Switching from a standard LCD monitor to a widescreen LCD monitor

[History Fan]

My PC is running Windows XP SP2. I use a Dell 1907FP LCD monitor.
Standard, square shaped. The optimum resolution, and the one I am currently
using, is 1280x1024.

I am considering the Dell 2007WFP widescreen monitor. The optimum
resolution for that model is 1680x1050.

If I go into display properties with my current monitor, click the
Settings tab, the max resolution I can use is 1280x1024. The square monitor
icon, labeled #1, is highlighted. The smaller, rectangular icon, labeled
#2, is faded out.

Question: If I buy the widescreen monitor and plug it into my computer,
will XP automatically switch over to icon #2 and allow me the option of
changing the resolution to 1680x1050? I'm fairly certain my video card
(256MB ATI Hyper Memory PCI-Express X 16 Radeon X600 SE) supports widescreen
monitors.

 

[nl]

it almost certainly will. I went from a 19" Iiyama 4:3 to a 24" Dell
16:9 and I didn't even have to adjust the resolution on the desktop.
XP recognised it and offered me the new resoultion straight away. I'm
using an nVidia 7900GT but your card will cope just fine.

 

[History Fan]

it almost certainly will. I went from a 19" Iiyama 4:3 to a 24" Dell
16:9 and I didn't even have to adjust the resolution on the desktop.
XP recognised it and offered me the new resoultion straight away. I'm
using an nVidia 7900GT but your card will cope just fine.

Thanks for the response. My video card is fairly powerful, so I can't
see why widescreen would be an issue.

BTW, I was just chatting with a Dell tech, and he told me the two
monitor icons in Display Properties/Settings have nothing to do with
standard or widescreen sizes. Rather, it merely means how many monitors are
currently plugged into your system.

 

[LVTravel]

From ATI's web site for your video card

Radeon X600 Technology Specifications
2D DISPLAY MODES
Resolutions, colors and maximum refresh rates (Hz) in 256, 65K or 16.7M
colors

Monitor Resolution Hz
640x480
200
800x600 200
1024x768 200
1152x864 200
1280x1024 160
1600x1200 120
1920x1080* 16:9 120
1920x1200 100
1920x1440 90
2048x1536 85

*16:9 aspect ratio monitors are supported on 1920x1080 and 848x480 on
Windows® XP, and Windows® 2000. The complete list of resolutions depends on
the driver version and operating system. NOTE: resolutions are limited by
the performance of the attached monitor.

The resolution you listed is apparently not supported by this card,
according to the list above.

They have posted a new display driver as of May 31, 2007 for this card

 

[nl]

Thanks for the response. My video card is fairly powerful, so I can't
see why widescreen would be an issue.

BTW, I was just chatting with a Dell tech, and he told me the two
monitor icons in Display Properties/Settings have nothing to do with
standard or widescreen sizes. Rather, it merely means how many monitors are
currently plugged into your system.

That's not quite correct. In Display Properties, among the
resolutions you can choose on the slider bar are widescreen ratios and
standard ratios. If you slide the slider in Display Properties you
will see that the shape of the monitor in the diagram will reflect the
resolution you have chosen.

If you have two monitors attached, you can click on Monitor 2 and set
the resolution for that separately.

(I am talking about separate setup I have where a widescreen TV is
connected via both D-sub and HDMI from an XP Media Center with a built
in graphics chip, the Intel 945. The PC part of the media centre
senses two monitors and offers me the two-monitor adjustment option.)

(It also stops me playing back DVDs, complaining I have a TV attached,
which is kind of the point of a Media Center. But hey, that's
Microsoft for you - Bill Gates giveth and Bill Gates taketh away.)