Using LCD monitor outside of native resolution

[Jon Danniken]

I am looking to purchase an LCD monitor, one with a native resolution of
1400x1050. I will be using this at its native resolution in 2D apps
(Windows desktop).

Playing some games, however, I will be using it at 800x600 resolution.

My question is, how will the game (at 800x600) look on a 1400x1050 monitor?

My other question is, would I get a better (800x600) image on an LCD with a
native resolution of 1600x1200 than on one with 1400x1050?

Thanks for any insight into this,

Jon

 

[Mike Walsh]

You would get a better image with a 1600 x 1200 display. You will not get the usually image artifacts when the screen resolution is a multiple of the image size.

 

[kony]

I am looking to purchase an LCD monitor, one with a native resolution of
1400x1050. I will be using this at its native resolution in 2D apps
(Windows desktop).

Playing some games, however, I will be using it at 800x600 resolution.

I'd recommend higher, at least 1024x768 if possible.
Regardless, at other than the native resolution it will be
blurry looking unless it's bordered by empty black space on
the screen, which will make it very tiny.

My question is, how will the game (at 800x600) look on a 1400x1050 monitor?

My other question is, would I get a better (800x600) image on an LCD with a
native resolution of 1600x1200 than on one with 1400x1050?

Probably, but neither would be as good as running the game
at the native resolution.

 

[CBFalconer]

I am looking to purchase an LCD monitor, one with a native
resolution of 1400x1050. I will be using this at its native
resolution in 2D apps (Windows desktop).

Playing some games, however, I will be using it at 800x600
resolution.

My question is, how will the game (at 800x600) look on a
1400x1050 monitor?

My other question is, would I get a better (800x600) image on
an LCD with a native resolution of 1600x1200 than on one with
1400x1050?

To the second question, yes. The reason is that pixels would be
assigned two at a time (per direction), and no splitting/reworking
of the vidio data is needed.

 

[Jon Danniken]

You would get a better image with a 1600 x 1200 display.
You will not get the usually image artifacts when the
screen resolution is a multiple of the image size.

Thanks, Mike, I appreciate it.

Jon

 

[Jon Danniken]

I'd recommend higher, at least 1024x768 if possible.
Regardless, at other than the native resolution it will be
blurry looking unless it's bordered by empty black space on
the screen, which will make it very tiny.

Thank you, Kony. Am I correct in inferring from what you said above that a
"resolution mismatch" from the native resolution will be less noticeable at
1024x768 vs 800x600, or is there another factor at work?

Jon

 

[Jon Danniken]

To the second question, yes. The reason is that pixels would be
assigned two at a time (per direction), and no splitting/reworking
of the video data is needed.

Thanks, CB, I appreciate it.

Jon

 

[kony]

Thank you, Kony. Am I correct in inferring from what you said above that a
"resolution mismatch" from the native resolution will be less noticeable at
1024x768 vs 800x600, or is there another factor at work?

Jon

Yes it may be less noticable but still significantly blurred
relative to running at the native resolution of the display.
However, the higher the resolution you can run, the less
significant the loss of screen real-estate if you ran in
letterbox mode (black borders). The available modes will
depend on the panel's features or what is provided by your
video card driver control panel.