16:10 or 4:3 for gaming purposes, on a 20"?

[lithp]

Hai --

I game right now on a 19" and it seems decent enough but I am giving it to someone. I was going to go to a 20" but 16:10 or 4:3? The widescreen of the 4:3 doesn't bother me too much on FPS games, but the allure of the verticality (?) of the 16:10 is ever present. Any preferences? I am looking at getting:

HP L2045W 20" 16:10
or
HP 2009m 20" 16:9 (which is MUCH cheaper)

Is the cost difference worth it? Movies and TV are secondary to gaming. Also, I am looking to buy a GPU. I don't need anything too intense, either a 4670 / 9600GT / 9800 GTX Black...reason being because they are new and on ebay and for way cheap.

Need some help with matching the right aspect ratio on a 20" to one of those GPUs.

-- Thankya

 

[OvrClkr]

What is your budget for the screen?

 

[lithp]

Well...I have found the L2045W at $199, and the 2009m looks as if it might go for much less. I don't want to go over the $200 mark if I can avoid it. If you have something in mind, don't worry about the price so much, more so the best aspect ratio for the best quality 20". If you have some suggestions besides those I am looking at, feel free to mention.
Thanks

 

[JDFan]

I've got an ACER 22" 1680x1050 and it works well for gaming and the extra 2" gives you much better size for the same or less $ - Newegg has it for $159 including shipping right now ! ( LINKIE ) - unless you are limited to 20" for some reason.

THough if buying now I'd probably go for the 23" for $20 more since it handles 1920x1080 resolution and also has an HDMI input - ( LINKIE )

 

[lithp]

Well, I just don't want to have to get a $150+ GPU to support the 22" if I can avoid it. Will I have to get a 5770 or comparable? I have an all factory HP a1540n and I def getting a new GPU, PSU and monitor. The 22" is what I normally wanted but it seemed as though I had to invest in a mid/high-end vid card...what card do you have?

 

[OvrClkr]

This is a great gaming screen for the price :

ASUS VW224U Black 22" 1680x 1050 :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236050

Perfect for a 9800GTX =)

I dont play at 4:3, everything is streched and ugly IMO......

 

[JDFan]

Well, I just don't want to have to get a $150+ GPU to support the 22" if I can avoid it. Will I have to get a 5770 or comparable? I have an all factory HP a1540n and I def getting a new GPU, PSU and monitor. The 22" is what I normally wanted but it seemed as though I had to invest in a mid/high-end vid card...what card do you have?

The 22" I have runs fine at either 1440x900 or 1280x800 in gaming also if you need a lower resolution due to a lower spec video card. (just keep the same ratio and it scales just fine without stretching). I was running it using a 7800GS and Athlon 3200+ system until 2-3 months ago when I upgraded to my new system with an X3 720 and 5770 GPU - so it will run with just about any video card it is just a matter of setting the options to suit the power of your video card correctly.

EDIT : And I agree with OvrClkr - once you've played games for awhile in 16x10 you will not want to go back to 4:3 the widescreen gives you a much better view.

 

[OvrClkr]

yep^^

+1

Get a 1680x 1050 (native) screen and if you need to lower th res all you have to do is go into the display properties or third party GPU software and adjust...

 

[lithp]

It looks like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

Is a better buy than this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009179

No?

 

[JDFan]

It looks like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

Is a better buy than this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009179

No?

They are both pretty much the same price (figure the $10 shipping and the $20 Rebate on the ASUS make the final cost the same for both) So it really depends on which company you prefer.

 

[lithp]

Appreciate all the responses, making this much easier for me. With a 23", should I go for a 1gb or 512mb gpu? And I'm getting a new psu...here is what my load consists of for the most part:

4 sticks of ram at 3gb, maxed out for my 32bit
a new gpu (probably a 5770 or so)
one dvd+-rw
case fan
ethernet pci adapter (cisco aironet..and it's giving me problems)
1 HDD
USB (flash memory stick sometimes, other times a 500gb external HD)

I've done the wattage calculator and it seems as though a 400w would work, but not if I upgrade anything beyond that. Recommend a 550W or so?

 

[OvrClkr]

If you are only going to be using one GPU I would suggest this PSU :

Thermaltake TR2 W0379RU 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153113&cm_re=500w_power_supply-_-17-153-113-_-Product

Get a 22" and pair it up with a 5770 and you got game =)

 

[lithp]

If you are only going to be using one GPU I would suggest this PSU :

Thermaltake TR2 W0379RU 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153113&cm_re=500w_power_supply-_-17-153-113-_-Product

Get a 22" and pair it up with a 5770 and you got game =)

A 22" instead of a 23"? The 23" seems just slightly more expensive, is still a 16:10, 2ms as opposed to 5ms for some of the 22" I saw, HDMI, and its 1080p...seems like a better deal. I could be wrong. Even if I get a 5770, which I still don't know if it will work that well with my 4200+ Athlon x2 processor, I think it will work just fine with a 23", right?

 

[OvrClkr]

if your 4200+ is at stock clocks you will have a major bottleneck.... you need a CPU like yesterday =)

Before you go spend cash on those 2 pieces of hardware you should look into gettin a CPU first.. You can get a decent CPU for cheap now at days , at least a dual core that can do 3Ghz (or more if overclocked) ....

6000+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103772

Regor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103681&cm_re=Regor-_-19-103-681-_-Product

 

[lithp]

Ok. So basically the idea of getting a 5770 or so, and a 23" isn't possible with a 4200+ right? What, do I replace the cpu? Do I have to replace the whole mobo? Can I just overclock the cpu and problem solved? ................... I just saw the second part to that answer...are cpu's easy to install? Plug and go?

 

[OvrClkr]

hehe you need to read my friend...

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13671

 

[lithp]

Do have a recommendation for a processor? I'm assuming Intel edges out AMD, but, from what I remember, Intel makes tons of variations of dual core and i5's. Do you think core 2 duo or i5? And some i5's are under 3ghz but cost more than the core 2's that are 3ghz (?)

 

[lithp]

Point taken.

 

[OvrClkr]

I posted a few CPU's above^^

 

[lithp]

Ahh didn't see that above. I somewhat new to builds and specifics, so I'm learning as I go, from here and other forums. Didn't even think about cpu's this whole time, which is obvious to me now...I figured my 3 year old AMD x2 would suffice but I was way wrong.

Last question. As far as the monitors go. I am probably going to get these:
Regor cpu you mentioned
500w psu
5770 or 9800gt

Wouldn't it make sense to go with the 23" that is 2ms, 1080p, HDMI for about $20 more than a 22"? Is there something I am missing b/c I don't want to make a mistake and shell out money and regret it. Keep in mind that I am using a 19" at 16:9 right now so, visually, I can't comprehend the jump without seeing it firsthand.

 

[OvrClkr]

yes it does make sense since you can lower the res if needed =)

 

[JDFan]

^+1 - Get the 23" another advantage of it is that it runs at 1920x1080 which is the High Def 1080P resolution so if you watch movies on it you'll be able to run at the resolution they were designed for !

 

[RetiredChief]

I prefer the 16:10 as others and a resolution of 1920x1200 for => 24 in. the 1080 may be fine for 22 -> 23 Inch.

Just some info. 16:10 is 5 % > screen size than 16:9 (22 Inch). A 22 inch 4:3 is 12% larger than a 22" 16:9

For comparing screens:
For 16:10
Vertical = 0.848 x Diagonal
Horiz = 0.53 x Dia
For 16:9
Vert = 0.872 x Dia
Horz = 0.49 x Dia
For 4:3
Vert = 0.8 x Dia
Horz = 0.6 x Dia

Went thru this when picking a replacement monitor for my EXCELLENT 20 in 4:3 - But alas no HDMI input. Went with Samsung T240HD (1920 x 1200), which I swapped out for a Samsung P2770HD (1920 x 1080 - Poor choise)

As to refresh rate; For identical panels the 2 ms is better than 5ms, unforunatly that is only one part of the equation as some 5 ms displays have a better picture than som 2 mSec panels. Note most LCD monitor refresh rate is 60 Hz which is 6.25 msec.