Help me please...I'm a big noob...WS/Graphics card questions

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 18 Jun 2007, 04:41

Hey can anyone help me out. I looked around a bit and saw this powerstrip program. So does it allow you to play games in fixed aspect ratio with black bars on side? Is this an alternative to graphics cards/monitors that don't allow you to do this?

I got a geforce fx 5200 and im planning to buy a 19" widescreen however for 1, I'm not sure if the geforce fx 5200 supports widescreen resolutions. can anyone tell me if it does or not? I can set resolution up to 1280x768..is that a widescreen resolution?

I asked nvidia bout it and they said geforce fx 5200 supports:

1600 x 1024 at 60 Hz by both Analog (VGA) and Digital (DVI) ports
2048 x 1536 at 60 â€“ 75 Hz only by Analog (VGA) port

These aren't widescreen resolutions are they? Either way I don't see these resolutions in my control panel. Would they appear if I attached a widescreen monitor or something?

Secondly, I heard lots of nvidia cards have options to change resolution settings to fixed aspect ratio so that you can play games with black bars on side (which i want to do) rather than having a stretched image. I can't find this option in my control panel either so I don't think my graphics card has this option? But you can overcome this with the powerstrip program...is that correct?

My system is kinda old. Intel Pendleton D845PT Motherboard, P4 1.8GHZ, 1GB 512MB DDR PC3200 RAM. I don't want to fork out lots of money on buying a new computer, I'm just after a widescreen which I can view properly in widescreen resolution and with fixed aspect ratio in games that don't support widescreen. I asked nvidia if I basically need a new graphics card to do what I want to do and if so what a good one to buy is and they said the geforce 7800 GS which is like $200, an amount I can't afford to spend. If I do need a new graphics card, what's the cheapest one that will provide me with widescreen reosolutions and allow me to set fixed aspect ratio (but if i can do this with powerstrip then it doesn't matter right?)

I'd appreciate it if anyone could help me out....I got so many things I'm unsure about and nvidia don't always answer what I was asking making it really frustrating. Thanks

Dem Pyros · Post by **Dem Pyros** » 18 Jun 2007, 05:54

FX 5200 is a REALLY bad graphics card by todays standards..........you might want to upgrade from that.

1280x768 is widescreen (16:9 ratio)

The FX 5200 supports widescreen, including 1280x768

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 18 Jun 2007, 07:32

You will probably not have problems running widescreen resolutions in Windows with that card. Don't think about gaming in native res though. It's totally not suitable anymore to do that.

Btw, the resolution you want to drive your monitor at when you get the widescreen is probably 1440x900 pixels. Don't start looking for that resolution now as it won't be available when there isn't a widescreen connected. It will automatically become available when you connect the 19" widescreen. :wink:

Apple · Post by **Apple** » 18 Jun 2007, 12:07

1280x768 is widescreen (16:9 ratio)

Just to stop any confusion, 1280x768 is of a 15:9 aspect ratio. 1366x768 is the actual 16:9 resolution used.

Either way it will be stretched though as most LCD monitors have a 16:10 aspect ratio.

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 18 Jun 2007, 12:39

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Thanks ctrlsteef, at least I know it'll support 1440x900 once a widescreen is connected. What do you mean btw by 'It's totally not suitable anymore to do that.' when referring to fixed aspect ratio? As in nobody plays like that? I'm not much of a pc gamer but when i do play games i basically want to just play my old games like warcraft 3, starcraft, cs etc in their native resolutions rather than looking all distorted. What does everyone who has widescreens do then? Thanks

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 18 Jun 2007, 12:40

Oh and so am i correct btw about this powerstrip program? is geforce fx 5500 256mb much of a big leap from my current 128mb fx 5200?

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 18 Jun 2007, 12:44

I was actually talking about gaming in the native resolution of 1440 x 900. :wink:
I don't think the FX 5200 can run that since it's a bit outdated. It does offcourse depend on what games you want to play. :)

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 18 Jun 2007, 12:47

Oh as in if i was to play HL2 for example in widescreen mode it wouldn't work?

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 18 Jun 2007, 13:00

Well, HL2 does run pretty good on low end GPU's so if you don't turn up the settings too much you would probably be able to run the game pretty well at native res.

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 18 Jun 2007, 13:03

Oh ok thanks. But yeah...I don't really play new games mainly just the older classics.

Post by **ctrlsteef** » 18 Jun 2007, 13:16

You'll be fine then. :)

Dem Pyros · Post by **Dem Pyros** » 18 Jun 2007, 19:23

Note: I ran the 5200 not a while back on a 1440x900 res monitor.

Battlefield 2142 was almost unplayable at dead low settings.
Battlefield 2 was just playable at dead low settings.
Half Life 2 ran fine at low settings.

Just my 2 cents :wink:

(grumble grumble "15:9" grumble grumble)

Apple · Post by **Apple** » 19 Jun 2007, 07:06

(grumble grumble "15:9" grumble grumble)

:P :lol:

bboy · Post by **bboy** » 20 Jun 2007, 11:45

Thanks, well I don't really play new games. HL2 being the newest game I've played on pc. My main concern is fixed aspect ratio. Can anyone tell me which nVidia graphics drivers provide this option for fixed aspect ratio scaling? Does FX series? I can't see the option in my control panel but would it appear once a widescreen is attached? If not, what graphics drivers provide this option?

http://www.widescreengamer.com/images/stories/nvidia_driver.jpg

Here's a pic of what I'm after.

Widescreen Gaming Forum