

Actually, this looks promising. I'm here at work, but just for kicks I downloaded the driver on that page, then attempted to install on a couple PCs here using the "have disk" method, and in the list you can select the 19 wide-inch 926w as an option - that is the widescreen monitor I have.

So it looks like the driver CD may have just been left out of the box - not surprising. I don't want to get my hopes too far up, just in case , but it would appear that this should work.

I hope so. I LOVE my ATI all-in-wonder...