Viewsonic vx2025wm guru setup

[johns]

Got one to test. So far I hate it, but I seem to be fixing that.

Tried different resolutions:
1024 x 768 Very big, but distorted on horizontal. All my jpgs
make people look fat and short.

1600 x 900 Was some better, but made people look tall
and thin. Also, fonts too small. Icons too small.

1680 x 1050 The native resolution. Icons and fonts waaaay
too small. Can't read diddly, but distortion in
jpgs was gone. In apps, I can zoom and
compensate. Also, tried changing font dpi
from 96dpi to 120dpi. That helped a lot, and now
I can read icons and fonts on desktop. Still
some
fonts are thin and whispy. I switched to Ariel
Black, and that helped in email and Google.

In Excel, I zoomed to custom 150. Nice. In
Word, I can zoom, but it doesn't hold. Probably
a simple fix, I just don't know.

In games: Syberia demo looks OK. Kate looks
a little wide because I can't set the
resolution in
that game. I have an nVidia 6800, and I may be
able to do a custom resolution outside the game,
and launch it that way. Prey demo looked good,
but
again would not set to 1680 x 1050. I had to set
it
lower, and characters are fat and short right
now.
There is an option to set to 1600 x 1200. I did
not
try it.

AutoCAD: This is the only setting that will
allow a
circle to be round. All other settings give an
oval
circle. That will not do. However, AutoCAD
looks very
good at 1680 x 1050, and I am able to move all
the
icons to a single line across the top. Easily
viewable.

Desktop picture: I used MS Photo to blow it up
to
130%, and it makes the desktop look more
normal,
and still give a nice icon border around the
picture.

Anybody got settings that make this wide monitor look good?

 

[Garrot]

Anybody got settings that make this wide monitor look good?

If native res isn't to your liking then you are SOL because you won't
get it to look better than its native res. Solution is to buy good
quality HDTV that runs at a lower native res. I have a 27" Viewsonic LCD
HDTV and it's native res is 1366x768 which is easy to read the fonts on.
But I like CRT better for other reasons so I went back to my 21"
Trinitron for computer use.

 

[EDM]

Unlike CRTs, flat panels have a single native resolution,
and all other resolutions are going to range from ugly to
butt ugly. So stick to 1680x1050, and if you can't get an
acceptable image at that resolution try another model or
brand of flat panel.

Personally I recommend people not buy wide-screen
monitors at vertical resolutions less than 1080, since that
is the standard for high definition content.

 

[Clint]

You may want to look at gettting a 19" LCD instead. The resolution/sizes
might be more to your liking. As you've found, the LCD monitors have a
particular resolution they're "happy" with, and if it doesn't jive with you,
tough noogies.

I have the same monitor, but considering my 15.4" laptop display runs in the
same 1680x1050 resolution, the 20" display at the default settings is no
problem!

If you're going to tweak the resolution, try to keep it at the same ratio,
otherwise you'll see the distorted images. So, for example, if you wanted
to set it down to a 1280x??? resolution, it would work out to 1280x800. You
can look for a program called "PowerStrip" and see if it will allow you to
find the right resolution for you.

http://forums.entechtaiwan.net/viewtopic.php?t=24
http://entechtaiwan.net/util/ps.shtm

Clint

 

[johns]

Sure am glad I don't own this thing. Went home and got back on
my Viewsonic VX924 19 inch, and it is all the difference in the world.
I spent all day on the 2025, and I saw a few nice things. For example,
the Prey demo can actually be run in a wide screen mode, and it
looks pretty good, but the standard fonts in IE and Outlook Express
are just inexcusable. They are thin and barely visible. I had to
change maybe 5 different settings trying to get decent fonts in all
my apps, and then the settings did not hold. Seems they are a bit
interactive across the apps. I would have thought the vendors making
these wide screen monitors would have provided a way to get
decent size, contrast, and no image distortion. Seems really stupid
to produce something like this, and then not support it any better.
One older game that actually looked great was MOHAA. That
surprised and pleased me. Still, I need to be able to actually
see what I'm doing in Word, Excel, OE, IE, and the 2025 really
craps out in the workplace.

johns

 

[Clint]

Using the "out of the box" settings, and a 1680x1050 resolution, I have
absolutely no complaints about the standard fonts in IE, OE, or any office
application on either my laptop LCD panel or desktop (VX2025wm) panel. I'd
suggest that all the changes you've done has mucked things up. I regularly
move applications from my 19" CRT (Dell P991) to the LCD for the sharpness
and readability of the LCD.

Just my $0.02 worth. For standard office type work, the VX2025wm has been
an EXCELLENT purchase for me, and I'd buy another if I could justify the
cost to my CFO.

You're right about the games, though. If they don't support wide-screen, it
kind of sucks. But if they do (which 2 out of 3 of my current ones do),
life is pretty good.

Clint

 

[Clint]

BTW, I didn't really mean to slam you or say that you screwed things up
(although after re-reading my last post, it might have appeared that way).
I just wanted to say that in my observation, with stock settings, I have no
complaints about the font quality in any application. For all I know,
you've got a dud monitor or something.

Clint

 

[johns]

Well, lots of students here have good eyes. I simple can't
see the extremely small fonts to save my britches. And,
in the labs, I had to lock the desktops on all the machines
to 1024 x 768 so the students with weak vision could
see at all. I took a vote from people on my hall, and
about half said they had no problem with the small fonts
at 1680 x 1050. Other half said, "can't you just make
them bigger ?" Yeah, with a lot of mucking around, and
eventually it becomes a balled up mess, and the apps
won't hold their settings.

johns

 

[Clint]

Ah, I think I understand the situation a little better now. As you've
probably already figured out, the 19" LCD displays are probably a better
choice for that application. Just about the same size, more "standard"
resolution, and because the resolution is lower (but the size close to the
same), it'll probably work better for the "average" user you've got. Plus,
around here, the VX2025wm is about 65% more money than a 19" Viewsonic
(although not one as nice as the VX924). The VX2025wm is $370 (Canadian),
while something like the Optiquest Q9b is $225. Even the VX922 is only
$280...

Clint

 

[johns]

The fix was simple ... duuuuuh! In the
nVidia 6800 driver, there is an option to do
a custom resolution. I took a calculator
and reduced the 1680 x 1050 setting
by 75% to 1264 x 788, and it worked
perfectly. AutoCAD is not distorted. The
fonts look normal at the defaults. I haven't
tried the games again, but I think that is
much less a problem than the nearly
invisible fonts at the 1680 setting. Much
progress indeed. NOW I have a nice
toy

johns

 

[johns]

In passing, I might mention .. Viewsonic "canned"
Tech Support. If you really want to waste your
time, try talking to a blank wall, and a trained
parrot at Viewsonic. They never heard of custom
resolutions, and keep saying over and over, "
Set the resolution to 1680 x 1050 because
even though you can't read the fonts, we think
that gives the best detail .. blah, blah, blah. "
I'm also watching the price on the Samsung
21 inch LCD monitor. It is at $470 right now,
and when it comes down to about $400, it
is going to drive that Viewsonic VX2025wm
off the market. The Samsung is also a true
multimedia monitor, with S-video input, and
will do picture-in-picture. I'm probably going
to buy the Samsung 21 incher since Viewsonic
Tech Support treats me ( and everyone ) like
we are morons. In the meantime, don't buy
the VX2025wm unless you have an nVidia
6800 or better so you can use custom
resolutions, and actually be able to SEE what
you are working on.

johns

 

[Clint]

To be fair, setting the resolution is a function of the video card drivers
and software, not the monitor. So you may have had more luck contacting the
video card company...

But I'm glad it worked out for you in the end. You can also check out the
Dell 20" panels; they have multiple inputs (although not PIP, I think).

Clint