Do I actually need widescreen?

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I have a Samsung 17" widescreen at the moment and to be honest I'm not really overwhelmed by it. I'm not sure what else it gives me over a normal aspect.

As I understand it the games are just stretched anyway. I don't watch movies on my PC so it's purely for gaming.

I want a new 19" and I think I would prefer a normal aspect one. Can anyone recommend something?
 
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I'm totally used to mine now, but whenever I go onto a normal 4:3 aspect monitor, it feels...wrong! Most people who try a widescreen can't go back...it's a drug....
 
Soldato
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Raymond Lin said:
17" widescreen is like a 15"tft !

to know the beauty of widesreen you realisticly need to try a 20" one.


Completely agree - even the 19" widescreens to my mind are pretty pointless , 20 or 24" and you wont regret it at all
 
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If you're a gamer, once you've tried widescreen, you'll NEVER want to go back. If terms of what it gives you, you'll see more on either side. Its a much more of an immersive experience. Incidentally, games aren't stretched - most modern games (though not all) run natively at a widescreen resolution.

If you're video watcher, again, you'll NEVER want to go back after you've tried widescreen. In fact, you'll been yearning for the next size up.....

If you're notepad document editor......forgeddaboutit.
 
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i use a couple of 24" dells at work and a 19" acer at home and really cant see the point in going larger than 20" tbh, id like to get another 19" for twinview setup tho
altho if u can afford 20" + then go for it :D
 
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19" is just as good as 20" to be honest. 20" offer a higher res but with a 19" at its highest its really just perfect. but of u have the cash for 20" you mite as well get one
 
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The only problem I see with using a widescreen monitor is that if a game insists on a 4:3 ratio, with a 20in WS that means going back to 1280x1024, whereas with a normal aspect monitor, 1600x1200 is possible.

I'd be pretty naffed off if i'd just spent £350 on an X1900XTX only to find that I have to drop back to 1280x1024.

Just my 0.02$ (i've never used a WS monitor). :cool:
 
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you can "force" your gfx card to use W/s but i think it only nVidia cards, not sure about ATis latest cards.

Widescreengamingforum also has loads of help with making your game fill the screen
 
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^^ As above, got my 19" acer today and couldnt agree more, games look awesome, as do dvds. I now know, what all the fuss is about. One problem with HL2 is i cant run at native res 14440x900, can anyone else?
Thanks :D
 
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wiggy said:
^^ As above, got my 19" acer today and couldnt agree more, games look awesome, as do dvds. I now know, what all the fuss is about. One problem with HL2 is i cant run at native res 14440x900, can anyone else?
Thanks :D

Try clicking on the aspect ratio's thing to 14:10, then you can select 1440x900. CS:source has never looked so good, it's just amazing the first time you play on a WS
 
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cobxx said:
Try clicking on the aspect ratio's thing to 14:10, then you can select 1440x900. CS:source has never looked so good, it's just amazing the first time you play on a WS
16:10, and yes it works perfectly
 
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Just got my Dell 2007WP today. Upgraded from a 19in WS Acer. Colours and sharpness much improved. The 1in and higher res is very noticable and worth the extra £150.
 
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