1920x1200 vs. 1920x1080 for PC gaming only

[kalrith]

My next monitor will either be a 27-28" computer monitor with 1920x1200 resolution or a 32-37" LCD TV with 1920x1080 resolution. I'll be fine with either one for regular usage, and this monitor will only be used for the computer and not for a PS3, TV, etc. Here are my main questions regarding this. What, if anything, will be missing without those 120 vertical pixels? Is it worth losing that content for a larger screen?

Please vote in the poll assuming that money is no object, this monitor will only be used for PC gaming, you will be sitting 3 feet from your monitor, and your only 2 choices are these resolutions.

 

[Jeeebus]

will you be upgrading the system as well?

 

[kalrith]

I'll be upgrading to an 8800GT 512MB and overclocking the heck out of it by the time I get the new monitor. I'll eventually go to a quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and Vista 64-bit, but that'll probably have to wait a while. The most taxing games I currently play are Quake 4 and Oblivion. I certainly plan to pick up some newer games as well, and I don't want to have to turn down the settings too much.

 

[themisfit610]

Get the larger screen. 1920x1200 is very very close to 1920x1080, and both are plenty of resolution for large (30+ inch) displays.

~Misfit

 

[MarcVenice]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2131808&enterthread=y

Check that out, and wait for reviews ? With some luck it won't drop like a brick once you get to 1900*1200 and enable some AA. As for the screens, hmz probably the 27-28" screen, because the image will be crisper, with a smaller pixel pitch.

 

[Throckmorton]

Wow I'd definately get that 1gb for that price. 1gb of RAM may not help with most games, but all it takes is for textures to go over 512mb and a 512mb card will be bottlenecked

 

[Cheex]

1920x1200 FTW!!

 

[CKent]

I chose 1920x1080 for the simple fact the screen is physically larger.

 

[ctark]

Go with a 37 inch LCD. I've had one for about a year and its been pretty awesome for gaming. I'm still running mine on my x1900xtx with 4 gigs and a Q6600 on Vista 64. Every game I play I use the full resolution with most of the settings turned up. I havent played Crysis and dont really plan to. But I play Call of duty 4 just fine. Go 37, you wont regret it.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: ctark
Go with a 37 inch LCD. I've had one for about a year and its been pretty awesome for gaming. I'm still running mine on my x1900xtx with 4 gigs and a Q6600 on Vista 64. Every game I play I use the full resolution with most of the settings turned up. I havent played Crysis and dont really plan to. But I play Call of duty 4 just fine. Go 37, you wont regret it.

How far do you sit from your 37"? At that distance, do you feel like you have to turn your head back and forth to see the entire screen? Does this hamper or increase your gaming performance and experience?

 

[nefariouscaine]

I'd vote for smaller screen of equal~ pixel count. As stated above you should have a better dot pitch with more pixels per inch. Especially at 3 feet you might not want something too big. I thought about getting one of the 27" monitors but unless the rez was higher I'll stick to my 24" for now.

 

[Jules]

37inch without a doubt.

 

[imported_Imp]

Using a 24" x1200 screen now. Have some minor size quips, nothing that actually bothers me, but if I had the money, my ideal would be 27" x1200 for a higher dot-pitch/size.

30"+ x1080 screens would be great as long as you can sit further away.

 

[tigersty1e]

Most games only have support for 16:10 and not 16:9 aspect.


Get the 1920 x 1200 for gaming.

If not gaming, then get the other monitor for movies and general CPU use.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: tigersty1e
Most games only have support for 16:10 and not 16:9 aspect.


Get the 1920 x 1200 for gaming.

If not gaming, then get the other monitor for movies and general CPU use.

All 3 new consoles are targeting 16:9 for their aspect ratio, so cross platform games should most certainly support 16:9. Most games that offer any decent leeway in resolution changing will support 16:9 (if not directly, at least through some clever tweaking). Worst case scenarios being that you're going to have to crop (not a big deal at all when you're only losing 60 lines of pixels up and down) or pillarbox (not a big deal because you'd have to do the same on a 16:10 sceen as well).

My vote is for 1920x1080 if only because its a wider aspect ratio (the much bigger screen is also nice, especially for watching movies and hooking up consoles to it). I absolutely hate how there's an actual difference if only because they wanted to differentiate PC monitors from TV monitors, its complete BS, everything is pretty much digital these days, there's no reason PC monitors shouldn't be 16:9 as well. My first LCD made me put up with the odd 5:4 aspect ratio (which, because of 17-19" LCDs, has actually become more of a standard than 4:3) and I could more than live with that, I could live with 16:9 as well, especially when considering it is most likely going to be supported more so than 5:4 was when it was first really pushed by the first LCD monitors.

 

[Thor86]

You will also need to consider any over/under scanning of LCD tvs at 1920x1080. So if you have to compensate for this in a digital input, then you are NOT running at native resolutions, which hinders text reading. For gaming this is not a big deal, but I prefer running at native resolutions, period.

 

[Oakenfold]

Those are some interesting numbers in the poll. I have to wonder if those in favor of 1920x1200 are reading your needs in the thread and not just answering based off the resolution.

OP if your sole goal is for gaming going with a 1920x1080 TV will be sublime. I've been using my 37" Aquos for a few months now, my only regret is with office productivity as the extra screen real estate would have been beneficial. I don't use office app's that often to miss it that much. By the way I sit back about 3 feet from my TV and I don't have to move my head from side to side. When I do move my head it's because I'm trying to dodge bullets instinctively in COD4.

Yes the area of widescreen gaming does come with some tradeoffs, there are games out there that you have to find workarounds for, once you get them down it's not a big deal.

If money is no object buy both, 24" monitors are dirt cheap (sub $400) and 1080P LCD's smaller than 42" have been on sale the past few months.