16:9 Monitor?
 

I'm thinking if I should get a normal 4:3 LDC monitor or one in 16:9. What do you think? I already have an HDTV so I won't need the monitor to watch movies but it could be helpful in editing movies and sound since the view is wider but how would it look in gaming? Does it just strech it out (which looks hideous)? Is there also a list out there which shows games with 16:9 support?

thanks!

More and more modern games support 16:10 screen modes (which is the typical shape of computer widescreen LCDs, not 16:9). Older games probably don't, so you might have to run them in 4:3 resolutions. If that's the case, getting a 1920 x 1200 monitor (usually 23 or 24 inches) is probably the easiest, so you can run them in 1600 x 1200 and just have the monitor leave the image unstretched (I know Dell monitors support this, can't speak for others). 1280 x 1024 can work on 1680 x 1050 sized monitors, though you might want to make the LCD not scale that at all... it's a toss-up.

Basically, look at the games you play most often, get them updated. Do they support 16:10 sized resolutions? Would playing them in 4:3 on a 16:10 monitor bother you a lot? How does that balance against the niceties of having a widescreen monitor for general desktop/application computing? That's not a decision we can help you with.

I'm a big fan of widescreen displays, for desktop AND gaming, but the only games I really play are WoW and HL2 (and other Source games), all of which support 16:10 display modes in their engines natively. So it works out perfectly for my situation.

I use a widescreen monitor and love it. A number of games do not support it, but it doesn't bother me.

As for a compatibility list this is pretty good: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com...itle=Main_Page

If you are looking to get a new monitor these days, the only reason I can think of getting a 4:3 ratio monitor over a widescreen is because you need a high native resolution such as 1600x1200 on a 19" screen. To get a 1920x1200 native widescreen resolution , you normally need to purchase a 24-inch screen minimum. But remember that you need some pretty beefy hardware to run games at that kind of resolution.

As for 4:3 pictures on a 16:10 (as killmoms mentioned, this is the widescreen ratio used for computer monitors) they almost all have options to prevent the picture from being stretched. Similar to how to black bars are present on top and bottom of a widescreen picture on a 4:3 monitor, a 16:10 monitor is able to put black bars to the left and right of a 4:3 picture to preserve screen ratio. But being that everything is being moved from 4:3 to a 16:9 or 16:10 screen ratio, I would not buy a non-widescreen monitor at this point.

Thanks for your help guys!
I think I'm probably gona get this one
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138083976140
It's got the native solution I wan't to a reasonable price. I checked it out by myself at ebay and think this oun could be the right one since I really don't wanna spend more than 500$ on that.

Don't even spend that much. Just sign up for a site like dealmac.com or something and watch for deals on the Dell 2007WFP. It's the only 20.1" widescreen I'd bother buying. Beautiful screen (all the gorgeousness of the 2005, and now with no backlight leaking) and supports HDCP on its DVI input. With deals, it gets down to as low as $360 - $390.

@killmoms
Thanks for to inform me on that monitor. It has even a S-IPS panel which the bestbuy one doesn't have. Looks really good and even with the full price it's still (a little bit) cheaper. DO you know if Dell is shipping with USPS? I HATE UPS.

Not sure, honestly, it's been so long since I got my 2005FPW (and then had to sell it) that I don't remember. I didn't have any trouble with it shipped, though, and neither did my two friends who just bought 2007s... and for the prices these monitors can get down to, I'd be willing to put up with UPS.

Yeah I'm probably gona go with that. At least the shipping is free as well but why did you have to sell it?

Had no money and all my friends were going to a beach house for spring break. Since we were all seniors, it was sort of our last big vacation/road-trip opportunity, so I decided people were more important than stuff. I sold my monitor to a freshman friend of mine who is a talented artist and would get a lot of use out of a larger monitor. When I have a steady job and some financial stability again, I'll be getting a new one. :)

Dell Small Business shipped both of my 2007WFPs via DHL. Buy them though Dell Small Business. It seems this departments prefers using DHL over UPS.

Hoe long does it usualy take for shipping?

I got mine in 2 days after order even though I paid for normal ground shipping. I had them shipped to my office though which is a fairly large business that receives a huge amount of packages from each courier every day.

I'd say 5 days at most if you happen to live in the middle of nowhere.

That's really fast. I live in LA so it shouldn't take long.

im waitin on a deal for the 2007wfp... the guys on here also got me convinced to get one, and it looks like the banding issues have been solved

**edit
this morning i got this in my email
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2868/clip7wo.jpg

on the forums it says to be sure to get the A02 revision, to order after july 1st
but with this sale im not waiting (this is a week sale i believe so the last day will be june 28)

If you don't mind the hassle, you can order it now, and see if they ship you A02 rev. If not, just said it got serious ghosting problem, and demead for an exchange. BTW, never call thier customer service, email them is much better.:biggrin:

THANKS ALOT!!
Just ordered it. If it's not the A02 I'm gona send it back by 7th of july for replacement.

i just ordered it yesterday, and amazingly it says its supposed to be delivered today, so we'll see, im ready to see if its a02, it shipped from austin, tx, and i've read on dell forums that the a02 revisions are manufactured in mexico? haha so maybe becaues of the geography ill have a a02

In my mail it says Estimated Ship Date: Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Does that mean it will leave then or I will receive it on that date? I just hope that I'm getting it before end of next week. Where can I see from which place they shipped it?

dell should provide a dhl tracking number then go to dhl's site and itll provide more specific details about the shipping (including where it was shipped from), im sure yours is already on its way

but, dhl's estimated ship date for mine was wrong (it was yesterday) its still in waco, which is about 3 hrs from here

I just wrote a email to dell complaining about the shipping date since I wan't the monitor by the end of next week.

You realize it does take some time for a monitor to be shipped across the country, right?

Nope, not with 3 DAYS OF PROCESSING befor it will even get shipped. Normaly you receive it in a few days and not over a whole week. That would be just idiotic service to be correct...

Double Post:
Wow the email suppot is really greate. They just changed my order in to next day shipping without additional cost (I whoudl get it on monday)! Well that's what I call a greate support ;-) Now let's just hope we got the A02 rev.

i got mine today, but it was a00...
just sent ChrisM a private message on dell forums, hopefully ill get a a02 soon, but it looks fine right now, i havnt got to mess with it much, too busy with school =/

I can't believe they are still shipping Rev A00s. They must be just trying to dump the things off on people and hope those not aware of the problem just keep the monitors without and complaints.

I should get it today but how should I send it back? By USPS or something else? Do I have to pay for shipping?

No, they ship you a new monitor and once you receive it all you need to do it pack up the old monitor in the box that was sent and send it back. All shipping is pre-paid by Dell. If they use DHL like they did with me, you just need to call DHL and schedule a pickup date/time.

I just gone mine (rev00 like I tought) so now I just have to email them and they send my a new one so I don't have to send it back first and then wait another week? Sound pretty greate!
Now I just have to wait two weeks to be sure that they don't ship this 00 model anymore...does this replacement warranty only for 30 days?

No, if you are requesting a replacement due to banding, it is covered under the 3 year warranty. I got my A02 replacement after having the monitor for 2 months.

Mmhhhh you got the A02 before we got our A00....what the hell is wrong with dell???
At least the warranty does cover it.

to get on the "list" for gettin a revision sent to you, the best way is to private message chrisM on the dell forums, i did this and he responded quickly

and from what i understand, the reason they are still shipping a00s is because they are having a hard enough time gettin the updated flash versions to those requesting replacement

their first priority is gettin them to those who request, which i think is a good approach on the situation

Ok thanks I will do that.
About the monitor should I instal the driver or rather download the newest version on the net and which cable to use? DVI-D or the standard VGA?

i dont remember installing a driver, i know i didnt use the bundled cd, just hooked it up and it was fine
tho, i think i may have gotten one from windows update

but your videocard software/driver should be good enough to get it into dvi-d (which is what im using, but i cant see a difference, and its in the dvi-d that the banding issues are said to occur)

also i was just gonna express my anger, bc the monitor is now on sale for $344, man, shoulda waited...


*edit
got my replacement in today! that was really quick, i wasn't even expecting it yet

Could you already exchange your monitor? I just send chrism a PM.

yeah youll get it quick, or should anyway
i sent chrism the message on a monday, DHL was at my door that friday

He didn't answered me yet so I send him a second mail with more pressure and where is the service tag?? It suppose to be at the bottom left corner on the back I can't find it. Theres just a long row of numbers. I tried to type in every group of numbers between the "-" but it wont accept any.

it should be on the bottom left of the back of the screen, by a bar code if i remember right...
also, make sure to update your profile with your info (customer # etc), that may be why he didnt respond to you

Yeah below the barcode is a row of numbers which is far too long for a service tag.