1:1 Pixel Mapping and ATI Cards

[UltimaBoB]

I am buying a new computer this week.

I want to buy the Acer 24" 2423w LCD display or possibly the new BenQ FP241w when it comes out.

I was planning on using an ATI card - but I hear now that if your monitor doesn't support 1:1 pixel mapping you will want an NVidia card to do it for you - if you go ATI then you have a problem. Is this true?

 

[jiffylube1024]

It's true - ATI cards just plain do not do pixel scaling in software.

Maybe someone else here will know if those screens do 1:1 pixel mapping or not; my bet is that Acer won't and the BenQ might.

 

[tigen]

In the ATI Catalyst Control center there is an option under Digital Panel Properties->Attributes->Image Scaling->Use centered timings.

I think that does what you want...

 

[43st]

ATI cards can use centered timings, or 1:1, as tigen said. Nvidia allows custom resolutions to be manually added in the drivers, ATI does not. One can use Powerstrip to add custom resolutions if you need them and own an ATI card.

What you need to be careful of is whether or not the MONITOR will scale the images automatically and whether or not you can disable that in the OSD. For example my new LG L204WT will automatically stretch any 5:4 or 4:3 ratio input signal to 16:10, I can't disable it in the monitor OSD so I'm forced to use a wacky ratio just to get black bars in older games.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: tigen
In the ATI Catalyst Control center there is an option under Digital Panel Properties->Attributes->Image Scaling->Use centered timings.

I think that does what you want...

True, however, it only works in certain games. Some games will still stretch to fit the entire panel despite centered timings being on (HL2 is a good example.)

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1

Originally posted by: tigen
In the ATI Catalyst Control center there is an option under Digital Panel Properties->Attributes->Image Scaling->Use centered timings.

I think that does what you want...

True, however, it only works in certain games. Some games will still stretch to fit the entire panel despite centered timings being on (HL2 is a good example.)

The beauty of HL2, however, is that it supports 16:9 and 16:10 resolutions out of the box, and that it performs great at high res -- even a single X1900XT will give you excellent performance even at 1920X1200.