OldBuzzard

My secondary monitor, an OLD, OLD, Sony GDM-3000 finally died yesterday

So, needing a replacement, I trekked out to the local B&M store (Microcenter) and brought home a fairly cheap ACER 20". It would be this one that is listed at Newegg:
Newegg.com - Acer X203Wbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 ACM - LCD Monitors

I didn't need anything 'great' since I have my trusty Sony FW900 CRT for my primary.

Now, this being my 1st LCD, I do have a couple of questions.

1. It's native resolution is 1680x1050 @60Hz which is a bit higher than I'd like. I'd prefer to run it at 1400x900, since my old eyes aren't what they used to be. Can I run it long term, at a res other than 'native' without harm?

2. It has both DVI and VGA inputs. Is there any major advantage to using one over the other? Bear in mind that this is a SECONDARY monitor, and I won't be using it gaming & ect.

I'm currently running it in my Vista partitions at 1680x1050 using the VGA input, and the 1440x 900 resolution isn't available as a choice. However, in an XP 32 bit Install I have, 1400x900 IS available, and I set it to that resolution in that OS, and I definately like the 1400x900 better.

Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

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If you would prefer to run at a 1400x900 resolution you should take the 20" back and go for a 19" widscreen which would run 1400x900 natively.

Running the 20" in 1400x900 wont hurt your LCD tho.

temeteus82

If I were you I would get this one : Newegg.com - ViewSonic VX2233wm Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080P 16:9 LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 18000:1(1000:1) Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors

1. Yeah you can.

2. DVI is all digital so the signal from the gfx card won't be converted to analog on the way to the LCD screen. So in the end with DVI you get all digital signal to the screen. It should be a bit better than the normal VGA.

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Tipstaff

If this is being used on the machine that has the ATI 3870x2 in it, and you want/need a clean image (as it would be on a CRT) take a look at the settings within Catalyst Control Center that deals with scaling. It's in the same section that deals with how to run the DVI resolutions for the specific panel/monitor, such as reducing and using alternate modes. There will be 2 options: scale image to full panel size, and use centered timings. You want the latter one. By default when you run a lower than native resolution the card will scale the image to fill the screen. By choosing centered timings you can run the resolution you want, and it will display that resolution on the screen without scaling. That way you get a cleaner image. The only "drawback" (if you want to call it that) is that you will get a smaller image on the panel, same idea as watching widescreen movies where you will get black bars where the image isn't being viewed.

3 problems: 1) Some monitors will override this by including their own built in hardware scaling. In my case my Samsung 2693HM will, by default, scale to widescreen (as will Samsung LCDs built in the last couple years), and to override this I have to set it to "Normal" (4:3) within the displays propteries. This way I can still get a clean image for games that run in non-native resolutions. You might find a similar option in the Acers control panel. 2) I can only vouch for this when running the panel using DVI, so this might not be available if you run the monitor in VGA. 3) By not displaying, or rather by not scaling the image full screen can, over time, cause damage just as with LCD TVs that warn that running in 4:3 can, over time, damage the TV.

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Judas

Center timings won't do what he would like... considering that essentially it's forcing the lcd's native resolution, with black borders, he wants to use the full size of the screen, making everything larger for his eyes to see...

Obviously a DVI connection will be superior..... running at non native resolution won't hurt anything, just makes the lcd look a little fuzzier then it could be.

You'd be better off with indeed a 19" @ 1400x900 native then a 20" natively 1680x1050 running at 1400x900.

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SeraphicSorcerer

It won't hurt the monitor, but yes a 19 inch normally deals with 1400x900, The next I believe is 22", that does 1400x900

DVI is all digital, and you may experience better color scaling etc. However no clear advantage, except DVI usually allows HDMI conversion

Long term non native does not harm the monitor.

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BlueMak

If a monitor is good enough you shouldn't have a problem running it at a non native resolution and still getting a good enough image. Since you can't see very well, I would GUESS that any lower visual quality associated with a non native resolution would be very minimal for you and the increased size would be better. Of course if you use Windows you can simply adjust the size of the fonts and icons so that you could in theory, even let it run at the native resolution and not trouble you at all.
DVI is a bit more "clear" than VGA, but it all depends on you. I don't think there is any good reason to get a monitor that only has VGA output.

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