Monitor questions

I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card and
a 17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try
1024x768, everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get a
larger LCD monitor.

First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60 Hz.
If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large enough
monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

"void" wrote in message
...
I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card and a
17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try 1024x768,
everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get a larger LCD
monitor.

First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60 Hz.
If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large enough
monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

LCD's don't worry about refresh... 60Hz is fine.

Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

I can't say for sure, but the G400 should support wide resolutions. Have you
got the latest drivers from Matrox installed? I'm assuming that you're
running Windows.

"void" wrote in message ...
I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card and
a 17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try
1024x768, everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get a
larger LCD monitor.

If you can't read 1024x768 on 17", you will not like ANY LCD.
I ran 1152x864 on 17" CRT, which is comparable to 1280x1024 on 19" LCD.

Try setting Advance Display to 120 DPI before you decide on anything.

First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60 Hz.
If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large enough
monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

You can download the Matrox custom res utility (use google).
The card will do 1440x900 but not too much higher.

void wrote:
I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card
and a 17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try
1024x768, everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get
a larger LCD monitor.

First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60
Hz. If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large
enough monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

60Hz should be fine for an LCD monitor. 1280x968 is a weird resolution,
is it 1280x960? That would be a standard 4:3 ratio.

Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I
upgrade my computer.)

To each his own, but unless your PC is principally a media center, I
think widescreen is a waste of money.

Would the image stretch horizontally so that it
fit all of the screen? (That would be bad.)

Probably.

Or would there be empty
black space on both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

You might be able to configure the monitor/display adapter to do that,
but I think that would look like crap as well.

Display adapters just aren't that expensive. You can probably get a
more contemporary card for less than $40. Post what motherboard you
have, and I'm sure someone can make a budget-minded recommendation.

One thing that you might not be aware of is that LCD monitors have
what's called a native resolution. If you set it to display at
resolutions lower than that, the output will have to be approximated to
that output. That doesn't look so bad, but right at native resolution
looks better.

17" LCD monitors are slightly larger than CRT monitors, and typically
have native resolutions of 1280x1024. Given what you've said above,
that monitor running at native resolution might be a bit small for you.
If you step up to a 19" LCD monitor, you will get the same native
resolution, but larger pixels. Basic 19" monitors are only about $20
more than their 17" counterparts.

"void" wrote:
Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

Noozer wrote:
I can't say for sure, but the G400 should support wide resolutions. Have you
got the latest drivers from Matrox installed? I'm assuming that you're
running Windows.

Just wanted to add something you both probably already know, but that I
recently found out:

Some display adapters present a list of resolutions that is sensitive to
what monitor is attached. So, it's entirely possibly that your card
does not appear to support widescreen resolutions because it knows your
monitor is *not* widescreen, and does not present those options.

It had always made sense to me that could be done, but it was only
recently that I actually saw it in action.

Noozer wrote:
Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

I can't say for sure, but the G400 should support wide resolutions. Have
you got the latest drivers from Matrox installed? I'm assuming that you're
running Windows.

My drivers are close to the latest version, but not the latest version.
When I re-installed my OS a couple years ago, I noticed an issue with the
latest driver. A Matrox rep on their support forum (which is sadly no
longer available) said that a previous version of the driver did not have
the issue, so I've been using that one since.

But I think that I will get a non-widescreen monitor. I have some games
that only support non-widescreen resolutions, so I think they'll look
stretched on a widescreen monitor.

Grinder wrote:

To each his own, but unless your PC is principally a media center, I
think widescreen is a waste of money.

Or a gamer. Wider FOV can make a big difference in games. Tunnel vision
has always been an issue with 4:3 screens with certain kinds of games.

void wrote:
Noozer wrote:
Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen
resolutions, what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD
monitor? (I might want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the
capability when I upgrade my computer.) Would the image stretch
horizontally so that it fit all of the screen? (That would be
bad.) Or would there be empty black space on both sides of the
image? (That would be better.)

I can't say for sure, but the G400 should support wide resolutions.
Have you got the latest drivers from Matrox installed? I'm assuming
that you're running Windows.

My drivers are close to the latest version, but not the latest version.
When I re-installed my OS a couple years ago, I noticed an issue with
the latest driver. A Matrox rep on their support forum (which is sadly
no longer available) said that a previous version of the driver did not
have the issue, so I've been using that one since.

But I think that I will get a non-widescreen monitor. I have some games
that only support non-widescreen resolutions, so I think they'll look
stretched on a widescreen monitor.


Check page 3 here. It looks like the connectors are not of equal capability.
Maybe you're plugged into the secondary one ?

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/media...chip_specs.pdf

And if you change video cards, don't forget to remove the Matrox drivers,
before you shut down and change hardware.

Paul

Grinder wrote:

void wrote:
I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card and
a 17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try
1024x768, everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get a
larger LCD monitor.

First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60 Hz.
If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large enough monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

60Hz should be fine for an LCD monitor. 1280x968 is a weird resolution,
is it 1280x960? That would be a standard 4:3 ratio.

You are right, it is 1280x960. And it also supports a 1280x1024
resolution, which I think is weird. Wouldn't that cause the image to be
compressed vertically on a non-widescreen monitor? Why would anyone want
to use that?


Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.)

To each his own, but unless your PC is principally a media center, I think
widescreen is a waste of money.

I think I will go with a non-widescreen monitor for backward compatibility
reasons (I have some games that only run in non-widescreen resolutions).


Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of the screen?
(That would be bad.)

Probably.

Or would there be empty black space on both sides of the image? (That
would be better.)

You might be able to configure the monitor/display adapter to do that, but
I think that would look like crap as well.

Display adapters just aren't that expensive. You can probably get a more
contemporary card for less than $40. Post what motherboard you have, and
I'm sure someone can make a budget-minded recommendation.

I have an ABIT KT7-RAID, although since I'm getting a non-widescreen
monitor, I'll just stick with the G400.


One thing that you might not be aware of is that LCD monitors have what's
called a native resolution. If you set it to display at resolutions lower
than that, the output will have to be approximated to that output. That
doesn't look so bad, but right at native resolution looks better.

Thanks for that tidbit, I didn't know that.

What about dead pixels, is that still an issue? I remember reading about
that a few years ago, and many stores developed a policy that said if the
monitor had less than 8 dead pixels, then you could not exchange it for
another one.


17" LCD monitors are slightly larger than CRT monitors, and typically have
native resolutions of 1280x1024. Given what you've said above, that
monitor running at native resolution might be a bit small for you. If
you step up to a 19" LCD monitor, you will get the same native resolution,
but larger pixels. Basic 19" monitors are only about $20 more than their
17" counterparts.

When I got my 17" CRT monitor (a ViewSonic A70), I was surprised that
1024x768 looked a little small on it. Maybe because the actual viewable
size is 16". (LCD monitors don't distinguish between marketing size and
viewable size, do they?) And thanks for mentioning what size monitor
would be good for 1280x1024, I was wondering what size monitor I should
get. Wait a sec... you say 17" and 19" LCD monitors have native
resolutions of 1280x1024. So if I run in 1280x960 the image will not be
optimal. I'll have to wait for the answer to my question about why you
would want to run in 1280x1024 vs 1280x960.

On Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:44:45 -0600, "void"
wrote:

I have a 7 year old computer with a Matrox Millennium G400 video card and
a 17" CRT monitor. I can run in 800x600 comfortably, but if I try
1024x768, everything is a little small on my monitor. So I want to get a
larger LCD monitor.

??

1024x768 is not bad on a 17", but if you want a larger
monitor then by all means do it.


First question: Does refresh rate matter with LCD monitors? I notice my
G400 supports a maximum of 1280x968, but the refresh rate would be 60 Hz.

False. Your G400 supports higher than 60Hz at 1280x1024. I
have no idea where you got 1280x968, maybe you meant
1280x960.

Your G400 supports at least 85Hz at that resolution, and
also at higher resolutions.



If refresh rate doesn't matter with LCD, then I might get a large enough
monitor that lets me run in 1280x968.

With an LCD, you can run at 60Hz without the issues of
flicker present on a CRT.

However, there is little reason to try for a monitor that
supports 1280sx1024. Get a 1600x1200 monitor. Not to be
confused with 1680x1050 widescreen, there are still a few
1600x1200 monitors in the market and you would be wise to
buy one of those now, not waiting till there aren't around
anymore. Your video card will definitely support it, even
an older G200 I have was running at that resolution.



Second question: Since my G400 does not support widescreen resolutions,
what would happen if I were to buy a widescreen LCD monitor? (I might
want a widescreen monitor so that I can use the capability when I upgrade
my computer.) Would the image stretch horizontally so that it fit all of
the screen? (That would be bad.) Or would there be empty black space on
both sides of the image? (That would be better.)

yes it would stretch and that would be an image degradation.
Some find it more disagreeable than others but generally I'd
have to say you should avoid doing that, it is a worse
result.

There will be empty space if your video driver supports it,
but AFAIK, the old G400 driver does not. There may be a
Matrox Tech Support Teak tool that lets you set custom
resolutions if your driver is new enough, but you should
investigate that and try to do it, before you buy a
widescreen. If it doesn't seen to work, assume you cannot
use a widescreen and buy either a 1280x1024, 19", or a
1600x1200 20.n". I recommend the 1600x1200 today, unless
the budget is very tight.

Alternatively, while G400 had very crisp 2D for it's time,
today all video cards have equivalent 2D and much faster 3D.
Before paying a lot for a monitor you should consider it
could be time to upgrade the video card, especially if you
don't have a DVI output on the G400, that will significantly
increase monitor display quality above 1280x1024 resolution.
Even today's low-end, $30 after rebate current-gen video
cards will have a better result with today's displays so
long as they have DVI output... plus they can use widescreen
resolutions if you really wanted that... some people do and
some dont.

Personally, I bought a widescreen only because it was cost
effective. Going above 1600x1200 in 4:3 ratio LCDs is
obscenely expensive.