1680 x 1050 Capable PCI Express Cards

[Melquiades]

Can anyone tell me if there are any PCI express cards that support WSXGA resolution? I am considering Dell's 20.1 inch wide aspect flat screen monitor, and my current card - based on the Nvidia Geforce 6600GT does not support this resolution. Dell's website only lists AGP 8X cards for compatibility. Any Reccomendations for a card in that doesn't break the budget ( less than $200 ) would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Todd33]

It's a driver thing, I'd guess they all do.

 

[keeleysam]

All 6600GT's do...

 

[Melquiades]

Thanks for the help, I had thought the only resolutions supported were the ones that came up when I clicked on my nvidia icon, glad to know my card works, saves me a lot of money. For anyone else looking to figure out the same thing there is a knowledgebase article at http://www.nvidia.com/object/custom_resolutions.html on how to set up any custom resolution with the geforce cards.

Thanks again for the quick help!

 

[Rage187]

If you look in the display properties it usually will only show you what your current monitor supports.

 

[stelleg151]

Originally posted by: Rage187
If you look in the display properties it usually will only show you what your current monitor supports.

Actually, its a little more complex than that. It wont show up until you hook up your 2005, because by default 1680x1050 is not included in the preset resolutions, but once you hook up your 2005, the drivers automatically add that resolution.

This is at least how it worked with my x700pro.

Good Luck, and I think the 6600gt and 2005fpw is a great idea, great monitor, great videocard from what I hear.

 

[Bateluer]

The 6600GT will be able to run a 1680x1050 resolution, but running in that resolution in games might be a little problematic.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
The 6600GT will be able to run a 1680x1050 resolution, but running in that resolution in games might be a little problematic.

Entirely correct. Most games* do not properly support widescreen, and you'll thus be stuck running with either a stretched game, or a physical resolution of 1280x1024 (assuming you use centered timings with maximized scaling). That subtracts about 25% of your total screen space, which is a pretty nasty loss. That said, on the games that do support it, it looks pretty spectacular (Guild Wars, GTA:SA, etc.).

Any video card made past the Geforce 1 era can probably handle widescreen resolutions with ease - after all, 1680x1050 takes _less_ memory and bandwidth than 1600x1200.

-Erwos

 

[Rage187]

Originally posted by: stelleg151

Originally posted by: Rage187
If you look in the display properties it usually will only show you what your current monitor supports.

Actually, its a little more complex than that. It wont show up until you hook up your 2005, because by default 1680x1050 is not included in the preset resolutions, but once you hook up your 2005, the drivers automatically add that resolution.

you said the same thing but used more words, the only thing more complex was your explaination.

 

[pulsedrive]

Well it isn't so much that games don't support WS that is the problem with the 2005 and the 6600GT, but the GT will not push 1680x1050 with much eye candy turned on at ALLLL, or push out that many FPS. Which is what I think they first person to mention that was after. Not lack of WS support.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: pulsedrive
Well it isn't so much that games don't support WS that is the problem with the 2005 and the 6600GT, but the GT will not push 1680x1050 with much eye candy turned on at ALLLL, or push out that many FPS.

I think you're tremendously underestimating the power of the 6600GT. 1680x1050 is _less_ than 1600x1200, which is a pretty reasonable resolution on the 6600GT from what I've seen in benchmarks. But, be that as it may, you totally dismissed my earlier point about how not all games support widescreen properly. Let me say it again: most games don't support widescreen properly, and even new ones don't always do so. If you think I'm exagerating, head over to widescreengamingforum and take a look. You cannot be assured that you will have an optimal gaming experience on a widescreen monitor.

My laptop has a widescreen LCD. I've had more problems with widescreen support than my pathetic Xpress 200M's speed in modern games. I like to believe that I play a reasonable cross-section of games, too.

-Erwos

 

[akugami]

As others said, you'll normally only see resolutions supported by your monitor. Hook up a widescreen capable monitor and it'll show you those resolutions. Of a bigger problem (at least for games) is the overwhelming lack of support in games older than about two years where it doesn't support widescreen resolutions and either clips the picture or, much more likely, stretches it. Games that support widescreen resolutions do look very very good.

 

[Sonikku]

Get powerstrip if you're so worried.