Widescreen LCD: ViewSonic vs. Benq

I agree with killmoms, Dell definitely has the *best* LCD's for PC available. If you plan on keeping this screen for a loooooong time, I would highly recommend HDCP compliance, because with Windows Vista (crap) and all the other DRM running around, you will want it.

But if you do go with the none Dell monitors, either choice is very good. They really are practically the same. Viewsonic has speakers, a slightly higher contrast ratio, but is more expensive.

Honestly, make sure the shape is something you like. You don't want a eye-sore for a monitor.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Do make sure and go widescreen though. It's the wave that everyone is riding and it is WELL worth it.

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Widescreen is the way to go. Most modern games support a widescreen mode, but not everyone. One's that don't will display differently depending on your monitor and how you hook it up (VGA/DVI). Usually monitors have the option to stretch, zoom, or standard. Any LCD/TV will have these types of options, so if you by any kind of monitor that has composite/component/svideo connections, it should give you options on how to view non-widescreen content. If you connect DVI, you won't necessarily have the option of stretching because DVI is made for 1:1 pixel matching. So if you play a game set to 1280x1024 on a 1680x1050 display, it will have black along the sides as well as the bottom. With a VGA connection, most all displays will stretch or give the option to stretch.

Living with widescreen in a old 4:3 world can be difficult, but it is worth it. Gaming like say in Oblivion at 16:10 is amazingly better than at 4:3. Hard to explain why, but it's just the truth. Also, Windows seems to have so much more space with a widescreen.

The biggest thing to consider when buying an LCD is it's native resolution. Generally speaking, you want everything to match your LCD's native resolution (i.e. Windows, games, etc.). If you don't match your LCD's native resolution in Windows or in a game, things can look very odd, especially text. So when you pick a LCD, pick a resolution that you will be comfortable with. Also pick a resolution that matches your video card (or what you would spend on a card). For instance, if you have a 6600 to play games and choose a 1920x1200 monitor, FEAR, HL2 or WoW at native resolution is impossible. My widescreen monitor is 1360x768, so I can play most games with full eye-candy on a X800 at native resolution.

1680x1050 will feel like 1280x1024 but with more space on the sides. 1360x768 feels like 1024x768 but with more space. 1920x1200 feels like 1600x1200 with more space. So check out these different resolutions in Windows and find what feels best for you. Then choose your monitor based on the native resolution.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It looks pretty good if you like 1280x1024 resolution. It doesn't seem to have options for stretching (not that this should be needed). Otherwise, its all pretty good. It's not a bad choice.

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