Widescreen or regular monitor?

[RedTiger]

I'm going to be buying a new monitor soon and I wanted to get opinions on whether or not to get a widescreen one or a regular one. I'll either be getting a 22" widescreen or a 20" regular LCD.

 

I've never had a widescreen monitor before and to be honest, I'm a little put-off by how short they seem. I'm looking at a 22" one and its only 8" tall! Thats a little over half as tall as the one of the 20" monitors I have sitting on my desk at work. I guess you give up heighth for width eh?

 

So, what would you recommend?

[Fjordmonkey]

I was highly skeptical about widescreen-monitors myself, until I bought a BenQ 20" that runs 1680x1050 natively. Have two 20" at work running 1600x1200, and to be honest, I prefer my widescreen. Haven't noticed any issues in gaming, either.

 

That being said, I wouldn't get a widescreen-monitor with LESS than 1680x1050-resolution, but then again, that's just me. Just watch the contrast-ratio, brightness and responsetimes, as some monitors might have a good resolution, but the rest just plain sucks.

[-sulan-]

I use a Samsung Syncmaster [some letters and numbers] 22" widescreen which I'm very happy with. It has good contrast and very good response times (Samsungs specs are 3000:1 and 2ms), and on top of that it's also quite cheap (equivalent of 250-300€ or so I think it is now).

To me it looks very good and is definetly good enough for my gaming needs, I'd recommend it. Have'nt had any trouble with it other than in games that have troubles with widescreens in general...

I believe all 20" and 22" widescreens run 1650x1080 natively..

 

I'd like to get a 22" touch panel though, preferably just the touch panel since I allready have a screen, but I have'nt been able to find any bigger than 19"... Anyone knows about 22" (or bigger) touchpanels or touchscreens?

[FVMAD]

came from 19" CRT 4:3 to LCD 22" 16:10

now can't look on anything 4:3 or 5:4... looks like vintage :))))

[Boberro]

From 15'' CRT (produced in 1997!) to 20'' Asus widescreen in 1680x1050. Now I can't work normal on 4:3 old monitors. I think widescreens are MUCH better than LCDs with 4:3 ratio. Get widescreen, don't buy old 4:3 junks :D

[RedTiger]

Do things on screen look small? Like will a cockpit in LOMAC look really tiny since widescreens aren't very tall? I realize I'll have more FOV, but it will seem weird if everything is as small as it would be on a 8" or 10" screen!

[Boberro]

No, all things are good readable. Look:

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LockOnFC/photo#5147962600916040178

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LockOnFC/photo#5180215396917432034

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LOFC_HDR

 

All is very good on widescreen :D

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Think about it.... humans are sort of built to look forward of their heads but also... side to side. Like we were cavemen looking at the open plain for animals to hunt... or last week when you were at the club looking for tail to chase.

 

Thus the wide format seems much more natural...

 

Its awesome. I have a 27in Samsung widescreen and its my favorite thing about my system.

[RedTiger]

No, all things are good readable. Look:

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LockOnFC/photo#5147962600916040178

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LockOnFC/photo#5180215396917432034

 

http://picasaweb.google.pl/Agressorini/LOFC_HDR

 

All is very good on widescreen :D

 

Yeah, those all look very good. No tiny cockpits. :lol:

 

Ok, I'm sold. 12 vs. 0 in favor of widescreen. I have a nice 2ms, 1680 x 1050, 5000:1 contrast ratio ASUS monitor all picked out. :)

[3Sqn_Fudd]

Tiger.... im a monitor freak... which web sources would you buy from?

 

I'd like to look at what your options are.

[xplight]

At work 20" CRT 4:3, at home LCD 22" 16:10 ;)

But i have a bit different tasks at my work and at home, so CRT is good enougth.

[RedTiger]

Tiger.... im a monitor freak... which web sources would you buy from?

 

I'd like to look at what your options are.

 

I was browsing newegg.

 

http://www.newegg.com

 

I'm picky about ordering things this expensive online. I ordered every single part on my new computer from them, no hicups, no hassle, no DOAs, so I'm pretty much going to stick with them.

[3Sqn_Fudd]

I was browsing newegg.

 

www.newegg.com

 

I'm picky about ordering things this expensive online. I ordered every single part on my new computer from them, no hicups, no hassle, no DOAs, so I'm pretty much going to stick with them.

 

Ah ha great choice... be careful of your dead pixel tolerance though, newegg has a very high dead pixel count policy. Shouldn't have to worry though, dead pixels are rare if frustrating.

 

So your budget is around 359$ ...?

 

Why not consider choosing with these search terms?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010190020%204019%201301919996&bop=And&Order=RATING

 

There are quite a few 24in monitors in there. If you have the video card to pump out 1920x1200 (not really an issue in LockOn) I would consider it... heck, even games at 1680x1050 on these monitors look really good. 2 more inches really is nice, and those who really have used both, know that 1920x1200 on a 24in is a really what "you" want.

 

If the newegg pixel policy bothers you, try other places and I would not buy without referencing this site at least once before you buy... outstanding deals creep up on this outstanding deal engine from time to time.

 

http://bensbargains.net/category/62

 

Above all RedTiger... I encourage you to buy a monitor that has a color gamut well above 72% ... pay no attention to contrast ratio specs, they are nefarious marketing terms.