Dell 2350 monitor compatibility?

[Jay]

I guess I'm pretty novice in the area of the computer hardware and
compatibility so I have what is probably a simple question for
someone...

I've got a Dell Dimension 2350 with an integrated video card on the
mother board with a 15" LCD monitor currently attached. Resolution
on
my "properties" dialog indicated 1024X768.


I want to upgrade to a 19" Widescreen LCD monitor (Proview 19" LCD
Monitor (PL916S2)) or something similar. Resolution on this monitor
is 1280X1024.


The question is can my current computer and video card handle the
higher resolution of a new monitor or will I need to start looking at
new video cards. That would be a problem because my PC apparently
doesn't have AGP slots (whatever they are) so I hear it's difficult
or
maybe not possible to improve the video.

I just don't feel like buying a new monitor if it's not going to work
or cost me a bunch in other upgrades. btw, i do some multimedia
picture and video work and watch the occassional DVD on the monitor.
Thanks...

 

[kony]

I guess I'm pretty novice in the area of the computer hardware and
compatibility so I have what is probably a simple question for
someone...

I've got a Dell Dimension 2350 with an integrated video card on the
mother board with a 15" LCD monitor currently attached. Resolution
on
my "properties" dialog indicated 1024X768.


I want to upgrade to a 19" Widescreen LCD monitor (Proview 19" LCD
Monitor (PL916S2)) or something similar. Resolution on this monitor
is 1280X1024.

There are widescreen 19" monitors but they have native
resolution of 1440 x 900 instead of 1280 x 1024. The
PL916S2 appears to be non-widescreen... some people prefer
widescreen and some don't, if you haven't compared these two
alternatives in a store that is the best way to gauge which
you like more.

The question is can my current computer and video card handle the
higher resolution of a new monitor or will I need to start looking at
new video cards. That would be a problem because my PC apparently
doesn't have AGP slots (whatever they are) so I hear it's difficult
or
maybe not possible to improve the video.

You could improve the video with a PCI video card, presuming
you still have an available PCI slot. However, your present
integrated video can support 1280x1024 fine. Only much
older systems with integrated video wouldn't be able to
support 1280x1024. As for supporting 1440x900, it would
depend on whether the Intel video driver (or an updated
driver version) allows setting custom resolutions.

I just don't feel like buying a new monitor if it's not going to work
or cost me a bunch in other upgrades. btw, i do some multimedia
picture and video work and watch the occassional DVD on the monitor.
Thanks...

I don't have enough information about this monitor model but
it might only be a 6 bit instead of 8 bit panel (appears to
be 6 bit based on it's lesser 140' viewing angle), meaning
less accurate color reproduction would make it less suitable
for the picture and video work and DVD viewing. It also
lacks a DVI video input making it less appealing for reuse,
as newer systems and/or video card upgrades produce the best
image quality at 1280x1024 and higher resolutions using DVI
instead of analog (D-sub) input. However, besides these
issues it should work as intended from the integrated video.

 

[Grinder]

I guess I'm pretty novice in the area of the computer hardware and
compatibility so I have what is probably a simple question for
someone...

I've got a Dell Dimension 2350 with an integrated video card on the
mother board with a 15" LCD monitor currently attached. Resolution
on
my "properties" dialog indicated 1024X768.


I want to upgrade to a 19" Widescreen LCD monitor (Proview 19" LCD
Monitor (PL916S2)) or something similar. Resolution on this monitor
is 1280X1024.


The question is can my current computer and video card handle the
higher resolution of a new monitor or will I need to start looking at
new video cards. That would be a problem because my PC apparently
doesn't have AGP slots (whatever they are) so I hear it's difficult
or
maybe not possible to improve the video.

You should be fine. It doesn't take much video memory to run a
1280x1024x32bpp. The swankier cards are more geared towards performance
while gaming. Your onboard video won't really be able to compete in
that realm for either monitor, but it should do fine for general desktop
type stuff. The one thing you will have to watch out for is that your
monitor has an analog input, which it does.

There are basically two types of monitor inputs in common usage. Analog
and Digital. Analog is the signal type the standard VGA type that's
been around since the 80s. It often has a D-Sub 15-pin connector. Your
onboard video and proposed 19" monitor have those types of connectors.

The most common type of digital input for monitors now, is the DVI
cable. It is a wider trapezoidal connector with many more pins. To
complicate it further, the DVI specification can actually take digital
or analog input -- DVI-D or DVI-A respectively. A composite connector
is sometimes used that will take either cable type -- that's called DVD-I.

When I'm recommending a monitor for someone in your position, I
recommend that they get one that is analog *and* digital capable. A
good monitor can easily outlive the PC you first bought it for.

 

[Paul]

I guess I'm pretty novice in the area of the computer hardware and
compatibility so I have what is probably a simple question for
someone...

I've got a Dell Dimension 2350 with an integrated video card on the
mother board with a 15" LCD monitor currently attached. Resolution
on
my "properties" dialog indicated 1024X768.


I want to upgrade to a 19" Widescreen LCD monitor (Proview 19" LCD
Monitor (PL916S2)) or something similar. Resolution on this monitor
is 1280X1024.


The question is can my current computer and video card handle the
higher resolution of a new monitor or will I need to start looking at
new video cards. That would be a problem because my PC apparently
doesn't have AGP slots (whatever they are) so I hear it's difficult
or
maybe not possible to improve the video.

I just don't feel like buying a new monitor if it's not going to work
or cost me a bunch in other upgrades. btw, i do some multimedia
picture and video work and watch the occassional DVD on the monitor.
Thanks...

The chipset on the 2350, is listed as Intel 845G (you can verify that
with CPUZ from www.cpuid.com). The Intel datasheet for 845G lists
1600x1200 at 32 bits of color, as the max resolution. An LCD can use
a refresh rate of 60Hz. (Page 19)

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/290746.htm

With respect to getting odd values of resolution, that is a function
of the Intel drivers. I would trust your choice of 1280x1024 to
run in native resolution, rather than one of the wide screen
monitors.

The only thing I don't like about that choice of monitor, is the
140/140 degree viewing angle. It means you should see some color
variation from edge to edge, even without moving your head.

http://www.upgradenation.com/Proview_PL916S2_19_LCD_Ultra_Anti-Glare/PL916S2/partinfo-id-559512.html

Walmart has apparently carried that monitor at some time - I don't know
if they put stuff like that on display or not, because I don't
go to Walmart that often. It would be good if you could look at the
monitor in operation, before you buy it.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Jay]

Thanks so much for all the input. I'll take a look at a few more
similar monitors and give one a try to see how it goes.

 

[CBFalconer]

DellCA wrote: ** and top-posted - fixed **

This is Richard from Dell's Online Community Outreach group. The
following is a list of supported resolutions for your computer.

640 x 480
800 x 600
1224 x 768
1152 x 864
1280 x 720
1280 x 960
1280 x 1024
1400 x 1050
1600 x 900
1600 x 1200
1856 x 1392
1920 x 1080
1920 x 1440

Good luck with the display upgrade!

While your knowledge of Dell hardware and assistance is
appreciated, please do not top-post. Your answer belongs after (or
intermixed with) the quoted material to which you reply, after
snipping all irrelevant material. I fixed this one. See the
following links for reasons, etc.:

--
<http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>
<http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html>
<http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html>
<http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/> (taming google)
<http://members.fortunecity.com/nnqweb/> (newusers)