How well do 20" 1600x1200 TFTs scale 1280x1024 images?

Magic Man · Post by **Magic Man** » 29 Dec 2006, 01:33

Just looking at my options for a TH2Go setup but would prefer the fallback of having 1600x1200 native resolution screens rather than 1280x1024 for non TH2Go supported titles.

How well does a 20" 1600x1200 panel scale a 1280x1024 input? E.g. Would 3 Dell 2007 panels do a good job?

Thanks.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 29 Dec 2006, 10:06

I have 3 x Dell 2001's (20")and they scale very well ...
In games I don't notice the scaling at all ... but on the desktop and in other applications it is noticeable but acceptable.
I have done this for quite some time now and I am very used to it ... I only notice when I go to my other system which has 3 x Dell 2405's at 3 x 1920x1200.
You can switch the TH2G to 1600x1200 for just one screen ... to switch all 3 back to 1600x1200 is a bit more of a pain.

Magic Man · Post by **Magic Man** » 29 Dec 2006, 10:44

Okay, thanks for that. So the TH2Go will pass through 1600x1200 when disabled then? I thought I read that it had issues and only passed through a maximum of 1280x1024 when in 1 screen/disabled mode?

Thanks again.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 29 Dec 2006, 11:44

I thought it wouldn't/couldn't do it either ... :oops:
It is not something I have ever done as I just won't play games in 4:3 since going widescreen or TH2G ... because of your post I tried it and it worked ... :? :shock:
I just switched the desktop res to 1600x1200 in the Matrox PowerDesk/Display Properties ... 8)

cbair3 · Post by **cbair3** » 02 Jan 2007, 03:36

Hi - I am thinking of getting a 3 screen setup for both work and for gaming. My concern is the resolution and the analog connection. For work, I would rather have 1600x1200 screens and the digital connection. For gaming, I can live with the th2g.

I have a 6800 Ultra card and am installing a second to do SLI. Here is my idea - I want to "double connect" the 3 screens. I would connect the "main" output (the one used by SLI) to the th2g, and then run the output from the th2g to the 3 analog inputs. Then, I would connect the remaining 3 DVI connectors to the DVI inputs on the monitors. I drew a diagram of the idea - analog is in blue, digital is in purple... (sorry, can't figure out how to put the image in the post)

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbair3/Th2gDoubleConnect/photo#5015252774665847986

I think this should cause the computer to see 4 monitors when SLI is shut off; 3 "regular" 20 inch monitors and 1 "big monitor" for the th2g. For work, I would keep SLI off and probably just disable the big monitor. For gaming, I would enable the big monitor, make it the primary, and switch on SLI (which would disable the 3 other outputs.) I should be able to just toggle the monitors between analog and digital inputs to make the switch.

Has anyone tried this? If not, can anyone see a reason it would not work? Thanks for any help.

- CB

PS - the monitor I am considering for the setup is the Samsung 204b, anyone have comments on that as a gaming monitor?

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 02 Jan 2007, 09:35

Hey welcome to the WSGF ... 8)

I have not tried it but I don't see why that shouldn't work ... :D

Magic Man · Post by **Magic Man** » 02 Jan 2007, 13:14

I was thinking of doing the same thing myself

cbair3 · Post by **cbair3** » 02 Jan 2007, 19:09

I am trying to think of how to test this before I drop $1k plus on all the gear. I only have two monitors right now (a big CRT and a 17 inch lcd.) Once I get SLI set up, I may try hooking up the big CRT to the "main" output and the LCD to one of the ports on the other card. I can then try the SLI swithing thing.

That is the main thing that worries me. I don't think the th2go would be "aware" of this setup, so it should make no difference. I am also highly confident in the monitors' ability to switch between the two inputs. I'll let everyone know what I find out. (Gotta get my new card and set up SLI first.) In the interim, any thoughts or experience is much appreciated!

- Chuck

Post by **skipclarke** » 12 Jan 2007, 20:46

Paddy, how well does 1024x768 scale to those panels? I'm really jonesing for my TH2Go setup. I don't see myself being able to build my gaming rig very soon, so I was thinking of hooking them up to my Mac Pro.

I've got the 7300 in it, so I don't have the ATI driver problems. I realize it's not a speedy card but it does okay at 1920x1200, and that's almost the exact same number of pixels as 3x1024x768.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 12 Jan 2007, 20:55

I think 1024x768 scales very well on my panels ... of course if the game doesn't do AA then it looks pretty bad and text in windowsp looks a little soft.

Post by **skipclarke** » 12 Jan 2007, 20:58

Cool, I was thinking that the 1024x768 would scale well to the 1600x1200, since they are both 4:3 ratios. Hopefully Apple will release a better NVIDIA card here soon.

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 12 Jan 2007, 21:02

Did you notice the edit ...

and text in windows looks a little soft

... I was adding it as you posted ...
If it is just until you get a better card then I think you could live with it.

Post by **skipclarke** » 12 Jan 2007, 21:20

I hadn't noticed that, but I can understand why. Yea, I figure if I can get a decent card in here 7800/7900, it will keep me from having to build the separate rig.

Wonder if I should just go with 3x19" and only scale the little bit. Guess I should figure out what will fit on my desk, and then figure out if they will fit the Ergotron stand i want. Anyone know of a 19" 1600x1200 panel.

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 12 Jan 2007, 21:46

Okay, thanks for that. So the TH2Go will pass through 1600x1200 when disabled then? I thought I read that it had issues and only passed through a maximum of 1280x1024 when in 1 screen/disabled mode?

Thanks again.

I thought it wouldn't/couldn't do it either ... :oops:
It is not something I have ever done as I just won't play games in 4:3 since going widescreen or TH2G ... because of your post I tried it and it worked ... :? :shock:
I just switched the desktop res to 1600x1200 in the Matrox PowerDesk/Display Properties ... 8)

I have had some issues getting a single center monitor to run at 1600x1200. I can get it going on the desktop by forcing the resolution, but in a lot of games 1600x1200 is not a selectable resolution; I think this is because Windows doesn't see it as supported resolution when a TripleHead2Go is connected.

If you have a game where you can set the resolution externally and then start the game, you may be able to work around the problem. Otherwise you may be stuck in certain situations.

I have a 6800 Ultra card and am installing a second to do SLI. Here is my idea - I want to "double connect" the 3 screens. I would connect the "main" output (the one used by SLI) to the th2g, and then run the output from the th2g to the 3 analog inputs. Then, I would connect the remaining 3 DVI connectors to the DVI inputs on the monitors. I drew a diagram of the idea - analog is in blue, digital is in purple... (sorry, can't figure out how to put the image in the post)

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbair3/Th2gDoubleConnect/photo#5015252774665847986

I think this should cause the computer to see 4 monitors when SLI is shut off; 3 "regular" 20 inch monitors and 1 "big monitor" for the th2g. For work, I would keep SLI off and probably just disable the big monitor. For gaming, I would enable the big monitor, make it the primary, and switch on SLI (which would disable the 3 other outputs.) I should be able to just toggle the monitors between analog and digital inputs to make the switch.

Has anyone tried this? If not, can anyone see a reason it would not work? Thanks for any help.

I do something similar and it works fine. My setup is less complicated than yours, though. The key of course is having dual-input monitors. I keep my center monitor driven by the TripleHead2Go at all times, using a 4:3 resolution on the Windows desktop, while I switch the left and right monitros back and forth. On the dektop I drive the outside monitors from the second head of my 7900GT and the single head of an MX4000, while during gaming I switch the outside monitor inputs over and run in a triplehead resolution. I do this because I can't stand Matrox's desktop management software and much prefer having true independent monitors as far as Windows in concerned.

Bennamin · Post by **Bennamin** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:03

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone here had some screenshots of say HL2, Lost Coast, CS:S, Oblivion etc running on 3x 1600x1200 monitors (4800x1200 Running through a triplehead box, but at the Triplehead2Go 3840x1024 resolution , and if we could compare it to the existing screenshots that people have submitted, then we could get a look at how it scales on the larger monitor at a lower res.

Just a thought.

I'm mostly interested as I'd rather 'future proof' my set-up by getting 3x1600x1200 and only having to update the matrox box (if and when a DVI version is ever released) instead of buying 3x1280x1024 monitors and the current version box, only to have to buy all new monitors, box etc....

Its a big ask, thanks in advance, I think that it would answer a few others questions.

To be honest, i'd rather have a res of 5120x1200 (20.1", 24", 20.1") but good luck running games on that!

Cheers :D

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:21

Screenshots that are at 3840x1024 from monitors with a native res of 1600x1200 ... will look idetical to screenshots from monitors with a native res of 1280x1204 ... :wink:

Oh ... and welcome to the WSGF ... :D 8)

Bennamin · Post by **Bennamin** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:25

Screenshots that are at 3840x1024 from monitors with a native res of 1600x1200 ... will look idetical to screenshots from monitors with a native res of 1280x1204 ... :wink:

Wow! That was quick! Paddy, do you sleep? lol

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:27

:lol: ... occasionally ... :D
There is a thread somewhere where I took some photos showing FEAR scalling at different resolutions ... just can't find it at the moment ... :roll:

Post by **Paddy the Wak** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:35

Here you go ... they are not TripleHead but they should give you a better understanding ... remember the monitor needs to be able to handle the resolutions too.

Copied from the other thread ...
The thread is here if you want to read it all ... http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/5945

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some photographs (not screenshots) of F.E.A.R. running on my Dell 24" which has a native res of 1920x1200.
Various 16:10 resolutions but scaled up to fit the panel with all in game details at maximum and 4xAA.
Please forgive the graininess ... taking photos of a screen isn't easy ... :)

The lower resolutions don't look too bad at all ... IMHO.

Close-ups shown below these full screen shots ...

960x600

1280x800

1440x900

1650x1050

1920x1200

These close ups are uncompressed at the actual size the camera took them.

960x600

1280x800

1440x900

1650x1050

1920x1200

Bennamin · Post by **Bennamin** » 14 Jan 2007, 00:45

Thanks paddy, it give us some perspective.

If anyone else could contribute it would be much appreciated :)

EDIT: Triplehead is the next one we're after!

Cheers

Widescreen Gaming Forum